Motorcycle Travellers' News Report - March 2014, 100th Edition

"Soon after checking in at the Old Bridge Backpackers in Maun I met Dave and Marly who are riding two Honda Dominator (250cc) bikes. They come from Amsterdam and spent the last 3 years (with 1 year's break in between) travelling down the east coast of Africa. It was really cool to hang out with them.

...As I neared Kubu island the road started to get more waterlogged and I began to worry that I might not make but I pressed on as it wasn't so muddy like before and the ground was quite firm underneath the water which wasn't so bad. I reached Makgadikgadi adventure camp with about 20 km's to Kubu island and stopped off to have a coke and chat to the manager about the road conditions. Again he told me no I wouldn't make it. He said two Kiwi's in a 4x4 tried and turned back the day before and stayed at his place. He told me the water level was above knee height in a lot of places but I suspected he might be exaggerating a bit in order to get me to stay at his place rather than Kubu island so I set off anyway. I was so close!

The water was deeper the closer I got but it had firm ground underneath and wasn't so slippery which was the main problem that stopped me before. Finally I could see Kubu island but I had to cross about 200 metres of mud to get there. It had also just began to rain. I took it slow and made it across to the staff house where I managed to get under their porch just as the rain came down. Nice!

The manager there was quite surprised to see me and impressed I had made it this time of year. I picked a camp site by some baobabs and as soon as I put my tarp up the rain came down even heavier and I had to scramble to keep everything dry and ensure the tarp was tight and secure. It lasted about an hour so I made some video and prepared my standard standard cold beans and pilchards in a mug for dinner. I watched an episode of Bear Grylls on my phone in my hammock and fell asleep happy I had made it.

I packed up and went on a short drive around the island and took some photos. Its a very cool place! It would have been nicer to have been able to drive on the pans but it was way too wet. Very different from the pictures I saw of a week previous when Dave and Marly had crossed it.

As I left two of the staff members mentioned that if I did have any trouble there would be a 4x4 coming from the south on the same path I was taking in order to relieve them. They also said I should back track 20 km's and go round rather than taking the direct route south. As I left I got confused about where the path I came in on was and ended up heading down the short cut. Realizing my mistake I just decided to plough a path through the mud and water which was a bit touch and go when the bike ended up in water so deep it was nearly over the exhaust! Fortunately I made it back to the correct track and made my way. It was definitely deeper than the day before after all the extra rain.

There were long stretches of water where you couldn't see any sort of dry exit so you just had to go for it and hope there was no unexpected trenches under the water."

"We left Dongola just as the sun started rising and it was obvious that Obai was eager to get home as he led and pushed our average speed quite a bit. There was a sense of accomplishment in the air and I found myself riding with a constant smile on my face, as I was just so darn happy and excited to see Obai finish his journey. I loved watching the sun slowly bringing light upon the desert and people with sleepy eyes emerge as we whizzed by on our bikes.

It's just over five hundred kilometers from Dongola to Khartoum and we made it into town by around 15:00. With a breakfast stop and refueling and hydrating breaks on route. A television crew was waiting for Obai a few kilometers outside of town and followed him in. We followed behind and when he finally reached the finish line there were a big group of family and friends and television crew waiting for him. Awesome!

...We hit the road early the next morning and the plan was to find a place to set up camp about fifty kilometers from the border. It's amazing how the landscape starts changing from Khartoum to the south. It starts getting greener and suddenly you're surrounded by thorn trees and more and more animals (donkeys and goats mainly). The road is good all the way through and makes for easy riding.

About sixty kilometers from the border we came to a checkpoint and I asked the officers if they maybe knew of a spot nearby where we could pitch our tents? They just shook their heads and said that it's not permitted to camp wild anywhere on the road.

So we carried on for another ten kilometers and then we found a spot to camp anyway. Out of sight just next to the road."

