The Africa Trip 16th to 20 October 2006
9th Oct Mon
I am beginning to panic about being ready for my off next Monday 16th. I have 35 items on my list to do/accomplish and as fast as I do one, another gets added at the bottom. I don’t seem to be winning. Clive is in Portugal seeing to his interests there before the off.We have now got our Sudan visa so we are through to Kenya before having to get more visas.
The weather has really been with us as we have had to work hard clearing up our plum orchard before leaving.
I have seen to other farm jobs while Clive has chain sawed and chipped and mown etc.
The last two mornings I have been up early to begin to make piles of things i wish to bring..
15 Oct Sun
Today is Clive’s departure day. He leaves this afternoon to go via London and see his children. He meets me tomorrow on the way to Portsmouth.
Whilst Clive has packed his bike without too much drama and managed to tie on his spare tyres very satisfactorily, I have had my setbacks. First some little screw hold fell out of my bike and it took ages and much undoing for me to get it back in. Then I have noticed that the bolt for one of my panniers to sit on and lock to has fallen out. I have not had the panniers on for a while and it must have vibrated out. Whilst not a complete disaster it is important so now my trip to Portsmouth is via Vines of Guilford, a BMW agent. Hopefully they will help and even if no spare part they will have one on a bike in the show room. We have been for an experimental ride ( to get petrol ) all fully laden. My bike then said a light bulb had blown!!. My tyres need re organising.
16th Oct Mon
Wake early, about 6am. Final things and off at 7.30 after saying goodbye to Gina.
Heading for Vines of Guildford where I am going to meet Clive and get my part/missing bolt. Weather amazing for mid October, as it has been all month. Mind full of thoughts of not coping on sandy roads in Sudan. Of wallowing in muddy holes and getting stuck in river crossings. Of getting my camera wet and also all the things I care about getting wet too.
Get to the ferry, very empty. Its a very dull crossing but time to relax and begin to realise that I really am off at last. Have worked hard for a long time to get away. Spent time too on this new phone that I am writing this on. Its not as quick as the ipac but will mean that we can upload to the internet.
Formula 1 for the night. Not easy to find and we drove around in circles for a while. Full of itinerant workers.
17th Oct Tues
Cloudy but dry. Aiming to do 300 miles. Head towards Clermont Ferand. Begin on red roads ( as per Michelin Map ) but finally leave traffic behind as we enjoy yellow roads. Gradually dawning on me that I am setting off on quite a holiday. Worry about where to hide money. Have a certain amount of dollars for money changing. Shouldn’t keep it in one place. Where is a sensible place to hide it? On bike? In belongings.?
Carrying spare/change of tyres. These do not help the balance of the bike. I packed better this morning. The intention is to change tyres in Cairo. My current front tyre has not far to go !
This afternoon practice with my camera mounted on the handle bars. All gadgets need battery charging and this we do on the bikes as well as over night.
Get to Boussac. Its near Montlucon. Hotel full and have to back track to a B and B.
18th Oct Wed
Its dark at 8.30am and there is a hint of rain in the air. We don our wetgear and set off.We wend our way through the Massif Central on "yellow roads" ( Michelin Map secondary roads) going through Limousin and the Auverne. Finally hit motorway and go over the new Millau bridge and then on to a little place called Gignac , just short of Montpellier. Found a quiet hotel to dry off and unload bikes before the heavens opened.
Bad point today was the high wind and rain on the motorway just after we joined it, I ended up on the wrong side of the road after one gust and we rode in 5th gear for the next hour. Weather a bit on the wild side and still blowing even here. Temp been quite cool ...10c to 20c.
19th Oct Thurs
Clive keen to be off...ferry to catch! We leave at 8.30am. Rain threatens but it is not raining. The electricity went off while we ate last night; a wild night. Windy still as we make an early arrival in Marseilles. However not the boring wait as I had thought and loading had already begun. Whilst tying up the bikes
Do I feel I am on holiday? No. Its an adventure but too arduous to be a holiday! We get up about the same time as at home and the first thing we do is pack the bike, lugging panniers and helmets etc between room and bike. Then at the end of the day its the same thing all over again!
Ferry starts late..
20th Oct Fri
Ferries can be dull. This one took about 22 hours. Ramadan meant that there was no food around in between the arab supper and breakfast ....virtually anyway. To keep us occupied we had to go through the immigration formalities on board. Obviously, hopefully, it will save time when we dock. We had to queue in 3 different queues in order to get various bits of paper for both ourselves and our bikes.It took a good hour. By the time we had written our names down on at least 5 different bits of paper and our passport number countless times, we were ready for bed. This all happened in a small space along with a throng of people on this large and well appointed ferry. By the time we got to eat after the hungry hoardes of fasting muslims, there was not much choice of food.
Never thought I would be back to Tunisia within a year. We set off from the port and head for Sousse. Messy,brown countryside. Sheep,prickly pears and olive trees. We pass a ruined but enormous old roman aquaduct. We are now riding with Ian. He has a KTM motorcycle and is also loaded with tyres.
Reach Kairouan. The third hotel suits us; its in our price range! Tomorrow we head for the libyan border.
The Africa Trip: 21st to 24th October
21st Oct SatWe had a good breakfast at our hotel and set off at 9am. Main road but not bad and enjoy seeing chillies drying in the sun; olive trees everywhere; donkeys still being used as important transport; houses like small concrete squares with probably one room and of course flocks of sheep tended by colourful old ladies, old men or the young. Prickly pear hedges everywhere.
We make fair progress but our happiness is thwarted by Ramadan for all cafes are closed and it is not easy to just stop. In Gabes we head for a tourist hotel where we know we will be okay. But it is all through town and very full of traffic and now getting very hot, 34c in motorcycle gear is -- hot.! .
More than well fed we head on towards the border. We cannot cross tonight for we have to meet with our "tour guide" at 09.30 tomorrow am on the Libyan side. We head on towards the border but can find no hotel. Plenty of Police checks but no hotels. Clive has been a star all day with his Arabic but cannot persuade anyone to give us a bed for the night. Having ridden all the way to the border we had to turn back and camp as best we can, which meant to sleep by our bikes near the border town. Clive had not brought his mattress, so lay his sleeping bag on the stones, whilst Ian and I at least had a basic mattress each to rest our sleeping bags on. So we had the wonderful stars to look at and a melody of dogs barking and Donkeys braying! Man who owned the land saw us, came said hello, Clive spoke to him in Arabic and he offered us use of his outside toilet in a nearby house he was building, so he was fine. We were on some hill top. We picnicked on what we had !
22nd Oct Sun
We were near the edge of town, and had gone along a dirt road to find what we thought was a secluded place to spend the night. Daylight revealed a somewhat less secluded area had been found but at least we had avoided the curiosity of the local children for a few hours... Clive had slept for about an hour and spent the rest of the night night teasing the local dogs or pacing about like a guard on duty whilst I slept like a baby...!. Ian hardly slept any better so eventually I,who had managed much better, was forced to get up at 7am. Cup of tea was brought and to the border.
We got through the Tunisian side and then waited till 9.45am when our driver turned up. Two hours later we were off. The guide and driver had done the hard work! Our bit was to come. We rode 566kms (353miles)between 12 noon and 7.15pm. First Clive and then
Ian lost their new number plates. Clive"s I rode over and found but Ian"s was lost. The last day of Ramadan meant no food to be had easily. So we rode after a bad nights sleep with little food or drink. It was very hot for a while in the desert, about 95f or 36c. As dusk approached the driving got absolutely frenetic. its known as the `soup race` everyone racing home to have soup and ` break fast`.. Last day of fasting was nearly over.
Eventually we reach Miserati. Fine hotel and passable meal of mixed grill with some small bird, size of a partridge.
Libya is coming on. Changes since last time, only a year ago. More foreign cars. More tourists and more foreign investment. Our youngish guide excited about Libya’s future. I went to change money after dinner but think I changed too much. Petrol still 7p per litre, much cheaper than water.... Costs £2.00 to fill up the bike, whereas £30 in Burnham Market... Clive exhausted after his sleepless night goes to bed whilst I go and change money..
23rd Oct Mon.
We are purely traversing Libya as a quick way of getting to Egypt. Our progress may seem too fast for enjoyment. However with not much more than desert to look at and straight empty road ahead, we might as well press on. The roads are empty because it is Eid al Fitr (the muslim christmas). Going no more than 70mph, we cover 250 miles by lunch time. The only 2 things of real note are all the rubbish and camels. I do not believe that you can stand anywhere in Libya without a piece of rubbish in view. Its terrible, especially the roads in to and out of towns which appear to be used as rubbish dumps for herds of goats to scavenge through at will. We see lots of camels in the desert. Also lots dead beside the road having been hit by a vehicle.
The last time we were here we saw some of the amazing archaeology such as Leptus Magna. This time we are keeping costs down by reducing the number of days on our "tour".
We reach Adjdebayia about 5pm, over 400 miles today so pushing on.... We stay in a new hotel built by oil companies for their clients etc. The weather was not so hot today and stayed below 30c. perfect for riding which we enjoyed, a great ride. Just as we reached the town, Ian realised he had a puncture in his front wheel. He thought he was able to fix it and tried but failed . So we all went in to town in the van to get his tube fixed, and try the internet cafe. That was useless but we got the tube fixed.
24th Oct Tues
Up and off by 8.15am again. Our driver, Mohammed, and the guide, Marwan (think marujana!), are keen that we fill right up with petrol before setting off on a 231 mile stretch of road across desert. No towns and no petrol on this stretch.
It is flat stony desert. Lorry tyres, lorry bits, odd dead camel and various shed lorry loads litter the side of the road. Lorries with trailers tend to go over if the trailer gets a puncture. The loads that never made it seem to be mostly to do with building, bricks, tiles etc.
It is like a sea, the desert flat calm and many mirages, but Clive tells me of what its like when the wind blows and the sad is vicious... just like the sea.. Fine if all going well but a danger when not . 80 miles out we help a pick up truck that had run out of fuel. Our driver syphons some petrol from the van. 3 men,3 women,1 boy and a live sheep are on board. We all take photos of each other. On we go and lo and behold in the middle of nowhere there is a petrol station! We did not feel so remote after that! Later on there was a very overloaded old van full of people and luggage, that had a wheel off.
We reach Tobruk and have lunch. Then on to the border where we say goodbye to our Sukra team. Libya border probably took 1 hour to get through as we have to return our Libyan number plates, whereas the Egypt formalities take over 2.5 hours to get in, bureaucracy is a wonderful thing..... although stories abound of people being stuck at the border for anything up to 16 days if their papers are not exactly correct, so we were on the whole remarkably quick.
We knew it was going to be bad and that could have been worse.
Egypt went something like this...passport stamped quite easily but then to point A who told us to go to point B..small bike ride. We get some paperwork at B who then says go back to A who says go to C. Then it is C to B and B to C and C to B and all over again. Each time small bike ride and each time with different piece of paper. Clive again a great help with his Arabic, especially when Ian could not find his frame number on his bike. (the number has to be pencil rubbed on to a tiny piece of paper to prove that the documents you have are yours and agree with the bike) So eventually off to the gate, more checks and almost sent back as the final guard thought the date stamp placed by his colleague almost three hours earlier said 2004 and not 2006--- Clive gets a bit short tempered and we are free to go.
We arrive for the night in Salloum, only 12 kms from the border at about 8pm. We knew there was a hotel from our trip last year. Not sure though that they had changed the sheets!! Find internet cafe and very slowly check emails! bed about midnight.
The Africa Trip Oct 25th to Oct 27th
25th Oct Wed
Just walked back to our hotel in Marsa Matrouh watching some very wild car driving. The Egyptians are still celebrating Eid al Fitr the end of Ramadam. Much car tooting, bangers, shouting etc. Girls dressed up but very many so covered. Before abandoning Libya a couple of statistics. Libya petrol 7p per litre, water 14p per litre and legal speed limit 180kph or 110mph! In Egypt the speed limit is 100kph.!With no driver in front we enjoy our independence. Clive leading the way we go along the Egyptian coast towards Alexandria. Its still desert. We are on a dual carriageway but the locals treat it as 2 parallel roads. Traffic comes towards you in the fast lane whilst donkey carts head towards you on the hard shoulder. The lack of traffic enables you to cope.
We take an easy day as we begin to enjoy the fact that we are really beginning our adventure. Stop at this place about 2ish and the first thing we did was to have a swim in the beautiful turquoise med. Clear water but plenty of plastic bags and other debris in the water. Rubbish is an Egyptian problem as well.
Ian is with us still. He met a couple in the internet cafe today who are on horses. They took 16 days to get through the Egyptian border ( she camped at the customs point whilst he had to go to Cairo to get necessary papers for the horses) and 75 days to get out of Tunisia where they began. They plan to ride by horse to Cape town, Clive is not impressed.!
26th Oct Thurs
Leisurely start on ride to Alexandria. Still fairly dull desert. Road empty and we make good progress. Fig growing, fig selling but not much else . No sheep, some donkey carts, a few police checks and brown countryside. Only 90 octane petrol to be had but it only costs 13p per litre. One garage tries for more but Clive sees through them! We take photos by the tank at El Alamein . Then things begin to change. Along the road between El Alemein and Alexandria a huge amount of building has been going on and there are large developments all the way to Alex. To the left the developments and to the right massive earth moving to provide the rock/stone for the housing. There is no thought to how that part of the countryside might look. Those on the left will chuck all the rubbish across the road to the right hand side. Are these for tourism? There is a lovely sandy beach all the way.
We arrive in Alexandria about 2.45pm and find an hotel on the eastern harbour. Seems to be about right. Rush off to see catacombs before 4pm(closing time) but find has shut an hour early because of Eid. We soak up the atmosphere instead in a cafe. Alex is buzzing. Horses pull smart looking carriages for hire whilst cars constantly toot their horns. Muslim girls in headscarves look sexy in tight fitting but long clothing. There are some however covered from head to toe in black. Young children are a pest, in particular the girls, who constantly ask your name. The boys are rough.
We eat our dinner in a street nearby, full of locals. It costs £5 for three of us with 3 coca colas. !
27th Oct Friday
Have second attempt at the catacombs as shut yesterday. As we travel in taxi there we notice the driver did not obey any traffic lights! Catacombs were worth it...quite impressive . They were discovered in 1900 when a donkey with cart fell through to the second level underground. Did the donkey survive!? Hope so. Walking down the road we came across some strange looking sheep. I thought they were deformed but Ian says they were "fat tailed sheep". Got a photo of them.
Then set off for Cairo. Passing Giza on the way in we head for the pyramids. Clive talks the guards into letting us have a photo of bikes plus sphinx . So we ride through the gates and take photo. I then drop my bike getting on it! Bit of a search for the hotel afterwards but got there in the end. Traffic not bad at all as its Friday so a holiday.
Staying in ex British officers club now Hotel Windsor, was used by Michael Palin whilst filming Around the World in 80 days. Is now fairly run down but we have secure parking for the bikes which is vital so we stay. Have a G & T ( or two )in the barrel bar in the evening, very civilised. Going to stay here for 3 nights. Tomorrow we turn our attention to Luxor, Aswan and Sudan....
The Africa Trip Sat 28th to 31st Oct
I am all at sixes and sevens because here I am in Luxor writing these days up from memory since I have had my mobile stolen today here in Luxor. I have been writing my diary on the phone !! I hope the phone is far to complicated for any Egyptian to understand !! We hope to be able to continue to write on Clive`s phone whilst I find a replacement or else its pencil and paper and longhand.!! 28th Oct Sat
Our first day in Cairo. We set off on foot to see to our tickets for the ferry from Aswan. The ticket office had a very long queue . However the usual helper wandered along and then with the aid of a further friend we were soon inside the office and avoided the queue. Not that we intended to do it that way. That is just the way it works. Got the name and number of Mr Saleh who will help us in Aswan. Reserved our spaces and out we went . Pay off one helper to find first helper still hanging around. Wants to taxi us somewhere so we ask him to take us to some street. ! In the afternoon we did the Tutankhamen bit in the Egyptian museum. It was very impressive and about all we could take in.
Our hotel is in a back street near a whole lot of cafes and small eating places. The hotel bar is hideously expensive compared with elsewhere so we frequent the not so clean cafe opposite where Clive can practice his Arabic and entertain the locals. You can get your boots shined while you sip a rather strange cup of tea. Our bikes are parked across the road and all the locals are very interested in them. They are under 24 hour guard by the hotel. In the evening we catch taxi to go and watch Sufi dancing at the Madrassa al Ghouri; but it has been cancelled. However this is just near one of the street markets. Soon we are in tow behind a man who wants us to just see ...We get led into some filthy alley ways and end up in front of a little "shop" that makes inlaid boxes. I buy one! I am glad I have but nevertheless probably paid too much. It was not expensive however. Back to our hotel where we eat very locally but manage to be served a beer, alcoholic one, by the waiter. The beer is bought round the corner somewhere and brought to our table in a plastic bag...all very undercover. Clive took the opportunity and asked the waiter after he had smelt whisky on his breath.
Ian is still with us as he is staying at this hotel but he is doing other things during the day. We gather together to eat in the evening .
29th Oct Sun
Notice when we go out in the morning that Clive`s back tyre on his motorbike has a puncture. Not quite sure how, as it has sat in the same place this last 48 hours. However we have a more important thing to do first; we are off to the Kenyan embassy to see about a visa for Kenya. We take taxi to the address in the Lonely planet guide. Takes a bit of finding and then we are told it has moved...to where? Eventually we get there ( they had luckily kept their phone number). We are told the visa will take 3 days. Little persuasion from Clive and the lady says come back tomorrow at noon. She won`t budge from that! Back to hotel and we take wheel off bike and carry it along the street to a tyre place. They find three holes , one made by a screw. Bit mysterious. Anyway , all mended and we put it back on. We then head back to the Al Ghoura market and have another wander. Find the more touristy area. Wander, mostly looking. Some tourists here. All Egyptian sellers always amazed at Clive’s Arabic. It is of great help and interest !
Eat at our same cafe with the beer which again arrives almost under the table. All Egyptian men are out in the streets watching a football match on cafe tellys. They are seated in rows in the streets.
30th Oct Mon
We pack bikes and leave, to head first for the Kenyan embassy and then out of Cairo and on our way to Luxor. We are leaving Ian behind but may see him in Luxor and hopefully Aswan. He has to get his Sudanese visa.
