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Southern Africa on a Honda CTX200 Bushlander
Trip Conclusion : 29,000 KM's, 9 Countries in 9 months.
http://i.imgur.com/0TTkUfel.png --- Hi TechnomadicJim here. I have mostly been posting on the Wild Dog forum about my trip as its more local but I'm a member here too and wanted to share with the HUBB. Time : I have 3-9 months. (I arrived on the 25th September.) Where : Southern Africa. Maybe Tanzania but definitely South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland and Lesotho. What : Honda CTX 200 (AG Bushlander) Here's my "Planning a ride" thread I started on the local WIld Dog Forum : South Africa to Kenya and back in 3-9 Months Here's my Big vs Small bike discussion in "General Bike Related Banter" : Big vs Small Bike for 3-9 Months to Kenya and back I bought the Honda CTX 200 for 35,000 Rand (~£2150, ~€2500). Read the big vs small bike thread for more info on why I decided to go for the CTX. I'm keeping the bike mostly stock but I did visit PistonPete at Outriders and had some 50/50 enduro Mitas tyres put on the bike. I'm actually 3 months in now with 6 months to go but will slowly bring you up to date. This is where I shall begin my ride report : http://i.imgur.com/p2RqV20.jpg Cape Point on my first day heading out with all my gear. |
I started out from Cape Town and headed to Cape Point (see above pic) where I had 3 ostrich's running just in front of me. They can run! Next if followed the coast on to Onrus camp site. Spent a couple of nights there quite bored to be honest. Saw some whales. meh...
Onwards to Cape Agulhas to visit the obligatory most southern point of Africa. Was tempted to take the bike right up to the sign but there were a lot of tourists around so I just walked up. http://i.imgur.com/exGPxsh.jpg I ended up in Swellendam where I spent 4 nights because it rained and I didn't fancy riding in it so I just holed up and got on with some work. Stayed at Swellendam Accommodation | Overberg Backpackers Hostel Lodging | South Africa Nice place and you can camp or dorm bed it and have your bike parked safely round the back of the house next to your tent/dorm. Next I headed to Mossel Bay for another obligatory tourist thing of shark cage diving. The sea was rough and I was very sea sick and ended up spewing over the side and feeding the little fish. I still managed to get some photo's and did get a suit on to go in the cage while they dragged a fish head in front of the sharks as they bashed into the cage. I'm not sure how humane it is really as I'm sure I saw some lacerations on the shark's noses possibly from the cage :/ http://i.imgur.com/gKMcK7d.jpg After 3 nights I headed up to Oudtshoorn and sat on an Ostrich. Bit weird. http://i.imgur.com/UDdzbAM.jpg Today I drove the Swartberg pass. http://i.imgur.com/tBWRiXV.jpg And then descended into "The Hell" and what a great ride! Really awesome twisty roads and small river crossings. I truly christened the bike and cut my teeth on some good off road terrain. The little CTX really performed well. http://i.imgur.com/9x07PBO.jpg http://i.imgur.com/WI9fDOr.jpg |
So I left Oudtshorn for Warmwaterberg Spa after having it recommended by two separate people. Its really good value for money. I'm paying 200 Rand for a room with a kitchen and I get my own private massive bath with a huge tap for the hot mineral water. So good I decided to stay two nights.
The power was out so I headed the notorious "Ronnies Sex Shop" for my morning tea. http://i.imgur.com/AuwMOAj.jpg I then backtracked to Ladismith today so that I could ride some of the back (off) roads near the Swartberg mountains. There's a really nice road near Zoar that cuts through. Here's a couple of still's from the video (GoPro2 720p/30fps) I took today : http://i.imgur.com/RbXjkx1.jpg http://i.imgur.com/TgaqnST.jpg I didn't have time to follow the road all the way round so at this point I turned round and headed for a local bikers place. He kindly gave me some new directions and I took a mostly off road way back to warmwaterberg spa. Thanks mate! Really fun day zipping about without luggage. |
I'm back in Cape Town until Tuesday to hopefully pick up my TRN so I can get my number plates. Then I'm heading up north to explore the Western Cape and then Namibia. :biggrin:
I've been going through my video's and pulled out a few more from "The Hell" : http://i.imgur.com/xCGrBXX.png This little fellow was frozen as soon as I drove round the corner. There was a second or so when we both just stared at each other. Really cool experience. http://i.imgur.com/KDCy9hU.png Crossing through this stream was great fun. I imagine its pretty intense after heavy rains. http://i.imgur.com/XKcisJH.png http://i.imgur.com/JAVQJvX.png Taken at the pass near Zoar : http://i.imgur.com/ijYfq5L.png |
I left Cape Town on Friday and headed to Cerderberg nature reserve for a spit braai at cederberg oasis with some local (wild dog) riders.
http://i.imgur.com/pNVE4F2.jpg http://i.imgur.com/AOr5Zqk.jpg http://i.imgur.com/d9s0Rgp.jpg Went for a really cool ride with some new friends and saw some impressive bushman paintings : http://i.imgur.com/2JwiYwE.jpg http://i.imgur.com/NlHd893.jpg http://i.imgur.com/XXDozDz.jpg http://i.imgur.com/fYrI5FG.jpg Spit Braai! Mmmmmm.... http://i.imgur.com/WX0Tubd.jpg My camp : http://i.imgur.com/cI9yxd6.jpg Went exploring round the camp site and found this old bath. Had to get in it of course : http://i.imgur.com/dG4DiLk.jpg The ride out towards Clanwilliam. Nice winding road : http://i.imgur.com/2R7wjHq.jpg Just on the out skirts of Clanwilliam near where I am staying now : http://i.imgur.com/SNtnO5n.jpg |
Just an update. No pics. I'm not finding too much interesting stuff to see or do the last couple of days.
From Clanwilliam I decided to head to Elands Bay to get away from the heat. I passed "The Dunes" and thought I would have a gander but dropped the bike on the sand on the way so decided it wasn't such a good idea! I only stayed one night in Elands bay as it seemed like a pretty boring place. I get the impression it is busy at weekends and around holidays. I hit the road the next morning and decided to just drive north until I felt like I had enough which happened to be Garies on the N7. Its a tiny agricultural town. Seems quite friendly here. The driving today was 50% road 50% gravel / sand and a good learning curve. My off road riding skills do seem to be improving although I have to admit I nearly lost it a few times when I went from gravel thick sand. Before I head into Namibia I'm going to head to Upington to get my 4k service done as its the only Honda dealership between Cape Town and Windhoek. I'm liking the look of Augrabies Falls national park and may drive here tomorrow : Augrabies Backpackers - Home Its 415 km's so it would be my longest drive yet. Will see what happens. |
From Elands bay I just headed north to see where I would end. Garies was where I decided I had done enough km's for the day. I stayed in a nice cheap self catering apartment for 280 rand. The next morning I decided to do the same and drove through Springbok which seemed like a nice place. I would have considered staying there but it was only lunchtime so pushed on. I read about some cathedral at Pella on someone's itinerary and decided to have a look. Pretty cool place. Pella is a very quiet town which some quite spectacular mountains in the background.
http://i.imgur.com/82Ce4Sj.jpg A local guy told me to just keep driving through to end up at Klein Pella where I knew I could find some accommodation. So I headed off where he pointed and ended up in some spectacular but challenging terrain. Managed to drop the bike in some deep sand. Wasn't going fast so no matter. It quite tough with when you hit that deep sand especially with all my luggage. Fortunately the small bike is nice and easy to pick up again. I ended up doing a bit of a loop for an hour or so and got back on the N14 and headed for Pofadder to try and find a room for the night. http://i.imgur.com/dyxnKse.png Turns out they are building some massive solar farm near Pofadder so lots of contractor's have taken all the rooms. I was advised to carry on to Kakamas. The sun was setting so full throttle and I managed to find a room but ended up paying 400 rand for the night! Ohh well shit happens. http://i.imgur.com/LkTlXo3.jpg So now I'm staying at Augrabies Backpackers which will be my base while I explore the area for a few days. |
Been hanging out in Augrabies the last few days. The backpackers is a nice chilled out biker friendly place to use as a base camp. I have been exploring the local grape farms and getting a few things sorted.
Yesterday I drove a big loop to Riemvasmaak. There's some great 4x4 off roading to be done in the area. http://i.imgur.com/I5QPbdw.jpg http://i.imgur.com/ylejZL2.jpg I stopped off at the hot springs (50 rand) and chilled in the water by myself for an hour or so. Its really beautiful down there with two pools to choose from. http://i.imgur.com/E0RqcKp.jpg http://i.imgur.com/ZvYKoV0.jpg http://i.imgur.com/3fGKQje.jpg I got the bike serviced today in Upington. Its been 4000 kms so far. I also picked up a 10 litre fuel can which gives me a total range of around 450km's. Should be enough for Namibia ;) I also got the tracks4africa Namibian paper map as a backup to my GPS. I'm hoping to head to the Augrabies falls tomorrow. |
Augrabies Falls Gorge walk. Was a crazy hot day to go hiking but the views were very impressive :
http://i.imgur.com/QXoyhPS.jpg Two balloons took off at 5:30am from the backpackers. Pretty cool to watch. The wind was up and it was touch and go whether they would make it. http://i.imgur.com/YZCn5VQ.jpg Just south of the Namibian border crossing at Onseepkans. You leave the N14 by Pofadder and travel 50 km 's on gravel / sand to get there. http://i.imgur.com/HogERIt.jpg I made it across the border. The guys on the South African side were really sound. I was chatting them for about half an hour. I crossed at 2pm and I was their second crossing that day. Somehow I managed to loose my little disc along the way as it was attached to the swing arm. Fortunately the cape town municipality issued me two by mistake :) Goodbye for now South Africa! :) Hello Namibia! After crossing the orange river the Namibian's weren't so friendly and berated me for not quite filling out their form's. I was also asked if I was a spy and asked to explain why I wanted a 2 month visa. The small bike was also criticised as the only bikes I think they see are BMW's or KTM's. After stamping me through and reluctantly giving me change for the bike 140 Nab$ fee the guy came out for a cigarette and completely changed his tune. He was interested in my trip and even wanted to buy the bike from me when I was finished! Random... http://i.imgur.com/mTD2lcp.jpg There hasn't been much tar in Namibia. Its all pretty much like this. I drove to Warmbad and tried to get some accomodation but was told there's nothing as the hot springs has shut down. Pretty much a ghost town! I drove up the C21 to Karasburg and stayed in the Zebra B&B for 250 NAB. It's run by a nice old man who was more than happy to point out places of interest on my map. http://i.imgur.com/ctrL2Pz.jpg After Karasberg I drove to the fish river canyon via Grünau where I stopped for a coke and got told a joke about the English leaving Namibia and promising to come back and then they did with land rovers of something. I didn't get it... This is my hammock camping setup where I have been for the last 3 nights. http://i.imgur.com/NKAoyBS.jpg Yesterday I went to visit Fish River Canyon via Hobas and parked by the edge of the furthest viewpoint. Very easy to bypass all the barrier's and road blocks with the smaller CTX. http://i.imgur.com/8yGg2rx.jpg Parked on the edge of Fish River Canyon : http://i.imgur.com/6YgaNhZ.jpg Namibia is still waiting for it's rains so the river is running almost dry at the moment. This was taken with my Canon from the main viewpoint. http://i.imgur.com/fa9Kz50.jpg Same shot but with the GoPro2 : http://i.imgur.com/373S05q.jpg After the canyon I headed down to Ai Ais camp site / resort for the afternoon and chilled by the pool as a day visitor (20 NAB$). Came across this old bullet ridden truck so had to stop for a photo or two. http://i.imgur.com/hIPffWS.jpg http://i.imgur.com/GfHJRpT.jpg Pretty cool so far! Off to Lüderitz tomorrow. |
Some extra photo's from fish river canyon. Here's inside the Canyon Roadhouse bar :
http://i.imgur.com/qhULDtB.jpg Some of the old trucks outside : http://i.imgur.com/IH9kqFO.jpg http://i.imgur.com/f4KD7aZ.jpg An old Honda : http://i.imgur.com/gybO3qc.jpg This is Derek. He's cycling the same route I'm doing : http://i.imgur.com/Xm73bc2.jpg Gotta do my laundry! : http://i.imgur.com/dSnclUJ.jpg |
I drove 388 km's from Fish River Canyon to Ludertiz yesterday and the bike was a bit sluggish and not giving me a very good fuel economy like I was getting before . I think the air filter needed a good clean. I had been doing mostly gravel since the last service when it was last cleaned so makes sense. Because of this I also managed to nearly run out of fuel on the way to Aus. I kept my speed at 80 km's an hour and my head down and fortunately made it.
I changed the oil today. It was black so certainly looked like it needed to be changed. The local mechanic here helped me and only charged me the 40 NAB$ for the oil. What a nice guy! I will be leaving 100 NAB$ behind his local bar (where I met him yesterday) for his beers. I also took a look at the air filter and blew it through with an air compressor. Not much dust came out but I didn't have the solvents required to clean it properly. I have heard petrol could be used... Not sure on this though and would like to see it done by a professional before I attempt it myself. I'm very much learning as I go here and the last few days have been great for bettering my understanding. The bike is performing great again after the new oil and air filter cleaning so I went to visit Kolmanscop today. http://i.imgur.com/kYCbxC8.jpg http://i.imgur.com/NxgI3bm.jpg http://i.imgur.com/D2E2yfL.jpg Sitting in another bath of course! Couldn't help myself ;) http://i.imgur.com/2G3fRBY.jpg This place is so photogenic! http://i.imgur.com/IzZgJsQ.jpg http://i.imgur.com/nMTYs97.jpg http://i.imgur.com/PoSPxvU.jpg http://i.imgur.com/ydH4Gx8.jpg Hello ? Hello ? Yes Jim here. I would like to order some more sand... http://i.imgur.com/D8PijhM.jpg |
On the way into Ludertiz I came across a road block just outside Kolmanscop. It turns out that a veichle transporting a boat had bought down the 22,000 volt power lines that were now just lying in the road. I saw a Honda Transalp 700 so pulled up along side and met Stefan who had also bought his bike in South Africa. We drove round a few poles down in sand to get by. I dread to think how long the non 4x4 cars were waiting.
http://i.imgur.com/LfWZisk.jpg Stefan follwed me to the hostel and the day after Kolmanscop we drove a loop round to Diaz point : http://i.imgur.com/aDW8zVg.jpg This place is so desolate. The wind was also incredible. http://i.imgur.com/bJ02qxD.jpg |
I spent a few more days in Lüderitz staying at Element Riders hostel. Its run by an all round sound guy called Rainer. Its actually the premises of the old Lüderitz Backpackers.