"Where do you start a trip? Where better than at A. Or Å to be more precise. Pronounced half way between Ah! and Oh, Å lies at the southern tip of the wonderful Lofoten Islands. At 68 degrees north, Norway's Lofoten Islands sit above the Arctic Circle but don't let that put you off taking your favourite two wheeled machine for a spin around its twisty narrow lanes. Thanks to the Gulf Stream the weather on the islands is comparable to Scotland: average summer temperatures sit around 12 degrees although, when the sun is out, it can be much warmer. Disembarking from the Bodø -Moskenes ferry we rode the five miles south towards Å, my winter gloves packed away in my pannier as the warm Arctic sun shone down on us.

Å is a preserved fishing village, a living testament to the life blood of these islands: fish – cod to be precise. Lofoten is renowned worldwide for its Norwegian-Atlantic cod and is home to the world's biggest and most traditional cod fishery. Each spring millions of tonnes of cod are caught in the surrounding waters and dried in the sun on racks on land. The quality of 'Lofoten dried fish' has given it the same geographical protection as champagne or Parma ham. The main part of the fish is sold across Norway and Europe and the dried heads are sent off to Nigeria where they are made into soup.

...The beach at Ramberg was a picture postcard white which wouldn't have looked out of place in the Caribbean. Ditching the bike boots for a bare foot stroll across the sand we had to remind ourselves that we were in the Arctic."

"Back on the bike and it was off now to Huaraz, 80kms down the valley to meet up with Zach, a fellow motorcycle traveller I met online. Our journey appeared to converge for the next 1500km so we thought to join forces with another intrepid soul and share the journey. I have to admit that this was not my first online date. I had dabbled in the dark side of internet dating once before with mixed results, my experience this time was one of pure enjoyment.

Zach proved himself an infectious source of optimism and adventure, not to mention numerous travelling luxuries including travelling slippers, a real folding chair and to my own joy, nutella! For the following 6 days we found our way through the Peruvian Andes along some amazing road through some even more amazing scenery.

Traffic jam, Peruvian style

Camping was high on the agenda, however for the first 3 nights we found ourselves unable, terrain, population or climate forcing us into the grittiness of Peruvian city life. Our first night was in the outstanding Huanuco, outstanding in its utter confusion, smog and overabundance of casinos! Next night was Conception, our choice of hotel so inspiring I wrote a story about it! Third time lucky we stumbled across a nice place in Ayacucho and the bikes even managed to evoke some jealousy from both Zach and I by spending the night in a fully stocked liquor store!

...After spending a few relaxing days in Cusco wandering the streets, eating tasty food and checking out the Incan and colonial stone architecture, it was time to make it to one of the new '7 wonders of the world' – Machu Picchu. Some people travel all the way to Peru, just for the 'MP experience', but for us it was (not) just another destination on our long journey. Machu Picchu receives up to 4000 visitors PER DAY – people arriving there by train, by foot on the famous Inca Trail or, as we did it, 'by the backdoor'.

It was a convoy of 4 motorbikes that left the hostal Estrellita (little star) on a drizzly Cusco morning. We had been riding with Zach, from California for the past week or so, south from Huaraz in the Cordillera Blanca, and we'd just met up with Frank (Florida) and Alex (Austria) in Cusco. It was a little tricky negotiating the wet, cobblestoned, one way streets, but once we were out of town and on the way, the rain cleared up and the roads dried off."

"Turtuk is officially 'India's last Village' in the north. You can't go beyond Turtuk. 6 km from here is the line of control and the border. Across the border is Pakistan. So this is the last village of India for all intent and purpose.

The road to Turtuk follows the Shyok River all the way. The Shyok flows further into Pakistan. It took me a good 3 and a half hours to reach Turtuk, with stops for photos on the way. One of my jerry cans started leaking fuel and I had to empty it into the tank. Luckily, I hadn't lost much fuel. I got stopped at the army check post and after production of my Inner Line Permit, I was allowed to pass.

Water, or sand?

Turtuk is actually a line of houses on hills and elevations, and so, you have to climb quite a lot to get homestays, if you want the actual Balti experience. Or you can stay at the guest houses you find by the main road. The choice is yours. After getting a comfortable homestay for 350 rs a night, inclusive of food, I had a hot water bath. The family was very much excited about my trip and went gaga over the photos. I let them have a free run of the camera, and they looked at all pictures end to end. And when I told them I would take a family photo before I leave, they were excited beyond measure!"