Clive gets very ratty in the Cairo traffic. It is not bad but I am blamed for going the wrong way. They have many one way systems so when you go wrong you are swept the wrong way for several streets! We get to the embassy with plenty of time to spare. Collect visa before noon and are off. We are aiming for the most westerly road that heads south. This is in order to try and avoid the prospect of being put in a convoy by the Nile Police. We get on the right road and do well. It is desert and we are missing all the action of the Nile valley. However we can get along much quicker and with out too much bother. We have plenty of Nile valley to see yet. There are police checks but we are allowed onwards without problem. We aim for El Minya where we have booked a hotel. Leaving the main road we wander along a lovely side road to El Minya . It is nearly dusk and all the locals are on their way home from the fields. Camels, donkeys, sheep, goats, water buffalo etc . Overloaded donkey carts, overloaded humans too. Many wave to us and we to them. Towns back streets are mayhem: filthy, dirt streets with all sorts of traffic, tooting of horns etc. Close to Indian streets but without all the animals. Gradually work our way to the hotel. Very friendly and a good place overlooking the Nile.
31st Oct Tues
Long day ahead as we are trying to reach Luxor which is about 280 miles. Now in the Nile valley on the west bank we stay on this main road thinking it is not worth heading across to the desert road. Slow going as many villages and much traffic. Fascinating nonetheless and I take photos from the bike as we go along. Donkeys everywhere carrying all sorts of loads. Tut tuts appear with smart roofs. Horses with very grand looking carriages. each village has a very busy intersection. We make slow progress and the police are not helping. finally at one check they say we have to be escorted. Why? So we have to follow a pick up with police hanging on to the back. However it is only round that particular town. Dariut. Then we are left alone again. At Asyut we decide to head for the desert road again. It is closer. Much better progress and this desert is quite interesting . Has lovely lunar shapes and different colour of rocks. Not a thing is out there..no vegetation, no people except for the few vehicles on our road and no camels etc. Very odd to think that just a few miles to the east is the Nile valley out of sight, teeming with people and life of all sorts.
The road has been extended since my map and we go further than we had hoped. It runs out at Girsa? Back in the valley we are constantly having to go through police checks and eventually the police before Nag Hamm??? stop us and say we have to be escorted. We are still on the west bank which is where we want to stay but the police lead us to a bridge over the Nile and tell us we must go over. They do not come. So over we go but head back over the Nile on the next bridge down! Police check there has no problem with us and we head on ; now into the gathering dusk, but back on our west side. We have no further problems except for the gathering darkness. We have to do about 30 kms in darkness. The Egyptians like to drive around at night with their headlights either off or on sidelights. They then flash full beam at you when you get near. Donkeys are still scurrying home as are some tractors. These do not have lights.
Arrive at our hotel. Seems very nice and we celebrate our arrival with a well deserved bottle of very good Egyptian wine in the garden. We have arrived on the west bank of Luxor. It is called El Gizera and is the same side as the Valley of the Kings.
1st Nov Wed
I get my mobile stolen!
The Africa Trip Nov 1st to 2nd
1st Nov WedThe day did not begin that well. Had discovered last night that my camera battery charger would not charge. Currently blaming lead ( couldn`t possibly be charger could it ? ). Absolutely done for without camera battery! I do have two but if I can`t charge either??
Catch ferry across to east bank and Luxor itself. We are off to see Temple of Karnak and get battery charger a new lead. I take public ferry, Clive takes private boat at 3 times the price. We are only talking about 10p versus 30p ! Much hassling the other side but we finally take a horse and carriage of which there are masses. Our driver helps find shop for new lead but charger still does not work. Any way off to the temple. Its a hot day 28/9c. How do people sight see in July /August ??? Our horse is pitifully thin but seems perky enough. Driver stops to buy it food and we encourage him to buy more. Outside the Temple is a camera place and lo and behold they have a fancy universal charger. Leave my spare battery charging while we trip round the Temple. The Hypostyle hall was very impressive with 134 columns. All on a giant scale. Back to camera shop. Charger seems to have worked so buy it after protracted negotiations over how much it should cost. ( they knew I needed it!). Horse and carriage were waiting ( no escape) and he takes us on a circuitous route back to the Luxor Temple. Negotiate price to say goodbye to the driver and then look at Luxor Temple very briefly from the outside! Clive wants to go into the smartest hotel in town so we walk in to the Winter Palace Hotel and pretend to be honoured guests. Very grand! Not my style though. Fending off various sellers we head back over the river.
I had discovered by now that my mobile had disappeared. Not sure how but from out of my bag. It could be worse..like passport or money, or camera. We will replace somehow. Luckily there are two of us and Clive has his mobile which right now is quite precious !
Sightseeing for the day done I spend hours at the internet cafe rewriting diary days lost on the phone`s memory ! Then we research place for our tyre changing which we will do tomorrow.
Catch up with Ian`s news in the evening. He had a very long trip down from Cairo doing Cairo to Luxor in one day. He had had a much worse time with the police who had led him along strange roads. He was in a convoy for some of the way; something we had somehow avoided. Perhaps it was Clive`s language skills again.
Luxor... 1st Nov Clive writes
After a tough ride yesterday we got up late and had a good breakfast in the hotel gardens. Then ventured out for the boat trip across the Nile from our hotel to Luxor town and the Temple of Karnak. Nina’s camera battery would not charge so first priority to get a new charger. Arrive at quayside to be met by usual scrum for the ferry. Clive decides to spend extra 20p and hire a motorboat for the crossing, Nina prefers the local atmosphere and waits for the ferry.
Once across we hire a horse and cart to go round various shops in the dusty streets to find elusive battery charger. After 6 shops we give up and head for the temples of Karnak. Not far out of town, about half a mile are the impressive temples. Spend an hour doing the tourist bit, photos etc and leave. On our exit notice a camera shop... yes it had a battery charger. So return to town happy, and head for old colonial hotel, The Winter Palace. Wander round the hotel, very upmarket, very colonial with manicured gardens, lots of polished wood and brass. Decide against lunch there but go next door to the modern sister hotel and have a buffet lunch. Sit down to lunch and notice Nina’s mobile phone is missing... last seen at breakfast and work out must have gone before or whilst on the ferry. So frantic calls on Clive’s phone to block calls etc.
2nd Nov Thur
Slowly sorting out loss of mobile and have got camera battery charged. Weather cooler and it is off to the valley of the Kings. We decide to go on my bike. Its about 10kms. Costs £7 for 2 to get in. Egypt is not expensive. Though the endless back handers probably mount up. We give them a one Egyptian pound. No coins here and one Egyptian is worth 10p. Think a tenth of the cost back home.
Our tomb ticket says we can go to 3 tombs out of the total. We follow lonely planet advice and go to the three best recommended. Tutankhamen is extra. Each tomb has a keeper who will, with a bit of monetry encouragement, not stamp your ticket ( so you can visit more than your alloted 3) and even allow non flash photos. We are impressed by the art work on the walls, the hieroglyphics ( thanks Bev, glad someone is reading this rubbish) Must have been stunning 3000 years ago. They are predominately in blue, yellow, red and done on gypsum plaster.
In the afternoon we are seeing to the bikes...to be continued.
Off we went to the tyre shop We had the tyres and we took off the wheels while the man did the tyre levering. No machine. We attracted a small crowd. Next door ,on the street( everything happens on the street), were men playing dominoes. We were brought pepsi`s. Two hours and £5 later all was done. Off to get petrol....£5 filled both our bikes up and we are ready for tomorrow.
Every time we leave or enter the hotel we are walking down a back street. Ladies in black are sitting in their doorways and children play (or beg!). I spied a donkey inside one doorway but all seems mostly organised inside. I wonder what they think of us?
We are wondering what to do about replacing my mobile phone. We are thinking of sending a packet to Khartoum. We tried to ring a hotel there. International calls are only possible from a phone shop or with a phone card. We ask for a £5 card. Highest denomination they have is £3. We try with that but something wrong with the code or number. It is impossible to find out. This is not England!.
Clive is practising writing on his phone so please excuse any duplication... here goes
Spent the morning touring the Valley of the Kings. Went up on Nina’s bike and parked next the police point who were very friendly and as always the first question asked was ` how much` followed by ` are you Muslim`. Went into four tombs and was impressed by the size and detail that was in each. Despite these tombs being over 3,000 years old some of the walls and ceilings had detailed hieroglyphics in .colour. The valley itself is compact, each tomb entrance only yards from the next but each disappears maybe a hundred yards deep into the hillside, a real feat of engineering when you think these were dug out so long ago.
We then returned for lunch and spent a couple of hours sorting out e mails and the web site.
Finally returned to our friendly tyre man and fitted the off road tyres which we had carried the 3,600 miles from Burnham Market. We are now set for the gravel and sand roads of the Sudan although they feel very skittish on the tarmac and neither of us enjoy the ride so lets hope they prove to be worth it and save my backside....!
The Africa Trip Nov 3rd to 5th Nov
3rd Nov Fri
We found out last night that there are 3 convoys per day, 7am, 11am and 1.30pm to Aswan. Opted for 11am as it is only about 150 miles to Aswan. No new tyres to carry, though are keeping one old one each. Clive is carrying an old back tyre and I carry a front tyre. This is in case of trouble with the new tyres ie that they cannot be repaired, our size tyres are not available here.
Find the start point of convoy. Only 7 vehicles, one bus,2 landcruisers, 2 minivans and us. Start promptly at 11am and off we go straight through all the checkpoints with no stopping, sirens blaring, guns hanging out the police vans etc. It was the only advantage. Our new tyres are rather wobbly. They are knobbly and ready for the dirt roads and feel strange on tarmac.
All stop for a break and we talk to a English couple in one landcruiser and a single dutchman in the landcruiser. He is well travelled. The English cruiser was the first British foreign vehicle we have seen in Africa. Couple are taking 10 months to drive to Cape Town. (http://www.footloose.com/). So far they have taken 2 months, as against our three weeks.
After the stop the convoy seems to disintegrate! No police behind and if they were in front we never saw them again. What the perceived danger was is also mystifying.
Sugar cane production has given away to maize and bananas. Vegetables as well. Donkeys carrying greenery not sure if its sugar cane, maize, papyrus or bamboo! Donkeys everywhere! Egrets in the fields just like we have seagulls.
We get good views of the Nile. Its still big and wide swiftly flowing. See an increasing number of feluccas sailing along. Probably with tourists aboard.
Reach Aswan and find hotel opposite Elephantine island. Views of feluccas trying to sail in no wind against the current and going backwards, just like in Overy Staithe. They do have oars!
4th Nov Sat
Lovely view from our hotel window to greet us. Breakfast of boiled egg and jam !! Off to the Nile Navigation company for our 10am appointment with Mr Fix It ala Mr Salah. We bump into the English couple of yesterday and a Swiss couple in a vehicle. We are all after tickets. Mr Salah , the magic fixer is not here, ( surprise surprise) his cousin has died which means he drops his work entirely. However there is a nice man there and we do get our passenger tickets for our 1st class cabin and hopefully reservation but no ticket yet for the motorcycles. We have been advised to get 1st class cabin as the alternative is on deck with all the rest plus livestock etc. The motorbike tickets cannot be issued till we have been to the traffic police and taken in our Egyptian number plates and drivers card and swapped them for a piece of thin paper! Then you give the port people this little piece of paper and then we will get the tickets...in theory!
One little hang up still to sort out. Something that Mr Salah was going to do...and that is the little matter of a yellow fever certificate. We were told in England this was not needed. However entry to Sudan requires it. We are hoping that we can buy a certificate at the port. Bit of baksheesh required. We had been hoping to do it further in advance but this is not possible so it seems, we are assured it can be obtained at the port.
We need to buy a cheap mobile and some empty plastic cans for extra petrol. Clive starts negotiating. He seems to love it. He will go up to some likely individual (like a coffee seller) and ask where can we get these things. The seller will of course welcome over a friend and very rapidly more people gather as they hear this English man speaking Arabic. This time we are soon in a taxi, the taxi driver having been invited over. His taxi is a very old ( 1970s?) Peugeot 504. He starts it by touching 2 wires together (no ignition), key is probably still in France. He grates it into gear (gear change on the steering column) and slowly we creep off. He drives quite often on the wrong side of the road but we are going so slowly it is not a real problem. I am in the back and Clive in the front. The taxi driver looks as rough as his taxi. In the back there are no window handles and no door handle on one side. On the dash board there is some filthy furry piece of cloth and none of his dials appear to work. However he is being very friendly and kind and we stop at various places/shops looking for secondhand/cheap mobiles and plastic cans. We loop round all the filthy dirt back streets of town and end up back where we started having not quite succeeded. We pay off the driver, who wants a double of course, and watch him try and start his car again. The starter and battery appear to be dying together!! We walk off and more negotiating /chatting by Clive in the petrol station rewards us with 2 empty 4 litre old oil cans and one 20 litre empty oil can. Buy 10p of petrol to swill around them and the residue is chucked into an open 40 gallon oil drum! The garage forecourt is covered with diesel so walking is a careful affair, and requires very close attention when entering on a motorcycle; yesterday on one bend from Luxor the road was awash with diesel apart from a metre wide track on the far right which fortunately we were near to.
We really had wanted two 10 litre cans but these will do. Back to hotel and then off to the Traffic police by bike. I forget my plastic Egyptian I.D card and have to repeat the journey. Back at the traffic police Clive has been keeping the entire police force happy with his banter in Arabic, Clive and the Captain exchange salutes, we get our piece of paper which we are assured is all that is required by the port authorities to allow us out, and depart .. so lets see if they are right on Monday.....
We then find an internet cafe. Its in the back streets and upstairs but everything works.
In the evening we meet with Ian and have a meal together on the edge of the river. We exchange news on how we are managing with our tickets etc.
Sunday 5th Nov.
Decide some sightseeing is called for as well as getting some washing done and the internet. Bought a new Nokia phone from a one of the hotel guys last night so that problem is out of the way for the moment. Took a while puzzling how to get the English language on it!
Catch ferry to Elephantine island , walk through authentic Nubian village to the other side, walk along the shore line via various bits of local rubbish., sheep, water, burnt palms etc till we reach where we think there should be another ferry. Men in rowing boat offer their services and after Clive has negotiated we are rowed across to Kitcheners island. Was quite a hard row as against a good fresh wind. Kitchener’s tropical paradise is a bit of a disappointment to me as not as lush and wonderful as I had been led to believe by the usually accurate lonely planet guide book. Then we have to negotiate a ride back!! Finally catch rowing boat back to Elephantine in order to sail onwards in a Felucca. We walk along the island again, till we reach the small Felucca that we are going to sail in towards the first cataract that Clive particularly wants to see. The wind is good and we have a good sail with our Nubian boatman. We go up to Seheyl island. There the current is really swirling. I would not like to swim there. We head back to Aswan.
Tonight we will meet with Ian again and then tomorrow its ferry day. Aswan to Wadi Halfa... next update from us will be from Sudan...
The Africa Trip Nov 6th to 12th
We have made it to Khartoum after 4 hard days covering 1000 kms . The worst aspect was probably the sand...Nov 6th Mon
Ferry day! Ian comes to our hotel to join us and the three of us head off to Aswan port Clive in the lead. The road takes us from the east bank of the Nile to the west bank over the original dam built by the British about 1900 and then finally back to the east side over the new High dam. We begin border negotiations. Backwards and forwards but we are relieved when we are able to buy the motorbike tickets. Still no carnet man though and we wait for about an hour watching the goings on. Eventually the senior man arrives, greets Clive like a long lost friend and then searches every file and every drawer in the office looking for the stamp. Fortunately he finds it in an envelope and sits. The Sudanese do not travel lightly. Everything including the kitchen sink! They seem to be all into the export business. Finally our man turns up and we are sorted with out further ado. Clive in the meantime has been enrolling the services of a quiet Sudanese who is hopefully going to facilitate our lack of yellow fever certificate. His father will be in Wadi Halfa.
We then get our bikes and head towards the boat. It is moored such that there are two barges in between. Lorries are parked end on to the barges and their loads are being unloaded by hand. The scene is one of frenetic activity. Porters are carrying loads everywhere on their backs and shoulders: into the boat and into the hold of the nearest barge. Chaos! However we are led aboard and our cabins pointed out. Seem okay but no locks on the door. And where are the bikes going? Not into the hold of a barge along with all the sacks and cardboard boxes, surely? No, we are lucky: we are told they are destined for the passage way of our passenger boat. They are going to be with us. This is good news. For the moment we must sit and wait while the barges are loaded. They then get out of the way and then our bikes will be loaded. But what of the landcruisers? We know the Swiss arrived in the port but we can see no sign of them now. Nor can we see where any vehicle is going to fit on these small barges. Three might, but no more.
Bad news later. Bikes have to go on barge. We watch the barge fill up all afternoon. We are getting very anxious about where our bikes will go. There are 3 obvious spots for 3 vehicles but only gangway on a lean for our bikes. Clive pesters away and has a spot in mind. Finally he gets his bike and forces it on board. Then mine next, near Clive’s. Both have to be manhandled into position. Ian hangs back and finally makes it on. We think the barge is fully loaded but people and lorries with endless loads keep turning up and the porters work hard carrying it on to the barge or the boat. The hold of the barge fills and boxes, bags, sacks, washing machines, TVs keep being piled onto the top until we have two precarious mounds. Any swell and they will go overboard. We fear our bikes will be buried but can only watch, worried in the gathering dark as more and more is piled on top of the pile that began in the bottom of the hold. Finally the barge casts off after the 3 landcruisers are squeezed on sideways.5 vehicles had booked with tickets. 2 have been told they have to wait till next week... bet they`re pleased....
On board we are thankful for our cabin, 1st class, but more like 3rd in comfort! It is a sanctuary from the huge number of people on board. There are people and bodies everywhere. Top deck is infested, perhaps 100 people lying down up to the next person. Loos already stink and we haven’t set sail yet, and we hope the food did not poison us. Dark by 5.15pm it will be an early night. We still have not left by 7pm. Clive has found out that 4 bus loads of late arrivals on board have been deported from Libya....with all their belongings! There are sofas on the top deck that are travelling with someone! They got hauled up over the outside of the railings, up the side of the ship! Some cabins are piled high with luggage whilst owners sleep on the deck. All this on a boat far, far smaller than a cross channel ferry boat, Clive discovers it is supposed to carry 200 passengers, but we have over 500 on board... must call Health and Safety....
