We are Peter and Leonie from Amsterdam, the Netherlands. We have quit our jobs and rented out the house to be able to travel around the world on our motorbikes. We both travel on a Honda CRF250L (specifications: 250cc , 144kg curb weight, liquid-cooled, 4-stroke, single cylinder, DOHC, fuel-injection). A great reliable bike that brings us everywhere we want to go!

We will travel for two years. We left late 2013 from Amsterdam and have since then travelled through Europa and Africa. In november 2014 we took our motorbikes to South America. We saw beautiful things and met amazing people! We enjoyed unimaginable hospitality in Libya and Egypt. We rode great offroad tracks along Lake Turkana and Lake Tanganyika and fully enjoyed the beautiful nature Africa has to offer! South America has given us with a lot of new adventures, friends and beautiful miles on the bikes!

We want to share our adventures with you and will be posting our stories on the HUBB. We hope you join us!

PS To have a complete picture of our trip, we will start at the very beginning and catch up.
PS2 You can also find us on Facebook. Search for a person with the name ’Amsterdam to Anywhere’

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Small bikes, big adventure --> www.amsterdamtoanywhere.nl

“What would it be like if we could travel for more than three weeks? If, after riding to the south for 1.5 week, we would not have to turn around to go home to be back in time to go to work?” If you go on the internet with those thoughts, you will soon find out that we are not the first with such ideas. The internet is full of great travel blogs, with pictures from all corners of the world. If you search for ‘round the world’ and ‘motor’ you will soon find Horizons Unlimited, or ‘HU‘ for insiders.

It did not take us long to order the DVD-serie with the suitable title ‘The Achievable Dream’. Five dvds, among which Leonie her personal favorite: ‘Ladies on the Loose’.
 We spent several sundays in front of the TV with the dvdseries if HU. We watched all five titles several times, so often that the travellers that were interviewed soon reached ‘stardom’.

Many of the interviewees were experienced motorcycle travellers with several impressive trips on their list and even movies or books. After the HU-dvds we could continue filling our week-ends with movies from Austin Vince and books of Lois Pryce, Ted Simon and Sam Manicon. And do not forget the TV-series ‘The Long Way Round’ and ‘The Long Way Down’ with Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman. Our own dream was starting to get shape through all those inspiring travel stories.

In June 2011 we went to a HU-meeting in Ripley in England (at the time still on the Transalp and the Africa Twin). We took the week off and went to England with the ferry to Hull. After some days touring in England (at the wrong side of the road) we went to the campsite in Ripley on Thursday. The atmosphere at the campsite was fantastic, a terrain full of travel bikes, lightweight tents and globetrotters. And everywhere we ran into ‘movie stars’.

We went to many workshops, some with travel stories or technical bike stuff. But also to a workshop ‘Roadkill cooking’, where we learned to clean a squirl if you would hit one. Or a yoga class for bikers, in which you learned to use your sleeping mattress as a yoga cushion. And to the ‘Ladies only’ workshop in which women (in a circle) discussed ‘girl-stuff’.
 Highlights of the meeting were the presentations of Austin Vince, R1-Sjaak and Lois Pryce. In a packed meeting room they gave away a great show with stories and pictures.

We received a lot of information, so much I almost got dizzy. But after the weekend what stuck was: “Wow, there are more ‘idiots’ like us out there!”

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Small bikes, big adventure --> www.amsterdamtoanywhere.nl

The wish to travel on a motorbike already existed some time, whether for a ‘short’ holiday of three weeks within Europe or a longer trip around the world. The motorbikes that we had chosen to take were a Honda Africa Twin and a Honda Transalp. One of the questions we often heared was; “Is it not too heavy?” Yes, heavy they are, but we had already chosen to go a certain direction. We had already spent so much time and money to prepare the Twin and the Alp, that we did not just want to switch bikes. That changed, especially for me, in Morocco.

Peter had bought his bike in 2008 and was enthusiastic about the history of the Africa Twin. Some models of the Africa Twin had taken part in the Dakar Rally. So it is a legendary bike, which was very beautiful at the same time. An ‘oldy’ of which we could maintain the engine ourselves (with the garage workbook next to us), without having to use a laptop to search and correct the errors.

I thought that the Africa Twin was too big and had chosen the Transalp. At the time we also looked at the Honda Dominator, but -according the the information we got- that bike used oil and needed regular oil changes. Therefore I decided to buy the Honda Transalp as my travel bike. Since 2010 we prepared the Africa Twin and the Transalp for a long trip. We added all sorts of accessories, like new shocks and springs, another saddle, crash bars, other mirrors, a luggage rack, etc.. In the end we had great travel bikes.


The trip to Morocco was a final test for the round the world trip. We packed all the gear we also wanted to take on the big trip. This would be the ultimate test to see whether gear or spare parts had to be replaced. On day 5 I had a crash. One big one and, on the same day and the days after that, several ‘minor’ crashes. I especially struggled with the sand that had been blown on the road. On difficult parts, Peter first rode his bike and than came walking back to drive my bike through the sand. The Transalp, or at least the bodywork, fell to pieces and was kept together by gaffer tape and cable ties. The engine was purring as it had been, so we did finish the entire trip. However my confidence in the Transalp and my own driving skills had dropped drastically. Each morning I hesitated to get back on the bike and I thought about cancelling our big trip.


After a difficult time at home in our family, we again started thinking about a longer trip. In Morocco Paul (Owner of Camping Zebra) advised us to consider switching to the lighter Honda CRF205L. This was the newest street-legal light offroad motorbike that was introduced by Honda. A 250cc engine with a steel (sub)frame and good maintenance schedule, which seemed to be very good for travelling. At the end of November 2012 Peter called me from the car and told me he had visited a local bikeshop. He had studied the Honda CRF250L from all corners. He predicted: “If you see this bike, you will be sold”. And he was right. A week later I stood on the food pegs of a CRF250L to test whether I would be able to drive it standing, while Peter and a salesman held the bike. It looked tough, it was light and it could be transferred into a travelbike.