"The road out of San Juan to the Paso Agua Negra border post at Flores is a wonderful paved road with countless twists and turns, we refuel in Flores and leave Argentina for the last time on this trip, we have crossed in and out of this country no less than 15 times. This border crossing is delightful, everyone is so happy and friendly.

While Skill is doing the bike paperwork, I return to the bike, stare up at the mountains and reflect on our time in Argentina - we have loved this country that has welcomed us so warmly and let us come and go as we wish, we have loved the people, the asados, the scenery, the camping. And despite the bad press that Argentinian police and officials receive we have found them to be mostly very friendly and always beyond reproach.

...when all is said and done, we have treasured our time here and it is with a heavy heart we leave Argentina for the last time – on this trip at least.

It is a long bone shaking journey that takes us over the Agua Negra Pass at an altitude of 4775 metres (according to the guide book). It is in a word, stunning. Huge desolate peaks, enormous glaciers, melted ice sculptures and scree slopes everywhere you look.

The last 20km into Juntas is a bit of a nightmare, roadworks of thick deep rolly gravel on a hard packed surface, not what you want at the end of a long day on a heavily laden bike. Sometimes I really don't know how Skill keeps the space shuttle also know as a Vstrom (so named because of its size and non-manoeuvrability, not its speed or sleek good looks) upright. We arrive at Juntas, the Chilean border 4 1/2 hours after leaving the Argentinian border with only a quick 10 minute stop for food, it is now 4.50pm and the border post closes at 5.00pm. Phew just made it, by the skin of our teeth. We are processed pretty quickly although everything has to come off the bike and be scanned for food and other contraband."

"I have a day and a half of riding on RN 7, although it's a major route by Madagascan standards, it's still not great tarmac and life around me continues how it has been for a very long time. I stop for a break and get the funny feeling that I'm being watched...

They come out from the bushes - I finally get to see some ring-tailed lemurs, probably the most famous of all the lemurs but somehow I hadn't managed to see any until now."

"I am at the foot of the 9200 feet Sani Pass. The steep uphill with a grade of 30% gravel road will be for me the ultimate 'Torque' test of the performance of my new set up on my sidecar with the new camshaft and the 18" rear wheel.

As soon as the weather clears, I will attempt to ride it and enter Lesotho to lose myself in the mountain's villages where people looked so joyous when we drove through briefly in November. They live an extremely simple life with no electricity and no running water... so don't expect too much communication from me when I will be there!

I made it to the top in the fog and then it started pouring rain. I stay tonight at the lodge where I met Yves, a bicyclist friend from France we met a few days ago. I got a 30 days visa so I have plenty of time to get lost in the mountains of Lesotho."

"With the bikes packed, we say our farewells to the staff and begin our days short journey to Meknes and its medina. The route seems simple enough; heading west from the hotel we make a left and a right. Then straight along the N6 until Meknes where navigation through its densely populated streets sees the return of excitement. Unfortunately we don't have to wait for Meknes!

As I approach the roundabout, I notice a wide swath of water and, instinctively, head for an inside dry-line. As I exit the traffic circle I hear a surprised gasp over the headset and, as I look in the mirrors, I see Nita's bike sliding through the intersection with her behind it. Miraculously, the intersection that was buzzing with cars and trucks only moments ago is now empty and both bike and rider slide to a stop free of harm.

Turn number one in Fès – 400m from the hotel

I jump off of my bike and run towards her. She's fine – she's telling me she's fine over the headsets. Two men are already attending to the bike and I thank them for their help. I tell Nita to shake it off by my bike while I gather up her motorcycle and ride it over. Looking at the ground, a closer inspection reveals the 'Water' is, in fact, coolant and oil from a large truck whose engine recently let go. When we look at the video later, Nita's tire is about two inches onto the slick when the front slides out from under her. She had no chance to save this one!

Back at the bikes Nita's spirits are still high; the upside of the situation is that her heart is still normal – no tachycardia! Perhaps a B12 deficiency is the culprit after all. We inspect her bike and, with the exception of some new dents and scratches on her panniers, it all seems quite fine. A tightening loop on her jacket is slightly torn and she's covered in oil and coolant, but she's totally fine which is all that matters. With our heart-rates returning to normal, we make a right onto Abu Bakr Ibn Al-Arabi and begin heading west."