We depart just after 7.15pm, into the darkness of Lake Nasser, a beautiful evening with a full moon. Where`s the bar....Don"t worry about that...just hope the captain can see all the islands and rocks in the dark.
7th Nov Tues
We went to sleep early there being nothing else to do on this crowded boat. I slept ok but Clive not.
Discovered 1st class had its own dining area. Don"t think grand! We had some breakfast. Brown beans, flat bread, one boiled egg, salad. Sounds good but not really. This was after visiting the loo. Many, many more men on board so male loo not good according to Clive. Mine okay but squat was squalid to begin with.
Every nook and cranny of this boat is full of belongings even the passport office, where we have to hand in our passport, is full of televisions. The "passport office" is a cabin!
We pass Abu Simbel at a distance and then the boat stops and toots. We are on the official border. A small immigration vessel draws alongside and 3 men leave us, perhaps with our passports, all passengers have surrendered their passports to be collected on the quayside in Wadi Halfa....
Clive met the Captain, a wiry Sudanese man dressed in traditional Sudanese clothes, no cap or uniform you wouldn’t think him anything more than a passenger but all on the bridge stood in awe of him. When he wanted the viewing area by the entrance to the bridge cleared, it was done in an instant, without the usual nonsense.
We arrived about l pm. We had to first get a piece of paper from the man holding our passport in order to be allowed off the boat. There were 521 passengers on this small boat so this took at least an hour before all were done. We were some of the first ashore but probably some of the last out of the immigration area. It took ages to be reunited with our passports. Lots of beaurocracy and backwards and forwards. By this time all the foreigners/europeans were in a heap together. 5 from the landcruisers,1 French cyclist,1 New Zealand backpacker (older guy), 1pretty young female Japanese girl who had travelled overland from Japan to here, and us 3 motorcyclists.
There were also 4 Austrians and 2 Italians who were hiring cars from Wadi. Their tour company rep was very helpful to us all. The Sudanese appear very friendly and helpful.
Eventually we all loaded,11 of us, into a landrover. Gina need have no fears. Her landrover is a hundred times better than these landrover taxis. The doors don’t shut, a window fell out, no dials work etc!
Our "hotel" is a collection of mud huts inside a compound. The eleven of us share 3 rooms. 4 females go together!. There is sand on the floor and 4 truckle beds. The loo is a shed with a hole the size of a drain pipe in the earth floor. No water except in a fetch yourself bucket from nearby. The shower is a shed with a door where you can privately tip a bucket of cold water over your head.
We eat together with the dust blowing all around. My hair is probably thick with dust. It is not cheap. 3 times the price of Egypt we think. Electricity will go off at midnight and begin again at 10am.
We really hope the barge arrives tomorrow. Two nights here will be quite enough!
8th Nov Wed
I am writing this as Clive and Ian try and wash out some empty plastic cans they have bought by a water tank in our hotel compound. I have just swilled out a loo before using it! This morning I must have been lucky.
Last night our meal was presented without cutlery. There is none. Its bread and fingers. Breakfast was in the cafe. It was omelette inside bread in our fingers. That was okay.
Climbed a small hill to get the view and the lie of the land. There is a christian bit and a nubian bit who do not talk to each other and are about half a mile apart. We have to register with the police. This is done with the aid of our helper. We hang around. Its windy and sunny. Not too hot which is good.
Good news...the barge has arrived .We get a ride in a pick up to the port. The bikes are okay and manpower lifts them, one by one , down from the barge which is floating 1 to 2 ft higher than the quay.
Off to customs. Only carnet to do but it takes for ever. Finally done . It has taken about 55 dollars to get the bikes in! Then to hotel where we re pack and work out how to carry extra fuel , water etc. We are apprehensive about the road. We have ridden slowly from the airport on a sandy road but we made it!
The landcruisers took much longer as they could not be lifted down. They had to wait for the barge to move up the quay. They only just got them before dark.
We all eat together in the dark at the cafe. The electricity has failed for the whole town. The dust blows! We have to go off and get some torches. Enterprising Sudanese come round selling windup torches which we all buy. We eat with our fingers in darkness. Stars look good.! Once all the torches have been sold , the electicity comes back on. Chance or what ?
9th Nov Thurs
We were up at 6am, eager to be ready with the first light. Off at 7am. We have 200kms (120m) to do on sandy and corrugated roads. Up in the sky are 4 large birds of prey/vultures. We begin by not quite choosing the right track. Bit of wasted time but after that it was not a problem to find the road. Ian soon proved himself on his KTM. He could go faster than we wanted or could go. I was the slowest! I dropped my bike once in the sand and Ian had a little problem too. I have been on much rockier roads but never on such horrible corrugations. That lasted for about 150kms.!
We carried extra fuel and water. It was desert: hardly any people or animals. No houses, very empty. Hot. Not as I had expected from the map which shows us following the Nile. I had thought I would at least see some greenery!
After 80miles we did finally find the Nile and then a few villages. Smart mud walled compounds. Really quite well looked after.Very straggly villages and nice waving people. I get tired hands and wrists: Clive gets an aching back but Ian has whizzed ahead of us!.
But we make our destination, Abri. It is an untidy place beside a very brown coloured, fast flowing Nile. Our hotel is interesting!. We are the only guests. We are expected to share a room. I find that strange. One woman, one older man, and a young man. The loo is a wee bit better than our last one. Our room has a sand floor. We cannot find a place to eat so with our 2 stoves we make some kind of meal on a table in the sandy courtyard outside our room, from food bought in the town. Very limited choice. We feel like 3 dirty cowboys walking up the dirt street.
The one light in our room does not have a switch. It came on as it got dark. When will it go off? Locals play dominoes and Clive is chatted to by a Sudanese man who speaks very good English. Ian and I write our diaries. We have had a hard day and we have a similar day ahead of us tomorrow.
Nov 10th Fri
Up early and off at 7am. Another long bumpy day ahead. Trouble finding right road again and Ian gets stuck trying to cross some cultivated desert land as we correct ourselves. We push him out.
We have sandy patches, corrugations, villages with smiling people, glimpses of the Nile, rocks, sand and more sand, mountains with sand against them looking like snow. At first we got along well and even got into 3rd gear but then we hit some patches of sand and sandier surfaces. Ian rides through the sand more easily than us as his bike is over 100 KG lighter than Clive’s and 50KG lighter than mine but we are growing in confidence a bit! Too much could be dangerous! The people want us to wave. I have to take care, look at road first..."can I lift my hand" if so wave and look at them or wave and keep eyes on road or if conditions do not allow a wave then shout "hello"
So far we have ridden about 250 miles in two days or 16 hours riding all of it in 1st 2nd or 3rd gear. The bikes are absolutely covered in sand but appear to be coping well despite the temperature gauge often disappearing into the Red zone.
We see ahead our landcruiser friends! We are trying to make Dongola for the night but progress has been slower than we hoped and but it seems too far and we are persuaded to camp with the landcruisers. There are no hotels! We end up by the 3rd cataract of the Nile. All the children from the village come. Clive is lent a mattress to sleep on by one of the landcruisers which is squeezed into our tiny tent. We have hardly any food. There are hardly any shops! The brits give us some couscous and I make tuna and tomato mixture! We do have stove and saucepan and a teaspoon each. So we are advancing from the ‘eat with hands ‘situation.
We are all dirty. Not many washing facilities around. We also need power to charge things. My phone which was stolen could charge on my bike but Clive has no car charger for his. My camera battery needs a plug too.! However we have a good night camping
Nov 11th Sat
Break camp and off towards Dongola. It has hotels and things! We are searching now for a ferry to cross the river. Have to constantly ask " where are we, where is the ferry?" We thought it was at Kerma as per the map but when we arrive the locals say not here better at Argo. On to Argo then ,on this sandy side. The other side is more stony apparently, and therefore better for us. Clive and I are not fond of this sand! We are improving a bit. When the sand is not too deep its a bit like off piste skiing...easier if you can make your own track. Otherwise it’s a bit like ice skating...bit of a miracle that you are standing. The theory is to accelerate if your front wheel begins to wobble. "put on some power" and the bike will straighten up. It does! But it takes some confidence. Sand is soft though and in deep sand your handlebars have no effect on your steering whatsoever, so better get your line right to start with ... or prepare to pick it up....
We find the ferry in the end and go down an earth bank on to a muddy ramp to board a tiny boat. It takes 3 pick ups and us plus people. Nile is muddy looking and very fast flowing. On the other side the road is better and we get along faster. As I work my way out of a sandy patch I look up and find Clive parked and waving. He is standing on tarmac! Fantastic: and soon in Dongola where we find a hotel. We thought we could get the use of a shower but hotel wouldn’t. So we ate instead and washed in the loos there which were the most reasonable we had seen for days.
We then headed on. Prospects were some tarmac, 60 kms of sand, then tarmac again. At the end of the tarmac the landcruisers found us. Luke the dutchman was then some help and led us across stony desert on the right handside of the new road being constructed. To the left was the sandy road. Good for a while then down to new road under construction. We were allowed to go on it and vehicles not. We then spent the rest of the day bobbing on and off this road. It was the best place for us. Every now and then we had to go on the sandy road or we had to negotiate piles of gravel placed across to stop cars. These were sometimes quite fun and a challenge. Ian was always out in front. Clive got stuck once trying to squeeze round and so did I. I also during the afternoon dropped my bike twice, once in sand and once negotiating on and over one of these piles of gravel.
We made it to Abu Dom. Actually we by passed it because we found tarmac again. We have ended up in a roadside cafe where we have made our own meal on our stoves, and rented some outdoor beds. There is a cold water tap used for the nearby Mosque and some disgusting loos. But we are fine and our bikes are beside us. People helpful and friendly. We have ridden about 180 miles today mostly through soft sand so feel pleased with our efforts and looking forward to tomorrow where we are promised about 320 kms of tarmac and only 50 kms of sand... lets see and then Khartoum and a hot shower and a loo with a flush... bliss.
Nov 12th Sun
Bliss, oh heavenly bliss I have at last been able to wash my hair after a whole week. My curly hair was tangled and thick with dust!. We are in the Al Firdous hotel in Khartoum, supposedly 4 star, but divide that by 4 to get an accurate picture, the price however is 4 star.
We began bright and early again...the three of us...to try and reach Khartoum. Should be tarmac all the way though there were rumours of a gap. We have 250 miles, about 400 kms, to do. Going faster its colder, 15c when we set off, and it is also windy which is making the sand swirl across the road. We have left the Nile and are heading south across more desert. Not much out here.
There are gaps in the tarmac, many! The road is under construction in parts and we are all expected to take to the desert. But we three bikes are allowed to travel on the construction surfaces over and round their piles of gravel like yesterday. Now and then we have to go off as well onto the sandy track but we keep our eyes on the road and the moment we can get back on it, we do. Across deep sand sometimes. Clive also got embedded in deep sand and had to remove all panniers to pull the bike out with the beginning of the tarmac in sight.
As we near Khartoum the desert becomes greener and there are camels, donkeys, large termite mounds and goats. Colourful people wander on either side. The Sudanese have all come across as friendly and helpful so far. Many can speak English, some of them quite well.
We come to Omdurman. It is seething...traffic, souk, goats, donkeys, cats you name it must we plough through with horns blaring and arms gesticulating to move over. Really it is the beginning of Khartoum so nearly there. Head for planned hotel. the Gobaa as recommended by lonely planet. Traffic very bad, more like London in the rush hour but without any order. Clive’s bike gets so hot the temperature gauge disappears off the Red so he eventually stops to let it cool a bit. I try and go through what looks like a puddle but realise that it is very deep too late and over I go, bike and me, like a horse and rider at a water jump. Absolutely filthy water. No real problem apart from embarrassment, wet clothing, wet boot (it was deeper than the top of my boot) and a broken indicator. People helped to pick it up and luckily I managed to ride it out. Clive had disappeared into the traffic looking for the hotel. So sopping wet I waited and waited for him to find me. The intercom system worked for a while but then didn’t. It doesn’t like buildings. Eventually we found each other and even later an hotel with hot water. The hotel claims to be 4 star but has a comfortable bed and working bathroom so we are relieved and collapse into the bath. I was very happy to get out of my wet and dirty clothes. We have made it across our first real hurdle..Wadi Halfa to Khartoum.
The Africa Trip Nov 13th to Nov 16th
13th Nov Mon
Having got ourselves and belongings clean last night, we have plodded and taxied the filthy, dusty streets of Khartoum for the better part of the day. I write this sitting in the Humanitarian Aid Commission. We are waiting .for one more stamp on a travel permit. One man upstairs could stamp it we feel...now. We have gone from building to building in various dirty parts of Khartoum to get this far. We have had to go back out to get 4 copies of 3 different pages of our passport and 3 copies of the form.Walking along to get the photocopies we step over various hazards on the dirt pavement: round a car being mended with the mechanic underneath in the dirt: round people sitting on plastic chairs eating or drinking out of filthy containers: past an old combi van, now not moving and side door gone, but with a deepfreeze inside and trays of eggs for sale at the back: past a lady selling cups of tea from a doorstep and through piles of rubbish. Traffic is busy in the streets and cross road discipline is not heard of.
We sat for nearly 2 hours and nearly got it but another person in another building has to stamp something so its a question of back tomorrow. Plan now is to leave tomorrow when we are done.
We got back to hotel and organised an oil change for the bikes a few yards down the road. So.. .on the pavement of a main street our oil was changed with attendant oil spillages etc. All waste oil hygienically disposed of a few yards away on the edge of the road in some container sitting inside a pile of tyres. The container was overflowing before our oil was added. We added the cardboard boxes of the filters to this oily pile!
When out in the dust and sand , Clive had suggested we all meet at the bar in the Hilton in Khartoum at 6pm. Because our oil change took longer than expected (Clive"s bash plate to blame) we were a bit late. The drinks were Pepsis...no alcohol has been on sale in Sudan since 1983. We said goodbye to Ian who is taking a different route in Ethiopia and to Werner and Claudia our Swiss friends from the desert. We may meet again on the way...who knows.
14th Nov Tues
We left Khartoum at 11am after 2 taxi rides to get our travel permits finalised. They cost US$40 each! Hope they look at them .
The traffic in Khartoum can be heavy but the drivers are quite calm and there is no frantic tooting. They do disobey the traffic lights when they can but all in all its not too bad. Khartoum is not a huge city but it is dirty and dusty...
We take the main road south, which is infact the main road linking Port Sudan with Khartoum. It is busy with large trucks , buses, pick ups ,a few private cars and landcruisers and us!. Wandering animals especially goats and donkeys are a worry.
Things improve when we take the left turn at Wad Mendani. Its us and the large trucks mainly. These large trucks are like double articulated lorries. One unit/engine pulls 2 trailers, each as long as our articulated lorries. The drivers are considerate and we do not have problems with them. The road is a bit bumpy in parts and we remain watchful for animals and potholes.
Today is the hottest day we have had. It reaches 40c ! I am glad that we have been on the move because it helps!
The road is almost straight and we are on a huge plain...fertile if it had more water. Gradually more crops are seen and maize in particular. Herds of cows, goats and flocks of sheep and finally I see my first real african village of round mud houses with peaked straw roofs.
We reach Gedaref before dark which was good going and have to opt for a "bad value for the money" hotel . The next hotel down was a real step down looking like a hostel and had a bucket as a loo. I just did not feel like it. It was filthy and full of men. There were padlocks on the doors.! So back to the expensive one.
Clive noticed and killed a cockroach on the bedroom floor. We then went down to eat. Clive went off to check the food in the kitchen and came back saying lets go and get a schwarma elsewhere. Off we go and find its quite a town! We eat a good schwarma in a place crawling with cockroaches. There were even 2 climbing around on the sweetmeats inside the glass counter! We find an internet in a rough building and afterwards holding each others hand walk back in the dark. There are street lights but they are not working.
Nov 15th Wed
We finally get out of town at 8m after getting petrol and water. The road is not busy. Tarmac,us and herdsmen everywhere. Its a flat savannah like plain. Good looking crops of maize and large herds of cows and flocks of sheep. Herdsmen on donkeys or camels or walking. Hot again, its 30c by 8.30am. Traditional round straw roofed houses dot the landscape and many people are walking by the road. Colourful ladies with loads on their heads.
The road becomes one of construction and then finally a dirt road. We slowly make it to the border. The border is rough. Dirt road full of holes, masses of small lorries, people and goats everywhere. Formalities though are not long and soon through. Ethiopian side just as chaotic and immigration is in a colourful mud hut. Carnets are dealt with 37kms down the road. We set off on a gravel road in the heat and dust.. A very small building heralds the customs post. We are told "wait till 3pm". Its 1pm. In fact a sit down is nice but we say (Clive says)" we have to get on". In the end we do not wait so long and all is done. No extra bits of paper.
Our gravel road is just that. In parts its thicker gravel and in parts "Chinese tar" ie baked mud which makes a good road if dry. We are not so fast in thick gravel. So on we go at speeds between 20mph and 40mph. Traffic coming towards us leaves us enveloped in dust. I am hanging back from Clive’s dust cloud as well. Overtaking (seldom luckily) is in a dust cloud till you come out the other side so we are totally blind for a few seconds and thus unable to see the road and any sudden hole. On one occasion as Clive emerged from such a cloud he was met by two donkeys walking up the road...
Every now and then we see the remains of a crashed lorry. One is recent and lots of people are salvaging the load.....sesame seed. The wrecks are the result of losing control somehow....l
We wave and wave. Lots of people walking along the roadside and masses of children in every village. The road climbs to 2200m and it is pretty. We see trees for almost the first time since France. A windy road, a pass and an almost alpine air. We are done with desert! The local housing goes from round straw roofed to square and the walls from mud to upright tree trunks. Later these are then plastered over with mud. Larger tin roofed houses appear looking quite alpine. People very smiling very friendly waving vigorously as we pass by.
We make it to Gondar. Long day. Some local boy climbs on top of Clive’s luggage and directs us to hotel. Not sure how Clive managed to ride his bike. It looked perilous from behind.
We eat nearby. Various dishes of spicy sauces and some extraordinary bread. It is green and comes all rolled up . It looks like lava with holes. Its soft and flat. Very mysterious.