I took a drive down to Agate beach and tried to find some Agate's. I didn't find any, probably because I have no idea what to do apart from picking up random stones. I later found out you should hunt at sunset / rise and low tide. The low tide exposes fresh Agate's and the sunset / rise makes them appear reddish and more easy to spot. There's loads of flamingo's in the area too so I snapped a couple of nice pics : http://i.imgur.com/T6Hva2C.jpg http://i.imgur.com/K0qibNP.jpg I also came across this dead shark on the beach. He doesn't look too happy : http://i.imgur.com/lqK9fI4.jpg Next I drove to Betta and stayed at the camp site there. Its really good value at only 250 Nab$ per person for a chalet. I met Werner who is managing the farm and had a few beers with him in the evening. Nice chap! Hopefully will meet him in Swakopmund for Christmas. I stayed 3 nights in Betta and did some day trips. On the first day I went to Duswib castle which to be honest was a bit crap. It isn't that well looked after and unfortunately they saw me as I was about to leave without paying so I had to pony up 65 N$ (i think). Not worth it really. http://i.imgur.com/E68B6nJ.jpg Fortunately on my way back round I drove through the Zarishoogte Pass which was awesome and made even more spectacular when it started raining! http://i.imgur.com/TM6Kfj0.jpg http://i.imgur.com/uS9XZ7R.jpg On the second day I backtracked down the D707 until I hit some sand and got a bit stuck. My sand skills are still a bit rough so I headed back after about 85 km's down the road. I got to see the dunes on the side which was the main thing. Werner said that the sand only lasted a couple of km's so I would have been fine to push on through. http://i.imgur.com/8TIqFKH.jpg After Betta I headed the 150 or so km's to Sesriem. Came across this burned out car on the way. Had to grab a picture. Hope nobody was hurt! http://i.imgur.com/yoF8ZY4.jpg In Sesreim I camped at the national park camp site which is cheaper than the other two and you can get entrance to the dunes 1 hour before everyone else (5am instead of 6am). It costs 140 N$ per person to camp plus 80 N$ dune permit. Unfortunately no bikes allowed :(. Fortunately my neighbours were a friendly South African family from Knysna who offered to let me join them. We had a great morning hanging out and visiting the dunes. Here's the famous dune right next to Sossusvlei. (vlei = Swamp) http://i.imgur.com/VEpGYuG.jpg Here's a picture from the top taken with the GoPro's wide angle lens. I was pretty knackered after I got to the top. The two boys must have run up and down it at least 4 times! http://i.imgur.com/D7Ciwmo.jpg Next we walked over to Dead Vlei which was my favourite : http://i.imgur.com/l8RvUDv.jpg http://i.imgur.com/YesVrCP.jpg Had to get in the picture for one at least. (photo taken by Brian, 8 years old) : http://i.imgur.com/u5ASJIL.jpg On the way back some oryx took shelter under one of the few still ive tree's : http://i.imgur.com/YIfxHN0.jpg At about 11 it was too hot to do any more so we drove back and chilled by the pool. At about 6 pm I went to check out the Sesriem canyon which was pretty cool as you can walk down in to it. Worth an hours exploring. http://i.imgur.com/GBsHAiG.jpg http://i.imgur.com/I53D86Z.jpg This morning I packed up and drove to Solitaire where I'm currently camped for 2 or 3 nights. Going to explore the local area tomorrow and if it's worth it stay a 3rd night and do some more. Currently KM's : 6269. |
G'day Jim,i have really enjoyed your blog so far ,some remarkable photo's in the desert.Whilst im thinking of it your air filter,if it is a foam filter wash it out in dishwashing liquid and water then put in the sun to dry properly ,lightly re-oil it,preferably with filter oil but clean engine oil will work ok.Keep a good eye on the chains and sprockets ,as poor adjustment will see the life of the chain and sprocket shorten significantly.Tyre pressures are vital to keep right too ,not just for handling but for tyre life.Hope this helps ,regards Noel:D
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I'm glad your enjoying the report and thanks for the advice. I picked up a second air filter at my last service and when my current one needs a clean I will clean both at the same time. I'm keeping an eye on my tyre pressures and sprockets too. I'm seeing a little wear on the front sprocket and I will post up a picture later on of its current status. I'm actually nearly 11,000 km's into my trip and maintaining a ride report on 2 other forums (ADVRider and WildDog). This HUBB thread is a bit behind the others but I'm bring it up to date. I just didn't want to spam the forums with 20 posts all at once. I'm going to post some more now : |
Spectacular. One of the bends caught me off guard and I nearly came off which was quite a sobering experience. I calmed my riding down a bit after that. heh. I also hit a few small rivers unexpectedly. Those signs that indicate a river I had been ignoring as they never have water. I also spotted a Jackal whilst taking a rest. The first I've seen in the wild. Cool!
http://i.imgur.com/1YZhKGH.jpg http://i.imgur.com/PhdCa2I.jpg http://i.imgur.com/n2rMV8e.jpg http://i.imgur.com/7o2xx3A.jpg Coming over the top and seeing the panorama of Streetshoogte pass was amazing. The descent was surprisingly steep too! http://i.imgur.com/na9y4Xs.jpg On the way back I popped into camp Gecko for some lunch and had a nice chat with the farm manager. I'm probably going to drive to Swakopmund tomorrow and use it as a base until after Christmas and the new year. I'm due my 8k service soon so will be popping in to Windhoek at some point for a day or two. I'm pretty excited to drive Keiseb pass on the C14 as I'm reading The Sheltering Desert and thats the area where they were hiding out. Pretty cool! |
Here's today's report :
50 km's on the C14 after leaving Solitaire I came to the Tropic of Capricorn for the obligatory photo : http://i.imgur.com/SJHsQ6o.jpg I spotted a cave (called "The Grotto") and decided to go investigate. It was pretty steep and with all my luggage and yet to be acquired off road skills I came off. I chose the wrong line and started using the brakes which wasn't a good combination. heh. Bike was fine. I am fine. Lesson learned! http://i.imgur.com/qqChL71.jpg The Kuiseb Pass was break taking. It was made even more spectacular for me as I'm most of the way through "The Sheltering Desert" by Henno Martin which took place in this same area. http://i.imgur.com/dXliMzf.jpg http://i.imgur.com/OhLVUsF.jpg Solitaire to Swakupmond was around 270 km's which was out of range for the meagre 8.5 litre tank on the CTX. This is only the second time I have had to use my 10L. I never have it full but fill it with an 5-8L's depending on what I think I will need. There's no point in lugging 10L's around all the time if it's not needed. Its nice the amount of people who enquired whether I was OK when I stop for photo's or refuelling etc.. Gives me confidence that if I did have a problem someone would be there to help. I met an Italian guy (who lives in Nairobi) on holiday with his family at this stop. He had a blow out and rolled his 4x4 a couple weeks earlier. He even showed me his scars! Nice guy... He rides a Honda XR125 back at home. http://i.imgur.com/qUrCWkJ.jpg After the Kuiseb Pass there's over 100 km's of plains before you get to the coast. http://i.imgur.com/4R54mei.jpg I'm currently staying at Villa Wiese Backpackers. It looked pretty nice from the website but now I'm here you can tell its been neglected for a while. The kitchen is filthy. I'm going to try a different backpackers the day after tomorrow. Find somewhere cool to hole up. |
I moved hostels to Desert Sky Backpackers which is much nicer. I plan on spending Christmas and the New Year in Swakopmund as I have heard its the place to be with plenty of parties and people. I booked a bed from the 23rd to 3rd so will have 10 nights of a proper bed and a break from the bike which is a good idea on this sort of long trip. I also met some cool people there including someone I met in Cape Town and Mat and Jaap on two KTM 990's :
http://i.imgur.com/BQV9a7t.jpg I haven't been feeling too well since Luderitz. I suspect that the fresh oysters I ate at the Oyster bar there were bad. I was getting stomach cramps and a pain down my right side especially when I took a deep breath. I thought it was getting better slowly but it had been nearly 2 weeks so I decided to go to the doctors to be sure. I got prescribed some anti-biotics which sorted it out straight away. The doctor reckoned it was some kind of colon infection. I was looking for a 10 day mini trip before Christmas and decided to head up to the Brandberg (burnt) mountains. A Malaysian guy I met at the hostel called Yien was planning on a few days up there too. He was also a biker and decided to hire a Yamaha XT 250 from the local dealership. They have a pretty funny "wall of shame" in there : http://i.imgur.com/daxU5rA.jpg So we both set off around 10:30 and drove through Henties Bay and soon came across one of the ship wrecks that the Skeleton coast is famous for : http://i.imgur.com/CtDaqQ3.jpg Wanna buy some salt ? http://i.imgur.com/S6Qp4Zr.jpg We carried on as far as Cape Cross which has a massive seal colony. There must have been 10,000's there and loads of seal pups. http://i.imgur.com/0xeTUX6.jpg One of them wanted to use my bike as shade :) http://i.imgur.com/2Iwkn9N.jpg After Cape Cross we headed inland taking a 4x4 dirt track towards Messum crater. It was quite easy going at first with fairly solid rocky ground and we make it to the crater without seeing any vehicles. We didn't see anyone else for the rest of the day. http://i.imgur.com/vjfExsM.jpg After a while though we hit some increaing longer stretches of sand and both Yien and I fell off but fortunately only at low speeds without injury. http://i.imgur.com/vbTLmPr.jpg http://i.imgur.com/EuzGQyX.jpg We didn't quite know where we were going and the lack of any other vehicles did have me slightly worried at times but we eventually made it to a not much better "D" road where we came across this burned out bakkie. Pretty mad max! http://i.imgur.com/lW60byw.jpg I also spotted my first wild Zebra. They were running quite near us beside the road : http://i.imgur.com/3r1xltq.jpg With the Brandberg mountain on our left side we made our way into Uis where we set up camp at the Brandberg rest camp. |
Here's our camp :
http://i.imgur.com/8T7Xi5k.jpg The next day Yien and I headed up to Twyfelfontein to see some of the bushman art. Before heading in we stopped for lunch at the lodge. This little fellow was scrambling about on the rocks : http://i.imgur.com/5kP80Sq.jpg For 50 NAB$ each we got a guide called Dion who showed us around the bushman art for an hour. http://i.imgur.com/oAjSnOb.jpg http://i.imgur.com/dtBurt9.jpg The circles represent water holes and their location relative to each other. http://i.imgur.com/MuYVuP9.jpg After our tour we visited the "Organ Pipes" : http://i.imgur.com/e5jjOMR.jpg Next the not so impressive "Burn't Mountain" : http://i.imgur.com/tzRphOw.jpg We were relying on filling up to get back to Uis but unfortunately the new owner of the pumps decided he didn't want to operate them any more. It looked like we had enough fuel to get to Khorixas but it would mean a 70 km detour :( http://i.imgur.com/BRKm98W.jpg Fortunately after hanging around for 10 minutes debating what to do and trying to gauge how much fuel we actually had a worked there took pity on us and offered to sell us 5 litres each. Result! http://i.imgur.com/1yJw2oi.jpg We didn't see any but I do love this sign. Beats road works! http://i.imgur.com/VftiHSy.jpg A bump in the road provided a nice opportunity for some air :) http://i.imgur.com/DO1jBWC.jpg |
I met Basil the owner of Brandberg Rest Camp who rides a Honda Africa Twin and also gives discounts to bikers who stay at his place (50 N$ for camping). He had just returned from a trip down to Langebaan and introduced himself as soon as he clocked my bike. Next thing I know he announces another biker has arrived so we went to introduce ourselves to Vian who also recognised me from my planning a ride post on here and even remembered my name. I'm famous now apparently! hehe
Later that evening we were having dinner and Basil kindly offered to take us on a loop around the Brandberg so naturally Vian and I jumped at the chance. The next morning we set out. I found it quite a technical ride with lots of varying terrain from loose rocks to sand. Probably one of the most challenging days of my trip. I'm definitely getting better! Quick rest stop : http://i.imgur.com/my1t38N.jpg I'm getting better at sand riding and this stretch of sand was quite tough. Keep the power on and let the bike do its thing. Turning was tough whilst trying to maintain your speed. http://i.imgur.com/tdKiVD7.jpg We all made it through without stopping which was great : http://i.imgur.com/2s2lABQ.jpg We stopped for a spot of lunch : http://i.imgur.com/zzCnaKm.jpg Onwards! http://i.imgur.com/cXCIoOb.jpg Basil pointed out this rock which is used my the Rhino's as a kind of rubbing stone : http://i.imgur.com/5agPMM4.jpg Another rest before we went fo visit the waterfall which was unfortunately not flowing. http://i.imgur.com/cdgvBIV.jpg We were running low on water so we stopped at this small farm and topped up. http://i.imgur.com/xH5hwgU.jpg We came across the native Namibian meat tree. No wonder they eat so much meat here! http://i.imgur.com/qeWMvuB.jpg You can download the GPS Trace of the trip (in GPX format) here : http://www.openstreetmap.org/user/Te...623912/picture Thanks again to Basil for an awesome day out. I really recommend you stay with him if you are in the area. Here's a short video I edited too : https://vimeo.com/82489136 |
I had a funny image posted on the wild dog forum by a guy who's not far behind me :
http://i.imgur.com/C1kCbCq.jpg Quote:
I'm driving 350 km's to Windhoek tomorrow via the C28. Looks like some real nice mountain passes. Should be a great drive. Looking forward to getting on the road again. |
KM's so far ~8000.