"We planned to stay in Aourir for 9 nights, in the end we were there for 17!

...we explained the situation to the doctor and he did not hesitate a moment with his diagnosis. The best for Hertta would be to have an operation and cut away the tumors. Now Skippy had a hard time to face this fact. It is always a high risk to operate on an old dog (same as an old person). Weakness of the body, side effects and after effects might be tricky. Anyway, we agreed to the operation. Hertta stayed at the doctor as the operation would be performed in a few hours. We could pick her up by 5pm.

Even though we knew she was in good hands and we knew she will be back, the hotel room felt empty. Lyra felt our tension and gave us some company whereas Ulpu could not care less and only wanted to play. We could barely wait until it was time to leave the hotel for Hertta. We arrived a bit early and we were very relieved to hear her barking :)

We took Hertta back in the hotel and OMG she was high. Her eyes were all criss-cross and I can imagine in what kind of drug heaven she was right now. The same evening we realized that she was bleeding a bit and also lost some body liquid(?). It was too much for us and we called the doc. He was very kind and drove to the hotel to look after her. No life threatening emergency and the vet only changed the bandage.

The days went by and the focus was on taking care of Hertta. In the meantime I was waiting for my rear shock. DHL was very quick. Within two days the shock traveled from Netherlands to Morocco only to be stuck in customs for the next 10 days! Yes, 10 days!

So I went to the Wednesday market in Auorir."

"...About 25 miles from Loreto, there is a lovely small village tucked into the Los Gigantes Mountains. The road has been washed away in many places because of heavy rains and steep, easily eroded walls of the canyons along the way. It's under construction for several miles as you climb up the walls of the canyon to reach the mountain plateau where this small village rests.

There are several water crossings, or vados, along the route and 7 of them have water today. They must have water most of the time because there is a layer of green algae growing on the concrete and makes for a slippery crossing. I get across them all fine, but on the way out the 5th one catches me and I drop my bike onto its left side. My poor bike.... but the water actually feels sort of good.

The village is very small, and has a hostel and a couple of shops and restaurants. In the heart of the town is the Mission, founded in 1699. It has taken on a few different incarnations, and this building has been here more than 250 years."

"Next we continued south and east to Cerro Sombrero on Wei's advice. The gravel road this way to the San Sebastian border is much cleaner and there is a 20 km paved section in the middle. Get gas at Cerro Sombrero and have Chilean pesos if you can. Of note the pumps are off from 12-1 and 3-330 everyday. We arrived luckily at 5 to 1. The road is pretty hard pack with little gravel except in a few short sections.

The drive into Ushuaia is very scenic, with snow capped mountains, lakes, and fjords.

The national park gate where you pay your 11$ to get in is 12 km west of the city on a good dirt/sand road. The 'end of the road' is a further 10 km down this road. We arrived just after 5 busses unloaded and were mobbed by people wanting photos of us.

It was quite a feat to try to get the bikes in front of the sign and get a photo before the warden kicked us out.

Leaving the park we saw 5 bikes and one had a huge Canadian flag on it so we had to stop and meet our fellow Canadians and Motogringos Peter, Anne, Kevin, Dieter, and Bill!"

"Leaving Pisa behind us we followed secondary roads through beautiful Tuscany of Italy. The scenery was truly everything we could have expected from this famous region, even in wintertime. Chief navigator Monika was searching the map for a small village as a friendly place to hang out. By chance she found San Gimignano and the nice Santa Chiara campground within walking distance. Even now, the day before Christmas, there were several other people traveling who had discovered San Gimignano, a small walled medieval hill town in the province of Siena, Tuscany, north-central Italy. Famous for its medieval architecture and well-preserved towers, its hilltop setting and encircling walls formed an unforgettable skyline.

...On Christmas Day Santa Claus had some inventive ways of making his deliveries including ladders up the back of several motorhomes and climbing ropes to balconies.

We took the opportunity to stroll around the cobbled streets of San Gimignano without the hordes of tourists that crowd this World Heritage Site town during Summer."