16th Nov Thurs
Our young friend from last night comes round as we pack the bikes. He is called Dude. He is obviously bright and has picked up languages from tourists. Not at school though. Clive buys him a T shirt. We take picture of the castle before leaving and head south. Beautiful, sweeping tarmac road makes for great motorbiking. Virtually no traffic and lovely scenery. This lasts for about 90 miles we then fill up from the local syphon from a drum and stop for a pepsi. We are swarmed over by hundreds of children and appoint one to stand guard of the bikes. After a brief stop and distribution of small gifts we manage to escape. We then take a gravel road to Lalibela. Lalibela is where there are churches hewn out of the rock. We have both been told we must see them. But its 160 miles of gravel road with no hotels on the way. Clive now thinks its not worth it. I keep my thoughts to myself. I am trying to be optimistic. Maybe the gravel wont be too bad...maybe we will get tarmac after a while...maybe it will be less far.....I would like to see this place since everyone says we should but 160 miles of gravel road with all the dust is very daunting. We set off, full of petrol. Its not great, infact the road is very poor in patches and we hit deep holes and large stones. Its hard work and we get covered with dust when lorries come the other way. The scenery is stunning. We climb to about 3000 metres and stay between 2500 and 3000m. The countryside is different shades of green. A patchwork of small fields. Big eucalyptus often line the road otherwise the Ethiopians have denuded their country of trees. They seem to be felling the last 10% right now.
People walking along the road: with donkeys: with cows:with sheep:with an umbrella held up as a sunshade: with warm cloths round their shoulders and men in shorts....we have not seen men in shorts since Europe. This country is not totally Muslim . We can have alcohol again!
All males seem to carry a walking stick. It is used for herding and for carrying things. It is held across both shoulders , behind the neck.
We actually get along quite well though the bumping and the dust are tiring. Huge concentration needed as our wheels are constantly jumping around. Some places you can touch 40mph, others its below 20mph. Large stones, potholes and animals make us ever watchful. Donkeys are the worst...they can suddenly veer. We take 6.5 hours to cover the 160 miles. We get to Lalibela exhausted and find the Lal hotel where we request a beer before registration We eat early . More of that strange bread stuff.....
The Africa Trip 17th to 20th November
17th Nov FriBreakfast of omelette and toast and then off to the hewn churches...the sole purpose of being here. On the tourist trail! Our hotel is at the bottom of the hill. We trail up hill to the ticket office. We are not hounded particularly thank goodness. Appoint an official guide and off we go. 11 churches to see. Guide fine but I am not that interested in the religious bit. I like looking at the construction, where they are, the tunnels etc. We have to run the gauntlet of the poor, old, maimed etc as we move from one group of churches to another. (Clive says : The problem here as with Tunisia, Libya, Sudan and Egypt is one of over population and the burgeoning population growth. No one is addressing this issue for fear of causing offence but unless and until they do the situation of poverty, pollution, corruption and ultimately extremism will only get worse.) We do 3 hours which is good going and then collapse with a pepsi. Discovered that Lalibela is also famous for its bees and hence honey and "tej" (mead). We decide to give the Tej a bash tonight and in the meantime head off for the nearest internet cafe.
In the afternoon we decide to change some dollars and look for fresh milk so head up into town on my bike. Clive is riding with me on the back and notices my rear brake is not working at all.
I take out the brake pads and put oil on the pistons and leave over night. Dare not try to pump the pistons in case I can’t push them back in. Cannot totally dismantle as we do not have brake fluid.
18th Nov Sat
Wake up after a not such a good nights sleep. Stomach not quite right! Put brake back together but it did not work. Apart from my back brake I have a broken front indicator cover and I have lost my back mudguard altogether. It sheared one of the three bolts holding it on and the other 2 brackets broke off. Its must be lying somewhere in the gravel.
Today we have for sure 109kms of gravel. It turns out however to be greatly more than that. Not 109 kms to the main road but 107 MILES. However tarmac beckons and we have nice breakfast/lunch at midday!
But the tarmac with numerous potholes only lasts for about an hour. We are mortally disappointed and Clive gets very pissed off. He had been looking forward to a days ride on tarmac with sweeping bends and great views like the road we had from Gonder. Instead we had 150 miles of gravel and stones. I must mention birds. Up until this country we had been in desert lands and not many birds around for us to see. But here with the varied vegetation I am beginning to see some very colourful birds. I am using Gina’s book to look them up in.
The different hues of green, the patchwork of fields and the varied vegetation on the beautiful peaks and hills, make the country very lovely. We left Lalibela at 2300m, went up to about 3500m ( very cold) down to 1800m and up again etc. Spending night in Kombolcha at 1800m.
People are walking everywhere. With loads on their heads or backs, many barefoot with animals of all sorts (now including camels), with their babies, with friends. Big cows, indian style, with enormous horns walk sedately, usually with a collection of sheep or goats. Donkeys and camels carry loads, not people. Very smart horses are occasionally seen with rider. Some towns have horses pulling carts made from wood with car tyres and axles.
The road is a very busy place and we have to give it full attention. Potholes, animals, trucks,people and bends! The lack of tarmac means we are constantly in a dust cloud from a truck or bus, particularly on this main road.
We find a hotel for the night. Its not great but will do.
19th Nov Sun
We went to bed about 8pm! So up at 6.30am was not a problem! Beautiful morning in the countryside and already everyone is out and about. Our tarmac improves dramatically all paid for by the EU. Smart tarmac with smooth surface and no potholes. This lasts for about 100 miles and ends as we climb up and over a pass. More road construction and I drop my bike trying to navigate some rough and loose stones. Only a short bit and I was annoyed with myself. Poor bike has now got both front indicator glasses broken.
The people are gathering in either peas or beans. Left to dry and then loaded onto a donkey and taken off to be threshed out by hand. Saw cattle being used to thresh corn. They were just being made to stomp around in one spot. Sheaves of corn are also transported by donkey.
Its cold at the top of the pass and people by the road try and sell us nice looking warm hats.Up here I think that Ethiopia must look a bit like Peru. But I have never seen Peru so it is the Peru of books!
We finally stop for lunch in a hotel. It looks like a single storey shack!..I try firrifir...I discover that it is with the Ethiopian bread. Not sure that this Ethiopian bread agrees with me. Clive has already made his mind up...it looks like tripe...umm. Sometimes it has been offered looking green....I say no more... Ethiopia has a proper cuisine. We have tried "thibbs" and now "firrifir". They come in various forms!
We stay at 2800m for the afternoon ,only coming down a bit as we come into Addis Abbaba.(height about 2300m). Clive does his usual "I hate the centre of big towns" routine but we arrive at a good hotel as recommended by Lonely Planet guide. Time for a rest and a day off.
20th Nov Mon
At rest in Addis to sort Nina’s rear brake and catch up with e mails etc
The Africa Trip nov 22nd to nov 24th
22nd Nov WedThe rain in the night meant the main street was red with mud as we set off at 8am. But it isn"t raining any more and we make good progress on our way to Moyale...the border town with Kenya. Countryside is green, lush scrub. Extraordinarily there are less people. The road is empty of animals and people for small periods! Not sure why. Plenty of grass for cattle etc. Maybe it has only just greened up in the recent rains.
This main road to the border looks like a secondary road. It has no centre line but we are not complaining as it is tarmac: it maybe potholed in places but we get along fine. I enjoy looking at different birds (again) and all the shrubs etc. We see a couple of strange little animals and when we stop there is the sound of all sorts of birdsong.
We see very few vehicles and only one going our way. Definately not much trade between the 2 countries nor lots of tourists! Very basic villages when we see them and all traditional. We wave and they wave, including the men we see with old machine guns slung over their shoulders. Out hunting? There are local road blocks seemingly run by villagers. We are waved through after the bit of rope that was across the road has been lowered.
Ethiopia has been very free of police. No police road checks unlike Sudan and Egypt and Libya. Not at all beaurocratic. Border formalities easy as we discover again on our exit from Ethiopia at Moyale.
Moyale is divided in 2. We would get a better nights hotel in Ethiopia but we are keen to get an early start tomorrow and want to get border formalities out of the way today, so through we go and by 3pm we have a very low grade room in the hotel Sharif.
We had already begun asking about the road ahead. Terrible! Unfortunately it has been raining and this has made the muddy parts very difficult. Stories ranged from you can do it to "the water in the ruts will come up to your waist" At the same time there is a guy pestering us saying he has a truck. Then we hear that certain vehicles have not got through today...that they are stuck. The convoy that set off from Marsabit yesterday only arrives tomorrow morning so the convoy tomorrow which we wanted to follow has been cancelled. We also hear a truck yesterday was held up by 7 armed guys and robbed of all cash so the thought of going singly was a bit tricky. We have done well to get here and ferl that maybe we need help over this next 155 miles. If it was not raining we could have done it but with the amount of rain falling recently we felt we needed to do a deal and put the bikes on a 4 wheel drive. We meet a guy with suitable vehicle but he wants $300. This is of course extortion and we refuse but then notice he has taken a liking to Clive’s Sony Ericsson phone. So to cut a long story short we do a deal... Clive’s mobile phone in exchange for a landcruiser to take our bikes to Marsabit. As we load our bikes it pours which rather strengthens our decision.
This town is rather like Wadi Halfa...totally lacks amenities and is a dump. In the rain, down the dirt street we find a sordid place to have chips and omelette. We do get cutlery!.
23rd Nov Thurs
Bike and luggage loading continue in the morning whilst it rains a bit more. Loaded we leave town with Ali"s Dad driving, a soldier man with a AK47 to protect us, a mechanic man, and an odd bod. Clive and I are squashed on the front seat wearing our bike gear (no where else for it).
If we felt wimpish at not having been riding, it was soon ruled out as we encountered our first mud patch. Though we could perhaps get along on the side of this road for a bit it was really very clear that our bikes and ourselves would have got completely covered in red mud and we would not have made it to Marsabit for at least two days perhaps three. The mud was often a foot deep and stretched from one lake on the side of the road to another lake on the other. There were many very serious muddy areas and on one occasion the landcruiser almost stopped in the middle but with all wheels frantically driving it just found some grip to keep going.
As we lurched along we were able to look at the pretty green countryside and all the pretty birds, much to Clive’s chagrin. Saw all sorts of birds and a few animals including some kind of monkey and what Clive thought was a Bongo. Lots of flocks of Vulturine guineafowl that were reluctant to fly.!
We navigated some very tricky bits of mud: in one there was a truck stuck which limited our choice of route. In another there was another truck which was getting assistance. That meant limited space too, as 3 trucks were waiting at the other end to get by.
The Dad did well. He was calm and confident and the landcruiser did the job. It took us 11 hours to make the 155 miles...average 14 miles per hour. We had no long stop, and it was tiring bumping along and worrying about the bikes in the back.
Reached Marsabit in the dark and the hotel said it was full. Clive however got us some rooms that had just been vacated, so no sheets but no problems as we had sleeping bags. Eat, shower and to bed wondering how the bikes are(unload tomorrow) and listening to an African frog chorus/concert from under our mosquito nets.
24th Nov Fri
We wake up early anxious to see if it has rained. We do not want rain on this next bit of road as it has muddy patches as well. Apparently it has not…looks a bit drippy to me! The landcruiser with our bikes turns up at 8am and we unload the bikes. They are alright. There are burn marks from the ropes (hand plaited sisal) but that is minor. Off we go, rather anxiously, with 161 miles to do on gravel road with wet patches. In town the road is wet red earth. However we gather confidence as we realise that it is drying. The sun is shining at the moment which is good. Outside Marsabit there are local people with their animals. They are dressed traditionally in their beads and coloured cloths. Even the men are colourful with feathers in their hair and decorations/beads in their ears. This is not for the tourists. They are friendly and wave. Clive reckons they would beg if we stop but I don’t think they all would..maybe some.
The road has been wet but mercifully the wet patches are okay if we go slowly down a drying wheel rut. We know that after 50 kms things improve. We are doing a steady 20mph. It is hard work, especially over the corrugations. I do not like them! Suddenly a large deer (Bongo?) dashes across the road. We also see baboons and Dik dik. Clive spots a Zebra but it melts into the bush before I see it.
Rain threatens ahead and we do find some wet road. It is not so nice but again lucky as it does not last. Local people are enjoying the recent rains and we see naked men splashing in the muddy pools and even a young boy , naked, in a puddle on the road. The rain does us one favour….it stops the dust and that was a blessing.
We keep going…8 hours minimum at 20mph. We cross a bridge that has a raging torrent under it. Find out later that a week ago the whole bridge had been under water and impassable. In another place there is some flood water across the road which we negotiate (with ease!).
Arriving in Isiolo we look for an hotel. Doing so we bump into a Dutch couple who lead us outside town to a hotel they own. Its good and the town had looked a dump so we stay. The hotel is called Gaddisa Lodge ( N:00:21,669 E:037.36,226). They looked after us very well. Bikes were cleaned in the morning and we had good food and room.
They told us that these rains have gone on far longer than normal and that we will never see Kenya looking so green and lush.
The Africa Trip Nov 25th to 29th Nov
25th Nov SatWe had a good breakfast and leisurely start . Bikes had been cleaned which was nice. It was hot and sunny. We are now very near the equator and will go over it /through it, this morning. Off we go to Nannuki. The hotness soon disappears as the road climbs round Mount Kenya. The locals are busy in their fields and by the roadside where even the verges are cultivated with potatoes. Instead of donkeys the good old bicycle is the preferred form of transport and we see many a bicycle loaded with three bags of potatoes. They must be very sturdy and have a strong frame. They are often being ridden as well. In Nannuki we stop for a while and do internet. Then on to Nyeri. Clive has a certain destination in mind, the Outspan Hotel where he came in his youth. Clive’s father was in the hotel business. Rain threatens and we put waterproofs on…myself completely and Clive only his top. He gets soaking wet as it rains heavily before we reach our destination. Nearing Nyeri we see what I think are Coffee bushes. The green countryside is very pretty and Jacoranda trees are in bloom. The hotel is reached and a price for the night negotiated. This was the home of Baden - Powell for three years and he is buried a short distance from the hotel. A small annexe to the hotel is a museum to him and the scout movement. The garden is very nice. We are on the edge of a national park.
26th Nov Sun
More rain in the evening but we wake up to a good view of Mount Kenya from our balcony , across the very lovely garden of this , the Outspan Hotel. Can at last see its peak. It is about 5700m high which puts Mont Blanc to shame. Its also funny to think that we are at 1800m which is higher than Val d`Isere (Gina note!) It means that the weather has been very pleasant usually but sometimes cool as we climb higher.
This we do after breakfast when we head off to see where Clive lived for the first 10 years or so of his life....in Nyahururu (Thompsons Falls). The falls look good and we take a steep path down to the river. Pictures taken and it was a hard climb back up with much puffing and panting from Clive and myself. Clive showed me all around.
Then off to Nakuru for the night and hopefully internet that does not cost 30p per minute!
Countryside green, hilly, full of valleys; moorland up high is quite cool and it rains again. Villages are dirty looking places with a line of shack shops etc each side. Tarmac road runs through the middle but it is dirt on each side and in side streets. People everywhere...many on bicycles with either a load of veg etc or a person on the back rack. These back racks must be strong..one had 2 people on it. The cyclists must be fit too as this is not flat countryside.
As I write this in an internet cafe it has started to deluge outside...we cannot go anywhere at the moment!!!
27th Nov Mon
We began the day early by visiting the Nakuru National park. The hopeless bunch that we had picked to guide us turned up in a jeep that did not have the right entrance ticket for the park; so we had to change into an ordinary car ! However in the end we saw a good variety of animals and birds. We did see a lion sleeping ..but only just, and we did see a leopard asleep on a tree branch. White rhino and black etc. No elephants as not in this park. Clive was disappointed but then he has seen some of the best !!
With rain threatening, again, we rode our bikes up hill on a dirt road for 5 miles to see over the edge of the Menengai crater. I was dead worried it would rain and I would never make it back down on slippery red mud. But it did not rain and at the top we found a large signpost with mileages to place round the world. The view down into the crater was good.
Poor Clive was suffering from a head cold today and not feeling tremendous. He lead us steadily down the hill and then off onto the main road to Nairobi. This should have been an easy ride according to the map. About 100 miles on tarmac. But the tarmac was at first so bumpy that it made the road between Fakenham and Burnham Market seem flat as a pancake. Then we had a better bit and then it deteriorated into a muddy construction road with lorries coming up the hill getting stuck. We picked our way gingerly downhill ! Finally approached Nairobi and headed to a westerly suberb called Lavington where there is a place called Jungle Junction run by a German. We had booked a room there. Turned out he had let the room but had found us somewhere else to stay. It was fine…Didi’s .
I was going to see if the German..Chris could do my back brake ,,,which is still not working. He could, but not till the next afternoon. We contacted the Wainwrights at this stage . He is
It poured with rain again in the night.
28th Nov Tues
Had decided that first priority was to book flight home so off to a travel agent in a very well guarded shopping centre. I am slightly dumbstruck by all the security. Guards everywhere guarding properties. Whilst sorting ticket we make contact with a mechanic (having gone off Jungle Junction), and head to Karen district and Rick. Very helpful, with a shed full of BMW’s and very willing and able to fix my brake which he did. His tel. number is Kenya (0)722 529 810 . He also saw to Clive’s back brake which also was not operating entirely correctly. No charge! Whilst waiting for Rick we had bumped into our South African driver guy again. What fate and what was he doing in Karen!! He told us of a Dutch girl who is driving a tractor all the way from the Netherlands to Cape Town.. Guess what, we saw her on the road as we left Rick’s. ! It was a small blue tractor and she has rigged up a camping space over the arms at the back.(www.tractortractor.org).
Back to get tickets with back brake working and then off to Thika which entailed riding straight through the centre of Nairobi. Henry came to meet us at The Blue Post Hotel and led us to his new house on his farm. He and Louise are running Real IPM , a centre where they are breeding natural predators (for red spidermite in particular). Louise has a mission to eliminate the use of chemicals ( at least on roses!)
29th Nov Wed
Had very nice supper with Henry and Louise and a good nights sleep. Sorted what we were going to bring home (things we don’t need!), see to bikes and make a list of what we need. Its my bike that has one or two things that are needed. Clive’s has survived very well. They are both filthy, covered in red mud.