At another bike shop we were able to make a test ride. On a very cold day we took turns riding the CRF on dikes and along the polders around Hillegom. It felt like a strange moped with six gears, but it was a great drive, especially its manouavrability was great. A it was so light! I could park the bike wherever I wanted and could easily move it. For Peter it would be a big step from the Africa Twin to the CRF, mainly because of the power the bike would lack. At home we made two lists of ‘pro’ and ‘con’, which were both equally long. Eventually the CRF won and we decided to enter into negotiations with Motoport to acquire two CRFs.

In the beginning of December 2012 we made the deal. The bikes were delivered to us just before the holidays, with succeeding plates and a crate of wine. A great Christmas present!

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Small bikes, big adventure --> www.amsterdamtoanywhere.nl

Travel without obligations. No tour guide we have to follow, no set route, no job to return to and no fixed costs. Ultimate freedom, that is what we dreamed of when we first considered to travel. A sabbatical of a few months would not be sufficient to realise that dream. For the ultimate freedom we would both have to quit our jobs. And we would not make any arrangement to return to the same job afterwards. How ever great this might sound, it was easier dreamed than done.

Quitting our jobs in June was quite the ‘thing’. I was pretty nervous to inform my boss that I would be leaving and -against expectations- would be interrupt by career to travel. By saying out loud that I would quit my job, our trip came a lot closer, a special feeling.

The response we received to our plans was very positive. “Too bad that you are leaving, but what a great reason!”; “You do what everybody wants”; “I would never have the currage to do this!”; “It is now or never, with kids you are stuck”. As everybody now knew about the trip, we could finally take about our plans. It is difficult keeping that to yourself if you are so exicited about them.

Since June we both worked for another three months. During that period we were both very busy, without actually preparing to leave. This week that changed and the job really ended.


After 14 years at Akzo Nobel, of which the last three years in Rotterdam, Peter was on the night shift for the last time. A long period, that ended in a special way. During the last days a lot of colleagues came by to chat and say goodbye. Many kind words, also in several e-mails. There was a box in the control room that was covered with pictures of motor travellers for a contribution to a gift. They bought him great gifts, that were completed with a good whiskey of his own team. Peter his navigation skills will improve greatly with these gifts.

My last day at the office was a few days later, on Friday. After a crazy week, with files that had to be finished and even a meeting for a new case, it was over on Friday. At 17:00 we all went to the bar at the office. On the bulletin it said “Farewell Leonie”, which gave me a lump in my throat. Just like the speech of my boss. I was speechless and could only just finish my own speech without crying my eyes out. As Peter, I also received great gifts. The smoked mackerel Jannig gave me was a highlight! Afterwards I went out for dinner with my team. It was a very special night, with a lot of nice words and even more drinks!

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Small bikes, big adventure --> www.amsterdamtoanywhere.nl

To travel around the world, we have to adjust the bikes and prepare them as ‚travel bikes’. The most important adjustment is the possibility to take luggage. Buying a bag does not do the job. The bags have to be fitted to the bike and -maybe even more importantly- the bike has to be able to carry the extra weight. To be able to drive comfortably and safely with luggage, we had the shocks and the suspension adjusted.

On the Africa Twin and the Transalp, the bikes on which we travelled earlier, we had the shocks and the suspension replaced by Hyperpro. Both the quality of the gear, as well as the service of Hyperpro had been great. When we decided to replace these parts on the new CRFs, the choice for Hyperpro was easy.

In the beginning of March we took the first bike to Hyperpro in Alphen aan den Rijn. That branch is led by Bas, a great guy who has a lot of experience with preparing ‘travel bikes’. After tugging and pulling the CRF it was clear that the shocks and the suspension that were installed by Honda were too soft for travelling with luggage. This had to be adjusted. We chose to modify the front suspension (progressive spring) and to put in a fully adjustable shock at the back (with a progressive spring). These adjustments help to make sure that the bike remains stable on the road, even when it gets bumpy. This is not only important for a comfortable ride, but also for our safety.



As the CRF250L is a relatively new bike, Hyperpro did not have the parts in its product line yet. Our bike went to the design-team of Hyperpro, which used the bike to develop the new parts. After a few weeks, the parts were ready so Bas and David could start installing it on the bike.

The (settings of the) shock absorber and suspension are tailored made for us. They did not only take into account the weight of the luggage, but also our height, our weight and our personal preferences. My bike is therefore slightly lower than the bike of Peter, so I can easily reach the ground. We also had a pre-load adjuster installed. This allows us to easily adjust the shock absorber in height, depending on the amount of luggage we drive with.

After the parts were installed on the first bike, we swapped the motorbikes. The second motorbike is now ready and both bikes have already been tested several times with luggage. We are very happy with the result!

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Small bikes, big adventure --> www.amsterdamtoanywhere.nl

100.000 kilometre (62.000 miles), that is how long our possible route is. From Amsterdam to South-Africa, then the complete Pan-American Highway, a tour in Australia and from Asia back home to the Netherlands. A long way! And all those miles we sit on the bike. Reason enough to pay some attention the a proper seat in our surge for the perfect travel bike!

Travelling by bike is different from travelling by car as far as sitting comfort is concerned. No heated seat or comfortable bucket seat for us. The stock CRF is sold with a dazzling, bright red seat that is soft and very narrow. It is a fine seat for shorter trips. The stock-seat is however not suitable for longer trips. That became clear during the first real test ride we made in the Netherlands. The first day we got off the bikes with a wooden butt. We both had to dance before blood flowed through the gluteus maximus again.