"What a pass, steep and tight with stunning views over the edge. Speed limit of 60KMH, no overtaking. No roadworks on this stretch but lots of gravel on the roads and bends. Got down and headed into Vanrhynsdorp, the museum was closed so filled up and turned onto the N7.

Cape to Namibia highway, did the other end a few months back. Guess what, roadworks all the way along to Clanwilliam. Got there at two and found a place to lay my head. Unpacked the bike and headed for the Pakhuis pass. Nearly 30km long and a long high climb through mountains that look like massive boulder piles. The road has only recently been tarmacked, would hate to do it dirt with rocks that size. Even with the nice surface I was down to 40kmh on some bends as the road stops at the edge. Target fixation could cause a bad off when looking at the views. Very windy as well, the wind was hitting the hills and following the road up, kept changing direction."

"Hi! I bought my first motorbike Honda CGL125 in Tulum, Mexico. After a long backpacking trip I decided to travel the whole of Central America (or even further) on a motorbike. Shortly after I fell in love with it and the freedom it gave me. With a little motorbiking experience (2h) I rode all the way down to Panama City and then took it to Colombia.

I am looking for 'off the beaten path' experiences and this is what made me continue my travels on a motorbike.

Today I uploaded a video that shows a story about taking the motorbike from Panama to Colombia."

"Riding a ferry with Ted Simon across a channel to Goa for India Bike Week. It's been an excellent ride on Royal Enfield Bullets down from Bombay along the coast with the Helmet Stories crew. Discovering beach roads, gorging on fish and enjoying Tedisms - the man is full of quirky sayings. What a pleasure to hear stories from both his round the world motorcycle journeys :)

This sums up Ted Simon's view of Harleys.

On the Helmet Stories 'Ride with the Legends' from Bombay to Goa for India Bike Week, Harley-Davidson, being a major sponsor of the event, wanted Sir Ted to ride this new Sportster Super Low. He took one spin on it, jumped off and said, 'Jay, you ride the Harley, I'm riding the Enfield.' The seating position is not kind to the knees and the handlebar position isn't the best.

But, I'm good at riding anything on two wheels fast, so I enjoyed the Harley with its torquey engine and well-balanced chassis; first time to ride a belt-driven bike! Its super short suspension kept bottoming out on the rough coastal roads we were on and I resorted to standing on the pegs and riding it like a dirt bike. Ted quipped that India is the only place where you can ride off-road on tarmac ;)"

"Hey hey hey, I'm in LA... and so is Ziggy! Quite simple really. Travel nineteen hours including five in Nadi airport, Fiji (almost large). Breezed through US customs etc in under an hour, was directed to the wrong place by a taxi driver who put me on a bus. Walked 2 miles... yes MILES... to Qantas Freight. They had the bike... Yay! I still had to clear customs in an office past where I caught the bus.

One SUPER helpful Qantas guy drove me in the company van to customs, filled out my paperwork, talked the jargon, and in 20 mins it was cleared. Then his bosses didn't want me to work in the workshop because of safety issues. After a few tears (not really) but I told them I had to leave the bike there forever because I don't have a truck. My helper argued for me!

They finally let me uncrate the bike in the warehouse, did I mention it was 14 degrees and raining? All the guy's eyes popped when they saw Ziggy crammed into the box and watched with wonder as she emerged almost total... still have to fit the windscreen.

Excellent! Still have to get to the hotel. Rode out into the now dark streets, pouring with rain, and took the wrong road and it threw me into a huge overpass, over the top of where my hotel was, and towards Long Beach. Through the rain I took the first exit, and after several petrol station stops for directions, pulled up soaked at the hotel.

I had left Brisbane at 11am and was in my LA hotel room at 7pm the same day. Easy, eight hours you may say! Well thanks to my new found time travel ability it was more around 28 hours. I'm off to bed!

Paul and Vincenzo

I decided to spend four nights in LA to let the jet lag settle and catch up with a fellow HU Hubber, Vincenzo from the LA Community and check out a few of the tourist hotspots."