So after an awesome time riding around Brandberg I wasn't quite ready to head to Swakopmund for Christmas so I took the D1930 past Spitzkoppe to Usakos where I stayed at the Namib Oasis Farm Stall campsite. The food here is quite good but the camp site is right next to the main B2 road and bearing in mind all the people travelling from Windhoek to Swakpopmund I didn't get too much sleep :/ I decided to just head back to Swakop early (on the gravel D1918 of course!) via Henties Bay and pop in to Spitzkoppe. I should have just camped at Spitzkoppe. Pretty neat place http://i.imgur.com/0XEi2nt.jpg I think it was only about 20 NAD for a day pass. They let the bike in for free which was nice. I think it was perhaps because I was English and the guy on the gate was a BIG (Chelsea) football fan. http://i.imgur.com/VcQvaUz.jpg http://i.imgur.com/1somjdl.jpg Surprising to find a rock pool in all this heat. http://i.imgur.com/xhcKdmu.jpg I took the gravel road (D1918) as usual instead of the boring (B2) tar into Henties Bay and then south to Swakopmond. I tried to book into the Desert Sky Backpackers early but they were full and my Christmas booking didn't start until a couple of days later. I stayed at Skeleton Beach Backpackers for a few days and then came back. I perhaps shouldn't have taken a long break for Christmas in Swakopmund as my Visa expires on the 21st although I imagine a lot of places close up shop so perhaps it was for the best. Some of the Christmas "highlights" include spending Christmas eve trying to sleep in a dorm that someone has puked all over, learning of a fellow dorm occupant doing a runner without paying their bill and getting arrested by the cops (with an expired visa) and generally avoiding very wasted annoying people. heh. I ate a lot of fish while there and my favourite resturant was the Fish Deli. I must have eaten there over a dozen times! Also worthy of a mention is the Brauhaus where I had an obligatory Stiefel :) http://i.imgur.com/NYfq1Q2.jpg So on the 3rd I set off for Windhoek along the C28. It really is a cracking road and you can really appreciate the slow change from parched desert to lush greenery. You see the plants slowly appear and get bigger the further you drive. Awesome. It really felt great to be on the road again! http://i.imgur.com/fLMAyGV.jpg http://i.imgur.com/WmFLSxy.jpg http://i.imgur.com/fL6l7ZP.jpg I did have some problems though. I hit a particularly large pot hole at speed and bottomed out the bike which in turn ripped some of the plastic from under the mud guard. It wasn't helped by the fact my extra 10L fuel can was full. There's no petrol stations on the C28 and the CTX only has a 8.6 litre tank. I cable tied the plastic back into place and emptied 7 litres into my tank which helped but the tyre was not scuffing against the exhaust when the suspension was compressed. I took it pretty easy on the bumps for the rest of the journey. The problem was figured out when I got the service later... http://i.imgur.com/9gWWcWP.jpg chrisL on the wild dog forum mentioned a visit to the old German building : Quote:
http://i.imgur.com/kW9Y2FN.jpg I also took some video which I will hopefully get the time to edit together soon. http://i.imgur.com/bg9GHE0.jpg I arrived same and sound in Windhoek and stayed at the Chameleon Backpackers over the weekend ready for my 8k service on Monday 6th. |
So I took the bike into Honda Windhoek and explained a few of the issues I wanted looking at and was told no problem come back at 2pm. Its quite exciting knowing the bike was going for some TLC. It deserves it after all the abuse I've been giving it in Namibia. The mechanics there seemed very helpful and knowledgeable so I was happy to leave it in their capable hands.
Apparently the spark plug was a bit loose! Can't say I checked it but it did get replaced in Luderitz by the mechanic there. Perhaps he didn't tighten it enough or it vibrated loose. Also the oil was in a bad way apparently but I had it replaced 3k's ago in Luderitz too. Guess I should change it even more often then! I'm now carrying 1.5 litres of castrol 10/40 which they supplied me with and I will change after 2k's. The main issue with the bike that was causing the back tyre to scuff the exhaust was the fact that one of my back plates was missing. I noticed it was missing after the service in Honda Upington 4.5k's ago! It may have vibrated off but they did adjust the chain then and I wonder if it was perhaps forgotten to be put back on !?! Anyway this combined with hitting the pothole combined with the fact I have a fat E07 on the back cased the scuffing of the exhaust. They bodged a plate together for me and even put a spacer where the exhaust attaches to the frame giving some more room. Good stuff! I wasn't sure that the plate was important when I noticed it was missing and presumed not. I now know! They also said my air filter was dry implying it wasn't soaked in oiled properly at the last service. I'm not sure myself but on the other hand oil doesn't evaporate as far as I know! Thinking back on it I remember not being that impressed with the mechanics at Honda Upington. I kinda got a bad feeling. Then again I can't be sure these issues were definitely their fault. I bought a spare air filter like we mentioned before and another spark plug. All good. I forgot to mention before that while on my way to Twyfelfontein I lost my tool kit off the back of the bike :( So I replaced my tool kit in Cymot Windhoek. Next I headed up to Waterberg National Park on the C/D roads and guess what ? I lost my toolkit AGAIN! FFS! So annoying. Anyway I arrived in Waterberg and immediately saw lots of wild life. These little fellows popped out of their hole to have a look at their new neighbour. Not sure what they are. Meerkats ? http://i.imgur.com/XeRq16q.jpg Camp all setup. I decided to go for the simple hammock without tarp setup today. Only takes about 5 minutes. http://i.imgur.com/lWvG1Lx.jpg Next I took a dip in the pool. Nice! http://i.imgur.com/1N5hI1I.jpg The next day I hiked to the top. Nice view : http://i.imgur.com/SeePizi.jpg http://i.imgur.com/3Ws50e4.jpg Then some of the shorter trails around the camp. http://i.imgur.com/TFQyJmY.jpg I got to within about 5 metres of this female klipspringer i think ? http://i.imgur.com/ybAtgj7.jpg Very cool. http://i.imgur.com/KEAEK57.jpg In the afternoon I went on a 4 hour game drive and saw my first Giraffe along with plenty of other game. http://i.imgur.com/8UbSJ2t.jpg The next day I headed down the D2512 towards Tsumeb. Its a really nice quiet gravel road with lush greenery with lots of farms and gates to pass through. http://i.imgur.com/LGGvtFl.jpg Just outside Grootfontein is the worlds largest meteorite. Just watch your head! http://i.imgur.com/dRjoHgz.jpg I had to pop by and see it. Very cool! http://i.imgur.com/sXGcURs.jpg http://i.imgur.com/98MXTNP.jpg Now I'm up to date and staying in Mousebird Backpackers. *I like Tsumeb. Its a really nice chilled out town with a couple of good cafe's and lots of greenery. I was hoping to meet up with some other travellers and hitch a lift into Etosha but I'm the only one here! An Austrian turned up earlier and talked about getting a taxi in for a day trip but I will probably just hit the road tomorrow morning. Not sure exactly where I will head but probably towards Oshakati and camp somewhere for a day and start making my way East towards the Caprivi. I could go direct to Rundu but its a long boring road apparently. Any thoughts ? |
KM's so far 9400
Leaving Tsumeb I drove north and after about 20 km's I came across Otjikoto Lake. Its estimates to be over 142 meters deep! http://i.imgur.com/kjtCh1t.jpg The retreating Germans chucked their guns and a "mysterious safe" into the lake. http://i.imgur.com/11KAyKx.jpg A very boring drive for about 230 km's up the B2 highway took me to Ondangwa where I setup my hammock camp at Ondangwa Rest Camp. http://i.imgur.com/55s2Vl3.jpg I was snoozing in my hammock when 3 noisy bikes drove in next to my camp. Meet Thomas (Germany), Florian (Austria) and the famous "deaf biker" Istvan (Romania). Very cool guys to hang out with for the evening! http://i.imgur.com/JVt3Dap.jpg By coincidence these guys met Mat and Jaap on the KTM 990's in northern Africa but decided to come down the west coast (Mat and Jaap took the easy coast). http://i.imgur.com/vN0Nmqw.jpg The next day I said farewell to the guys and headed on a day trip exploring the local area off away from the B2. Lots of small villages and people just staring as I rode past on my bike. I don't think they see many bikers up here. Where am I ? http://i.imgur.com/1F5IdsU.jpg Tomorrow I'm going to head east towards Rundu along the Angolan border. I'm not sure if I will camp on the way and make it in 2 days or just go for the whole 460 km's in one go. Even with my 10 litre jerry can on the side I think I'm going to need to take a few more litres just in case. AFAIK there's no petrol on this road. Should be an interesting day! --- Side note regarding my new GPS tracking I mentioned where you can track my exact position and speed / altitude etc... There was a bug causing it not to update. Now fixed it shows my location properly. Updates every 5 minutes. Im interested to know if anyone uses it : Where is James ? |
So I have had my first major problem of the trip :(
I'm in Katima Mulilo right in the north east of Namibia on the Caprivi strip. I changed my oil today and tightened the sump plug too much and snapped off the outer collar that holds the rubber ring in. Its now dripping a drop of oil every 2 seconds. Damn it! So annoyed with myself. Here's the collar that snapped off : http://i.imgur.com/qwVbPos.jpg Here's what is should look like only snapped : http://i.imgur.com/VzMg4Uy.jpg Here's the rubber ring exposed dripping oil : http://i.imgur.com/C9XXZCh.jpg http://i.imgur.com/NF0zHnq.jpg The sump plug was really tight when I undone it so when I noticed what seemed like a spot of oil after having run the engine for a few minutes I presumed I hadn't tightened it enough then SNAP! Its a Saturday evening here so nothing will be open until Monday and my visa expires on Tuesday. So I have to act quickly. I have several options as I see it : Ideally I need a replacement so I will try and find one here in Katima. There is at least one decent mechanics here. Failing that I will see if it can be repaired and perhaps have one shipped somewhere from Windhoek Honda which is AFAIK the closest honda dealership to me. I can't get there because of my visa expiring on Tuesday. Visa-wise I'm close to the border so I can cross even with a broken bike. Perhaps go to Livingstone which I think is the biggest city closest to me and therefore most likely to have a part or possibly be my shipping address for a shipment from Windhoek. Its not ideal as I wanted to go to Botswana first. Perhaps I should just cross into Botswana and try and get to Maun and hole up there until I can get the part sent... It would allow me to then continue on my original planned route at least. Any ideas or suggestions welcome! |
I got some advice from two uses on the wild dog forums. I'm going to go to the local mechanics / spares shop tomorrow and hopefully pick up a replacement. One of the many reasons I chose the CTX was because its such a common and standard (GY6) engine. I'm hoping I shouldn't have too much difficulty replacing it.
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It seems to depend on the oil temperature but its dripping anything from every 3 - 15 seconds. Even in the last 20 hours or so my oil level is about 50% between min and max level's (it was at max before) and I've been driving around town a bit to test how much it leaks. I spoke to my dad this morning and he raised a very good point. By undoing the sump plug and trying to repair it I may well make the problem worse. Its better to add to the seal as it stands. I can only lesson the amount of oil dripping out. Quote:
My plan (after seeing what I can at the local mechanics / spares shop in Katima) is to still head to Divundu (Popa falls) tomorrow and try and cross the border there. I will load up with an extra litre of oil and cross my finger's I don't leak a litre and a half of oil during the 320 km's. |
I'm going to get my ride report up to date as it's out of sync with my recent sump plug issue.
So I left Ondangwa on the B10. It was a LONG 467 km stretch. The road has lots of villages along it and I came across this old rusted VW shell and stopped for a photo : http://i.imgur.com/x7VCNUf.jpg After about 300km's I was feeling pretty tired and noticed these looming clouds that I was headed to. I had a small down poor to drive through which wasn't too bad but enough to soak me. The sun then came out and I dried myself out only to come into a BIG storm which lasted about 30 minutes and after that I was completely wet through. It started out with some small wind and then it was a real storm and I had to slow down to 40 km's and was nearly blown over. I could barely see anything. http://i.imgur.com/OAhD1rV.jpg I arrived in Divindu and checked into The Okavango River Lodge. Being soaked through and tired I paid 420 NAD for a single room rather than trying to find somewhere cheaper. I was going to stay two nights but at the last minute I decided to head to Divundu. The D3402 road which runs parallel to the B8 is a must. Lots of villages next to the river and much more fun than the tar road. http://i.imgur.com/iuUMN8i.jpg http://i.imgur.com/iS1FN4Y.jpg As with yesterday clouds started to appear and I was ready to be drowned again. http://i.imgur.com/CvIAtQP.jpg Fortunately I made it to Divundu before it really bucketed it down and took shelter outside one of the two supermarkets in town. http://i.imgur.com/R0iUCP0.jpg I checked out most of the camp sites but decided to camp at Shametu River Lodge. Its run by a South African couple called Cheryl and Mel. They even offered for me to join them for dinner so I didn't have to have my standard pilchards and beans. :) Very nice people! I just strung my hammock up in the kitchenette area. The ablution facilities were really nice too and all for 120 NAD per person. http://i.imgur.com/eYupr0s.jpg The view towards popa falls from Shametu. I wasn't going to pay NWR 150 NAD just to go and look from their resort! http://i.imgur.com/8ezkVDv.jpg http://i.imgur.com/Wribjq9.jpg I spent a couple of nights there and then headed off the Caprivi strip to Katima where I was going to meet some red cross volunteers I met in Swakopmund. I decided to take the C49 instead of the B8 tar road. Unfortunately (or fortunately depends on how you look at it) they are working on tarring the road. http://i.imgur.com/OK8ZpXV.jpg Came across this big fellow crossing just behind me. My first wild elephant! http://i.imgur.com/WbVWmw0.jpg I arrived in Katima after driving 400 km's and camped in my friends garden. Seeing bikes is rare in Namibia but whilst wandering around town I came across this Honda Trail 11 : http://i.imgur.com/mbSFbKi.jpg The next day (Saturday) I washed the bike, cleaned the chain and decided to change the oil. This is when I broke the sump plug as mentioned in the previous post. :( I had to wait until Monday as everything was obviously closed on Sunday. I trawled round all the local mechanics and even outboard motor shops trying to find a replacement sump plug and ended up meeting a mechanic called Eddie who was happy to jump in and help me out. First he tried the Partleys steel glue and it looked promising but as soon as he tightened it up even a little its just broke again. So next he used some tape on the thread and then sealed it with some sealant : http://i.imgur.com/iVGJVdi.jpg http://i.imgur.com/k7X52e5.jpg Eddie then replaced the oil and only charged me 150 NAD for the emergency work. Thanks man! I immediately left for Divundu checking the seal regularly of course and thankfully it held and got me to there. The next morning on the last day of my Visa I exited Namibia after spending two whole months there. http://i.imgur.com/UCkA39Q.jpg I entered Botswana via the Mohembo border crossing. Both posts were very friendly and quick so no problems and no accusations of spying! I paid 150 Pula for the Botswana fee's for the bike. They accepted namibian dollars too. http://i.imgur.com/shbFQyH.jpg I followed the A35 south on a very boring road full of pot holes and strewn with cattle and donkeys. I stopped for lunch at Dijo Deli where they recommended I visit a crocodile farm on my way down. I arrived in Sepopa where I stayed at Sepopa Swamp Stop. I was the only guest there and the dinner was very good. The place was a bit run down though and could do with an overhaul to be honest especially the ablution facilities. After a nice breakfast I headed south again towards Maun and stopped off at Krokovango Farm as recommended by the Dijo Deli. It cost 25 Pula and was quite interesting. I recommend it. You can spot it by the giant painted crocodile by the side of the road : http://i.imgur.com/KLFNVxb.jpg http://i.imgur.com/zVmXmQU.jpg http://i.imgur.com/uSkhjkf.jpg http://i.imgur.com/Yjn9UhF.jpg At the end of the A35 where it joins the A3 is Lake Ngami which I thought I may as well try and cross. Not going to happen but the scenery is quite unique with all the dead tress. http://i.imgur.com/5EdHxP3.jpg http://i.imgur.com/h7VImEO.jpg The A3 is just as boring as the A35 and after riding about 350 km's I eventually end up in Maun where I'm currently staying at the *Old Bridge Backpackers. I just got back from trawling all the local bike / spares shops and although everyone was helpful it appears I can't get a replacement plug here. Getting one shipped will probably take a long time too as it will have to go via Gabarone for customs. I think I might just head down to Francistown and try my luck there. |
Here's the current status of my sprockets and tyres at 11,600 km's.