Do internet and am now signing off till we pick up the trip again on or around the 13/14th Dec, when we fly back here to pick up our bikes and continue with our journey to Cape Town.
The Africa Trip 12th to 17th Dec
12th Dec Tues
Today we begin our journey back to Kenya. We have worked hard on paperwork etc whilst back and sorted out various things. Bought bits for my bike and spares for both. Tyres as well since we would have problems getting them in Kenya. Dad comes and picks us up and the journey begins. To King’s Lynn to catch a train to Hatfield where Sam picks us up and takes us in to Fulham, London. I have found the best place to carry my two tyres is round my neck! I probably look strange but its easier. Clive, strong man, holds his by one hand. We have supper in Fulham with Sam.
13th Dec Wed
Leave Sam at 6.30am with tyres! Get to Gatwick with no problems. Find out we have to chuck the camping gas cylinders. We thought they could go in checked in luggage. Then they wanted us to prove we were going to exit Kenya. No exit ticket was a problem. Explain we will be riding out on a road on our bikes. Not happy with that. Luckily Clive had brought his carnet with him and that provided sufficient proof apparently that we were not going to seek asylum in Kenya. The fact that we were carrying our tyres had no impact. Having battled through check in we then had a big queue for security with visions that my toothpaste would be conviscated! Took ages but no fuss about toothpaste nor a cigarette lighter that I have for our stove. These things could have been taken off me. We had to check in my little rucksack which contained a 250gm jar of marmite. That is not allowed in hand luggage, though cheese is. The jar is now more likely to get broken.
More "herding" in Doha and a busy airport. We have to go through a security machine immediately after leaving the plane. All peoples from all nations here. We have 4 or more hours to kill.
14th Dec Thurs
Tired indeed after a night of flying, but Henry was there to meet us which was a welcome surprise. So we piled into his landrover with our tyres (all baggage made it) and snoozed while Henry made a few calls around town and then back to Thika. As we drove out of the airport we saw several giraffes feeding, which was a nice sight. It is drier than when we left which is good for us. Henry said we were being very lucky with traffic as we drove to Nairobi from the airport. Just after us, were coming 10 African presidents for a Great Lakes conference. So all the traffic was being kept moving and all the junctions had police at them waving us on. Clive told me to wave regally!
When we were unpacked Henry led Clive and I on my bike into Thika to get my broken bolts on my bike drilled out. It was not easy but in the end we had success. Back to Henry’s and spent a while putting bits back on the bike. Repacked, slept some more and now looking forward to being back on the road....tomorrow.
15th Dec Fri
Good nights sleep! Got up to have breakfast and say our goodbyes to Henry. He then realised he had forgotten a meeting and suddenly had to dash off after a hurried good bye. Thank you Henry and Louise for being so kind and looking after our bikes and us so well.
We set off and headed for Nairobi, a road now well travelled by us! Having looked at my map of Nairobi the obvious road to take round Nairobi was the Outering road. It was one enormous traffic jam through the shanty towns of Nairobi.. We took to the dusty and bumpy verge at times; but if you did that you were not always sure you could get back on the tarmac. Lorries and cars did the same! Having got half way along this route Clive decides he can"t take any more and takes a right towards the centre. Just as full of traffic at times and 3 sides of a triangle instead of one! Henry, we should have asked you!
We got on the Mombasa road eventually and after 65 miles we got a very good tarmac road sponsored by the EU. In the beginning it was very busy with trucks going so slowly over the potholed parts of the road. Apart from the bumps slowing down the traffic, there are also the sleeping policeman and police checks. When ever there is a village you will get a sleeping policeman as you enter and leave. Sometimes there are more. Police checks happen regularly. They have not been a problem for us...we are generally waved through. Sometimes we get stopped but so far no worry, ie no bribery and corruption as far as we are concerned. Unlike the Ukraine, where we were in the summer, whose police trumped up reasons to "fine"us.
The countryside is green. Much greener than normal. Thorn trees and grassland give way to baobab trees and scrub. Where it is more fertile there is farmland, otherwise we see herders with their animals.
As we near Voi we travel between the Tsavo East and West national parks. It is rolling countryside with plenty of bushes etc. Clive spots an elephant and we turn back for me to see as I had missed it. There it was, flapping its ears and all covered in red dry mud. Big one. Saw some zebras too....
We reach Voi and get a room. Then negotiate a day’s safari in the park. On going out in the dark in the town we are told "to stay near the lights". Otherwise everyone friendly! Our bikes are being guarded , hopefully , by some Masai men!
16th Dec Sat
When we woke up we found pools of water on the floor. Neither of us had realised that it had poured with rain in the night. This hotel seems to still have the roof area under construction so there had been a lot of rain coming through. Much mopping up going on as we went down to breakfast early, to be ready at 8am for our driver.
He did turn up and in the right vehicle. All went okay till I asked for the roof to be opened (so we could stand and view). It would not open until Clive put his shoulder to it. Transpired later that the driver had been unable to open it before. He knew it might not work! After that all fine. Did not see any rhino but we did see a pregnant monitor lizard,a secretary bird, a maribou stork, and a cobra snake, amongst other good things like hippo at Mzimo springs. All these were surpassed when late in the day we saw 2 leopard on the road, very close to. They could have jumped through our windows as we took photos!
After that there were problems..We had to leave the park by 7pm. We were about 10kms from the gate at 6pm when major bang and we have a blow out in back tyre. Driver does not seem that clued up and we help. Spare is underneath and required my knowledge of my old pick up to release it. However, not good news...spare is on wrong size hub and does not fit. So we are in the gathering dark, in a wildlife park with man eating lions in the area, in our shorts, and then the malarial mosquitos get going. I do have anti mosi spray with me so we cover ourselves in spray first. Then back to helping our driver put the old burst tyre/wheel back on. Only thing to do is proceed onwards on burst tyre. Its a dirt road with stones. He mobiles his mates until he announces his mobile is out of credit, at least we have our uk mobiles and there is a signal. Now pitch dark as we crawl onwards at 5 mph. Amazingly the spent tyre stays on the hub and after an hour we reach the gate. Its now 8pm. Park people had not leapt to the rescue! Taxi apparently coming.....and coming! Eventually it arrives at 9am and we get back from our safari at 10pm! Our driver was upset at the tyre problems. But he should have known his own vehicle better!
2 drinks, some food and to bed..
17th Dec Sun
We have received bad news over night via text.
After paying our guards (the 2 Masai men in traditional clothing) for guarding our bikes for 2 nights and a day, we leave Voi and head for Mombasa, on the coast. It is a cloudy day and there is a small threat of rain. Because its cloudy, its cooler which is better for us. Even so it is 28c. The road is good and the truck traffic not bad. Few private vehicles. Green scrub land mostly, with herding and some farming in more fertile parts. Scattered settlements seem to be making a "cash crop" from producing charcoal. Bags and bags line the roadside either waiting to be picked up or to be sold. We see Masai people beside the road now and then. I think there are far less children beside the road compared with Sudan and Ethiopia. Clive may not agree! Maybe Kenya has got population growth under control?
Our good road suddenly has a bad patch and then some more as we near Mombasa. The good road has ended and we have to bump along a broken tarmac road which at times becomes dirt or under construction. Trucks crawl along swerving around but small van taxis are a pain as they try and get along as quickly as possible. At one point (we drive on the left in Kenya) a bus coming from the opposite direction takes to our left hand dirt, potholed hardshoulder of road, just as an impatient taxi travelling our way takes to the same potholed hardshoulder. They are travelling into each other. I continue behind a truck whilst Clive overtakes it not knowing that the bus which has gone over to our hard shoulder is going to take a dive back to the other side of the road and that the taxi ,which has overtaken on the inside , will appear beside him. It all happens at very slow speed so its not really a problem!
We do arrive in Mombasa.! Safely! Clive wants to find some symbolic tusks over a road. Asking along the way we find them and then its off to Fort Jesus, a vast Portugese built fort using coral as a building material. Built in the 1590s. A local guide latches on to us and watches us eat lunch. We pay for him to takes us round the outside. A waste of money as all info in our lonely planet guide. One does pay up just to get rid of them! Also had to pay guy to look after the bikes but that is worth the £1.50.
Its hot! About 35c. Go on to Bamburi beach hotel, which is just north of Mombasa. Have a swim! Very warm but shallow. Coral reef offshore. Lots of beach hotels, one after the other. This area seems to be attractive to white single older men and possibly single older ladies as well. Those looking for a partner...? We were watching as we ate our evening meal.!
The Africa Trip 18th to 22nd Dec
18th Dec MonLate breakfast for this is a non moving day. Our plan now is to spend a week (for christmas) further up the coast , north of Malindi. Today we have a few things to do before moving north. In between internet etc we went to a crocodile farm. Clive, a bit reluctant to come, enjoyed looking at the mass of small crocs all lying together. The big ones were lying around looking very evil with their little eyes on you.. There was a little sideline in small creatures like spiders, tarantulas etc in small cages. This was not good. The cages were filthy, the specimens poor or even dead. Definately not well presented!
The internet cafe was suffering from a bad phone line. Wasn’t working at all for most of the morning. Then it did and then it didn’t. We lost emails we had written as the line went down.
It is hot outside..too hot to do much. We try and fix Clive’s horn which is not working and I move my camera mount to the otherside of the handle bars: we are driving on the left here and I have been missing the chance of photos because the camera is pointing the wrong way.(had been mounted for right hand driving).
Our next door neighbour watches us do these odd jobs. He is a single older English man out here for six weeks. He is accompanied by a young black man today. We probably disturbed them as we arrived back!
19th Dec Wed
Cloudy day but nevertheless hot. Set off towards Malindi. Clive has soft front tyre so stop in garage to put air in. My bike then would not start!. Battery went "click". Why/how did it start 10 mins ago? Any way , this means unpack to get seat off to get to battery. Before I do that I have to push the bike to some shade (Clive insists). I manage to drop it as the sidestand had come up.! Plenty onlookers help pick it up. By this time I am dripping with sweat.....dripping. In the shade its spare tyres off, bag off, other bag off, seat up, tools out.... Nothing seems wrong, further tighten connections and bike starts. Seat on, check still starts and then repack, get on and "click"! Everything off again! I am SO hot. Take battery leads off and on. Starts so leave it running (ignore fact bike gets hot if not moving) and repack all over again. Been alright since but I don’t think I have dried out all day! Not long after we got going again ,it rained on us. Tropical showers that should not be happening now. Got caught without waterproofs so wet from rain and sweat.!The road is tarmac but very potholed in parts. Not too much traffic and so we wriggle our way along taking care to spot the potholes before we overtake. People walking by the road with various loads....ladies carrying them on their heads, men by bicycle.
We called in at a smart place called Hemmingways and had a drink. Clive has stayed there in the past. It had a very lovely beach. Apparently the author Ernest Hemmingway was there and did go fishing in Watamu.
We are now just north of Malindi in Mambrui . Its full of Italians as is Malindi itself. Our little house has limited electricity, no phone, and no telly. We are going to have to find somewhere to eat on Christmas day!
20th Dec Wed.
Begin with a swim. Still feel hot! On bikes into town, Malindi, to have breakfast ( we have no food in our self catering place) and to go shopping. We pass many bicycles with various loads on board. One had a table and another some long pipes:others carry water in yellow plastic containers and even more have sacks of charcoal;big sacks and they could be carrying 3 or more!
It is becoming very obvious that this is a very Italian area. Italian African/holiday destination. The cafe we go to is all Italian and there are many Italian tourists. Do internet, and then research where to go for our christmas meal. Old Man and the Sea seems the spot .We have now looked at various places, including Hemmingways. There can be two different rates. One for residents of Kenya and one for tourist. Hemmingways believed we were residents of Kenya as we told them we had just ridden down from Nairobi!! Where we are staying only has tourist rates and is thus double the price for christmas meal. Old Man and the Sea has one rate. Many do not believe we have come all the way from UK by bike so we can say we are resident in Nairobi....
Then we wander in the direction of hardware shops and try to get Clive’s bikes horn fixed: it stopped working in Nairobi and it is badly needed!!. We do famously well and in dripping heat we find the right little street with the aid of a bicycle repair shop man! One thing always leads to another if you keep asking. I even wandered off and in the end found a nut to fit my bolt for my back mudguard. Finally we went shopping in a supermarket.(Had to leave the shopping to the end because the butter would melt! ) We were assisted all the way round the shop. Very reminiscent of my mothers shopping days, I am sure. Step back, tell them what you want and it is packed for you. Service.! However, they could not believe we were packing all this lot onto motorbikes. Having emptied our panniers we had loads of room for shopping for two.
No one goes shopping by motorbike! But it was easy.
21st Dec Thurs
Clive intends to clean his bike, I fancy swimming and reading which I do for a while. Get bored and fix light on my bike and decide I might as well clean mine!! Not so thoroughly as Clive’s.
Weather overcast but still at 33c. What happens if full sun? Do a whole lot of lengths up and down the pool. I have looked at the beach but tide always at wrong point. Tomorrow am.
22nd Dec Fri
Swim in pool and then walk to the sea to see if we can find fisherman and have a swim there. Tide is out and it is all rocky so no swim. Clive negotiates for man to get us a lobster for tonight. We will see........
Go into town on the bikes to shop etc. Spend nearly an hour in a bank queue because the ATM is out of action because their phone system is hopeless.
We were pleased to get an email from Ian and a text yesterday. He is okay, but with a badly damaged little toe and much bruising. Had a terrible time being stitched up without any anaesthetic but managed to contact the Irish Embassy who drove 10 hours to rescue him. He has subsequently managed to fly himself and the damaged bike to Cape Town from Lusaka, so will be home in time for Xmas and to recuperate.( See you there Ian ) It seems that the Irish Embassy were very helpful with sorting damaged bike and extricating Ian from the situation. The cyclist admitted his fault.
I think we will now update after Christmas as we are now in Malindi and not moving until Boxing Day . It is then off to Tanga ( that most famous of towns as it was Clive`s birthplace many years ago!! )
HAPPY CHRISTMAS everyone. We are looking forward to getting going afterwards; not least to getting out of this heat.
Spare a thought for our hospital charity and if you can donate anything the details are on our opening page.
After Christmas its Tanzania and then Malawi and ...........
The Africa Trip 25th Dec to 29th Dec
25th Dec Mon
Christmas evening and we are champing at the bit to get on the road again. We leave tomorrow morning.
We have had a strange but relaxing Christmas. To me it feels odd, being in a hot climate. I want the cold!
The Kenyans are "calm" about Christmas. Decorations are low key. That has been nice. None of the christmas fever. Just a Happy Christmas and then lets get on with life.
Tonight we ate in the restaurant here, in this complex and then went to "an acrobatic show", in the disco bar! We came upon it by chance. Its was good. 7 or 8 young Kenyans performed various acrobats for us. They were amateurs but full of life, energetic, talented: it had mistakes which endeared us to their performance. Well done to them. I could imagine them practicing their routines on the beach.
Earlier in the day I had gone for a little walk outside our perimeter. Each beach resort has its own area with a fence or wall around it for security, guarded 24 hrs a day. For a while I was left alone but then a little boy came running up and without much delay asked for 100 Kenyan shillings. Straight out! He was rather surprised when I showed him I only had swimming goggles and sun cream with me!
We have had no problems going out and about on the bikes or in Malindi. The problem is very much for tourists who do not have our freedom to leave places like this in their own transport.
26th Dec Tues
We are in Tanzania! Another milestone. Clive has been very excited all day about getting here. This is Clive’s birthplace. He has not been here since he was about 6/7 years old.
We began today quite early, at 8am. 33c as usual (night and day seem to be the same temp). So try not to exert, but by the time the bike is packed, I am so hot....again.! All goes well until south of Mombasa. We caught the ferry off Mombasa island. It runs every 20 mins. Roasted in the sunshine! Head on down south looking for somewhere to make a food stop. Clive stops to talk to me just beyond a junction. We decide to take the turn. Clive says "lets take this shortcut path" Saved a u turn. Suddenly see Clive’s bike hop sideways. Must have hit something. Clive upright but surprised. See Clive move a rock and think he hit the rock . "Now where do I go?" But its okay. Later in a nice cafe we discover Clive had hit something hard and he had big dent in his exhaust and a bend on his crash bar. Perhaps lucky. He had hit a hard upright pipe concealed in the grass on the edge of the path.
Head on towards the border. Lots of small settlements. Straw roofed , mud walled houses. Making charcoal to sell. Tarmac road good and traffic minimal as we near the border. Formalities good but bikes sit in hot sun as we go from customs to immigration to police on each border.
Then head onwards on the expected dirt road. Its very good and no problem. However after 20 miles I hear a scraping noise and my back mud guard has broken off again. Can’t take the vibrations. Thats the second one. Take photo for BMW and give broken mudguard to onlooker. Not long after the water bottle (newly purchased 5l,) comes bouncing off Clive’s bike. I shout down the autocom but as usual its not working properly (was a few minutes ago). Clive does not notice. I pick it up. Somehow prop it behind me and expect Clive to have noticed I am not behind him. But no. He thinks I am being moody! It takes me a while to catch him up. Apologies. In the meantime a very big black cloud is threatning rain on this bit of dirt road. We do not want that. Amazingly it does not happen.
Houses here similar to Kenya but I detect that the Tanzanians appear more confident. We shall see. Smell salt fish in several villages.
Arrive in Tanga and find an hotel. Clive’s bike does not fancy its side stand and falls over outside the hotel. It has not been Clive’s bikes day. Now he has a broken indicator cover. He mends that later with super glue.
Have a good meal. Televisions everywhere showing English football. Its like a religion, football. The border guards ask which team do you support...the hotel reception wants to know which team you follow etc. Its common ground....English football teams are followed the world over. By men, anyway! In every country we have been to so far.
27th Dec Wed
Forgot to mention yesterday that after washing my hair last night, it did not dry for ages due to the humidity. 2 hours on and it was still wet! It was nice to use unsalty water though....in our last spot in Kenya the tap water was very salty.
An uncomfortable night with a very noisy air conditioner. Very hot without...can’t win.