"Massive construction projects everywhere including water & amusement parks, a very large multi- floor Haitang Bay duty free shopping mall. Atlantis Hainan: Atlantis Sanya, Hainan and Sea World Hainan (similar to Australia's Sea World / Wet n' Wild at the famous Gold Coast) are under development and construction as well.

Partially operational, weird Romance Park Sanya between Yalong Bay and Sanya under heavy construction

Some random Hainan Island pics, as usual the works = very good mates ~ excellent food ~ brilliant solid bike cruising, hanging out at the pool and awesome relaxing days… just as always ~ time flies..."

"It was a slow, snowy, slushy, muddy descent from the pass and I was conscious of the pain in my back after picking my bike up off the ground at the border. Unsure if I had the strength to pick it up again should I fall, I descended cautiously through the cloud.

Boot dryer

After negotiating several switchbacks I came to a group of buildings surrounded by numerous trucks all with their bonnets open and presumably in various states of repair. I was approached by a guy and asked if I'd deliver a 1.2m long steel spike to some guys that were working on the road further down the mountain. I agreed, but failed to see that one end was covered in a thick, oily deposit that slowly found its way onto everything – including my tent!

Kyrgyzstan from Tajikistan

I dropped the spike off and continued along what must be the longest 'no-mans land' I can ever remember crossing. Eventually I came to the Kyrgyzstan border where the first guard looked at my passport and sent me to the immigration office. Within seconds my passport was back in my hand having been stamped and I was ushered off to customs. I found them eating lunch and expected to be in for a long wait. All I got was 'You go Osh?' 'Da' I said and was told to 'GO... GO!' I've never crossed a border so fast!"

"Spent the evening to the 29th in Atacames, a tourist beach town, however it's low season so not much is going on. Got on the road early thing morning and took my time riding south to Canoa along the coast. The route is all coastal jungle, mostly small villages and scattered homes.

Don't ride at night

Most of the villages had dirt roads and many were flooded or very muddy.

Freedom Bike Rental in Quito is a must stop for travelers looking for information and assistance.

Court and Silva

"While hanging out in Keflavík Library that first week, we also met a man named Gylfi Jón. Gylfi Jón was the director of education in the area of Reykjanesbær. Gylfi Jón approached us at the end of the week while we were sitting in the library, and invited us out to his 'hut' the following day for lunch. Gylfi Jón picked us up in front of the library the next day and cooked us a delicious dinner of lamb chops and potatoes. He also offered us a place to stay at his hut, which is a small cottage next to the ocean, complete with electricity, a fridge, a stove, a bbq, hot water, a wood fireplace and the best outdoor shower we have ever seen.

The area in which Gylfi Jón's hut is located, called Hafurbjarnarstadir, is home to many Icelandic horses roaming and grazing in the fields.

The shower at Gylfi Jón's hut was on the outside of the building. The combination of the hot water, cool breeze and the view of the sunset over the ocean and the Icelandic horses in the fields is why Paula and I have deemed it the greatest shower on Earth."

"Originally, we intended spending only a few days in Bolivia, on our way south towards lower altitudes and warmer weather. We have now been in the country for six and a half weeks, and, while the mechanic assured us again today that the Disco will be ready 'mañana', we are beginning to wonder if we ought to look for more permanent accommodation and put down roots! Everyone to whom we speak, from our good friends, to hotel staff, to Tony who owns the corner shop, tells us that this is how it is in Bolivia. Jorge told us it took three months to have his car resprayed; Tony says he once left his car with a friend for a minor repair, which was to take one week to complete, and he got the car back six months later.

Why should this be so? We are puzzled and perplexed. We have variously been advised to consult a lawyer; report the garage to the consumer council; go to the police, but we do not believe that any of these actions would bring about the desired result. We just want the Disco back, so we can get on with our journey.

...The following day we took to the main avenue close to our hotel for the Children's Carnaval. Imagine a fancy-dress parade, taking place during a street party, where children are armed with giant-sized water pistols and aerosols of party foam, and you will get an idea of the goings-on. Little children, and teeny tiny children, proudly paraded in their costumes, which varied from clever, home-made outfits, to off-the-peg Disney regalia. SpongeBob Squarepants, the Smurfs, Mickey Mouse, Angry Birds and at least a dozen Snow Whites all strutted their stuff before the crowds, who mercilessly spayed them with water and foam. Our favourite participants were the ones where parents and children had dressed in matching costumes. Groups of dancing sunflowers, clowns and jugglers were interspersed with brass bands, the whole slow-moving cavalcade taking over four hours from start to finish."