Front : http://i.imgur.com/08rEHr7.jpg Back : http://i.imgur.com/yVrxC2r.jpg Front (Headenau K60) : http://i.imgur.com/ixeuv7V.jpg Back (Mitas E07) : http://i.imgur.com/92wjJAf.jpg I've got a bit of a seal that's leaking too but not enough to really worry too much about I think : http://i.imgur.com/Of3XfN8.jpg |
jim ctx
Hi Jim,Kiwiron here,check out my ctx200 trip on trailriderreports.co.za i went from Capetown To Luanda,Angola on a ctx.Good bike for it.
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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 years break in between) travelling down the east coast of Africa. It was really cool to hang out with them.
http://i.imgur.com/QlfKvJt.jpg The 3 of us decided to hire a 4x4 (Toyota Prado) and head into Moremi national park for a couple of days. Dave and Marly took turns at driving as I actually don't have a car license only a full bike license :) As you can imagine at this time of year there was a lot if water so we took it way and weaved our way through towards the third bridge camp. After a while the Prado started to overheat and we could hear the coolant boiling so we let it cool down for a while and proceeded but after a little while the engine began to have a knocking sound which did not sound good at all. Dave checked the radiator and it was pretty much empty! We filled it up with almost 10 liters of water and some coolant which they had with them from the bikes. After that the Prado was fine. They hired us a car empty of coolant!!! Moremi is full of game and definitely my best national park to date. We didn't see any lions but other groups did. We did see a Serval though which was pretty cool. Here's some of the photo highlights : http://i.imgur.com/xNrixNO.jpg http://i.imgur.com/4tno0G3.jpg http://i.imgur.com/bwE6NFd.jpg http://i.imgur.com/7F7Lsrd.jpg http://i.imgur.com/mIHgLaS.jpg We camped at third bridge for 234 pula which is pretty expensive but ok for one night. During the night the hippos were so close I could hear them breathing. Obviously I didn't leave my tent all night after hearing of how dangerous they can be! The next day we took a different route out of the park which was very difficult driving (top work Dave!) with the main tracks being completely flooded. We had to blaze a fresh trail many times just to make it through. There was the added concern that we were running out of fuel and couldn't afford to back track the way we came. Fortunately we lucked out on our diversions with a little help from our GPS's and the low fuel light came on 10k's outside of Maun. Nice! To cap off the Moremi experience we found 4 more backpackers and organised a 1 hour scenic flight for 640 pula each which I thought was a great price (Top work Dave + Marly again!). There really was some spectacular views including a giant herd of about 60 elephants! Awesome :) http://i.imgur.com/gBo5j4S.jpg http://i.imgur.com/sCFEI5p.jpg http://i.imgur.com/Fxd1p2I.jpg http://i.imgur.com/gLwh2NL.jpg http://i.imgur.com/y6cAvDw.jpg It really was cool hanging out at the Old Bridge Backpackers with Dave and Marly but I had to get moving as I needed to get my oil drain plugs from Gaborone. They did mention that they drove across the Makgadikgadi Pan and camped on Kubu island on their way to Maun so I decided to do the same on my way. The Makgadikgadi Pan and Kubu island appeared on the Top Gear Botswana Special episode where they have to cross over in non 4wd vehicles of their choosing. Pretty funny episode. Anyway... I packed up and said my goodbyes to all the cool people I met and headed for Gweta where I had some lunch at Planet Baobab and had a chat with one of local guides. He told me no... its not possible to cross this time of year. I mentioned that Dave and Marly made it through and one of the managers said it would probably be OK so I thought I would give it a go anyway. I drove through south through Gweta and out the other side where it was very sandy tracks through lots homesteads. The road became firmer but soon I arrived at this : http://i.imgur.com/NF2xI9r.jpg I started to make my way around and nearly got past until I broke through into the mud and just wheel spun digging myself in deeper :\ http://i.imgur.com/0mAmMPY.jpg Fortunately a nice farmer was passing on his donkey and helped push me through the last part. It wasn't long before I got stuck again and had to drag the bike sideways to get out of this : http://i.imgur.com/fcIB88F.jpg Fortunately the CTX is so light that even with my luggage I can haul it out of situations like this by myself without unpacking my luggage. I spent about an hour and a half making very slow progress through heavy mud and only managed to make about 30 km's of the 130 to kubu island via this route so I decided to turn back at 4pm as it was obvious I wasn't going to make it this way. I retraced my track and headed back to the main road defeated by the mud. http://i.imgur.com/w6IAo4B.jpg I camped back at Planet Baobab where I had lunch. It happens to have a giant concrete Aardvark just next to the entrance off the main road. :) http://i.imgur.com/ohReUDM.jpg http://i.imgur.com/KzP0GTP.jpg |
The next day I headed to Nata where Dave and Marly mentioned there was another (main) way in to Kubu Island which I hoped would be easier going. Surely enough it started out good and I made progress across the plains with the odd startled ostrich running away from me every now and again.
http://i.imgur.com/LLky06e.png I passed some hore homesteads and started to come across the mighty Baobab tree's. They are very cool. http://i.imgur.com/RQTILd6.jpg 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 would'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 baobab's 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. http://i.imgur.com/MIyodQj.jpg http://i.imgur.com/eATYehG.png I got up just after sunrise and it began to rain so I got back in the hammock and began to fall asleep again until I noticed that water was soaking down the webbing and into my hammock. I remembered a little trick where you tie a piece of string to each end before the hammock and it wicks the water to the ground before it gets to the hammock. It works too :) 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. http://i.imgur.com/hYcUU7w.jpg http://i.imgur.com/UbdMQiL.jpg http://i.imgur.com/VMPoMJR.jpg 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. http://i.imgur.com/flnHZLs.jpg There was 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. http://i.imgur.com/NMI8QtD.png http://i.imgur.com/xFScZTs.png http://i.imgur.com/u2Bpp7X.jpg http://i.imgur.com/gJnCDn0.jpg After a while the dreaded mud appeared. I skirted the edge the best I could and tried not to make any turns on area's I had to cross. It was slow going but being by myself I had to be careful not to mess up as I didn't know how long help would be or if there would be any at all! http://i.imgur.com/Cp3LkyJ.jpg I was getting tired and I still had a long way to go. I really didn't know what to expect next. I did come across a pan that was mostly dry and decided to have some fun for a bit and took some cool video speeding past the camera. http://i.imgur.com/2Qgg0vo.png http://i.imgur.com/yt4SVJX.png http://i.imgur.com/pjTBh5z.jpg After the semi-dry pan was more water and mud for a few kilometers where I had one of my more artistic slides : http://i.imgur.com/Wts7aFI.jpg http://i.imgur.com/PRUFSHy.jpg http://i.imgur.com/qJTtxhc.jpg Eventually there was less extended areas of water. It was soon just large puddles. I wasn't wearing my helmet as i was sweating so much working to keep the bike upright. The inevitable happened and it fell off the back and into a puddle :(*doh! http://i.imgur.com/CwMAYdY.jpg Very tired at this point I only had about 30 km's until I was sure I was going to reach some much anticipated tar. Unfortunately this last stretch was a maze of deep rutted muddy puddles surrounded by thorny bushes. I was shattered when I eventually made it to Serowe so I checked into the first decent B&B I could find and slept in until late the next morning. The A1 road from Serowe to Gabarone was mostly uneventful apart from crossing the Tropic of Capricorn again : http://i.imgur.com/PkqgCbs.jpg I'm currently staying at Mokolodi Backpackers*and have the whole dorm to myself and some half decent Internet at last. Sweet! I've been buying some supplies from the "Game City" shopping mall including a new Buff neck scarf, two new K-Way shirts (They have a Cape Union Mart here!) and a new 1.5 meter mono-pod for the cameras. I dropped the bike into the local Honda dealership this morning for a service and clocked the brand new clean CTX in the window. I call this photo "Beauty and the Beast". http://i.imgur.com/0l2X6Fu.jpg Will report on how the service goes next. |
Just a little update on the service :
I put the bike in for its 12k (actually 13k) service at Honda Gabarone. They were really good and even organised me a lift back to the hostel and picked me up the next day. The driver even took me to some other bike shops so I could get some replacement gloves as I lost mine on the pans. Nice! When I arrived the bike was ready and looked brand new again :). Here's what was done : Spark plug replaced. Engine flushed and cleaned, Oil changed. Sump plug changed and spare (with O ring) supplied. Rear swing arm cap bodge replaced with original cap. Chain replaced as mine was very stretched (some wear some my fault for now lubing enough). As I was next heading to Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique I also bought replacement brake pads and shoes as they would probably go soon within the next 10k's. As far as I know this will be the last official Honda dealership before i get back into SA in a few months time. Here's Allan the service manager (also an MX rider). He was impressed with my journey and the fact I made it across the pan's. So impressed he didn't charge me any labor for the service and gave me a 20% discount on all the parts! Wow! http://i.imgur.com/fxYDFYd.jpg Thanks Allan, very much appreciated mate! I also bought myself a mono pod (pictured at the bottom) for using with my GoPro and camera. Should make for some different / cool shots. Will have a play when I hit the road again. I also bought some CO2 inflation canisters and the valve as I really don't fancy using my bicycle pump to inflate after a flat! Incidentally I checked my spare tubes and one had a hole in it from being attached to the bike for the last 13km's. I fixed that up with my kit. Here's my new stuff. Its like Christmas! :D http://i.imgur.com/EHjHTfm.jpg So the plan next is to head up to Francistown and cross over into Zimbabwe. I'm interested to see what its like as I hear VERY different views from people. Depending on the weather I may leave Gaborone tomorrow or perhaps the next day. I'm interested on any recommendations for Zim apart from Vic falls. Im tempted by Greater Zimbabwe Ruins and Lake Kariba. Feeling good I have everything sorted and new supplies. |
I spent a few more days at the backpackers before heading to Francistown as there was a lot of rain. I needed time to setup my new laptop anyway as my old one had broken. A new one (Lenovo G500) cost me 3500 Pula which wasn't bad and I needed it for my work. I'm still lugging the old one around and need to ditch it somewhere.
While at the backpackers I met Alex from Russia on a Namibian registered TransAlp : http://i.imgur.com/XzOieJK.jpg After the weather cleared I set off on the long boring drive to Francistown. The only thing of interest that happened was when a lorry tire went straight over a cow pat and splatted me all over with cow dung. Cheers! Arriving late in the afternoon I found some accommodation at a random "Luxury" guest house that actually wasn't so luxury and cost 350 Pula per night. I went out and ate a burger a Spurs for dinner. Nice! my first time in one of those joints. The next morning I packed up and headed the 100 km's to the border post. Leaving Botswana was straight forward and I also changed my last Pula into Rand (they didn't have any small USD left). Then I headed towards the Zimbabwe Plumtree crossing. You are fist greeted by this not so welcoming welcome sign : http://i.imgur.com/rPXZAPU.jpg I have to admit that I was unsure how the border would be. Half the people I spoke to told me how dangerous Zim was and they always had a story to tell of a friend of a friend who ended up in jail and had to pay big bribes etc... The other half told me what a beautiful country it was. My gut told me that all would be fine. I usually find countries that are the poorest or have had some issues in the past (Colombia for example) are the friendliest. The visa and fee's process was very efficient and fast. I paid $55 for a 30 day single entry visa and about $36 for the bike stuff. I got given receipts for all payments and even had a laugh with the guys and girls who worked behind the counters. The whole process took 30 minutes. I was relieved and happy everything was fine and I made it into Zim!. I stopped off at Plumtree town to buy a EcoNet sim card for my phone. It cost $1 and the guy also enabled the 3G and put a 500mb data bundle on there for $20. Internet sorted. Next I stopped for lunch. Chicken, rice and cabbage for $3.20 and very good too. As recommended my chrisL I headed to Matabos National Park for my first night which is 30 km's south of Bulawayo. Here's the map at the main gate : http://i.imgur.com/mtFVqkI.jpg All the rangers seemed to have guns here which was a bit odd considering how little game there is. A few leopards and Rhino and some eagles. The ranger told me most people came here for the scenery. She also said motorbikes were not allowed. Very disappointing :( I think she took pity on me or got sick of my questions because she made a phone call and the manager was prepared to make an exception and let me stay for one night provided I didn't tour the place and just went straight to the camp site via the Rhodes grave. Result! It cost $15 for me $10 for the bike and $8 to camp. I rode up to the world view point where Cecil John Rhodes grave was and had to pay a further $10 to see it and $1 for the guide... hmm... To be fair the guide Eddy was very good and well worth the $1. I just resented a fee within a place I had already paid a fee to get into... Anyway... the Grave : http://i.imgur.com/8uuF8eR.jpg Here's the memorial to the Shangani patrol : http://i.imgur.com/VqhiiR7.jpg http://i.imgur.com/YHSUX3z.jpg The view up here was amazing! Awesome colours : http://i.imgur.com/vViQCZs.jpg http://i.imgur.com/REj5rSm.jpg http://i.imgur.com/OiTsk7e.jpg The sun was starting to go down so I drove down to the Maleme dam rest camp and set up. There were some horses around and later that night one of them woke me up rifling through my food bag! http://i.imgur.com/rnAARW9.jpg Three Austrians (Charlie, Bruno and Fritz) were also at the camp site in a 4x4 and they kindly offered me a beer and we had a nice chat and a good laugh in the evening. The next morning I hung around after the Austrians left and took my time packing and riding out of the park. Here's the lake : http://i.imgur.com/g1URDn7.jpg Also the Dam : http://i.imgur.com/6KpwBI0.jpg Nice scenery : http://i.imgur.com/gRJ8DTp.jpg Cool Rocks : http://i.imgur.com/GIfq2SB.jpg After leaving the park I headed back into Bulawayo. I really had no idea what I would do next. I was in that travelers state of limbo where you have nowhere to go nowhere to stay and no idea. I bought some lunch and decided it was too late to head to Vic falls or Greater Zimbabwe ruins so I was going to have to stay in Bulawayo. I started to drive around first trying to find a Youth Hostel from my GPS that didn't exist then I checked out the local camp ground / caravan park in town which looked good. Only $9 too. I tried the Holiday Inn next. They wanted $150! My last try as the "Hilltop Motel" which is about 8-9km's out of town. I pulled in and it seemed more like a school than a Motel. It was now a school. The "Theological College of Zimbabwe" no less! Anyway... I got chatting to John who works there told him how impressed I was with Zimbabwe and he introduced me to the receptionist and insisted they find me a bed at a good price. So here I am sitting in my own big apartment with kitchen bathroom and 5 beds all to myself and only $20 a night. Result! I just hope they don't expect me to attend classes today! If they do I'm already late writing this ride report... So I'm staying a couple of nights and my plans are to go to the museums in Bulawayo today and then head to Masvingo tomorrow to visit Greater Zimbabwe for a couple of nights. After that I shall probably head up to Harare then to Lake Kariba. I hope to get the 24 hour ferry down the lake and then visit Vic Falls. I feel that's a pretty good tour of Zim and much better than just going to Vic falls like most other visitors. I'm interested to know anyone's thoughts or suggestions ? |
Bump!