After breakfast off to change tyres. Follow helpful hotel man on his little motorbike. Via bank, who don’t want my Kenyan money(!) so then via bus station to do a bit of street money changing. Have to get the thousands right as its about 2200 to the £, and these guys are very sharp. Then to tyre changing. Unlike Egypt , where we were surrounded, the onlookers keep their distance and watch from a seat across the road....mostly anyway. Its hot of course and the poor guys hand levering our tyres are soon pouring sweat, and so are we. Job done and off to see yacht club where Clive remembers going to with his parents. Then the hospital where he was born. Building still there but needing attention. Then the church where he was christened. Then internet whilst it rains. It was just about the slowest internet connection we have come across yet. Failed to load photos though did try!
It pours with rain again in the early evening, rather upsetting our plans of going out to eat elsewhere by motorbike. Stay at hotel and suffer the very slow cooking time as advertised on the walls (minimum order time 45 mins) ! And so it was.....
Tanga seems a pleasant spread out town. My first taste of Tanzania. I like the feel so far,.. over Kenya.
28th Dec Thurs
With rainy clouds in the sky again we slowly left Tanga after a bacon and egg breakfast. On to a good tarmac road in rolling countryside.
Its not so hot , 5c less, which is nice. Green countryside with plenty of small trees. No animals to be seen even when it becomes more scrubby. We have found out that the weather here in Tanzania is not normal and that they have had rain far earlier than normal and plenty of it. So we are seeing a very verdant Tanzania. The Flame trees are just in flower and look lovely. Haven’t managed that right photo yet though!
I take photos as we go along. Its a bit hit and miss. The people would not let you take photos of them if you stopped. This way they usually don’t realise...but then I don’t always succeed!
Houses as in Kenya; thatched with mud bricks but some concrete with thatch roofs. Red mud/earth outside. Lots of people sitting around under the trees or in the shade. Plenty of colourful ladies with babies in bundles on their backs and loads on their heads walk along the road. Men with bicycles loaded with all sorts of things bicycle or push their loads along the road. Men in small gangs are cutting the verges with large "pangas" (correct?) Slow process.
We pass a tanker that has failed to make a bend in spite of all the warnings and the sleeping policemen. It is a diesel tanker with two tanks. It has a crowd of people round it and they are all helping themselves to the diesel. This tanker, lying on its side will probably not get recovered. They probably do not have the lifting gear to get it.
At a major junction there are numerous people trying to sell you things, especially pineapples. We have seen an enormous looking fruit for sale by the road. Can’t recognise it, maybe its a vegetable? The sellers chase every bus that stops.
As we head for Dar, the road gets busier. Mostly trucks and buses. The trucks breakdown fairly frequently. The reason seems to be either tyres or axles. All has to be fixed where they stop....half way up a hill, or in the middle of the road. Its not just Tanzanian trucks...we have seen this in Kenya too etc.
Lots of flood water by the road. Our threat of rain today passed us by luckily (we had a few drops). But suddenly ahead there is some flood water across the road and a bus has slipped off the edge of the road. Policeman on duty! Its not deep and we pass on with no problem, and reach Dar Es Salaam. Check into first decent hotel. Quick turn around and off to the centre in a taxi. Not a lot to see or buy! I think a nicer city than Nairobi but probably far smaller?
In the evening our hotel has live music. Not bad kind of African songs/beat. We eat almost in the dark and I have problems working out where the bones are in my fish (not that good, bit dry). Clive’s meat better.
29th Dec Fri
This was not one of our good days.
Wake up early , 6am, to lashing rain and wind. Tropical rain! We have to retrace some of the road of yesterday including the bit that had water across it. How will that be?
It was no problem. In fact there was no water at all. We had begun about 10am after waiting for the rain to stop. It had not, but was still drizzling much like a day in England except that it was 26c.
Back along the road to the junction where we joined it. On stopping for a drink, Clive announces that his bike has a problem. Fairly sure its the back wheel bearing. (the second one to go in 42,000 miles ) We are at a big cafe where overland type vehicles were stopping. I sit trying to get through to either mechanics in the UK or BMW South Africa ( the only place where there is a motorcycle agent for BMW). I am not succeeding. Meanwhile Clive is with his bike attracting onlookers. Amongst them is a mechanic who is saying he can fix it! In half an hour the bearing is off but fix it we are now not so sure. The end result at the moment is that I am sitting in this cafe while Clive and the mechanic have ridden off to Dar Es Salaam (where we have just come from) on MY bike to see if the bearing can be fixed or similar one found. This will take at least 3 hours. I have no book...I have to keep guard over Clive’s bike and our bits and pieces! (I have appointed a guard as well.) But they all say nothing will get pinched. Certainly I feel Tanzania is much better than Kenya.
Texts from Clive indicate that they have failed in Dar. This means UK is the only hope. It is Friday pm before holiday re. New Year. Several dealers shut. In the end Vines of Guildford come up trumps. They are open, they can cope with me on mobile from Tanzania and not wanting to do small talk!! Part is ordered and on its way. It may take a week.
Clive gets back with mechanic on my bike. Old bearing is put back on, everyone paid, and we return to Dar in the darkness. Interesting ride on the main road with some buses/trucks with no backlights, some very dim etc. Coming towards us they could be on sidelights but more commonly on dip and then put full beam up just to dazzle you...so it seemed. Back to dip after they were past you. Hardly any street lights so the dark people had to look after themselves...hopefully. ( Clive adds: On the way in to Dar up one of the hills I had noticed a deep hole in the centre of the left hand lane of the road, we ride on the left here, not very wide about 18 inches round but very deep, where road had collapsed. In the daylight it was not a problem, I just dink the bike and I am round it. However in the pitch black with lorries with six spot lights on I couldn`t see the road as they pass for maybe two or three seconds and if a front wheel of a motorcycle went into that one hole it would be an immediate off... so I was trying to be in the centre of the road and thus near the oncoming trucks or on the left close to the edge where dark people wearing dark clothes were walking or riding bikes with no lights on... you get the picture !)
Clive tired. He had ridden from and to Dar twice. It is about 70 miles each way.
So we will not be in the hills near Mbeya for New Year but in Dar Es Salaam. We will have to explore some more.!
The Africa Trip 30th Dec to 3rd Jan
30th Dec Sat.Day one of hanging around waiting for spare part to arrive from England. Centre of town day. We plod around, shops are open and I find a bookshop where I buy a book to read. Make further contact with Vines of Guildford...this time on a landline...to say thank you for getting the part on its way.
Our hotel is right next to Dar’s local market. Not the sort of place to go in the dark nor in the day with valuables. Nevertheless I had a small explore alone into the food section. Very rough, dirty, but lots of nice spices and fruit. Will have to have another look another day. Clive is a very reluctant market browser!
Wish our hotel had better food and that we were given some light. The other night I had fish and seeing the bones was impossible . The tables are all outside and lights are negligible.
31st Dec Sun
Last night we ate round the corner in a place I had spotted next to the market. It said Pizzas. Very local. Various stalls cooking food outside the place saying pizzas. A few tables on the footpath. Wonderful fresh fruit drinks ie mango for about 15p per glass. The pizzas were "Zanzibar pizzas."...finely chopped veg, beaten egg, and spicy meat inside a thin pastry which was wrapped over and then fried. Very good. You could also have chicken, fried covered in spice, and Spanish type omelette with chips in it. The locals were rather amazed we were there I think. It was all much better than our hotel!
Today we go off to explore the Msasani peninsular 2 up on my bike. It is a very up market area full of spendid houses for ambassadors of many countries. It is all very spaciously laid out with lovely gardens. Near the top of the peninsula is a very nice hotel called the Sea View. We had a wander around pretending we were staying there.!
New Year preparations are also in full swing by the locals on Oyster Beach. Looked like plenty of food stalls and music.
I have been very impressed by some of the ladies hair styles here and in Kenya. A lot of trouble is taken to create some wonderful "heads". Braiding, hair pieces, beads, colouring; all go towards creating their hairstyles. The women are also clad in bright colours so they can look great.
Clive and I have had many discussions as to the best way of stopping the poverty that is spreading throughout Africa which in Clive’s opinion is exacerbated by the guidance given out by religious leaders who do nothing to reverse the population explosion.
I agree with Clive’s opinion but am not as pessimistic about the future.
Its New Years Eve. Our hotel food is not good but they are good on music. The music starts at 10.30pm. Its Taraab music. A mixture of arabic,indian, and african. Audience all seated, like a concert. But girls get up to dance with a few boys. Girls predominantly seated to the left, boys to the right. Girls all dressed up in their best, boys have their best colourful shirt hanging out!.Each number is very long and the girls gently sway around. The New Year is counted down and we shake hands with our nearest seated guests. Then on goes the music. We have a quick "sway" before we leave. They will continue till dawn!
1st Jan Mon
Expedition to southern beaches after I have cleaned the air filter on my bike. Thought I ought, given we have time!
Not having the right detailed map we go too far down the coast on a more inland road. Nevertheless its all interesting. Tropical landscape with small mud hut villages. There are cement walled houses too . Plenty of people sitting in the shade. Loaded bicycles are seen all along the route. Best was one with 3 bags of charcoal with 2 pineapples dangling from each bag. I failed to get a photo. Since Clive’s bike is out of action, we go around on mine with Clive driving and me on the back. It is very good of me!!! The only advantage is I can try and take photos.
Fruit is in abundance. Seems to be mango ,pineapple and pawpaw season. And jack fruit, though I have not seen them being eaten yet. Perhaps they are not nice?
We have had some lovely fresh juice.
Find cafe...called ‘ Pub’! Eat fried plantian with some meat and tomatoes bought from a young boy"s stall just near by.
Back to find beach...we are 20 kms inland! Find Sunset beach. Its on a beautiful bay. There is very little tourism here...some hotels but low key. We swim in the sea with a few breakers and have fun surfing in. Its bank holiday so beach is quite busy. Not many whites :mostly Indians and Africans. Get very sandy and have to shower. Bit of a nightmare for me. 3 cubicles with doors. That’s fine but there is a queue of African and Indian mothers with sandy children. As each mum gets a cubicle more children keep appearing and are squeezed in one by one. Then one mum jumps the queue with her children. Right, so if that is the system.....I am ready the next time a door opens and finally get in to find the shower is a mere dribble. It helps ...but slowly!
Back to Dar via the ferry. Hotel staff getting to know us. I am referred to as "Mama" and Clive as "Mzee" ( that means" old man").!
Tomorrow Clive is expecting his part. I think he is being optimistic. But we can’t wait to get going again.
2nd Jan Tues
Now we really are waiting for this part. New Year holiday time is over. Try emailing to get info. Takes till 3.30pm our time to discover that it is probably in Dar. That is frustrating!
I am impressed how hassle free it is here. The centre of the city is small and there are not many tourists. But we can go about our business like anyone else. It is in the tourist areas that you get the hassling.
Now 5pm and guess what.... the part has just been delivered. Great joy all round, well done Vines of Guildford and especially Andy Tizzard.
So with a bit of luck tomorrow morning the bearing will be replaced and we should be on our way by lunchtime, so the plan is to stop in Morogoro tomorrow night about 150 miles to the west of here. Lets hope things go according to plan.
3rd Jan Wed
Clives Dads birthday.
Well the bearing was fitted without too much trouble and we left Dar es Salaam about 2pm having collected our clothes etc from the hotel and headed for Morogoro. The ride was ok except when we arrived we could hear that Clives’ bike was still not quite right.
When he de-celerates the whole rear wheel moves quite dramatically and there is some noise coming from the front of the drive shaft near the gearbox. We are not sure what to do, there is no BMW dealer in Dar so there is no point returning there, and we are about 1500 miles from Lusaka the next major city where in any event there does not appear to be a BMW motorcycle dealer either. We have phoned our friendly dealer in Norwich but there is not much you can do down a phone line...
We shall continue as best we can and hope for the best, it may survive it may suddenly grind to a halt...
The Africa Trip 4th Jan to 6th jan
4th Jan ThursHead off westwards and further inland , destination Iringa. An easy day as long as all goes well.
Good road and great scenery. Green and tropical becomes green and drier as we go further west and higher. Tree clad hills show up on our left. The road is not busy. Trucks, buses and us it seems. Trucks broken down, with their usual array of branches on the road to warn you; buses going too fast( who would be a backpacker!) and crabbing along the road. One seemed to be almost side on as it headed towards us. Each and every bus and truck belches black diesel fumes at us,on the flat and particularly climbing into the hills.
Trucks that have had to leave the road in a hurry are left in their overturned state as they are too heavy to right again. We probably saw 3 or 4 today. The cause of their misfortune....? Something overtaking coming towards, them or blown tyres most likely.
At one police checkpoint (we have not been stopped yet) we see another bmw traveller! They are two up. We say hello. Perhaps we will see them again.
The road takes us through Mikumi National park. At first all we see are baboons but then we see giraffes, zebras, 2 elephants and then, in front of Clive by the side of the road appeared a lioness and 3 cubs. She was going to cross the road but changed her mind. Bad luck for me as I was further behind and by the time I got there she had hidden.
It begins to shower/downpour on us on and off. I have no vizer on my helmet as sidepiece is broken so the rain hurts my face! But we are quite lucky skirting some very black clouds and heavier downpours. With no where to stop (little tourism) we keep going and reach Iringa early. It is in the hills/mts at 1600m.
Our hotel has a bath so I delight in having a bath. Water is hot but also a good browny yellow colour.....before I got in!
I find it amusing when our motorbikes, big motorbikes, are referred to as pikipiki. "you have a nice pikipiki". I also like the name for their public minibuses "daladala"s. Reminds me of "dial a ride".
5th Jan Fri
Off we go on a good road up on a plateau. It seems quite fertile. Many of the traditional houses are being replaced with better brick homes with tin roofs. Yesterday we see onions and mats for sale, today its potatoes.
We are going along a straight piece of road when all of a sudden a child runs out from right to left in front of Clive. He had no chance but managed to avoid contact till the child had reached (luckily) the left side of his bike. Child hits his indicator and perhaps his crash bar, rolls and ends up in the verge. From behind it seemed to me that the child may not have made contact with Clives’ bike. We ride on as we have been told to do looking for a police station, we do this as, if the child has been hurt, the villagers have been known to take the law into their own hands.... After 70 miles the police stop us and ask why did we not report the accident? We explain but must go back to the last biggish town. The police station was down a dirt track which could not be seen from the road and without a sign to it. They had Clives’ passport by now. Talking to Clive for the first time (autocom not working again) he tells me that he is afraid the child may be hurt. That it had hit his bike....his indicator quite hard.
We hang around this police station until two policemen arrive from Iringa and inform us we must go back to where it happened. We learn that the child is in hospital.
Getting to Mbeya is proving difficult. One step forward and two back.
We arrive at the scene of accident under police escort and find everything calm, but lots of people soon appear, one carrying part of Clives’ indicator glass. A sketch is made by the police officer and then we are escorted to Iringa police station, Iringa being where we had left earlier. Not straight to police station though...hospital first. Police want to see the boy, but we do not go in as Clive does not want to be accused of bribery if any money is requested. We then go to the station and finally give written statements including me. We feel that our not stopping was something they may fine us for. We wait. I wait while Clive sits with biggest chief. Then we are waiting for next biggest chief, the Deputy chief of the entire Region. It appears they can’t make decision, perhaps trying to find a way to exact a fine ! However finally, at about 7pm, Clive advises them that he is very happy to offer the childs’ family some money but only once he has been cleared of any responsibility. When this is done things begin to move, he gets his passport back and its thumbs up. We now go to the hospital accompanied by a plain clothes policeman to see the boy. The mother is sitting by his bedside, she is very young...a teenager. She has 2 children and no husband. The little boy has a cut on his head, a broken leg and has been unconscious since he arrived. Clive is very upset by this little bundle and talks to the mother. He gives her sufficient money to cover all his medical expenses plus and then discusses the situation with the ward sister. She assures him that the boy will be alright although it will take some time before he is able to run the way he did this morning. We leave the hospital about 8pm.
It has been a bad day and we are back where we began. We finally are free to go but are told to report to the police station in the morning...a further fine? We go to a different hotel to last night, and the first beer didn`t touch the side............ !
6th Jan Sat
We had been told by the police last night that we had to call back in this morning before we left town. Clive feared that they were going to delay us further. Which they did. Now they want to photocopy Clives’ driving licence and his passport. fair enough but the police do not have a photocopier so off goes our friend ( by this time !) to a photocopier in town. He comes back and then boss decides he needs my passport photocopied. Another trip of 20 mins. Then papers are shuffled and shuffled and put in a folder and then finally after 1.5 hours we are free to go.
To be fair to the police...it was an accident where someone had got hurt and they had to make reports etc. They were very thorough: sketch of scene statements and so on. At no point was money for them even hinted at. The only thing that would not have happened in England was the police making us pay money to the family. We were seen, quite rightly as having money ,so why not help the family whose son was hurt. They could have made a fine which they did not.
The slowness of it all is caused by lack of modern tools such as computers or even a type writer! All was done in long hand. Their premises were very run down as well. We were not the only accident that the traffic police dealt with that day...a bus had over turned near Morogoro and one passenger had been killed and others injured. Obviously that took time as well.
So off we finally go and good progress is made. Lovely rolling countryside, very green because of all the rains. Total lack of tourism to the extent that when we stopped for lunch the children would not come up to us easily.
Villages and houses very basic but some fertile land where cultivations were taking place and crops were growing, including rice.
We reach Mbeya, a town that we thought we would reach quite a few days ago! Clives’ bike is still not right. The new bearing is fine but we think another is playing up so we have decided to take the Zambia route instead of Malawi; the reason being that Zambia is part of the South African Federation and South Africa has plenty of BMW agents so getting a spare should be easier there than in Malawi. We cross the border tomorrow...we hope!!!
The Africa Trip 7th jan to 10th jan
7th Jan SunThe Peak hotel was not a great place. The waiter himself said it was going downhill and that the owner was the drunk person in the bar. At breakfast they had no coffee !
As we do the 70 miles to the border through green and fertile rolling countryside I think of the people beside the road, the ladies with their loads on their heads; all sorts of loads from bundles of wood to large bowls of rice: of the men with their bicycles all loaded up; I have seen one with a chair frame, others with sacks of charcoal, masses of pineapples, chickens, flapping shirts with their hangers dangling. The children, some with their loads too, maybe water, girls in party dresses, boys looking scruffy, the little boy in hospital. Men and women with their hand hoes off to tend their land. The speeding buses that often overturn. The crabbing buses. The potholes in the road.
It is a busy country. Now as we near the border people are busy in their fields gathering, selling. All by hand.