"...From Alice Springs we of course went to Ayers Rock, the famous piece of red stone in Australia's centre. We actually hadn't expected very much from it, but we were positively surprised. From sunrise to sunset we watched the light change constantly on the rock, and we explored it from all sides – also from the top! The climb early in the morning, when the temperatures were still cool, was extremely steep, and quite strenuous, but worth all the effort. The view from the top is amazing, and the whole scenery unique.

...45° C in the shade, the sun burned down on us mercilessly – and since about 300 kilometres we hadn't really noticed a change in the landscape. We had arrived in Western Australia – hot, dusty, and only very scarcely populated. We couldn't be bothered to stop somewhere, and to go exploring – the weather was 'hot hot, and damn hot', as we were informed by a sign at a roadhouse.

We had definitely chosen the wrong time of the year to explore Western Australia. Temperatures were only bearable when we were near the coast, where they dropped below 25° C at least during the nights, so that we could find some sleep. But the beautiful coast made up for the stress and strains. We enjoyed the endless beaches, the reefs that provided great snorkelling spots, the fishing, and fantastic wildlife.

But most annoying were the billions of bush flies that lunged at us as soon as we stopped somewhere, and that sometimes nearly drove us insane, crawling into our nostrils, ears, eyes. More than once we had to leave because there were simply too many of them.

Besides the bush flies we also saw lots of kangaroos and emus. Of course, they are not so annoying, but they are also not only nice to watch – especially when they run out on the streets right in front of you, or when they raid the campsite in the middle of the night searching for water and food."

"San Gil is a nice town, but nothing too special about it. Most people use it as a base to go on to do other activities in the area. We're here primarily for the hiking. Actually, Neda is here primarily for the hiking. I'm here because I followed her motorcycle...

The Camino Real trail is a 9-km hike that typically takes a couple of hours, and follows a rough stone path originally laid down by the indigenous Guane people, and then later used by the early Spanish colonizers. Unfortunately, very few of the Guane people are around as the conquistadors wiped the civilization out.

We took a bus 45 minutes out of town to Barichara, which is called 'the most beautiful town in Colombia'. Funny how every town or city has to have some kind of distinction around here, but in this case, it is definitely the prettiest town we've visited in the country so far.

Smooth cobblestone streets and a tranquil approach to life

...For the last few days, we've been debating whether to ride into Bogota or not. I didn't really care whether we go or not, there's nothing there that I am interested in seeing, plus I've heard the traffic is brutal! The city's population is a densely-packed 8 million people - 4 times larger than Medellin, and we weren't too happy about that traffic.

However Neda heard that the old city was very pretty, so as always, on a last minute decision just as we are leaving Honda, we decided to dive headfirst into MegaBogopolitan traffic.

The weather is changing once again. As we climb from Honda's relatively low elevation of 750 feet all the way to Bogota at 8600 feet, the temperature goes from scorching to chilly in just a few short hours. Neda tells me we're at 15C, almost a 20 degree difference! The air is misty because we are now riding into the clouds clinging to the mountains around Bogota.

As if it wasn't cold enough, it starts to rain cats and dogs on us. It takes us an hour to traverse the heavily congested 25kms from the outer ring of Bogota's residential suburbs, through the very modern downtown city core, all the way to the historical centre of La Candelaria, where Neda wants to stay. The moment we arrive, the rain stops. Of course."

We heard Bogota was a dangerous place. So while Neda looks for a hostel, I guard the bikes against... um, curious schoolchildren...

"Tomorrow is the day and for once I am a little lost for words. The last few days have been surreal! Of course they have. I am about to attempt to ride an overloaded top heavy 250cc motorbike around the world on my own. Not only that, I am going to try and sail it to Antarctica in 10 months time across rough seas on a small yacht! I don't even like being on the sea! In fact I get sea sick! Wont it be worth it though? What sights await me?"