Please keep writing ! :funmeteryes: -zie egret. |
Just read through your reports for the first time. You have made me so travel sick! Mike & I have travelled through ZA , Namibia and Botswana 4 times since 2004(18 months in total) and visited/stayed in the places you have brilliantly described but on 4 wheels not 2 !!. Like you most people we met were so friendly and helpful like Basil at Uis. We didn't get any further north than the Zambezi but understand it's well worth visiting. enjoy the rest of your rip and keep writing.
Margaret |
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--- Kilometers so far 14,000. I visited the Natural History Museum in Bulawayo. Entrance was $5 and well worth spending an hour or two. Next I visited the National Art Gallery and got chatting to some local artists for a few hours. *Very interesting conversation and we went for a couple of beers at the roof top Horizon bar in town. Nice place with a pool overlooking Bulawayo. Beers were $1.50. Not bad at all! I also got chatting to the girl who worked at the art gallery cafe and mentioned how I was interested in obtaining some Zim dollars as a souvenir and she kindly brought some in the next day including a 10 trillion dollar note. After having some coffee and early lunch I headed off to Masvingo. After about 33 km's I was checking my speedo and it suddenly zeroed out my speed. Something to fix when I got some time. 300 km's or so later I arrived in Masvingo where I checked into the Backpackers rest. It's not even really a backpackers but more of a crappy hotel. Its a dirty nasty place so stay at the ruins themselves as it's cheaper and better in almost every way. Anyway I paid $25 for a poor excuse of a room and couldn't wait to check out. About 30 km's south of Masvingo are the Great Zimbabwe ruins. On the way I came across yet another burned out car. There seems to be a lot of these littering the sides of the roads. http://i.imgur.com/cvpQKG3.jpg I paid $10 to get into the park and started to make my way up towards the Hill Complex. http://i.imgur.com/NsBeTmC.jpg I kept coming across these weird creatures. No idea what they are ? http://i.imgur.com/vzoclYU.jpg Some of the entrances to the Hill Complex http://i.imgur.com/SFK0zHj.jpg http://i.imgur.com/uXMmewE.jpg Here's whats on the top. http://i.imgur.com/nQbPk8h.jpg The walls were up to 5 meters tall and have used no mortar. http://i.imgur.com/25kXxaP.jpg The view from the top is impressive : http://i.imgur.com/7GEvL17.jpg http://i.imgur.com/B0a4r94.jpg http://i.imgur.com/jiZAqf3.jpg Here's one taken with my GoPro looking out in the other direction. http://i.imgur.com/1BxtsxV.jpg Also the lake in the distance. http://i.imgur.com/xZ0KOL7.jpg I took a walk down to the great enclosure and the Shona village. http://i.imgur.com/4aiYQ5A.jpg I spent roughly two hours exploring the ruins and wish I had stayed there rather than in the crappy Backpackers Rest in Masvingo. I think I remember the price of accommodation being about $20 for a single chalet at the ruins. After leaving the ruins I headed towards Mutare after the recommendation from Chris (1up4adv). At about the halfway point I crossed the old Birchenough bridge. They have banned heavy vehicles as I think the bridge is a bit worse for wear. http://i.imgur.com/1ljQtAL.jpg Zimbabwe's eastern highlands have some awesome scenery. A real nice change from the flat lands of Namibia and Botswana. Lots of nice twisty roads and peaks with awesome views. Perfect biking country. The photo's and video I took doesn't really do it justice. http://i.imgur.com/3JtfDa6.jpg When I arrived in Mutare I went straight to Ann Bruce Backpackers. I was welcomed by Ann who has been running the place forever it seems. Its her residential house right in town with 4-5 rooms converted into doubles triples and dorms from $15 per night. A very comfortable and chilled out place to be. Ann is very sociable and full of stories and advice. A great place to get some down time. In fact I spent the last 6 nights there! Now I had some time I started to look at the speedo problem and soon figured out I had snapped my speedo cable. It had rusted. Probably from the Makadikadi pans crossing. I headed off into town and found two! bike shops. I managed to pick up a replacement for $18. Whilst in the bike shop I came across these Chinese GY3 bikes. This 125cc was $1750. http://i.imgur.com/sCoysD5.jpg This 200cc was $2250. I wonder what the quality is like on these bikes... I would be interested to see a long trip done on one of these. http://i.imgur.com/BYm1BZL.jpg The second bike shop offered repairs and services. Its nice to see that bikes are more popular in Zimbabwe than they have been in Botswana and Namibia. I had a chat with the guys and they offer a full service for $80. I'm not in need of one for another couple of thousand km's so I didn't bother. http://i.imgur.com/8jILN87.jpg They had 3 XL 200's in for work which is essentially what the CTX 200 is but with less protection and racks. http://i.imgur.com/msW6CFg.jpg Whilst staying at Ann's I met a really interesting guy called Steve who used to live in Mutare and he was back meeting up with old school friends and generally being nostalgic about the place. He offered to give me and a backpacker called Emily a lift with him up to Bvumba as he was planting a tree on behalf of another ex-Rhodesian. We thought this was a nice idea so Emily and I bought tree's too. First we visited the Ornamental gardens ($10 entry) which were still open but not the Tea rooms. http://i.imgur.com/vQ617Il.jpg After a wrong turn we managed to backtrack and visit Leopards Rock Hotel. According to Steve the semi-circular balcony was built especially for the Queen and mother. We had some tea and lunch on the other balcony for a very reasonable price. http://i.imgur.com/xx1EOjR.jpg This is the residence of the former owners which was up on the hill overlooking the hotel. Apparently it was fire bombed during the fighting. http://i.imgur.com/aFrmhse.jpg Finally we got round to planting our tree's. We found a nice place near a school that had a good view and wasn't to enclosed by other plants. I have the exact GPS location so it would be interesting to see if they took hold in 10 years or so. http://i.imgur.com/c4FQNSH.jpg We carried on down a dirt track closer to the school and there was an amazing view point overlooking Mozambique. Steve was asked by a another friend back in the UK *to get a photo as this was the place she got engaged. http://i.imgur.com/cyqcVjj.jpg The lake. http://i.imgur.com/ePK2A2n.jpg |
I finally got round to installing the new cable. I imagine that had I been near a Honda dealership it should still be under warranty. Hopefully when I get back to SA I will get a proper Honda one installed. The aftermarket one I used is about 15 cms longer and isn't so water tight but I made it so with some duct tape. I did take the speedo apart to see if I could add on the 700 or so Km's that were missing since it broke but its all pretty well locked in which is understandable as it should't be easy to manipulate the mileage. I will see if Honda can do it for me as i liked being able to see and show people my total km's so far without having to add 700 on each time.
http://i.imgur.com/Qtk2KRv.jpg I'm not sure I mentioned it before but my laptop finally gave up in Botswana. I think the motherboard is at fault as even known good hard drive's (my original suspect for the problems) were causing it top just power down randomly until eventually it just didn't switch on. I bought a new one (Lenovo G500) for 3500 pula in Gaborone. Although its a bit bigger its important I have one so I can continue to work and write these ride reports of course! :)*I had been lugging round the old one but I finally got some time to get rid of it and sold it to laptop repair shop for $40. Result! I was sorry to see it go mostly because of all the stickers I had accumulated on my travels (including a wild dog one) but I took a photo before I let it go : http://i.imgur.com/I1ktCAI.jpg?2 A couple of days later I decided to take a day trip to Nyanga national park via the Honde valley. I passed Redwing Mine. http://i.imgur.com/LyRjTQP.jpg Beautiful rock formations on the way. http://i.imgur.com/IN0sElW.jpg I took the non tar roads into the Honde Valley and fortunatelt it hadn't been raining too much as this mud was still quite slippery in places. http://i.imgur.com/oG5722f.jpg I passed lots of home steads as the valley began to come into view. http://i.imgur.com/XPHdGln.jpg The Honde Valley. The photo's don't really do the view justice. You can see the road on the right and the two waterfalls on the left. An awesome twisty drive. http://i.imgur.com/jcFJa8X.jpg A zoom in on the waterfalls. http://i.imgur.com/t782BTA.jpg I stopped off at the Rhodes Hotel and ate some local trout for lunch. $15. not bad :) I finally made it to Nyanga National Park a bit later than I had hoped and paid my $10 entrance fee. Below is possible one of the worst maps I've come across. Its so vague, and looking at my GPS trace of the trip, not much like the actual shape or distance of the roads. http://i.imgur.com/oQxxJmt.jpg Nyamziwa Falls. http://i.imgur.com/rovRjPS.jpg I was on the circular drive around the park and at its farthest point is Mount Nyangani which is*highest peak in Zimbabwe. A visitor went missing up there last month*and still hasn't been found. http://i.imgur.com/yKQSN85.jpg The road isn't so great. Wouldn't fancy doing it even in a 4x4. Fine on the bike of course :) http://i.imgur.com/uGmV8No.jpg Towards the end of the circular drive is Udu Dam. There's a guy fishing in the middle. Lots of trout I expect. http://i.imgur.com/7TIjyKs.jpg Here's a picture of Emma, her daughter Deborah and an Angolan student also staying at Ann Bruce Backpackers. http://i.imgur.com/Hm6OKDk.jpg Whilst in Mutare I noticed a vinyl graphics shop around the corner of the backpackers. Its the place that all the mini van's get their bizarre graphics done. Things like "2 Bad 2 Fail" or "4WD OVERDRIVE" or whatever put on the side of their buses. I was chatting to Costa the Cypriot owner and he got one of his girls to make a union jack flag and my "whereisjames.com" website address. Only cost $5 and looks pretty cool I thought! http://i.imgur.com/7fjjbEZ.jpg After being in Mutare for 6 days I decided to head to Chimanemane as I had heard from several people how nice it is. It's an awesome 150 km ride of great twisty roads and impressive vista's over the valleys. Great motorbiking country. I'm currently staying at The Farmhouse for $20 a night. Its one of the oldest buildings still standing in Chimanimani. Kilometers so far 15,100. |
I forgot to mention before I left Mutare I knocked up some small flyers to hand out as people are constantly asking about my trip. I had them photocopied for $1 for 20 sheets with 8 to a sheet. I think they look pretty neat :)*:
http://i.imgur.com/ekN19RA.jpg Ann Bruce from the back packers recommended I read*Mukiwa: A White Boy in Africa. Its a great book with an interesting insight into Zimbabwe. Kindle's are essential for travel in my opinion. 1000 books in your pocket and when you get a recommendation you don't have to hunt round book shops and pay crazy prices. I even have the Honda XL 200 workshop manual on it along with phrase and guide books. Handy! https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.ne...67l/195788.jpg After staying a night at The Farmhouse*they had some guests who booked the whole house so the other guest Stefano (from Italy) and I moved up the hill to a new place that was being managed by Tempe the Farmhouse owner. We had the whole house to ourselves and all for $20 a night! The house seemed like it had been furnished in the 70's and then never lived in since. Apparently the owners moved to South Africa and the house has been used by their children and the occasional guests like us. http://i.imgur.com/MzC46qx.jpg The kitchen : http://i.imgur.com/sjxjYHA.jpg The weather was very temperamental this time of year in Chimanimani and so I added my waterproof layer to my jacket and trousers just in case. When I spoke to the national parks guys he told me that normally bikes weren't normally allowed but he didn't seem too bothered so I paid $10 for my permit (no charge for the bike!, cars pay an extra $10), filled up with fuel and set off exploring. My first stop was the Bridal Veil falls which were impressive. There's a nice camp site right next to it where you can stay for about $8 per night. http://i.imgur.com/iALfSDm.jpg Next I headed to a place called "The Corner" which I think is named because it protrudes towards Mozambique kind of in the shape of a corner. Not sure! You head out of Chimanimani along "Scenic Dr" which soon becomes mud. It began to rain lightly for the first 10 km's but soon the sun came out again. http://i.imgur.com/b7PJ9Hs.jpg The area around Chimanimani has stunning valley views that are hard to do justice with a photo. This view reminds me of my time hiking around Salento, Colombia *two years ago. http://i.imgur.com/eHB9UxT.jpg Obligatory bike pics. Its amazing how many pictures you take of the bike when you travel by yourself! http://i.imgur.com/2HSlwzD.jpg Still liking my new graphics. Very cool :)* http://i.imgur.com/WBV9T57.jpg Still videoing too. I think I have around 60 GB of footage so far. All filmed at 720p High Def. Its going to take some editing! http://i.imgur.com/tD7N8hS.png I had quite an odd experience when I got a bit lost after some lady on the side of the road waved me down and told me to go in the wrong direction. If I had carried on the way I was going I would have been fine. Anyway, I ended up in a small village and started asking around for some directions and was sent over to a man carrying a 4-5 year old. At the sight of me the child started screaming and desperately trying to escape. It was very odd and I wonder why he reacted this way. Had he not seen any white people before ? I was off a track off the beaten path so its possible I guess. Or perhaps his parents had threatened him when he was naughty that the Mukiwa (Shona for "white person") would come and take him away if he didn't behave! I found my way again and followed an increasingly narrower dirt track that rose over the top of the hills. The weather was worsening the higher I got and the path became loose rocks like below. There was a camp site there and i was literately 400 meters from the border with Mozambique. http://i.imgur.com/yO29OJF.jpg I made my way back and the weather was still sunny. Lots of small homesteads growing maize meal can be seen from the track. I notice that generally the rural Zimbabweans seem like very tidy and self sufficient people. http://i.imgur.com/vRbyjAy.jpg http://i.imgur.com/gMgl0eY.jpg After getting back into Chimanimani town I headed down to Tessa Pools which are at the end of the main tar road that heads down in to the valley past a saw mill and through the Outward Bound school. Not as impressive as Bridal Veil falls these are Tessa Pools : http://i.imgur.com/p99FJxJ.jpg I still had some daylight left so I headed to base camp where most of the hiking starts from. There's a nice camp site there and a particularly friendly caretaker. Its below the mountains and you can see the road leading up to it and the camp itself to the right of this photo : http://i.imgur.com/ByiEmXl.jpg The next day I left Chimanimani for Mutare as my Visa was expiring soon and I wanted to get over to Vic Falls asap. Below is the view up to Chimanimani on the road out. You can see smoke rising from one of the many saw mills in the area. The small winding road you can see is the one you take and its great fun on the bike.* http://i.imgur.com/MT84RAM.jpg About 5km's outside Mutare I came across this fine eating establishment... I decided to wait until Mutare and had a Nando's instead! http://i.imgur.com/qQ63SHH.jpg I spent 2 more nights in Mutare and gave my gear a good clean as 4 months in they were beginning to stink! This RST adventure pro gear has been pretty good although I have to wear it without the waterproof layer as its just way too hot otherwise even with all the good venting. This means that every once in a while I get a good soaking but fortunately the Africa sun and the wind dries me out pretty quickly. http://i.imgur.com/7sCB4Gj.jpg |
The next morning I drove from Mutare to Harare which was only 250 km's. I arrived mid afternoon and headed straight for the Small World Backpackers*which is a good backpackers to stay in. I got on the phone and called Honda Harare to see if they had a service center for the bike which they did and they even managed to book me in for the next morning. Perfect timing!