For new seats we travelled to Midlaren in Drenthe (the Netherlands), to Raymond (www.rayz.nl). Raymond is a keen motorcyclist himself who made several very nice trips. He now uses all that travel experience to make really great seats. We were existing customers of Rayz. In 2012 he designed new seats for the Africa Twin and Transalp. We had tested and approved those seats during our trip to Morocco. A sore bum never once was a reason to get off the bike.




Raymond uses the existing plastic underground of the stock seat to build the new seat. The seat is adjusted to the personal preferences of the rider: higher, lower, narrower or wider. He also ensures that the seat is perfectly in line with the colours and lines of the bike.

In July we took one motorbike and two standard seats to Raymond. When we arrived in Midlaren we first walked in circles around the new CRF. The enthusiasm of Raymond about our lighter bike was contagious. With new energy and a good feeling about the new seats we drove back to Amsterdam.

A week later the seats were ready. Peter had to work, so this time I drove alone to the north to pick up the bike and the seats. Until the very last moment it was a surprise what the seats would look like, as Raymond allows himself some artistic freedom for the design of the seat. Freedom you can give him without any hesitation, because the result was great (again)! Upon arrival in Midlaren my bike was awaiting me with a beautiful new black and white seat with red stitches. The seat was harder what – how contradictory that might sound – is much more comfortable than the original soft seat. Furthermore, it was widened at the bank and more narrow in the front. Perfect! After a cup of coffee and some more motor talk, I went back home.


We have already tested the new seats and rode the first 4,000 km (2.500 mile) sore free! On to the next 100,000 miles without a wooden bum!

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Small bikes, big adventure --> www.amsterdamtoanywhere.nl

Amazing stories. I just found your site and am halfway now. As a fellow Dutchy, it's great to read about others that are out and about.

Another Great update! A fun read and good pics too! Thanks SO MUCH for working so hard to keep your report current! WE DO enjoy it!

Do you guys know the "more or less" cost to prepare your CRF250's for the ride? The more I read up on them and see your report the more I am convinced this HONDA may be my next bike.

I've read your blog about the upgrades you made ... but not sure of the total cost? If you did it over ... would you include a "Power Commander" or not?
I've had them on several bikes in the past and found they do very little good.
Maybe the newer ones are better? For me, with a PC, fuel economy was not good.

Does the CRF250L have enough power to pull you through deep sand?

Seems like a fantastic bike overall. I owned a XR250R Honda (dirt bike) and liked it for a lot of reasons. But it was never set up to carry luggage. That bike was very good with chains, sprockets and tires ... all lasted a LONG time. Seems to be the same with your CRF250L's .. yes?

Have a safe and fun trip!

We did not add up the costs of all items, but we estimate that we spent around 4.000€ to prepare both bikes (so around 2.000€ each). The biggest part of that amount was used for better suspension, upgraded seats and solid luggage racks. The costs obviously vary depending on where you live. For example, we ordered our bigger fuel tank in the US, our radiator guards in Canada, our air filters in Australia and had them sent to the Netherlands.

No we would not. We hardly notice a difference. A better modification, is to change the front sprocket to 13-teeth (1 tooth less).

We can ride through deep sand, especially with deflated tires we manage quit well. We doubt whether the bike would have enough power to cross sand dunes with the luggage we carry. We got stuck once in Sudan and 'wiggled' the bike out of the sand by moving it sidewards a couple of times. With Peters Africa Twin, he would have been able to drive out of the sand on pure power of the bike.

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Small bikes, big adventure --> www.amsterdamtoanywhere.nl

After we have admired the pyramids, we drive to the centre of Karima where we find the hotel that was recommended to us by Volker and Mülle. We can park our motorbikes in the courtyard of the hotel. After two days of bush camping it is great to have a shower (even if it is a cold shower) and to sit on a normal toilet. The remainder of the afternoon we work on the blog, filter some water and wash our clothes. Only when the sun is set we venture out to the main square of Karima to eat in one of the local restaurants.



It is very busy in the square. Vans drive off and on and park in the square next to the donkey carts. Around the square there are lots of ’Chai-mamas’, ladies offering coffee and tea. They sit on a stool behind a low table that has glasses and jars with different spices and sugar. In front of the table are a few chairs and stools for guests. On a charcoal fire beside her are two pots with boiling water, one with water for tea and one with coffee. In addition, there is a pot of charcoal on which herbs are smoking to keep away mosquitoes.

Around the square are about ten Chai-mamas. We choose one of the mini-terraces and order two cups of tea with sugar next to it, because if she puts in the sugar the tea is really very sweet. From under her bench she pulls a small round tray on which she puts tea glasses and a jar of sugar. She is holding a sif over the glass containing tea in which she pours the boiling water. The tea tastes very spicy and is delicious!



The next morning we drive further east to Atbara, from where we head towards Khartoum. South of Atbara we will first visit the pyramids of Meroë. Other travellers had told us that it would be a good place to bush camp. From Karima it is about 400km to the pyramids, a long distance we normally spread over two days. But since this road again runs through the hot desert, we decide to make it one long day. That way we sit in the (riding) wind on the bikes all day and we only have to pitch our tents when the sun sets.



In Karima we buy extra water and fresh bread with falafel (the usual breakfast in Egypt and Sudan) before we leave. After we have filled the tanks of our motorbikes, we set off. The first part of the route winds along the Nile, but we soon turn left onto the long straight desert road. It immediately is very hot. In the distance we see the hot sky shiver above the sand. It really does seem like there is water in the distance!