The border is busy. Lots of touts (or ticks as they are referred to here). We feel I had better stay with bikes and Clive disappears with some ‘ticks’ and I am left surrounded by more. It does not take too long and over into Zambia. Same ‘ticks’ seem to follow.! A bit more of a palaver here, visa and council tax (!). Money to change. Pay off 2 ‘ticks’ (we hadn’t needed either but what can you do?) and off into Zambia.
Good road with occasional large pothole. Green long grass with small trees, shrubs and sometimes bigger trees. Lots of little villages of square, mostly brick built, but round grass covered roofs. Seem to be making money from selling charcoal. Bags wait to be collected from beside the road. The land is being denuded because of it.
Plenty of people sitting around. More children than Tanzania. Less people with a purpose using the roadside. There are people but they are either grouped and talking or just ambling along. They don’t look busy. Men on bicycles are not pedalling hard. In fact they worry us as they are going so slowly they are wobbling over the road. We go past the place where Ian had his collision: gives us food for thought.
The road is not busy. A few lorries go the other way. There are no buses in stark contrast to Tanzania.
We stop in Isoka. Very difficult to find food. In fact we fail, the restaurant not having any. We buy 2 packets of biscuits and 2 cokes. Petrol pumps next door have no petrol but boy sitting near us says he can get 5 litres. The can of petrol appears with another boy on a bicycle. All organise by mobile phone. It is expensive (naturally!). Later we find out that he did not over charge and that petrol is very expensive here. Hence no traffic on the road. It means that the little villages are very cut off with no buses, no taxis and no minibuses (like the ones that ply the roads of Kenya and Tanzania.)
We are aiming for Kabishya hot springs. It is near Shiwa Ngama. It is up a dirt road for 32 kms. Because of the rains the road is sandy in parts and a bit wet in others. We slowly make it. Two nights here we think, to enjoy the hot springs.
It is owned by Mark Harvey, grandson of Sir Stewart Gore Brown. There is a book by Christina Lamb called Africa House, which is a novel based on the family and the house. We are not near the house but we hope to see it.
Have supper talking to Mark Harvey and his wife.
8th Jan Mon.
We had good discussions about Zambia and Africa last night with Mark and Mel. Today we head for the hot spring pool. It is a natural pool near the river and feeding into it. A small man made wall makes the pool a little deeper. It is very lovely: clear as a bell and hot, 33.1c on my watch temp gauge. All is in a wonderful tropical setting. There some pretty birds and butterflies....Clive not interested in these! We have it all to ourselves; though more guests arriving some time today.
We don’t see Mark again as he has just got malaria. For the second time since being here. We must be careful.
The people arriving are 4 older people. One couple from Lusaka ( she has lived in Zambia all her life) and another who have houses in Jo’burg, England, and Cyprus. It was interesting talking to them in the evening. Another life!
9th Jan Tues
Clive’s birthday. Happy birthday Clive. I am afraid no presents right now. What he wants I can’t buy here!
It poured again in the night and still looks very cloudy this morning. We have 32kms of dirt road to do and in the wet it will be slippery. We are going to tour Shiwa Ng"andu...the house that was built by Sir Stewart Gore Brown. It is 20kms down the dirt road. It IS slippery on the clay and sandy in other parts. We go very steadily and survive without mishap and reach the house. We are shown round by great grand daughter Emma. She is 15yrs old. The house is built in local bricks. They are a very nice colour. It was interesting. Afterwards we ride up a rough track to look at his grave and see the view of the lake from there.
Then on down our dirt road to the main road.
I find the rest of the day fairly boring. The road is the most dull since the Libyan desert. Its good tarmac with long straights; same green woody scenery with the little villages, bunches of people now and then; virtually no traffic. Clive does not agree and likes it, likes the rolling green hillsides etc.
We have to watch the cyclists....they like to bicycle on the wrong side of the road. Sometimes they decide to change sides! I can see how Ian’s accident happened.
It is very basic by the road. Subsistence farming with little bits of produce being sold by the road (including huge fungi). We stop in a cafe but the only thing they can get us to eat is a frankfurter type sausage. No roll! Petrol stations are few and far between. In one we were offered green cooked caterpillars to eat. Lady selling them said they were lovely. We had seen some crispy beetles for sale the day before. Clive and I are a bit squeamish re eating beetles and caterpillars. No hotels.
We set off late in the day to cover almost 300 miles and it is nearly dark by the time we get to the first possible stopping place...a farm guest house/chalets called Sweetwater farm. Next one is about 50kms further on. We decide to stop but it is poor value. Won’t be coming again. One of the worst.
10th Jan Wed
Its daughter Gina`s birthday today. For us its drizzling. Our breakfast is fine but pleased to leave this place. Down the short but slippery mud road. Strangely Clive does not speak to me once we reach the road. The autocom is of course not working properly...I can usually hear Clive but he cannot hear me. But today he has his microphone far from his lips so I hear nothing. So off we set towards Lusaka. Headlong..not in terms of speed, but as if we have no time to stop. What is up with him? Usually we would stop. Same scenery as yesterday. Bit more traffic. I feel we must be careful. Its raining on and off and stings my face as I have no visor ( broken). Finally find out what’s up...I had said I want to go through the Drakensberg mts in S A. Apparently Clive does not. Hence no speaks today. Perhaps he is worried his bike wont make it and the extra 500 miles may prevent us getting to Cape Town.
As we near Lusaka things get more lively. Communal markets and all associated things with big towns. I also notice that there are many large farms. Big fields growing good looking crops. This is white farmer at work!! In Lusaka we go straight down Cairo road with no problems. We had been told to be careful in the traffic. Gangs of boys can pinch stuff from cars and motorbikes whilst you are stopped in a traffic jam. However we have no real jams as we have ensured it is not rush hour when we arrived . I tied all my things on with extra ties too!
We are going to stay with friends of Henry and Louise Wainwright. These friends have very kindly said that they would have us to stay even though they do not know us. Directions were to find the Castle shopping centre and ask for them. This we do. Clive is always so quick at spotting that kind of thing. I go in and ask if anyone knows our host. The second person I ask does. Up the road a bit and down a bit of a dirt road before turning on to a large farm. John Henderson is running a large enterprise here sending veg to Tesco and all sorts of other things. Big business. We have a very enjoyable supper with them out doors. Mosquitos hopefully being held at bay with spray! We hear (again) from John about the laziness of the Zambians : how they cannot be motivated even when enticed with more money etc. They lack any ambition to work !
The Africa Trip 11th jan to 14th jan
11th Jan ThursOur hosts go off to work and we are going to leave after internetting on otherside of town. Leaving our stuff off we go and do internet, have lunch and then go to fill up with petrol. In the station I see another bike, 2 up, and realise it is the bike we saw in Tanzania near Iringa with the Japanese girl. We end up having coffee/tea and then finally deciding to stay another night here, in Lusaka. We go and get our stuff and take a "chalet" in a packpacker place called "Chachacha".
Our new friends are a Polish man and a Japanese girl. The Polish man has been travelling for years, can speak Japanese, has been to about 150 countries, takes photos and sells them to pay for the travelling, is a private pilot, can yacht,, etc. He appears to own several BMW bikes scattered round the world. This all sounds as though he is wealthy but I think not. They mostly camp and cook for themselves. They are aged 25/26. We chat, and sample the fungi that they bought from the side of the road .
12th Jan Fri
We leave Marcin the Pole and Acane the Japanese girlfriend. Marcin has to get a visa for Namibia in Lusaka because he is Polish. Neither we nor the Japanese need one. We hope to see them again in Livingstone.
We have a long ride today if want to get to Livingstone. We don’t have to but the problem is a place to stay in between. Choma is the best bet if we do not make it.
The road is good, empty and mostly straight...like the great northern road we had come on to Lusaka. Green grass with shrubs and trees. Ranching in one area and sugar (cane) in another. Big white farmers it would seem. Otherwise same little villages with grass roofed houses. People hang around, bicycles wobble and we keep hand on horn..just in case.
Clives’ bike seems to be hanging in there but his brakes are getting worse. We tried to renew the brake fluid yesterday but no success. He has servo assisted brakes...complicated. My back brake had air in it. It must have a tiny leak. It is working again for now.
We head off down a 500m dirt track to find the "Riverside lodge" hoping for some food. I ride through one large puddle on the sandy track and then slip in the next and drop the bike! I am unlucky in puddles. But I don’t get wet...remain on feet!
Next stop we try and get tea or coffee but the cafe did not have any. They always have a coke or pepsi or fanta though. Sit and drink and watch 2 local men play draughts on a board with bottle tops as pieces. 2 mothers sit with their tiny babies. One strange man comes in and expects us to buy him a coke. We watch the bikes.
Off again. We reach our destination , the Jollyboys backpacker place in Livingstone at 5ish. Tomorrow the falls.
13th Jan Sat
Take Jollyboys bus down to the falls. Blue sky and looking to be hot..no rain for once. Low key tourism makes this a much more pleasant experience than I had imagined. I compare it with 4 years ago and the Niagara Falls ....all that tourism and regulation. Here we buy a ticket and wander off on a choice of 3 paths. We find the falls very impressive. Very wide across and a 100m or so drop; much bigger than Niagara. The spray from the falls was as heavy as rain: difficult for taking photos. I did all 3 paths..one was a descent of many steps and then a climb back up. It was a very hot ascent! We then spent quite sometime with the curio sellers. They all sold much the same things . We did some deals in the end. How we will carry what we bought on the bikes is another matter!
Back to Jollyboys where I sign up for rafting on the Zambezi. Clive declines. There are many activities to pursue here including bungee jumping, abseilling, rafting, canoeing, etc. So its up at 7am for me.
Marcin and Acane make it to here. We chat again. He is a keen photographer and is carrying around 2 Haselblad cameras on his bike.
14th Jan Sun
I am up at 7am to get ready for the trip to go rafting. Off at 7.30 to join others from other hotels. We have breakfast and training and then off we go. Walked down a steep path to get to the river over rock falls etc. We rafted between rapid 7b and 23. (Up to category 5). Great fun. The Zambezi is very warm and the water runs very deep and fast in this gorge below the falls. Thus not much danger of hitting rocks. We did a lot of swimming too as we were allowed to jump out of the boat between rapids. Getting back out of the gorge was made easier with the aid of a strange kind of train on a wire that pulled us up seated backwards. Saved a lot of sweat!! An hours bumpy truck ride through the countryside and we were back to base. In the meantime Clive washed bikes and `saw to things`. Says its was not his cup of tea and that he could not afford it.
The Africa Trip 15th jan to 18th jan
15th Jan Mon Off to Botswana! Only 60 kms to a ferry across the Zambezi . Zambia looks much the same here as it did in the north. I have found the motorbiking rather dull in this country. Clive has liked it.! I thought Livingstone had lots to offer and was good. Lusaka seemed okay but we did hear all sorts of stories about the crime. Some good looking big farms all around Lusaka especially.
Our last evening in Livingstone we went to The Waterside (lodge). It had a lovely eating area and bar right by the river edge. We watched the sunset go down over the river, had some drinks and ate. Would have been a nice place to stay but we are not running to $185 per night.
The ferry is small...could take one long truck and us. We have no border problems and the Botswana side is not busy.
Our plan is to stop in the first town, Kasane, check in to somewhere and get ourselves on an afternoon river cruise on the River Chobe. It runs along the edge of the Chobe Nat. Park. We hope to see some wildlife.
The trip is good. Very pleasant way to see the animals and birds. No bumping around! It lasted 3 hours and we nosed up close to crocs and hippos and a herd of elephants splashing around in the water. Lots of Fish Eagles and other lovely birds, inc giant kingfisher and bee eaters.
Quick shop when back and off to our room at Liya guest house. Some whart hogs casually crossed the road in front of us. First impression is that all is more organised and efficient. Crime less? Seem very helpful.
16th Jan Tues
Leave Kasani and within a few miles on the main road encounter a herd of elephants. Amazing! After that we saw the odd one or two but always the sign of them ie their shit on the road.
This is bush country...not savanah. They have had some rain and so it is green. A couple of really large farms on this flat plain stand out. Otherwise we see no villages, none at all. Goodbye to people on the road, goodbye to people in traditional dress, goodbye to bicycles, goodbye to bags of charcoal. Hello to donkeys again. Dogs roving and untethered animals.
Read that Botswana had a population of 1.6m about 4 years ago. That’s not many people. Perhaps that explains why we see no villages on this road! One agricultural settlement, one woman walking by the road in 150 miles. Very little traffic. A few cars have travelled the road in the past....their rusting remains lie in the bush. Collision with an animal or fallen asleep at the wheel?
We arrive in Nata, a junction village. Thought we would spend the night there but it seems to be 3 petrol stations and no more. However there is the Nata lodge outside town down the road. It is the only option. It is for tourists and has tourist prices . We opt for a safari tent. It is a tent on a platform. It even has a bath inside it! It has all amenities inside a tent. Birds sing and the sky rumbles. We are beside the largest salt pans in Africa. Maybe we should see them.
17 th Jan Wed
We have now booked our bikes into BMW Pretoria for Monday morning. This is mainly to sort out Clive’s problem with his back wheel. My bike has the brake problem but with a can of brake fluid its ok. Horn doesn`t always work but resets itself (clever electrics).
Having done that we do not have far to travel before Mon am. I have a cold and "funny" throat so not on top of the world. Nevertheless decide to do oil change. Very sandy countryside so old oil is pored down a dug sandy hole. I lie in my bather on a towel on the sand and slowly undo nuts. Its 38c again. The heat saps the energy as well as my cold. Clive assists and together it is successfully done.
In the afternoon we go to see the saltpans. We got that wrong! Firstly wrong time of year and the pan is one metre under water. Secondly thunder rumbles, lightning flits across the sky and soon it is raining. Saw some pelicans from a distance. One springbok! Not great!!
Thunder still rumbling back here. At least cooler.
18th Jan Thurs
A leisurely drive gets us to Francistown today. After having seen so few villages it is quite a surprise. Proper pavements, smart shopping centres and even a fast internet. Even though crime is not meant to be a problem all shopping centres have guards and houses have electric wire running round them. Everyone friendly though.
We passed through some villages today. Mix of old round mud and smart painted new concrete houses. Occasional cart pulled by 4 donkeys all abreast. Donkeys, cattle, horses wander the roadside. They all belong to someone! Beef is big here. (Clive had the best bit of african beef he has had all trip at the Nata lodge last night. ). Did a bit of reading of the guide and find that diamonds are big here too... We haven’t seen any yet!
Queue in bank for an hour to change some money. Lady in queue tells us about somewhere to stay tomorrow night so time not entirely wasted!
The hotel had said there was a restaurant with a bar that had beer and cider but no wine. When we went along we found there was about 4 tables in a very hot room with a kitchen in the corner. Drink was in cold cabinets. Big fat mama in the kitchen said choice of lamb or beef. We said lamb. We got beef! Tough. Luckily we had brought our own wine. Big fat mama very friendly and sings while cooking our tough ( we had only ordered one plate luckily) meal.
The Africa Trip 19th to 25th Jan
19th Jan FriSuffering now from a cough and cold, I coughed my way through the night. But it is not malaria!
Heading now for the border at Martins Drift. We intend to stay just inside Botswana where lady in bank suggested.
We see one or two donkey carts. One was being pulled by 5 donkeys! Later we saw donkeys ploughing: first saw 3 on one plough and then 6 ( 3 pairs) on one plough. Mechanisation indeed!
We reach the border and wonder where this lodge is. Then see sign; through garage forecourt and down dirt track. Not far and there it is. As we walk through there is a flash of the most amazing turquoise...some bird !
So here we are for the night. The only guests I think. Out the back is a muddy looking slow flowing Limpopo river, of Kipling fame. Will a croc come out tonight? Seen some monkeys rushing around so immediately took my soft bag off the bike and took it inside.
In the evening we get quite involved in political discussions re the area with the new share holder and an old Boer hand electrical engineer. And Clive, relaxed, discusses.....until I drag him away. Late...
20th Jan Sat.
Left our pretty spot, filled up with petrol and headed the few yards to the border. Out of Botswana, over the Limpopo river (narrow old bridge) and into South Africa, our final country of this trip.
No problems at all except the bureau de change which proclaimed it was having tea (girls were eating on the step outside) and that it would be open in 10 or 15 mins. We gave up on that and changed money in nearest town.
Fences, miles and endless miles of fences , hits our eyes. Tall electric fences, shorter ones, wire ones, wooden ones etc. To keep animals in or out and provide security. You’ve got to have a fence! There were fences in Botswana too but not with this intensity.
Bush country continues until we see some hills which are the Waterburg range.
We have a good lunch in Thabazimbi a real Africaans stronghold with little English being spoken. Shortly after we set off my bike suddenly dies on me! Not battery this time, must be fuel. Blame the Botswanian garage. Only I had petrol there......half a tank full. Rather hopelessly we pull off petrol pipe from tank and check it.. Petrol is flowing but we feel it may have been watered down, it doesn’t smell like normal petrol. We try starting and starts straight away. Off we go only to stop again about half an hour later. Same process same result. Fill up with more petrol to dilute what’s in the tank but it makes no difference keeps periodically dying. Taking off pipe does not make any difference. Just have to wait a while and then it will start again. However it does seem to be getting slowly worse, and stops every 10 minutes then every 5 minutes etc. Maybe its the fuel filter? But flows from tank....
We are aiming for Mabula lodge near Warmbad (now Bela Bela). Last 11km is dirt and the bike dies 3 or 4 times but finally makes it. This lodge is in a game reserve and we are not allowed to ride motorbikes from the entrance gates. They have to send a ranger to pick us up. We are not impressed as it means leaving the bikes 4 kms from where we hope to stay.
Clive has done a timeshare swap on this place. It had been booked for the week beginning 26th Jan but we are 6 days early. We are hoping they might have empty units this week so that a further swap can take place. After lengthy discussions they let us do this. However we are going to try and get to Pretoria tonight so that bikes can be fixed at Bavarian Motors . We have booked them in for Monday morning. This now seems rather fortunate for my bike, whilst Clive’s which we were most concerned about appears to be working fine up to about 120 kph. ! After our bike repairs we will come back here and can stay till Friday am.
My tickly cough plays havoc in the night, must get some medicine.!
