I’ve had a couple of close encounters with black mambas when I was living and working in Botswana, but this is certainly my closest. While out on a ride at the Clearwater Trail on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast I almost rode into what I think was a massive black mamba. I cannot confirm 100% that it was a black mamba since it moved so fast. In the seconds that it reared its head and dashed across the track, I noticed it was a gunmetal grey colour with a whiteish underbelly and, as you will see from the video, it was large. Alternatively, I believe it could have been one of the cobra species as this is the only other snake I know of that gets this large and moves as fast as that. If there are any snake experts out that that may be able to identify the snake from the video I’d love to hear your thoughts.
You’ll see it on the slow motion replay at 0:56 in the clip. Watch it in the highest quality possible (at least 480p).
The video was filmed with my trusty GoPro which I had mounted on my helmet. In the clip you can see the snake rise up out of the bushes (to almost my head height) on the right hand side of the trail and then moves rapidly across the track. It disappears from view when it lands on the trail but reappears on the left shortly after.
Clearwater Trail
Despite the close encounter with the snake, the entire mountain-biking experience at Clearwater Trails was superb. I added in a couple scenes from the rest of the ride to give you an idea of what its all about. The ride is mostly single track and offers various routes for different levels of experience. The green route is a short route on a dirt road and ideal for families or an easy afternoons ride. The blue route (the one we followed) is longer and mostly single track with a few technical pieces. Lastly, there is the black route which offers a more technically challenging ride and is about the same distance as the blue route.
For the record, this video clip is not intended to discourage anyone from riding the Clearwater trail. Snake encounters like this one are extremely rare which is why I am sharing the clip. We had a wonderful ride and in fact, went back the next morning to do the trail again. I highly recommend the Clearwater Trail for anyone who enjoys mountain biking and is visiting the South Coast of KZN. The trails have been well constructed, offering a challenging ride in some of the most spectacular scenery I have seen in a while. There is also a small restaurant at the reception which serves ice cold beers for after the ride (which I desperately needed).
Riding at Clearwater Trail
For more info about riding at Clearwater Trail, how to get there and what you need, check out Jacques Marais’ article: Cranking on KwaZulu-Natal’s coffee route and check out these affordable accommodation options on the South Coast, starting at R60 a person a night.