The sun is so bright that I do not only wear my regular sunglasses, but also use the sunglasses of my helmet. With sunblock on my nose, the hose of my camelback close by and the buff over my face, I can just manage to drive with an open visor. We only stop to fill our camelbacks and eat the falafel sandwiches. We ride as fast as our motorbikes can carry us through the desert.



At the end of the day we see the pyramids of Meroë from the road. As in Karima, the pyramids are smaller and pointier than in Giza (Egypt). They are built in a group between the sand dunes. We take the road towards the pyramids and look for a camping spot.



The sand on the road to the pyramids is quite deep. We wobble through the sand and at some point Peter gets stuck in a small sand dune. We both deflate the tires of the bikes to 0.8 Bar and that does wonders! On our soft (knobby) tires, standing on the pegs and hanging from the handlebars so that the front wheel is lighter, we suddenly fly through the sand. This is a lot better! We find a spot for the tent and pitch it while the sun is setting.



The next morning we wake up while the sun rises over the sand dunes. When I walk up the sand dune to seek a ‘toilet’ I come across all sorts of tracks in the sand; lizards, snakes, beetles. We were not alone this night. I also see some strange insects, beautifully shaped creatures that could be aliens.



During breakfast we are surprised when suddenly a camel stands next to us with on his back a gentleman who offers us a ride to the pyramids. The feet of a camel make almost no noise in the sand, so we did not hear them approach. We kindly decline the offer, pack our stuff and continue our journey to Khartoum.

From Atabara we drive on the main road to Khartoum. In addition to the buses (the ’idiots’), there are also a lot of trucks that ride from Port Sudan to Khartoum. The road has suffered from heavy traffic, that has pulled deep tracks in the soft asphalt. The roadside is littered with broken tires and we regularly pass stranded cars with a boiling engine. We only stop at one of the “restaurants” along the way to drink tea at one of the Chai-mamas, but keep going most of the time.



At the beginning of the afternoon, Peter suddenly brakes. I hear him say over the intercom: “A motorcyclist with a helmet“. I see a big motorbike with attached to it suitcases coming our way, and indeed there is a helmet on the head of the biker. In Africa this can only mean one thing: it must be an international traveller. Until now we have not come across any Africans wearing helmets. We turn around and see the BMW doing the same. The big man on the bike takes off his helmet and says: “Hello! Are you ‘Amsterdam to Anywhere’?” We are stunned by this greeting and answer surprised that this is indeed the name of our blog. He introduces himself as Gernot from Germany and tells how happy he is that he now actually met us. We are just as happy to see him because he is the first overlander we see in a long time. It is clear that there are other travellers on the move in Africa, some even on motorbikes. Great!



He wanted to skip Egypt and shipped his motorcycle to Khartoum, where he arrived just a few days earlier. Today he is on his way north to visit the pyramids of Meroë, but -just like us- he will travel to South Africa after that. His wife Anja is still in Germany, but will arrive in Addis Abeba (in Ethiopia) a few weeks later to join him. She was the one who had followed our blog. We exchange contact details and agree that we will meet in Khartoum the next day.

With new energy after this unexpected meeting, we arrive in Khartoum. It is as if we enter a different world. We ride along high modern buildings, we are overtaken by the most luxurious cars and pass billboards that advertise the latest round LED TV of LG. After having driven through the desert along mud houses with donkey carts for a few days, the contrast to the city could not be bigger.

Because of the heavy traffic we drive straight through the town to the National Reserve Camping, just outside the city center. We cannot really call it a campsite. It is a sports complex with training facilities. We can pitch our tent on the central square and use the showers and toilets in the residential barracks of the athletes. It is very hot and there is no wind, so the cold shower is wonderful to cool off and refresh. We do some shopping and search on the internet for information on Khartoum. In the coming days we will have to arrange our visas for Ethiopia here.

Our green tent and our red-white motorbikes are a true attraction at the camping. The manager, the superintendent, the maintenance man and groups of athletes, they all come for a chat. Always only after we have actually invited them with a friendly “Salaam Aleikum“. They are all very friendly, helpful and far from intrusive. Great!



The next morning it is 6:00 am when the alarm goes off and 7:30 am when we are on our bikes and on our way to the Ethiopian embassy ​​to apply for a visa. On the internet we read all sorts of horror stories about long queues and chaotic situations at the entrance. We had therefore decided to be there early just to be safe. With the coordinates that we had received from Gernot we quickly find the parking area of the Ethiopian embassy. The poles along the edge are painted in cheerful green-yellow-red colours of the Rastafarian flag of Ethiopia. The two guards make clear they will watch our bikes when we are inside.

As we walk through the gate of the embassy, ​​we enter into a beautiful green garden with birds and a fountain in the middle. In the garden is a covered terrace where some people are waiting. There is a ticket window with a lady who hands out papers. All in all a fairly peaceful environment, without long queues or chaos. When we have completed the paperwork we are searched and are allowed to enter the embassy. We enter a beautiful round building with lots of glass and large pictures of the President of Ethiopia on the wall. It looks very clean and new. They even have air conditioning, a working one! We hand over our papers and are told that if we wait a half hour we can take our passports with the visas. Only 30 minutes? Great, getting visas was never faster. That saves us a ride into town the next day and waiting in the air-conditioned waiting room is not a punishment. Not even twenty minutes later it sounds: “Mr. Peter?“ Our visas are ready! After we have paid, the man hands over our passports with a beautiful Ethiopian visa of three months in it. Great, that is settled!

Once back at the campsite we hear the humming BMW-motorbike of Gernot ride onto the camping ground. He has visited the pyramids, camped there and is now back in Khartoum to drive further south from here. He had been in Khartoum some days earlier and knew a great pizza restaurant. We get on our bikes and ride to the city for a tasty pizza. We talk endlessly about our adventures so far and the plans for the rest of Africa. On the way back we drink tea at one of the dozens of Chai-mamma’s in town.