I took the bike in and had a chat with the mechanics. It was the 16000km service so the valves needed adjusting. I could hear as of a couple of thousand km's ago there was a slight tinny sound to the engine. I got a lift in the courtesy car to and from the backpackers which was a nice touch. The service cost $136. The guys did a good job and the bike sounds normal again. I also gave them all some flyers and when they looked up whereisjames.com on the computer they were amazed that my gps location on the web actually showed their service center right now (as it should) :) http://i.imgur.com/Kdkq82p.jpg Back at the hostel I met some nice people including a fellow British guy called Andrew who is doing some sort of medical volunteer work in Harare. He told me a story of how he spent a night in a cell after being accused of interfering with the presidential motorcade! A big misunderstanding of course but pretty scary stuff I imagine. Especially when you are being told by fellow inmates that endangering the life of the president carries a 20 year sentence! We all played a dice game called Dudo that evening which as good fun. The next morning I headed towards Vic Falls. Being over 800km's away I knew I would need to take two days to get there and decided to go through the midlands versus the normal highway route via Bulawayo. On the way I stopped at a Chicken Inn for some quick lunch and met some nice locals who asked about the trip. About 2 km's out of town I felt for my passport, check, then my camera's. NO! I had that horrible sinking feeling and immediately thought that I had been pick pocketed in the Chicken Inn as my coat was on the back of my chair and possibly pickpocket-able. I spent a few seconds swearing and contemplating driving back when I remembered I had put them in my waterproof bag as it was raining earlier. Phew! I drove on and came to Kwekwe where I headed west to take my short cut. The road started out fine then it went to a single track then gravel then sand. I was kind of regretting my decision but the road soon became firmer to my relief. After a while I came to a road closed sign where the bridge had been washed away. http://i.imgur.com/jPEwUAE.jpg As you can see its not too much of an issue for my bike . http://i.imgur.com/f8aJJ3z.jpg As I had all my luggage I got off and pushed the bike to lower its weight in this deep sand. I made it across with ease. http://i.imgur.com/4lZhXvS.jpg According to my GPS there was a town in the middle called Nkayi with a petrol pump and therefore hopefully some accommodation. I filled up with fuel and came across the Panke lodge which was $15 per bed. Sorted! I was unsure whether I would need to bush camp that night. To be fair there were plenty of places you could. http://i.imgur.com/5K44vm8.jpg Nyaki is a small town with a large green square in the middle. At least a quarter of the establishments were bar's. This seems to be the case in most small towns. I ate my standard beans and pilchards that evening and watched some TV shows on my laptop. http://i.imgur.com/rURW3dZ.jpg The next morning I headed towards Lupane. Stopping for a water break I noticed my monopod was missing off the back! After loosing my last two tool kits and going back to look with no avail I was tempted just to drive on but decided I would drive 10 km's back and if I didn't find it then it was lost. Fortunately it was 2 km's back. Result! http://i.imgur.com/PNt1qN2.jpg Past Lupane and back on the main highway I stopped for a salad lunch at a restaurant on the side of the road and noticed on my GPS that there was a broken suspension bridge so I headed down a small dirt track for a look.* http://i.imgur.com/f4vBtcY.jpg I arrived in Victoria Falls mid-afternoon and checked into Shoestring Backpackers for two nights. Cost $10 per night. Its a rowdy place with a big party atmosphere but not the best hostel so i moved to VicFalls Backpackers where I'm currently staying. Cost $15. Its much nicer here but a little out of town. I headed to see the Victoria Falls on a cloudy (but not raining) day. I paid the $30 entrance fee and spent a few hours wandering around the view points taking photos. http://i.imgur.com/3t0meai.jpg http://i.imgur.com/MIGvx9O.jpg http://i.imgur.com/sYfoXbA.jpg http://i.imgur.com/IY9x0WO.jpg http://i.imgur.com/g2gh2w8.jpg At the end is the Victoria Falls bridge which I will be crossing when I head into Zambia soon. http://i.imgur.com/3Kq3S67.jpg The weather had been really sunny in the mornings here and I'm tempted to visit again (and pay another $30) to see if i can get a better view and some better pictures. I'm also probably going to head for some "high tea" later at the Victoria Falls hotel. KM's so far 16,500. |
As recommended be several people I headed to the Victoria Falls Hotel for high tea with my friend from Katima, Namibia who was also visiting Vic Falls. We bumped into two Canadians from our hostel who were very early for the high tea (3pm to 5pm by the way) and had been working their way through the cocktail menu for the past couple of hours. The high tea was great and it was amusing watching the cheeky monkeys go for the scones on the neighboring table. There was also a slow but steady stream of different animals that would appear from the side of the building and graze on the lawn. I speculated they kept them in cages round the back and periodically let them out for tourists to photograph.
http://i.imgur.com/gSU6laj.jpg The view was excellent with a rainbow appearing about 4pm and slowly rising above the bridge. http://i.imgur.com/TZCJ2Z6.jpg We visited the falls again a couple of days later as the sun was shining but it wasn't really worth it. The views weren't any better. If anything they were a little worse. I was getting tired of Victoria Falls town and being offered crappy trinkets and billion dollar Zimbabwean notes so I decided it was time to cross over into Zambia. My 5th Country so far. http://i.imgur.com/zQGrPQw.jpg Exiting Zimbabwe was quick and easy and I got to cross the bridge which was cool. The Zambian border post was pretty hectic and as soon as I pulled up I had a few guys hassling me to park here or there but I largely ignored them and parked by the building. Nobody seems to care where you park a motorbike which is good. The Visa was quickly issued and cost me $50 for 30 days (they wouldn't give me 60) then I headed to customs who told me to visit some examiner. I knocked on his door and behind it was a fat man stuffing a huge lump of nshima (maize meal) into his fat face. He was not impressed about having to deal with me so told me to go back and get the woman who sent me. She wasn't interested either so told me to tell him I needed a temporary import permit for the bike. I did this and the guy just stared at me and told me to come back later as he was eating. Fair enough I guess. After about 25 minutes of constantly checking my bike and trying to avoid the "helpers" he came out and inspected my documents. He seemed friendlier now he had filled his fat belly and asked where my South African residency certificate was. Of course I didn't have one although technically I should have had one to have been given my Traffic Registration Number so I just confidently mentioned my SA visa was in my passport and pointed out ownership document. He didn't seem too bothered and issued me my import permit for free. Next I had to pay $20 road toll and 50 Kwacha ($8.30) carbon tax. As I was about to cross through the last gate I was informed I also needed insurance which was purchased from a small building by the gate for 116 Kwacha ($20). Finally I was through! It took about an hour. Not too bad I guess. The guys on the bicycles make the crossing several times a day ferrying orange juice and maize meal across the border to sell for a profit. Some of them seriously load up their bikes. http://i.imgur.com/Kk6Eo5r.png Welcome to Zambia! Except there was no sign to take a picture of the bike next to :(*Instead there is a commercial advertisement saying welcome which isn't the same. Come on Zambia sort it out! Every other country so far has had one. I headed to Fawlty Towers Backpackers first but this was full so I moved on to Livingstone Backpackers which was only a couple of streets away. The next day was good weather so we headed down to the Zambian side of the falls which was only $20 entrance and better in my opinion*at this time of year. You will get absolutely soaked though as the viewpoints are much closer to the falls. I rented a double layered rain mac and still got soaked. http://i.imgur.com/Up945Uo.jpg The bridge from the Zambian side. http://i.imgur.com/8WrhrhU.jpg I took my GoPro to try and take some photos but it was difficult with the amount of spray. http://i.imgur.com/Sbz0RtH.jpg After my friend left I moved to JollyBoys Backpackers*which has some of the best WiFi I've had since Cape Town. Gives me a good oportunity to backup and pull down some music and videos I've been after. The place is well run and very popular. I stayed for 3 nights in the dorm and met Jacob who has driven all the way from Holland on his Africa Twin without a carnet! Impressive. http://i.imgur.com/FyBB2Ji.jpg After Jacob left Gill from Belgium turned up on a BMW and we decided to head towards Lusaka together but stopping off on Lake Kariba to break up the ride. The drive was about 280 km's and we set up camp in Sinazongwe at Kariba Lake View for 30 Kwacha a night. The food here is great so we decided to stay for a while and chill. http://i.imgur.com/XlCnYY4.jpg Fishermen on the lake. http://i.imgur.com/GmNeTHH.jpg On one of the days we decided to explore some of the area. We ate nshima and beans (10 Kwacha) in a town just outside Sinazongwe and chatted to some locals until the inevitable drunk turns up asking for money because he's hungry. These guys really do my head in. You have a nice chat and a laugh with some friendly locals and then we leave early after the drunk won't stop hassling us for booze money. To be fair the guys we were chatting with did have a word with him. http://i.imgur.com/V74mU9J.jpg We headed to the lakes edge after following some bad roads but decided not to go any further as the scenery isn't that spectacular and the roads were pretty bad. http://i.imgur.com/iIrY28A.jpg We came across these fishing vessels. http://i.imgur.com/i6zNRTW.jpg http://i.imgur.com/9JzRW8X.jpg So tomorrow we head to Lusaka to try and get out Malawian visa's as we have heard its cheaper to do in Lusaka than on the border. Gill will head south into Zimbabwe and I will continue north east and possibly visit South Luangwa national park and try and do a game drive and see some animals. I've heard Zambia has some of the best safaris. I'm not too sure after that. Probably work my way towards Malawi and cross the border in the north somewhere. As always I'm open to advice an suggestions :) KM's travelled so far 17,000. |
I assure you, there are humans reading this! Please, keep it coming.