"I was on my way through Turkey when I met an Austrian biker who, after realizing I was Italian, asked for advice about his route back to Austria passing through Italy. Well, I was unable to tell him / suggest anything special. How embarrassing? That day I sadly realized that riding beyond my national borders, willing to discover the rest of the world without properly knowing my own country didn't make any sense at all.

So, I threw away my round-the-world-plan in favour of an Italian adventure. The idea is to begin my journey with no planned out route and being directed by Motociclismo magazine users. In fact, they will suggest which roads to ride on, places to visit, bikers to meet along the way plus offering their hospitality for the night or even join me for a day or two on their bikes. Some say the so called bikers' brotherhood is just a myth. Well, I want to prove it does exist!"

"About 2 years ago we started dreaming of riding our bikes around the USA. We were very excited as we pored over maps and figured out a route that included Alaska, Canada, North America, Mexico and Central America. Our 2 boys had left home and we were well and truly ready for a break after many years in the corporate world.

We were apprehensive about such a huge undertaking and had discounted South America as being 'too dangerous' from reports of kidnappings and drug cartels that seemed synonymous with this region. To be truthful we were also unsure about Mexico and Central America, plus the cities of America... and what about the traffic we would encounter and all the lunatic drivers! Perhaps it is easier and safer to stay at home, why put ourselves at such risk? Then a job opportunity came up that was too good to refuse and the trip was postponed.

We had become members of HU Perth branch and involved ourselves on the committee to organise the inaugural Perth Horizons Unlimited weekend meeting. Thus we soaked up many stories of incredible journeys that had been undertaken from our new friends in this inspiring community. (We also met Grant and Susan at the inaugural Perth meet). Thus the spark of the dream never extinguished but continued to be fanned by these 'crazy people' and continued disenchantment with work life.

I don't know what made the difference, no single event, I guess we had been at this point before, wanting to change our lives but not having the courage to venture into uncertainty and the unknown. Searching and reading ride reports on the Web had become a weekly event as we lived through the eyes of other adventurous souls who ventured out there and did it. Our time had come!

Forget me Not Elephants from Karen

The dream – 18 months around the Americas on our Triumph motorcycles. 50% camping, 50% motels (to make the budget stretch). We are overcoming our fears and intend to ride the length and breadth of North and South America, from the top of Alaska to the bottom of Argentina.

...Bikes get loaded onto the ship on Monday, sails on Wednesday and berths in LA some 40 odd days later – See you soon on the start of our adventure!"

"Only 15 more sleeps until I head off back to New Zealand, only three months later than planned! Angie is hanging back in the UK for ten days after I leave to finalize a few things and my job is to get the bikes prepped and ready after two years in storage for when she arrives.

Due to our late arrival back in NZ we probably won't linger as winter will be well on the way so all the back country tracks that we couldn't ride last time will be shut for the winter again – bugger!

It's a right shame Angie won't get to see the country in summer – just have to make up for it in OZ I guess. We have a few outback adventures planned for OZ, a lot of sandy tracks and a few croc infested river crossings – the bait, I mean Angie can go first! Australia is expensive for us so we expect to camp for more than 110 nights, but we like it. Back on the road, back in the tent, big skies, bush camp sunsets, camp fires, starry nights, sun rises and the sound of the stove hissing – fan bloody tastic!"

"I'm undertaking an overland adventure to Europe, Russia and Central Asia in my Land Rover Defender. I have travelled to 30 countries so far during my lifetime. My travels have included a 6 1/2 week around-the-world trip (by air) and a one-month 'overlander' trip in southern Africa. This expedition will be my most significant trip to date and will significantly increase the number of countries that I have visited.

I encountered some challenges getting a Land Rover prepared for the trip – and had to start fresh with a second Defender, learning a few hard lessons along the way! The Defender has been prepped for overlanding and is now having a few adjustments made prior to the 2014 adventure...

...After a couple of years of planning, it's finally time to start the adventure. I'll be on the British Airways flight tonight and will arrive at Gatwick in the morning. I'll be reunited with my Defender by Monday afternoon..."