When we arrive at the campsite after dinner there is a sturdy Toyota Landcruiser with rooftop tent and a Dutch license plate parked next to our little green tent. We meet Maurits and Marloes from The Hague in the Netherlands. On Peter’s question whether Marlous is ‘Mouse83′ on the forum of Horizons Unlimited she looks as surprised as we must have looked when we first met Gernot. Through their messages on the forum, Peter knew that there was a Dutch couple in a car riding through Africa. It is a coincidence that we actually met. That evening we talk about our adventures and exchange tips until we are all five yawning and decide that we should crawl into our tents.

Like us, Maurits and Marloes do not really like the campsite. We decide to move to the Blue Nile Sailing Club, a camp site in the center of Khartoum on the Nile. Despite the negative stories on internet (you apparently require waders to go to the toilet) we want to take a look there. We pack our stuff and say goodbye to Gernot. He leaves for Ethiopia where he will pick up his wife in a few days. We agree to keep in touch and meet in South Africa for cold drinks and a good piece of meat.



On the way to the second camp site, we will first look for an insurance office where we can buy insurance for the motorbikes. As of Tunisia our European green card is no longer valid, so we have to buy insurance at each border. In Africa they have the ‘yellow card’ called Comesa, which is valid in many countries. We would like to buy that yellow card, so we do not have to go through the administrative mill at each border for insurance. Moreover, it saves some money.

On the internet we found an insurance company that offers the COMESA insurance in Sudan. With the fully packed bikes we drive into the busy city. It is hot and because we cannot find the building immediately we are almost floating in our suits when we finally find the building. Peter stays with the bikes, while I go inside with all our papers. The guard looks a bit strange when I enter. I cannot blame him. A red sweaty face, a gray T-shirt which is now dark grey with stains of sweat, a dirty motorcycle pants that was once white and clunky motorcycle boots.

When I get to the ticket window and ask: ”Comesa?” , the man behind the glass confirms that I can get it there. There is only one problem, the man who knows everything about Comesa is on holiday. I am send through to the manager, who again sends me to his manager. In the posh office of the manager (where I am sitting in my dirty, smelly suit) it again appears that only the holiday-man is familiar with Comesa. They try to call him, but cannot reach him. They give me his telephone number and asure me I can call him. Even though everyone was very helpful, I leave the office half an hour later without insurance and without the intention to disturb the holiday of their colleague. It is so warm outside, that we decide not too look for any other insurance office. We will sort that insurance out when we get to Ethiopia.

We drive to the new campsite, The Blue Nile Sailing Club, in the centre of town. As we drive onto the campsite we see the car of Maurits and Marlous parked in the shade. On the lawn are more tents, in addition to some bicycles we also see… two Honda Africa Twins! We park our bikes next to the Twins and meet Argentines Julian and Lorena. They own a beautiful purple Africa Twin, which is plastered with stickers from virtually all corners of the world. They have travelled for over twelve years around the world, of which the last ten years with their dog, Trico! They have really been everywhere. Julian is working on a blue-green Africa Twin owned by a Sudanese friend who rode that bike from Khartoum to Cape Town.

If you are on holiday and meet other travelers that is always special, but if those travellers are motorcyclists it is usually more special in a crazy way. Often you will hear: “Hey, you have a motorcycle? I also ride a motorbike!” You will never hear someone say, “Hey, do you have a car? I also have a car.” Somehow there is an immediate inexplicable click with other motorcycle riders. And if that motorbike than also is a Honda Africa Twin, that is often the start of a new friendship. Once Peter and Julian start talking, there is no stopping them. The men squat next to the bike, discuss technical details and exchange the latest news around the fuel pump. If I mention that the Africa Twin might very well be Peters first love, Julian proudly shows the tattoo of his Africa Twin. It is not very different in Argentina, the love for the Honda Africa Twin is universal!



The Blue Nile Sailing Club turns out to be a really nice place, in the middle of the city and overlooking the Nile. There is a constant breeze which make it nice despite the heat. The rest of the day we hang out on the patio and we exchange stories with Maurits and Marloes, the Argentines and a group of German cyclists who are also staying at the campsite.



By the end of the afternoon, the owner of the blue-green Africa Twin, Obay, also comes take a look. This time on a brand new BMW GS. Not much later, three other biker-friends of Obay arrive, one of them on a brand new KTM. In the parking lot are now also some very expensive cars. The Blue Nile Sailing Club is the clubhouse of a business club in Khartoum. The businessmen meet in the evening to talk or play cards. We talk with them about our trip, their businesses in Sudan and Ethiopia, and the state of the toilet in the clubhouse (although we did not need waders, it was pretty dirty and not ‘business-club-worthy’).

The contrast between our meetings in the business club in the lively Khartoum and our encounters with the simple Sudanese living outside Khartoum is enormous. The difference is even confirmed when we ask Obay if he can recommend a restaurant and he replies: “Let me call my driver, he will take you.” Not much later we sit in his new Toyota and we enjoy a great meal with Maurits and Marloes among affluent Sudanese, while the driver is waiting for us in the corner of the restaurant. Remarkable!

The next morning we say goodbye to Maurits and Marloes. They have folded in their roof tent and will drive further north today. Julian and Lorena also leave. Once they have packed all their belongings and put on their suit, their dog Trico is wagging his tail on the ground. He knows that they are going to drive and is clearly excited! As Julian and Lorena have taken their seat, Trico jumps on the saddle and lies down between them. What a great sight! And what lovely people, we hope that during our wanderings around the world we will again meet them (and their Africa Twin)!

