Sanelisiwe ‘Fierce’ Nkonyane and Lomkhosi ‘The Duchess’ Magagula, have proven that a motorcycle is more than a machine – It is how they travel, how they meet people and, this time, how they carried Eswatini with them across four countries.
The two members of the 268 Motorcycle Club represented Eswatini at this year’s Throttle Sisters Tour, joining women riders from across Southern Africa for a cross-border journey through Eswatini, South Africa, Namibia and Botswana.
The annual tour brings female bikers together during Women’s Month to ride across borders, build friendships between women riders and promote motorcycling as a space where women can take up room too. Charity is also part of the tour, with the riders supporting communities along the way.
For Fierce and The Duchess, however, the trip to Namibia became a personal milestone. The journey took the two Eswatini riders from home, through South Africa and into Namibia, where the main leg of the tour came to an end. Their return journey took them through Botswana, bringing the total number of countries visited on the trip to four.
For The Duchess, the trip came with a particularly big personal achievement. “I rode close to 5,000 kilometres, which has been my longest ride ever,” she said.
That distance is a different proposition when you are travelling by motorcycle. There are no comfortable seats to retreat into and no quick way to switch off from the road. The rider has to stay alert, prepare carefully and remain aware of the bike, the weather, the road and the riders around her.
On the Throttle Sisters Tour, each woman rides her own motorcycle, but nobody is expected to handle the journey completely alone.
Nkonyane describes the Throttle Sisters Tour as an international sisterhood created around motorcycles, purpose and travel. “This is an international sisters tour, where a group of 24 ladies have come together to promote motorcycling for women,” she said.
The group brought together women from Eswatini, South Africa and Zambia, with each rider arriving with her own story and experience on two wheels.
The criteria for joining the tour is not based on how many years someone has been riding or how impressive her motorcycle is. As Magagula explained, a woman simply needs to be a rider with a love for motorcycles. That openness matters in a space that is still often associated with men.
The Throttle Sisters are not trying to turn motorcycling into a competition between women and men. They are showing that women can take on the same long roads, distances and challenges. For Nkonyane and Magagula, being part of that group also meant representing women from Eswatini beyond the country’s borders.
Exploring Nambia: The Land of the Brave
Namibia gave the riders a different kind of road experience.
The country’s long stretches, changing landscapes and open roads make it a natural destination for a motorcycle journey.
Instead of passing through the landscape behind a car window, the riders experienced the roads directly, with the wind, heat and terrain becoming part of the trip. But the tour was not only about reaching the next destination.
The women made time to experience Namibia away from their motorcycles too, taking part in activities including quad biking, camel riding and sand gliding.
There were also the smaller moments that come with travelling as a group meals together, conversations after long days and the laughter that comes when 24 women spend several days sharing the same road.
This year, the riders were unfortunately unable to identify a charity initiative in Namibia, although charity work has formed part of previous tours.
Journey’s That Give Back…
During their Zambia tour last year, the group was able to undertake charity work as part of the journey.
That aspect remains important to the Throttle Sisters because the motorcycle gives them a way to travel, but the relationships created along the way give the journey a wider purpose. It is also why the tour has become more than a group of women taking a holiday on motorcycles.
They are travelling across borders, meeting other riders and creating connections between women in Southern Africa.
For Fierce and The Duchess, there was something particularly meaningful about arriving in another country as women from Eswatini on motorcycles. They were riders, representing their country through something they genuinely love.
The trip showed another side of what women from Eswatini are doing beyond the country’s borders, taking on long-distance travel, exploring the region and building friendships with women who share the same interest.
It also creates a different picture for younger women watching from home. A woman does not have to fit neatly into one role. She can have a career, a family, a profession and a passion that takes her across borders.