I had a CTX200 for a short while in Australia, and wanted to do a big trip on one. But, shipping was too dear and getting one in South America proved to be more difficult and expensive than anticipated! If only they made a big tank for them!:thumbup1: |
less is more
Hi Techno,,,
very interested in your steed ,,,,,,,and wanderings ..good stuff. I have owned ,, all manner of advs ,, from the big twins to big singles,,, and have been toying with the small bore concept for a good while... can you tell me what gearing you are running on the bushy,please.?? |
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My CTX was built in Brasil and I know they sell them in Chile so you could buy one over there instead and probably save some money. I'm very much in to buying locally because you don't need a carnet etc... Quote:
Thanks for tuning in! --- The drive to Lusaka was about 320 km's but we were low on Kwatcha as our bill of T Bone steaks and camping had cleaned us both out. The ATM's were also conspiring against us. For some reason only Barclays banks work with my Mastercard and the ones I tried were out of service. I was also low on fuel but I found a petrol attendant who would give me a fair rate in dollars for some fuel and gave me change in Kwatcha. Result! I bought Gill and I some Nishima, vegetables and tea for lunch. We were pretty hungry. http://i.imgur.com/HHg27Zq.jpg After arriving in Lusaka Gill and I checked in at Paseli 7 Backpackers*which seemed like the best backpackers in town according to trip adviser. The next morning Gill and I visited both the Malawi and Mozambique embassies to inquire about visa's. Both told us that yes we would need to apply for them but they would take 3-5 days unless you pay a premium so we decided it wasn't worth it and we would get them on the border. I have now learned you don't even need one for Malawi if you are European despite them advising us you did! Gill left for Harare, Zimbabwe intending to stop for a quick look at the Kariba Dam on the way. I headed towards*South Luangwa National Park. As I got ready to leave I noticed this praying mantis on my luggage. I guess he was headed that way too. http://i.imgur.com/CceYzCQ.jpg I had a long drive ahead (407 km's) and wanted to get away early but I got a text from my local mobile provider MTN informing me they were going to cancel my SIM unless i registered with them so I stopped off at the local shop to sort it out. It took about 45 minutes which I could really have done without but seeing as I was late I also decided to pop into the Game store and replace my 10 Liter fuel can too. It had been leaking slowly for the past month after a thorn somehow penetrated the plastic. I had tried to repair it many times but it always leaked again after a few days. I gave the old one to a random guy on a bicycle who seemed very pleased despite it being broken. I guess he will repair it properly and perhaps get something for it. http://i.imgur.com/Q0RRUSR.jpg I finally got going and expected to have a fuel stop or two on the way but there was none and I was running low so I stopped and asked a lady called Doris who was waiting for a lift to Lusaka. This family provided me with 5 liters for 75 Kwatcha (normal price 50) and I was on my way again. http://i.imgur.com/QAW7gvp.jpg I should really have bought 10 liters as I had to pay 85 for another 5 a bit further on. I was still expecting a fuel stop but there wasn't any. This is the first time I've had any difficulty getting any fuel from petrol stations (or lack of). From now on I am keeping my main tank and extra can full. I also ate some Nshima and fish for 12 Kwatcha (2 USD) in a small restaurant by the side of the road much to the curiosity of the locals especially as I was eating local style with just my hand. Heading off again I crossed this bridge and was going to stop and make a little drive by video on the GoPro when I had 7-8 children descend on me demanding pens. Instead I just pointed at my ignition switch on the bike and one of the kids tentatively pressed the button and the bike fired up. They loved it. Kids get a real kick out of it when I let them start the bike. http://i.imgur.com/WroLtHz.jpg I eventually made it to Petauke which is the half way point between Lusaka and Mfuwe (the entrance to South Luangwa National Park). It had just begun to rain so I headed into the first lodge I found which was Chimwemwe Lodge. It's a very well looked after place. Rooms were 300 Kwatcha and I was tempted but decided to go for camping priced at 50 Kwatcha. I waited for the rain to slow and headed to the campsite and unloaded my stuff into the abolution facilities. Whilst I was waiting for it to stop raining again it started to get dark so I decided I would just sleep on the floor in there. It wasn't the best night's sleep to be honest as I was constantly bothered by mosquitoes but I got some rest. http://i.imgur.com/s7Hj2Yg.jpg The next morning I ate some bran flakes and used one of my 250 ml long life milk cartons. These things are essential when you are on the road and want milk but don't have refrigeration. I always carry two or three. Great for tea too. The road was pretty good and started become more hilly as I proceeded east. http://i.imgur.com/ljnXqk8.jpg I passed through some more towns but still no fuel. Fortunately I had topped up in Petauke and had enough to make it to Chapati where there is plenty. I also noticed that how popular cycling is in Zambia. http://i.imgur.com/YswobFR.jpg Arriving in Chapati I filled up my tanks again but the pump broke mid way through so I had to wait until they could get it working again so I could pay. Bit of a pain especially as I attracted the attention of a beggar who kept hassling me for 2 Kwatcha which I always refuse politely (I never give to beggars, ever). He became quite angry and kept pointing at my Honda and then mumbled about how angry I was making him and how he was going to get a gun and shoot me. Crazy guy. The petrol attendant had a word and he soon left mumbling to himself. I had lunch at a Steers branch in town and headed north towards Mfuwe. The road was excellent and had recently been tarred except for a few small stretches. http://i.imgur.com/nkSrAmN.jpg Getting close to the national park entrance where I intended to camp I drove over a hill with a nice view of the land below. http://i.imgur.com/qs6TZR1.jpg I was driving through some small villages about 10 km's from the park entrance when I came across a road block which seemed quite suspicious. There were no police, just a gang of about 20 young men and boys who flagged me down and immediately surrounded me. There was one guy who was sweating profusely and standing right in front of me with a machete in his hand trying to look mean. One of the boys explained there had recently been an accident and they wanted money. I argued that the accident was nothing to do with me but they insisted I needed to pay something. Next a car just drove straight past the road block and I questioned why they were allowed to pass. They told me they had already paid 5 Kwatcha (less than 1 USD). As it was less than a dollar I decided to just pay them rather than risk getting hit with a machete. They were really happy with their money and let me pass. I went fo Flatdogs camp first but they don't offer camping anymore so they sent me to Croc Valley Camp a couple of kilometers away. This time of year their camping costs 72 Kwatcha after they add VAT and their 10% service charge. I set up my hammock under the rondaval overlooking the hippo and crocodile infested luangwa river. I had a bench for all my stuff, power outlet and even room to park the bike. Perfect! http://i.imgur.com/0xsbeok.jpg Also staying at Croc Valley were two families. One from France who had been on the road for 4 years and another Dutch family who were traveling for 6 months. Here's their impressive trucks : http://i.imgur.com/kepfjrk.jpg http://i.imgur.com/l2eFPfp.jpg I saved a bit of money by buying a package deal for the next day. For $120 I got camping, 3 meals, 2 game drives and laundry. We left at 6am for our morning game drive along with a group from an overland bus that pulled in late in the evening. I'm so glad I didn't do an overland tour as they seemed mostly miserable as hell. The morning drive was OK but I didn't get to see anything new. Plenty of Elephants, Zebra's and Giraffes etc.. I still hadn't seen any cats... http://i.imgur.com/qfT2qBn.jpg http://i.imgur.com/T9oUlRU.jpg After some tea and cakes we headed out in a smaller group of 3. Myself and two Swedish backpackers. Withing 30 minutes we spotted a Leopard on the road. He was marking his territory as he progressed towards us. He passed right next to our vehicle. http://i.imgur.com/Xq79rt9.jpg We followed him to a clearing and watched him survey the open grass lands for about 20 minutes uninterrupted. http://i.imgur.com/3Fr0eRP.jpg Then he moved on towards a herd of Impalas. http://i.imgur.com/yLJa1Uu.jpg http://i.imgur.com/hdPlpOA.jpg http://i.imgur.com/Mu2QY4e.jpg Eventually a second vehicle (full of the most deadly predators of them all) turned up to disturb the peace. http://i.imgur.com/Up0RU6j.jpg Later on during the drive we spotted two hyenas, a pack of wild dogs and this baby Leopard in a tree : http://i.imgur.com/7pnM6mJ.jpg I decided to use the next day to explore the old petauke road which I was tempted to take instead of coming from Petauke via Chipata on the tar road. I was quite glad I didn't as the 40 or so kilometers I saw was pretty washed out and would have been tough with all my luggage. http://i.imgur.com/E7ip61p.png As you can see a lot of the bridges were washed away. http://i.imgur.com/cg8AZfk.jpg The old petauke road follows the river and has some excellent views. I spotted these two elephants on the other side. http://i.imgur.com/8JLlmpa.jpg http://i.imgur.com/NW3Nv8O.jpg There were plenty of interesting tracks on the way too. http://i.imgur.com/aRnyrlb.jpg |
After driving about 40 km's I decided to turn back as I was considering a second night drive. I was also told by some locals that the next 40 or so km's was just boring bush driving with the possibility of angry elephants.
http://i.imgur.com/sw8ZHIr.jpg I managed to fall off into this mud puddle by spending too much time looking out for elephants instead of keeping my eye on the road. http://i.imgur.com/EZNIEIo.jpg Apart from a few patches the road really isn't too bad and rises up every now and again to give excellent views of the park. http://i.imgur.com/NiNmYlq.jpg I tried to take a deviation on the way back but had to pull the bike out of this mud. Having a light bike makes it much easier to get myself out of situations like this on my own.* http://i.imgur.com/M0gscDk.jpg The road was really fun to drive and I imagine being able to travel the whole length in the dry season is awesome. http://i.imgur.com/goylegi.png The next evening I decided to do one more evening game drive before leaving.* http://i.imgur.com/UJbicAo.jpg http://i.imgur.com/TWiEs1E.jpg Just before we were about to head back we heard from another truck that there were lions ahead! A herd of about 15 were on the road and finally I got to see a wild lion. This is the best picture I took as inevitably the batteries run out on my camera. hmm! bit annoying but still impressive to see. They were so close to us. I got within meters of this male as we drove past. http://i.imgur.com/FUYxoGP.jpg Today I cross the border and head to Lilongwe, Malawi. KM's so far 18,000. Here's some bonus pictures I got from Gill on the BMW :' Checking out nature reclaiming this digger near Sinazongwe. http://i.imgur.com/1ogwA4v.jpg Our camp by Lake Kariba. You can see my foot poking out from the hammock. http://i.imgur.com/nkfsyjU.jpg Enjoying some "Africa TV" with fellow traveler friends in Lusaka. http://i.imgur.com/eEs5pno.jpg |
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assuming your std gearing is 13 -47 criky you must be ringing the little bangers neck!! 120k,,,,,,,:eek3: I am currently setting said machine up have fitted 14 c/shaft ....done some sea trials.. and its still appears to lug bike ,, up some pretty extreme hill climbs with kit ,, ,without to much clutch modulation... heated grips and some led spots ...bar risers. got some old ktm hard luggage off my 625 ,,fits snug sacrebleu less is more...........! |
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Post a pic if you can. I'm curious :) on with the next installment : Here's a picture of my camp at croc valley just before packing up. I really like it when there is a thatched area I can just string my hammock under. All the better if it has power, water and a bench like here. http://i.imgur.com/VeqTdkC.jpg I set off around 10am towards Chipata. Fortunately their were no crazy machete wielding drunks on the road today. I did come across an amusing "shopping center" which I emailed to my brother who's having a baby. He and his wife found it hilarious : http://i.imgur.com/jlUGdQV.jpg I forgot to mention in my last report but whilst I was on the old petauke road I hit a rock which pinged off one of my side sand springs into the bush. I spotted a workshop in Chipata run by an organisation called riders.org so I popped in to see if they could help. One of these two gentlemen sourced me a new one in 20 minutes flat and even installed it all for 15 kwatcha. Very nice guys indeed! http://i.imgur.com/EofYers.jpg I also forgot to mention that whilst on the old petauke road I met a retired British policeman called Steve who was off to collect his canoe. He said to pop by his place on my way back for a beer which I did. He and his wife Anna run a Wildlife Education Trust called Chipembele just off old petauke road. Steve showed me round their impressive place which includes a pet Hippo called Douglas, a rescue monkey called Doreen and a few other animals. Steve also showed me his canoe which had a hole in it. He explained he was on a 12 day trip along the upper luangwa river when all of a sudden a crocodile grabbed the back of his canoe and tried to shake him out. Steve then said everything went in slow motion as he lent forward, grabbed his hand gun and turned around to fire two warning shots in to the water. The crocodile then slid back into the river. Pretty scary stuff. He said another canoeist had a similar experience but without a gun and he abandoned his trip soon after. I imagine the constant worry of capsizing it pretty nerve wrecking. Anyway, after having my spring fixed and grabbing a burger in the Chipata Spurs I headed to the border to cross into Malawi. On the way I passed the usual queue of trucks parked up waiting to cross in. http://i.imgur.com/HYorTXE.jpg The crossing went pretty smooth and took about an hour. Nobody was in a hurry and I got my first taste of the Malawian's laid back nature. The visa was free and as usual the Temporary permit was free. I did have to pay 5000 MWK (about 11 USD) road fee. I also had to buy insurance for 30 days which was available 100 meters down the road and cost about 8 USD. Pretty cheap crossing all in all! It rained heavily whilst I was sorting everything out but fortunately stopped on my way out. Below is a picture of the river coming down the road. http://i.imgur.com/jPTlAu3.jpg No welcome sign in Malawi either. Just this sign informing me of the speed limits. It will have to do! Interestingly the maximum speed limit is 80 km/h which is perfect for me with my top speed of around 95 km/h.* http://i.imgur.com/SudSCvs.jpg I set off for Lilongwe and took a dorm bed at Mabuya Camp*for $10 per night. I bought some supplies from the local supermarkets and filled both my tanks with petrol as I wasn't sure how many stations I would find here in Malawi. I also picked up an extra 1.5 liters of oil from the Game store and changed my oil that night. The next morning I headed to an Indian barbers for a much needed haircut and shave. It was the full works including head message and cut throat razor. In my experience having haircuts and shaves around the world the Indians always do the best job. Later that day two Italian bikers called Andrea and Umberto turned up at*Mabuya. They had*driven down from Italy. Nice guys! Not wanting to dwell too long in he capital I headed north to Mzuzu along the hill roads and was very glad I had the extra fuel as the only pump on the way was broken. I spent the night at the*MzooZooZoo*which to be honest is in dire need of renovation but the people made up for it with interesting conversation that night by the fire. Not wanting to waste time I topped up my fuel and headed north again the next day. http://i.imgur.com/WnBKI6c.jpg Finally I get my first view of Lake Malawi as I come over a hill : http://i.imgur.com/XECeHPg.jpg I drove straight past the turning to Livingstonia the first time. Considering it's a fairly famous town I didn't expect the turn off to look like this. http://i.imgur.com/bOpU7Fx.jpg The ascent is about 15 bends like this which is great fun on the bike. Most of the road is gravel but some of the steeper corners have been sealed. http://i.imgur.com/yJI7OGW.jpg I made it up to the top and decided to stay at The Mushroom Farm which is now owned and run by an american called Cameron. The views from up here are outstanding and I decided the only way to go was with my hammock and tarp setup. Here's my setup and the view I woke up to : http://i.imgur.com/6t3bkue.jpg A view of some of the small villages below : http://i.imgur.com/HJ6yCL8.jpg Cameron's new puppy "Chapati" : http://i.imgur.com/90yRdZz.jpg |
The next morning I headed up into Livingstonia itself. Its a very strange to see all these old colonial buildings so far from civilisation. I grabbed a tea from the local coffee shop and chatted a bit with the very friendly locals.