We stay one more night at the campsite on the Nile and then move on. Time to go to Ethiopia!

Distance travelled to Khartoum: 9,269 km / 5,760 miles

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With a visa for Ethiopia in our pocket we leave Khartoum and head for the border. It is about 600km to the border town of Metema. South of Khartoum there are no places of interest that we want to visit, so we plan to ride two full days. If we then camp just before the Ethiopian border on the second day, we can arrive there early to complete all the formalities and still have sufficient time to ride to the first campsite in Ethiopia.





Once we have left the bustling Khartoum, the landscape quickly changes into dry, dusty plains. No more expensive cars or high buildings, but mud houses and donkey carts. Only the main road on which we drive is paved, all other roads are dirt roads with deep potholes. But even the paved road is in poor condition. We regularly need to slalom between the potholes to avoid a flat tire.

We drive through villages with long rows of small shops just next to the road. Oddly enough, you often find a number of the same shops next to each other. First a row of carpenters who all offer the same wooden frames, then a row of blacksmiths with the exact same metal fencing and then a row of restaurants. What is also striking, is that you can get a Coca Cola everywhere. In the most deserted village and most secluded restaurant you can always get a bottle of sugarwater. A bottle of Coke is often more readily available than a bottle of water. There is tap water, but we only use that to brush our teeth and to cook, not for drinking. A good alternative is tea. The water has been boiled, so it is safe to drink. And along the way there are ‘chai-mamas’ everywhere selling their spicy tea.





At one of the many villages we stop at the market to buy some fruit and vegetables. While I am negotiating about the price of bananas, a large group of Sudanese men gathers around the bikes. Peter is subjected to a cross-examination. “What brand is the motorbike?“, “How many cc?”, “What is the maximum speed?” and the most asked question “What does the motorbike cost?“. As I put away the groceries I get out my camera to take some pictures of the crowd. After two pictures I walk across the street to take some picture of the market, the group of Sudanese men and Peters white helmet that only just sticks out of the crowd. When I get back to my bike and want to store away the camera, a man next to me commands in a loud voice, out of nothing that I should delete my pictures.

“Sorry? Delete my pictures?“.

“YES , DELETE THE PICTURES! NOW!“

In Sudan you require a permit to travel through the country and a permit to take pictures. But even with the permit you cannot take all the pictures you want . As in many other countries, you cannot take any photos at strategically important points such as bridges and police posts. In Sudan the rules are even more strict as they do not allow you to take any pictures of ‘public buildings’. The problem is that a lot of the buildings fall under that Sudanese definition and you may not always be aware of that. Sudan even adds to this by also prohibiting photos of slums and beggars.

You need to carry several copies of the permit with you so you can always give one to the police when requested. We only heard of the compulsory permit in Khartoum and did not want to put in the effort to get one at that time. It went fine without a permit so far and we figured that the last two days in Sudan, from Khartoum to the border, would surely be OK as well. At least, so we thought.

The man again demands that I remove the photos. Because he is not wearing a uniform it is not clear whether he is a police officer or whether he is a bystander who did not like that he was photographed. A bit overwhelmed by his command I ask once again what he means and explain that I want to take pictures because Sudan is such a beautiful country. But he does not want to talk. He points to a man in uniform who is standing a little further away and says: “We are police. No talking. Delete! NOW!“

It is clear what he wants. Apparently I have made pictures of a subject they do not like to be photographed. There is no building around for miles that can be regarded as a “government building”, so probably the market is considered to be ‘slum’. Just before he makes a move to grab the camera out of my hands I decide to delete the photos. Especially since we do not have a permit, I do not want to risk loosing all our pictures or even the camera. I keep the camera in front of his face and I show that I delete the photos I had just taken. To prevent that he also wants me to delete the other pictures of Sudan, I then only show pictures of Europe that are still on the memory card. He is OK with this and does not ask for the permit. After we have promised that we will not make anymore pictures in Sudan we can go.

A bit confused I get back on the bike. What a “#$*&*%BEEEP” of a guy! We have come across a number of policemen and soldiers, but this was the first time the hairs on my arms raised. A situation where your intuition tells you: “He means business.” We drive out of the village and stop a little further to switch the memory card. Maybe we can still retrieve the deleted photos with some special software. And if we are stopped again we will not risk loosing other pictures we took. Stubburn travellers as we are, we stop a few more times after that to take pictures of Sudan. It still is a really beautiful country! And what are the chances that we will encounter that policeman again?



We stop to drink some tea at one of the ‘restaurants’ along the way. We park the motorbikes and see a group of men just getting ready for afternoon prayers. One of them gestures that we can find ourselves a table, he will be right out. After prayers, he takes our order while the others examine the motorbikes and ask us the usual questions. They consider our journey to be an adventure and cannot believe we have really driven the ‘mopeds’ from Amsterdam to Sudan. When the tea arrives they excuse themselves and take a place on the beds in the corner of the restaurant. A great place to get through the hot afternoons of Sudan. The tea is ’on the house’. The man explains that as a Muslim he has a duty to take care of travellers and that he is happy that he can offer us some tea. Welcome to Sudan!



There is a lot of traffic on the road to and from Khartoum. Just like in northern Sudan we have to be very careful for oncoming busses that overtake slower traffic in the strangest places. But we also have to keep an eye on the traffic that overtakes us in order to avoid being cut off. It often happens that overtaking traffic just keeps driving next to us to examine us more closely. One car in particular acts very strangely. The driver continues to ride beside me for a long time, getting closer and almost pushing me off the road. I pick up speed to get back in front of the car, but the driver also accelerates and drives next to me again. At the point where he comes too close again, I gesture that he should back off. Then he accelerates and starts driving very closely to Peter, almost pushing him off the road. Then I suddenly see it is the policeman we met earlier that day. So yet again after all!