21st Jan Sun
We get a lift back to our bikes that are parked by the gates. Kindly the timeshare lady has brought along the parks mechanic. We look for the problem. He thinks its electrical management problems and not the fuel. Unable to do anything. So we set off to Pretoria with virtually the whole day free to cover 150 kms.
My bike stops twice before we reach the motorway and then on the motorway it probably stopped half a dozen times. Each time we just have to wait until the engine decides to start. When it starts it starts straight away. No spluttering or missfiring etc. Sometimes it would take 5 mins, sometimes 15 or so. Sitting on the hard shoulder in full sun was not much fun! We do make it and head in to town. Bike then stops outside a McDonalds of all places. In the McDonalds we are chatted to by a nice South African, he is fascinated by our trip. He goes and we sit down to our lunch. About 20 minutes later as we are leaving he is just coming back and wants to invite us to stay with him. He explains he has spoken to his wife and has a separate guest wing etc etc. So we meet Theo and follow him home to his lovely house.. My bike does not quite make it so Clive tows me the last few hundred yards! Theo and Iona are very hospitable. They have a lovely house with a great garden and pool as well as a daughter called Nina ! And a son. They wine and dine us royally with a couple of friends that come round, a great evening. My cough is still a bore but Clive got some cough mixture and some tablets so hope to conquer it.
22nd Jan Mon.
Up to get bikes to Bavarian Motors. Theo leads us. My bike stops 3 times, last time not far from workshop: Clive goes on with Theo. It takes about 20mins for it to start again and finally arrive. In the meantime Clive has gone out with pickup and trailer to pick me up! Explain problem and the other things that need doing. Theo then insists that he takes us to Midrand, another BMW dealership. He shows us the Union buildings on the way. Pretoria appears to be a pleasant looking city.
We all end up back at the bike shop and Theo says goodbye. The bikes will be finished today.
The problem with my bike is finally diagnosed...it ends up that it is a sensor that tells the spark plug to spark or to put it another way... that senses the engine is turning. Something like that. There is another sensor on the fuel pump which could have been the problem.
Clive’s bike had a spacer missing near the bearing causing his wobbly wheel. Did the Tanzanian mechanic lose that?
It is 5pm before all is done. We head back to Mabula, both bikes now capable of going much faster on the motorway! The last bit of road,( dirt) is done in the dark. We are welcomed to a braai (barbeque).
23rd Jan Tues
A day of rest. We are befriended by a couple from Jo"burg who invite us to their timeshare for the evening. Their place is more remote than where we are staying...good for wildlife. We accept their very kind invitation.
Always wanted to ride a quad bike so take up an opportunity here, in the afternoon. Off go Clive and I behind one of the rangers. We use some special quad bike tracks. Slow start but gradually faster and faster round these tracks. Clive, hot on the heels of the ranger and me following in all the dust. It was good fun but Clive and I ended up very dusty indeed!
Our hosts pick us up for our meal with them. They are keen wildlife watchers. Warthogs right beside their terrace (mother and 3 young) are being fed watermelon. Later bush babies creep out of their roof to then leap off into the trees before returning at dawn. Sitting after our meal outside we hear a rustling in the grass which grows louder and louder until a very large male buffalo appears out of the darkness. He continues to munch his way through the grass towards us, until he is only about 6 yards away, but is not phased by our presence. Then in the torch light we watch him some more, and when we left an hour or so later he was still munching away and another six or seven were just out of sight.
24th and 25th Jan Wed/Thur
Start the day with our free game drive..Comes with the timeshare. Up early! 04.45! and see a good selection of game including Rhino, but no Lion or elephants.
Make plans as to where to head next. Decide to stay here till Friday, ie the end of the timeshare.
I take a horse ride in the bush. It was good but hot. Nice way to see animals. We also do a bush walk. I am feeling so unfit! Bush walk disappointing as far as wild life goes and we see no animals! I have enjoyed looking at Rock Hyraxes out of our chalet window.
The Africa Trip 26th Jan to 31st Jan
26th Jan FriA ranger came and picked us up and took us to our bikes by the gates. We are off again. Down the dirt track and off to Bela Bela first where we buy wine for our hosts this evening. We are heading for Kempton Park near Jo"burg to friends of Paul Howell. Down the motorway to Pretoria (again) and then onto Midrand where Clive is hoping that his bag with a failing zip will be replaced for free. It was! Small ride to Benoni, past lots of new housing on the rolling hill sides,where we internet before ringing Johan. We are not as close to his place as we thought and he drives about 10kms to find us. He has a very nice place .
Louise, his wife, prepares dinner for us with Johan being the cook at the braai... very tender fillet steak cooked to perfection. We talk about Johan’s pilot work and what the ESV group (Paul Howell) is doing in Mozambique. They are planning to plant up to 130 thousand acres of Jutrophia (?) which is going to produce bio diesel in a very pure form. We hear horror stories of the crime that goes on. He also advises us of where not to go ie the wild coast. His house has plenty of dogs that will bark, security that will turn up in 5 mins if the alarm is triggered and doors that need to remain shut. He has had more than one armed break-in in spite of all this and it is getting worse. He is not as optimistic about the future as Theo. Many thanks to Louise and Johan.
27th Jan Sat
We leave Johan and Louise after a good breakfast. Johan kindly takes us to the road we need. Its a motorway day. Round Jo’burg and then off in the direction of Durban. Lots of new housing estates cover the rolling hillsides. Modern commercial developments, modern shopping arcades...it all looks as though SA is doing okay. But we had heard from Johan and Louise that all is not so good underneath. Powercuts that have plunged part of Jo’burg into darkness for days due to lack of maintenance at the power plant; local power cables cut and stolen for the metal content and phones lines cut and stolen for the same reason. They themselves had not had a phone line for the last two months since as fast as it was replaced it was cut and stolen again!
The rolling hills give way to open farmland with a few scattered trees a bit like northern France. Main crop is maize. Cattle herds eat grass. A lot of land lies fallow. Before Harrismith we have been passed by a number of fast sport bikes including "the Jo’burg pack" a particularly dangerous lot who went by us on the hard shoulder as well as the fast lane at the same time. None of them had number plates on their bikes. Then a very large thunderstorm threatens on our right but we slip past admiring the lightning. Countryside changes and we get more hills . The road climbs up and down. Rain threatens again and this time we have to stop and put on our waterproofs whilst sheltering under a bridge. It pours and my face without a visor stings in the rain. My sunglasses fog up and get waterdrops on both sides. The country then looks like Exmoor in the rain......bleak and grey.! Unfortunately it does not stop raining and the expected sun does not shine. It gets cold, temp going from 33c to 14c. We plug on as we are nearing Penny and John at Howick near Pietermaritzburg. Penny is the daughter of some people I know. We are greeted warmly and are soon in the dry stripping off our wet clothing. We meet the 2 children, Frances and Moses. John is away but makes it back later that night. We chat about their trip by bike from Cape Town to London that they did in 1995.
28th Jan Sun
The sun is shining...thank goodness. After a great breakfast with Penny, John and children we take our leave. Retrace our route on the motorway for one hour. This time we can see, the rain made it miserable, and enjoy the scenery. Heading off we make our way on a lovely road to Clarans which is just north of Lesotho in Free State.
The scenery is big..big hills and valleys, rocky peaks, flat topped, small ponds and lakes. Trees and forests vie with grassland and fields of maize. We are above 1000m and it is cooler. We go over 2 or 3 wide passes with great views.
Clarans seems very pleasant. Touristy, as this is within reach of weekenders from Jo’burg. But this is low season and it is not busy. Security less of an issue it seems.
29th Jan Mon
Day to enjoy Clarens. This place was founded in 1912 in memory of Paul Kruger, the first president of ZAR. He was deposed after the 2nd Anglo/Boer war and went to live in Clarens in Switzerland. Hence this place is modeled on a Swiss village.
We do some white water rafting on the Ash river which has been enlarged because of the Lesotho highland water project. Water has been dammed in Lesotho and then piped for 80 odd kms through the mountains to near here. The water ends up in Jo’burg .
Clarens is a nice little place with pretty little touristy shops. Nice cafes including the Artists cafe which Clive particularly likes as they do a very good pancake stuffed with icecream and topped with caramel sauce!
Just nearby, parked in the grass is a very old Hills Chalmers tractor. It is a 3 wheeler..one in front and two at the back. It is not going anywhere any more though.
30th Jan Tues.
Leave Clarens early as rain forecast. Our landlady had grown more and more talkative and was beginning to get on our nerves.
Have decided to take a peek at Lesotho and so head for the Caledons gate. Plan to exit after about 100 miles near the capital Maseru. Pretty hilly landscape but well populated on this route. Good road but lots of minibuses and some fairly ropey cars. Much herding with blanket clad herders. Some donkeys and some cattle pulling carts. Plenty of farming land but not good looking crops. Very friendly people and proud of their country.
Rain had threatened and eventually engulfs us in a very heavy thunderstorm on one of the higher parts of the route. The wind howled and the rain lashed. Clive stopped and I had gone on so he got cross. I turned back and we went on again but now very soaked. Clive’s waterproofs are on their last legs, my leggings are not great but my jacket would have done better if I had had my pockets done up. As it was the rain could go straight in which it did. We were both wet through. But we did ride out the other side, reached Maseru and then exited Lesotho. Back in SA we head on south and stop in Hobhouse a town on the way for some lunch. Its a bit like a cowboy town...big wide semi deserted streets with the store and church. We stop at the store. Run by whites with a bunch of locals sitting outside.
All friendly and helpful. We get some "takeaway" food and with our waterproofs off sit outside and try and dry out a bit.
Back on with waterproofs and on to Zastron. The countryside is rolling grassland with very little happening. Odd settlements, few herds of cattle, few rocky outcrops and lots of open unused countryside. Reach Zastron, strange american style town too. Hotel has been here 100 years! Very little going on! Internet cafe but it is shut. ATM won’t take my card. Bit critical! Hotel owner very racist.
31st Jan Wed
South Africa has thrown up a couple of new phrases. One is "off ramp" which means exit and "robots" which are traffic lights. Another wonder of here is that the hotels have the thinnest loo paper in the world. You need at least 6 sheets to blow your nose on let alone anything else.
Still, our road has neither robots nor ramps. It is good, straight and deserted. We make easy progress through a very empty countryside. Scattered farm houses, few herds of cattle, the odd ostrich, and artesan wells with their windmill for pumping, dot the landscape. Grass as far as the eye can see on the rolling hills. It has now become very dry and today gets very hot, 35c. We understand that it is a heatwave...so unlucky to swelter so.
The towns remind us of the USA still. In Alliwal North we stop for breakfast. Its a busy place with a shanty town on its outskirts. Each town has a township and/or a shanty town on the outskirts...each to their own area it seems. Clive queues for ages at an ATM, partly for my benefit. My card has been rejected the last couple of days. Texted the bank manager last night. Will I get a reply? Poor Clive, when he reaches the machine his card fails. This is worrying. However he tries in the next town and all is well.
Before leaving Alliwal we find an internet cafe. It is in the back of a DIY place in a shopping mall. Not a likely place at all!
We reach Cradock which is a big town but decide to go one town further to Cookhouse. When we get there we find it is no good. rather rough looking so on one more to Somerset East. All these English names! Now on the Blue Crane trail apparently and find the Blue Crane B & B to stay in. Power cut in the evening makes life tricky in the restaurant but we get some food in the end. The Barclays manager texts and says problem sorted. Longing to know what the problem was.
The Africa Trip Feb 1st to Feb 6th
1st Feb ThursHave excellent breakfast at "Rika"s. Must not eat any more all day!
The countryside has now become less dry looking. We head towards the coast through scrubby country and come down to Port Elizabeth in a powerful wind. The road is good, Little traffic and we head for Jeffreys Bay for a pause. Bit like a retirement town on our south coast or Penzance (sort of). Encounter Brits on vacation or living here? Nice surfing beach.
After the stop Clive selects the more modern coast road whilst I prefer the old one. Agree to meet in Knysna, about 100 miles on. My road had two passes which I enjoyed; baboons crossing the road and lovely forest with dangling creepers. Knysna seems to have plenty of British second homes. Pretty place with a lagoon and island protected from the Indian ocean. Nice houses, modern: and security does not seem an issue. So different to Jo’burg.!
2nd Feb Fri
I am disappointed with the Garden Route. It has not been as long as I thought. The road has been widened and modernised so that it is no longer scenic. It cuts through the landscape like a scar. Knysna to Mussel Bay is attractive. Lagoons of sea water lie behind rocky headlands like harbours. Smart houses dot the hill sides. The old road takes a more scenic route (but Clive does not like it). Good looking surf but no one surfing...
After Mussel Bay the road leaves the coast and heads off through farmland. All looks brown...it is post harvest here and the wheat stubbles are being grazed by animals and ostrich. We head for the most southerly point on this continent; Cape Agulhas, across a brown and wind swept peninsula. Stop short at Bredasdorp , an agricultural town.
3rd Feb Sat.
We have made it to the southernmost point of Africa.! Rocky, misty, a lighthouse and fishermen. Where the Atlantic ocean meets the Indian ocean.
Next goal to see the winelands just to the northeast of Cape Town. Head inland past Blue cranes and Cape vultures on the brown fields. Lots of birds of prey in the sky. Wide valleys with mountains around. Vines and fruit growing in the valley . Water a scarce resource and there are many little private reservoirs. We go over the Bainskloof pass. Not so high but pretty. Stay in Wellington at Bakkies B&B. Security getting tighter as we near Cape Town!
4th Feb Sun
Not moving far but ride in a circle round the winery area. I have been here in 2001 and want to show Clive bits that I remember. We go to an estate called Boschendal. Founded by Hugenots. We do Franschtoek pass and Sir Lowry pass. Neither high but wonderful views. Lowry pass shows us Cape point in the distance and False Bay...the end of this journey. Good roads.... the only thing to note was broken down cars belonging to the locals! And Cape golden delicious apple! But before we reach Cape Town we want to call on Carla and Andre whom we met just over a year ago on the Epyptian border at Aqaba. They are South African, living near Stellenbosch. They were on a long journey in their landcruiser and we were on bikes doing the Round the Med trip. Together we worked our way through the border bureaucracy for 4 hours. I then followed the rest of their journey through Africa via their diary, www.travelongravel.tk.
So we met up and had a couple of hours at their home near Stellenbosch before leaving to spend the night in the town.
5th Feb Mon
We have made it! We reach Cape Town in the morning. 12700 miles ( 20320 kms) We find Anna and Paul’s lovely house and are greeted warmly by them and their huge black labrador Toby. I have not seen Anna for several years.
In the afternoon we make the mandatory trip up Table mountain. It has its "table cloth" on it and it swirls around as we take photos. Cable car back down and then we walk the rest of the way back to A and P’s. In the evening they take us to the Waterfront area and we have a good meal.
6th Feb Tues
Arrange to meet
We then set off round the cape peninsula...last bit to do. Reach the Cape of Good Hope sign. A coach load of Chinese are swarming all over the sign taking endless photos. We want to take photo of ourselves, the sign and the bikes. We wait, but they start taking photos of us and our bikes! Then we move bikes in front and they want to take themselves and our bikes and then themselves and us and our bikes! One lady speaks English and finds out we are from England. Then it was even more requests for photos! Eventually we get our photo and get them to take us! All good fun and they clap as we ride off! Carry on round the cape and see the penquins on Boulder beach. Home to Anna and Paul who then take us to see Cape Town from the other side of the bay...the side the postcards show. Then out to Panama Jacks, a local restaurant almost inside the container port.
The Africa Trip 7th Feb to 10th Feb
7th Feb WedOff to shipping agent. Unfortunately flying the bikes is just too expensive so its got to be a slow boat home for them. With any luck they will arrive at Tilbury docks in about 3 weeks. Discuss details with CD Shipping and arrange to meet tomorrow to pack them into their crates.
On the way back we go via Zeekovlei, a piece of water near where the Deakens have a house and where I was lucky enough to be invited in 2001 to sail my laser.
Do a complete repack in the afternoon ready for tomorrow . Anna and Paul have invited friends in for this evening. We have a good dinner and end up very late to bed. We are not used to it!
8th Feb Thurs
We have to clean the bikes before shipping. Luckily it is not as hot as yesterday, 37c, and we are grateful for some clouds to keep things cooler. We are meant to remove all soil.
Anna has rung the local press! They come and interview us and afterwards its off to the shippers. There, we take off the windshields, mirrors and handlebars so that they will fit in the crate. Strapped down to a pallet, covered in plastic and then 4 cardboard sides and top fitted.
A driver kindly took us back home. So that’s almost it. Bikes are on their way back hopefully. Should leave beginning next week on a container ship bound for England. It takes 2 weeks at sea.
9th Feb Fri
Relaxing day! No bikes and just waiting for our flight this evening . Anna and Paul entertain us and take us shopping etc. Its actually a rainy day, fairly miserable and cold by Cape Town standards. Preparing us for England! Get worried by weight of my baggage. Two motorcycle panniers went with the bike but I have 2 more heavy bags. Hear that BA are going to charge extra…in the future… if you have 2 bags and wondered how we could have made one bag out of two panniers!!! Paul and Anna kindly take us to the airport and we say our goodbye’s. They really did round off our trip in a very special way. Luggage is checked in …all okay and catch flight at 20.50. Sit on tarmac for an hour before take off. We have kept our exact homecoming secret from my parents and will be surprising them tomorrow….we hope.
10th Feb Sat
We arrive back to Heathrow. Its raining but not snowing. We are met by my old friend, “
Statistics.
We travelled 12700 miles ( 20320 kms) over a period of 17 weeks. We had no punctures. Clive got stuck once and never dropped his bike. I got stuck once but dropped mine several times, twice in water! We have a combined age of 110 years. Clive’s bike, the oldest of the two, had a broken wheel bearing, whilst mine, newer, had an electrical sensor play up. It also lost its back mudguard twice ( never replaced after 2nd time) and small breakages ( mostly to do with being dropped!). Worst were the corrugations on the road in Sudan. My wrists and hands were shattered and took about a week to recover
And last but not least.... our special thanks to Henry and Louise in Nairobi, John and Nicola in Lusaka, Theo and Iona in Pretoria, Johan and Louise in Jo`burg, John and Penny in Howick, and of course Paul and Anna in Cape Town all of whom fed and watered us so liberally.....!!