The angry policeman hangs out the window and gestures that we should stop. Apart from the uniform of the person next to him, we can in no way see that we are dealing with police. It is a normal car. The angry man asks Peter for his passport. Peter asks in turn for the identification of the agents and explains that he is not just giving his passport to anyone. The agent starts rummaging in the glove box. First he pulls out a gun which he keeps high up in the air ostentatiously while he continues looking in the glove box with his other hand. He gives a card bearing the photograph of the person next to him. Unfortunately, he had left his own card lying at home (yeah right…)

After a brief look at the passports, he asks whether we have registered (all foreigners must register as they enter Sudan and pay as much as $50 per person on top of our visa of $50). Peter points to the green sticker in our passports.The man takes another look. Once we have again promised that we will not take photos in Sudan, we can go. Luckily he does not ask for the missing permit. Will this be the last time then? After that we see the car one more time while it stops to drive into a little town. We hope they think it is enough now. We are fed up any way.



At the end of the afternoon we leave the main road and find a wonderful old baobab tree a few kilometers down the road where we can camp. Before we pitch the tent, we sit under the tree for a while to have a drink and to consider whether we can sleep here without being disturbed. If after one hour no one has come to see us and it is not so warm anymore, we pitch our tent and again cook some pasta.

The next morning I an woken up by someone who is singing loudly. I also hear the occasional cow moo and branches breaking. As I look out the window of our tent, I see a large group of cows trudge past with a boy on a donkey in front. It is the same boy that we had seen with his cows the night before when we drove onto the sandy path to the big baobab. From a distance he takes a look at our tent, but then rides along singing loudly. The cows follow him. We are again amazed by the fact that we can just be here, without people coming to visit us.





We drive through warm Sudan, stopping occasionally for cattle crossing the road, helping a Sudanese motorcyclist with his flat tire and eating a sandwich in the shade. Gasoline is still difficult to get, so wherever we can we fill up the motorbikes to avoid getting stranded. The landscape changes as we drive further south. We pass dry plains with the occasional brown hill and dry riverbeds meandering through the landscape. The houses are not built of clay anymore, but are made ​​of wooden sticks and straw. Small round huts in a group together, with some cows and goats grazing in between them. The villages blend in perfectly and can hardly be seen from the road against the brown hills.



At the end of the day it takes a little more effort to find a camping spot. Right next to the road the forest is either too dense or the plain is too open. Finally we drive along some fields towards a dry river where we find a reasonably flat spot for the tent. Again we wait a bit before we pitch the tent to see if there are any angry farmers asking us to leave. Once the tent is pitched we hear a truck very close to the tent, but that is it.



The next morning we wake up well before the alarm goes off. We sit on the motorbikes packed and ready to go by 09:00 am. After 30km we arrive in Metema, a small village with a long row of busy shops and a number of larger buildings. In no way it looks like the land border between Tunisia and Libya or the border between Libya and Egypt. No big gates, no stern looking officers or long lines of people waiting. Only a barrier that is manually operated by a customs official who still slumped in a broken chair.



Before we pass the border and enter Ethiopia, we still need to get some stamps on the Sudanese side. It is not quite clear where we should go, but as usual we attract enough attention and one of the bystanders exactly knows where we should go. First to the local police station for registration. We enter a large empty room. In one corner there is a television with one chair right in froth of it. A soap opera is broadcasted. On the other side there is an empty desk with only a big book and a pencil lying on it. The man behind the desk holds up his hand and asks for our passports while continuing to watch the television.

After our data is recorded, our guide takes us to another building. We sit down in one of the chairs in the waiting area. We are the only people waiting and even the only ones in the entire building. The offices are empty and appear to be little used. The customs officer is still missing, but our guide is going to find him. After some time our guide comes back with a man who takes our carnets. We follow him to an office; a small room with two desks, some worn chairs and a cupboard full of binders. On one of the desks is a computer which is protected against dust by a piece of plastic. The man sits down at the other empty desk and takes out some big books, a pen and carbon paper. Then he begins to fill out one form after another, while properly placing the carbon paper in the right place. A signature here, a scribble there, a staple in one form, it seems to take forever but we finally get stamps in our carnets.

He refers us to the next building. This time there is an English movie showing on television. We hand over our passports and see a senior customs officer checking the documents after which he instructs his staff to take our details and stamps the passports. With the stamped passports we walk back to the bikes. A large group of young guys has gathered there offering to exchange money. The exchange rate is very bad but despite tough negotiations we do not get the price up. We decide to exchange only half of all of our Sudanese Pounds and try again in Ethiopia. We have all the stamps we need, so we can go! The customs officer at the gate slowly get up from his chair, lets the barrier up and waves us through, out of Sudan.

At the other side someone is already pointing us where to go on the Ethiopian side. We first have to take our passport to customs. Even though we are only 100 meters from the Sudanese customs office, it seems like we are in a completely different world. On the desks are computers, printers, cameras and even finger scanners. On the wall are posters with beautiful photos of Ethiopia, pictures of the president and the Ethiopian flag. In fluent English we are asked to take a seat in one of the chairs.

Our picture is taken with a futuristic webcam, the fingers of both our hands are scanned and all data is neatly captured in the computer. After fifteen minutes we are back outside and redirected to another building to register our motorbikes. This department of the Ethiopian customs was not so lucky yet and has not yet have a computer at its disposal. The man has to use a pen and some carbon paper to fill out the different forms. Yet it all goes very smooth. After the man has seen our motorbikes and has verified the colour and the chassis number, he stamps our documents. Then the rope across the road(!) is lowered and we can ride into Ethiopia!



We drive through a street with many shops, just like in Sudan. However, it does not look like the street on the Sudanese side where we just came from. We can now read the signs and placards, because the text is not only in Amhars (the beautiful Ethiopian curl script) but also in English. In Sudan most signs were only in Arabic. It is also a lot busier in the street. At this side of the border there are at least five times more people on the road than in Sudan. We are also struck by how colorful everyone is dressed. In Egypt and Sudan most people were dressed in brown, black or white. Now we see bright blue and bright red, colors that stand out against the dark skin of the Ethiopians. Their favorite t-shirt is without a doubt the green and yellow striped football shirt of the Ethiopian team.

Yet the biggest difference are the ladies! For the first time in a long time we see a lot of women in the street. And not just women, but very pretty women! Ethiopian women are known for their beauty. Long slender bodies, handsome faces and special hairstyles. And all in Western clothes and no longer hidden under a long wide dress. I am not the only one who notices all this beauty. Over the intercom I hear Peter utter several approving comments about their curves and their beautiful eyes.

We exchange the second half of our Sudanese Pounds against an equally bad rate, buy an Ethiopian phone card and ride out of town. We head for Gorgora, a small town on Lake Tana. Several overlanders told us to visit “Tim & Kim Village”, a lodge and campsite that is run by a Dutch couple. On a beautiful smooth asphalt road we drive into the hills. The road winds and for the first time in a long time we ride some great curves. Very nice after the long straight roads in the last few countries. We drive from the border, which was at 700 meters, to 2200 meters altitude. The higher we go, the cooler it becomes. That is also very nice after the hot hair dryer-like air we drove through during the last weeks.



At the end of the afternoon we drive onto the gravel road to Gorgora. It is a very bad road with large loose stones and huge “potholes”. The average speed drops to 30km per hour. It still is 60km and at this speed it will take some time before we are at the campsite.





It is very busy on the road. Not with traffic , but with people! People are walking everywhere! Many of them with large packs on their heads or backs, but most with cattle. With a stick in their hand they herd donkeys, cows, goats and sheep. We are becoming used to being an attraction, but we have not experienced before what is happening to us now, here in Ethiopia. Several times the people throw the package they are carrying on the ground after which they run to the side of the road screaming with their hands on their head. Hiding behind a tree or ducking behind their cattle, they watch us. And when we are inching through the small villages, I have to brake hard several times to avoid hitting a petrified pedestrian that is gaping at Peter. By the time they have recovered from the initial shock and turn around they look at me with big eyes and then run to the side of the road. OK, we may look like aliens but here we certainly feel like aliens as well for the first time.



As quiet as the people in Sudan were, so intrusive are the people we encounter in the first Ethiopian villages. Once we stop to take a picture kids come running from all sides. “You, you, you” it sounds and “Faranji! Faranji!” (Which means “White man! White man!”). Although their hand first goes up to wave at us, the same hand then is made into a bowl and we hear “Give me pen“, “Give me money!”, “Give me something!“. Not only do children come to ask for a pen, water or food, but adults also hold up their hand as we pass.

The differences with Sudan, especially with regard to the people we encounter, are overwhelming. Because we travel overland by motorbike the landscape and culture usually change very gradually. The transition from Sudan to Ethiopia however feels like the culture shock that you may experience when you fly to a distant destination. We were not prepared for this.

It is already getting dark when we arrive at the camp site and are greeted by Kim. We quickly pitch the tent, take the first proper shower in a week and join Kim and Tim for diner that evening. Then we hear that Saturday is ’market day’, which means that people come out of the hills to take their cattle to the villages for sale. A large number of people will not often, or perhaps even never, have seen a motorcycle let alone a rider in a motorcycle suit with a helmet. So to them we might very well have been aliens after all!



After the limited facilities at the camp sites in Khartoum and the days of bush camping it is great to be at the campsite of Tim and Kim: a toilet with a toilet seat and toilet paper and a shower with a jet of (cold) water. We enjoy the first cold s in a long time and the delicious food cooked by Kim. Lake Tana also appears to be a birding paradise. We sit with our binoculars at the lake or under the big tree next to our tent watching the most beautiful birds for hours. We see Paradise Fly Catchers, Blue Cheeked Cordon Blues, Mouse Birds and Firefinches. Truly beautiful. We end up staying four nights to recover from the initial culture shock and to gain new energy to conquer the rest of Ethiopia. A great time!

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By leaving Sudan our time in North Africa ended. From leaving the ferry in Tunis we drove 7,200 kilometers through Tunisia, Libya, Egypt and Sudan. Countries that do not have a good reputation and are better known for riots and wars.

Although indeed incidents happen, our experience is that the media shows those events very one-sided. The positive stories around the referendum in early January 2014 that buzzed through Egypt, could not be found in the media. To the contrary, the emphasis was placed on the number of police officers that were needed to even hold the referendum and the number of incidents that took place nonetheless. We feel that is a pity. We often thought of the book “Het zijn net mensen” (They are just like people) by the Dutch journalist and author Joris Luyendijk, in which he describes the gap between what we read in the newspaper and the actual events in a particular area. As if a parallel universe is kept up.

We were pleasantly surprised by North Africa. Because of the way we were welcome everywhere and by the extraordinary hospitality that we experienced. Moreover, we have seen beautiful things. A step back in time with Leptis Magna in Libya, pyramids in Egypt and Sudan and treasures from ancient times in the National Museum in Cairo. But also great scenery: a beautiful coastline along the Mediterranean Sea, impressive desert landscapes and the beautiful Nile. Therefore, we do not say “farewell” but “Till next time, North Africa”, because we would love to come back again!
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Distance covered until Gorgora = 10,079 km (6,263 miles)

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Small bikes, big adventure --> www.amsterdamtoanywhere.nl