http://i.imgur.com/mFSxoKN.jpg Here's the very quiet town center. http://i.imgur.com/p9y7tRy.jpg Next I headed into the Stonehouse Museum which is probably the smallest museum I have visited on my trip so far. Entry was 500 MWK with a 200 MWK supplement for photos. http://i.imgur.com/lqFODqm.jpg The museum was pretty crap to be honest but I did come across this gem which made it worth all it : http://i.imgur.com/v1ZHvF3.jpg Here's the pretty impressive church. I can't imagine how hard it was to build all this in such a remote place. http://i.imgur.com/vj8zQLP.jpg I ate some samosas for lunch at the Livingstonia Lodge which was surprisingly good. On my way back down I visited the Manchewe falls. I took a guide for 200 MWK on the recommendation of a local who turned out to be drunk on sachets. These sachets sell for about 60 MWK (0.15 USD) for 100 ml of hard liquor : http://www.forut.no/robot/bildegalle...2-26-poser.jpg Here's the view : http://i.imgur.com/Yllzv1j.jpg Quite a drop too when you stand above it. I didn't want to get too close especially with the drunk kid nearby. http://i.imgur.com/aYLIbhO.jpg I was a bit disappointed with my young drunk guide but paid him anyway and decided to visit the cave behind the falls with a group of 5 boys who spoke much better English and weren't drunk. We had some interesting conversation about BK (Bible Knowledge). They were quite surprised when I told them of that Christianity wasn't as popular in Europe as it was here in Africa. I then tried to explain why I believed in evolution rather than creationism. To be fair they listened and seemed interested enough. I do find it a bit ironic that after all the missionary work done by Europeans in Africa in the past that we no longer believe so much any more. http://i.imgur.com/bniW6lG.jpg Here is the cave behind the waterfall. Apparently the locals used to hide here from the slavers when they came to town. http://i.imgur.com/kWt5AY9.jpg I paid the boys 100 MWK each for their time which worked out at about 1 USD in total for all 5. It had been raining a little and on my return to the bike the local drunk who had recommended the drunk kid had covered my bike in plastic. He was demanding 200 MWK for guarding my bike. I was not impressed as I had told him when I left that my bike didn't need looking after. We had a "debate" for about 15 minutes which attracted a few locals who were curious what the muzungu was up to. I offered him 50 MWK which to be honest was more of an insult than anything. Of course he didn't accept it. I made a few digs that while he's out drinking his sachets all day I was working hard back in the UK to afford this trip and I'm not going to waste my money having my bike guarded by drunks. In the end I just left giving him nothing with most of the locals laughing at the drunk who made an empty threat that we would "meet again". meh, whatever. I don't like confrontations like this but after a while you get tired of it all and decide to stick to your principles and argue it through. In all honesty though its not worth the hassle and headache for 200 MWK (less than half a dollar). Here's a nice view of a small homestead to lighten the mood :) http://i.imgur.com/teF01wd.jpg After spending two night at the Mushroom Farm I headed back down the twisty path to the main road. Cameron the owner was looking rough and confessed he had just tested positive for malaria. A sign of things to come :/ Here's a good example of the road from above : http://i.imgur.com/j4ysB2f.jpg On my way back to Mzuzu I took this panoramic on my phone. It's a beautiful drive with the smell of the tobacco fields as you drive by. http://i.imgur.com/6uP78bK.jpg I popped into the Mzuzu Zoo again to say hi to Graham, Chad and Jim and had a BLT lunch. I then headed down to Nkhata bay. I checked out the Butterfly Space but it was a run down and dilapidated place. When looking around I got hassled by a couple of artists to check out their work. Not a place I wanted to stay if I could avoid it. Next I checked Mayoka Village which was much better. This is certainly a place where you could get stuck for a while! Me, Jimmy (also from the UK) and Haroula from Canada took a local boat out for a spin (quite literally). Despite me looking like i was in control these things take some controlling and tend to spin on the slightest over paddling or wave. Good fun though. http://i.imgur.com/7jAnVCs.jpg Not the most comfortable either. You end up with a dead leg after not too long. http://i.imgur.com/yFavj22.jpg Every Tuesday at Mayoka they offer a free boat trip which is a nice touch. First we fed the fish eagles. I got these shots with burst mode on the GoPro. http://i.imgur.com/N4U8ieq.jpg That's Gill right below the bird. You'll remember he's on the GS1200 and we spent a few days camping on the Kariba in Zambia. I think this shot is pretty cool. http://i.imgur.com/thWHlWH.jpg Next we did a rock jump where some local boys were hanging out. Really nice to meet some local kids who don't want pens or money and are just happy to have a laugh with you. :) http://i.imgur.com/PIcEC3A.jpg On my Facebook page there was some debate about whether I had the balls to jump. Just so that doesn't happen here's the proof up front ;) http://i.imgur.com/PmyddXa.png Lastly we landed on the beach of a small fishing village. This is everyone banding together to pull the net in. I was interested to the result of all this effort. Unbelievably there were only 15 or so tiny fish! You can see in the distance what looks like smoke. Its actually a swarm of small flying ants. When they come ashore the locals catch them and make them into burgers (I'm not joking!). http://i.imgur.com/SEZg32n.jpg Life was very relaxed at Mayoka and time flies easily. I decided though that I needed to get move on so I took the Ilala ferry up to Ruarwe. There's a lodge up there called Zulunkhuni River Lodge run by Charlie and Rosa who I met at the Muzuzu Zoo. The ferry took about 6 hours. Two of which were spent uploading maize meal to Usisya on the way. 2nd class cost 5200 MWK and was comfortable enough. http://i.imgur.com/ASGkxsT.jpg Here's Ruware's beach : http://i.imgur.com/9ND1Gpl.jpg We were met by Charlie on a smaller boat and stopped to collect some luggage before heading to the lodge. This picture really shows the excitement and chaos of the twice a week arrival of the Ilala ferry. http://i.imgur.com/oD3eb3N.jpg The lodge has a waterfall of ice cold water right next to it and a nice swim and a jump off some of the rocks there was an enjoyable end to the day. The next morning I woke up with a bit of a headache which was not normal for me. I never get headaches. I mentioned this to Charlie and he recommended I take a Malaria test just in case. I haven't taken any anti-malerials on this trip and suspected at some point I may get malaria. That time was now. http://i.imgur.com/ui8W1oP.jpg Two lines for positive. Unfortunately I had left the treatment I had bought back in Nkhata bay with the rest of my main luggage. Charlie had some treatment at the lodge which was lucky. It was actually a child dosage and it was out of date too. I started the treatment immediately and took it easy for the rest of the day. I started to feel worse as the day went on and after managing to get to sleep that night I woke at about 4am with a bad fever and was vomiting. I felt really rough and was up for a couple of hours. I managed to fall back to sleep and spent the next day taking it easy again. I didn't know what to expect and didn't feel too comfortable being 6 hours by a once a week boat from civilisation. What if I got really bad ? The Ilala came back in the opposite direction the next day so I decided to take it despite feeling a bit rough. The journey wasn't too bad and the treatment seemed to be working well. I had also stopped taking any paracetamol after I read it can prolong the recovery time. I did have an interesting conversation on the way back with a gentleman named George who shouted everything he said so that everybody in 2nd class could hear. He also occasionally spat in my face as he spoke. He didn't seem to mind too much that I had malaria and had his conversation anyway. I was sweating a lot by this point with the effort of remaining politely interested in the conversation. Fortunately after about 20 minutes he moved on to shout and spit at someone else. He was a nice friendly guy but just difficult to deal with at that time with the malaria. I had some friends with me throughout which was great. Haroula from Canada looked out for me which was much appreciated. Also Julia and Alex from South Africa were with us at the lodge. I actually met them on the way down from Livingstonia (they were walking up). I spent a few more nights at Mayoka village recovering during which there was some really heavy rain. So heavy it caused a mud slide which took out the bar and part of the seating area : http://i.imgur.com/OkdsafD.jpg I'm becoming more and more conscious that my trip is going to end. I'm over two thirds through now and really need to get a move on towards cape town. There's so much to see on the way and I only have 10 weeks left and that includes the time I will need to sell the bike. My front tire was a little flat and there's not one electric air compressor in Nkhata bay. This lad used his bike pump and the promise of 300 MWK to sort it out. http://i.imgur.com/fBz9M98.jpg I paid my bill said my goodbyes and headed south down the lake side road towards Lilongwe. After about 300 km's I reached Nkhotakota. I rocked up at a place called fish eagle bay. For 4000 MWK i strung my hammock up under some thatching right on the beach. The food there was excellent and I had some perfectly cooked fish and rice and settled in for the night. http://i.imgur.com/R8AASve.jpg It was incredibly windy that night and I ended up re-orientating the hammock so it faced the wind head on instead of side on. Made for a much more comfortable nights sleep. I then set off for Lilongwe and made it in time for lunch at Chipiku supermarket using my bike as a table I ate outside the supermarket for about 1000 MWK. I then checked into Mabuya Camp like before and took a dorm bed. This morning I drove to the Mozambican embassy to apply for a visa but was told to come back tomorrow. My plan is to try for the visa tomorrow and if its available the next day I will stay. Otherwise I will head to Monkey Bay and stay for a couple of nights. I only have 9 days left on my visa so I have to be careful. I may try and get the bike serviced in Blantyre. They also have an High Commission there where I can try for the visa again if I need to. I can probably get the visa on the border but I would feel better having it in advance just in case but I'm not waiting around for it. If it takes too long I will just try for it on the border. I plan on crossing over at Zobue and heading to Tete. Next I'm going to make my was down to Vilanculos via Chimoio. I may only spend two weeks in Mozambique as I know there's a lot to see still in South Africa. |
heated grips ,,"I say"
minus 7 = "practicle" yes ,,will post some piks when the sled ,, is complete,, will be a fews mths,, tho ,, I,m off plodding around Vietnam on scooter,, cheers. |
After unsuccessfully obtaining a visa for Mozambique I decided to head down to Cape Maclear. It was only about 300 km's and the route across the hills is a particularly nice ride. Lots of twisty roads and amazing views. I got some great video on this drive too.
http://i.imgur.com/1E9bNBo.jpg There's so little traffic on the Malawian roads I decided to pose for a photo to take a break. http://i.imgur.com/2o6JLLv.jpg I arrived at Cape Maclear and on a recommendation decided to stay at Fat Monkeys. Its a really nice, well run place with dorms literally next to the beach. I hung out with two Scottish guys for a couple of days and just chilled. http://i.imgur.com/SU2SwBE.jpg Next I headed south again to*Liwonde National Park and stayed at Liwonde Safari Camp. I went on a boat safari but it wasn't that great. I saw 3 elephants from a distance and a few hippos. Perhaps it was the wrong time of year or something. I also think I was spoiled by the excellent safaris I did in Zambia. I also found the prices at the safari camp to be quite expensive too. Dinner was $15 for a buffet with no other options. Here's my hammock camp. http://i.imgur.com/bcHQcqh.jpg Being conscious of my time running out (only 2 months left!) I headed south again to Zomba and checked into Pakachere Backpackers. It's a very well run place that seems mostly setup for volunteering but did me fine. I was feeling quite ill with a bad stomach when I arrived so slept for most of the afternoon and then chilled out the following day to get try and improve.* Feeling a bit better I left my stuff at the backpackers and drove up to the Sunbird Hotel on the Zomba plateau and had a cup of tea (very British of me). The drive up was excellent and I heard that the hiking was good up there so I drove towards the waterfall thinking I might just hike up and see it. To my delight there was a full on 4x4 trail in a loop around the plateau with stunning view points. That's Mount Mulanje you can see in the distance with Zomba city in the foreground. http://i.imgur.com/kwwfB59.jpg http://i.imgur.com/BwMslYc.jpg About half way round the loop is Chingwes hole which is a deep cave system where apparently the local chief used to throw lepers and mad men. http://i.imgur.com/KHIhuf4.jpg Move impressive in my opinion is the view from there. http://i.imgur.com/ToD1Rek.jpg http://i.imgur.com/fJHt2JT.jpg The road was pretty crap but easily handled by my trusty CTX 200. http://i.imgur.com/tQUIlgs.jpg I was really happy to have had a surprise few hours driving round the plateau and really recommend it to any other bikers heading up to Malawi. Next I drove to Blantyre and checked into Doogles Lodge. I only had two days left on my Malawian visa so I didn't bother trying to apply for a Visa and went straight to the Honda dealership the next morning. Fortunately the guys managed to fit me in and do a same day service for the 20,000 km's. Whilst in the showroom *i noticed they were also sending a brand of bike simply called "Tough". The following was written on the tank! "Read Owaner smanual carefully before driving" http://i.imgur.com/MaZh1nD.jpg Later that evening I went out to dinner with some volunteers. Malawi is FULL of "volunteers" by the way. I didn't actually meet that many travelers / backpackers whilst in Malawi. We walked to a nice Indian restaurant in town and had a good meal. I brought up that we should get a taxi back as it was late but the volunteers brushed off my suggestion despite me insisting it was a dangerous move. On the way back I was proved right when a guy cut the bag strap from one of their bags and ran off with her camera, phone and purse. The camera's photos hadn't been backed up either. The local's who saw it all happen asked what the hell we were thinking walking around at night especially in that area. I resisted the obvious "i told you so!" but it was definitely a wake up call for them. I got up fairly early on the last day of my Malawian visa and headed off for the Zobue border. I was following my GPS but forgot to double check the route (it sometimes sends me in odd directions because i tell it to choose the shortest route). It turns out I was being routed a more direct route which I realised when I was sent down this path. Fortunately I was only 20 km's off track and corrected myself. http://i.imgur.com/XQFnhHU.jpg The whole way to the border I was worrying about having not got my Visa in advance like most people do. The manager at Doogles even doubted they would issue me one there. Leaving Malawi was easy and the staff were very efficient and speedy. I drove the few kilometers to the town of Zobue and was swamped by "help". Whilst collecting the necessary forms I noticed a lot of cash being passed around inside passports and being shoved under the desk which didn't give me much confidence in the process. I asked for the visa application form and he gave it to me which was a relief. It took about an hour of messing about but I managed to get the visa for* $75. I had my photo and finger prints taken! I also paid $30 for "insurance" which included the temporary import permit. I think this was too high for bike insurance but the "help" already filled out all my forms and had them processed so I just paid it and was relieved to have made it through. Welcome to Mozambique! My 7th sticker on the bike. http://i.imgur.com/zpg6Lbd.jpg The roads started out generally quite good. The problem was being constantly run off the road by trucks overtaking each other and not caring if there was any oncoming traffic, especially a motorbike! http://i.imgur.com/BoNe9bq.jpg I arrived in Tete and found it difficult to find any accomodation. I also couldn't locate a Vodacom office so I could get my sim card and data plan setup. I did notice some signs to a camp site and followed them instead. The campsite was called "Jesus E Born" and was essentially some family's small plot next to the Zambezi river. I paid 200 Mets for the night and had a bucket shower in the evening as the shower was broken. I later found out that this camp site used to owned by some sort of religious man (hence the name) but was sold and now not very trust worthy. Apparently some dutch campers had their tents slashed and stuff stolen in the night. Security was pretty non existence there and there was not much of a perimeter fence. This is why sleeping in a hammock is nice... I can keep an eye on all my stuff beside me with just a glance. http://i.imgur.com/aVapIdL.jpg Here's the view of the bridge and Tete as the sun was going down. http://i.imgur.com/d1bvuSV.jpg The next morning I got up early and set off for Chimoio. It was a long drive and mostly uneventful apart from being run off the road by the odd truck just to keep me on my toes. After arriving in Chimoio i found a Vodacom shop and got my sim and data plan. This mean't I could then look up where the Pink Papaya Backpackers was located so I could check in! Having the internet on the go is such a useful thing its one of the first things I try and organise when I enter a country. The Pink Papaya is a nice homely hostel run by a German called Anya who is very helpful and full of local knowledge. She recommended I go on a day trip around Lake Chicamba where she has sent some bikers before who enjoyed it. Unfortunately it rained quite heavily for a few days so I holed up and waited until it cleared and set off. I had actually seen Lake Chicamba a few months before when I was in the Chimanimani mountains in Zimbabwe. Here's the picture from my previous ride report : http://i.imgur.com/ePK2A2n.jpg Driving west from Chimoio you turn off after about 40 km's and you will eventually come across the dam. I got told off by security for taking this photo.* http://i.imgur.com/Suhstwf.jpg I ate a nice fish lunch at one of the restaurants overlooking the lake and continued my ride. To be honest the Zimbabwean side was more impressive. http://i.imgur.com/igvOrwJ.jpg As the weather had cleared up nicely I headed down towards Vilanculos. On the way I had to join the military convoy which I just about caught 10 minutes before it left. We passed without any gun fire or other incidents which was good although I did hear that a bus was shot at and several people injured a few days later. When I arrive in Vilanculos I had a look at Zombie Cucumber*which was very nice but there was hardly anybody there so I checked in to*Baobab Beach backpackers. I had the dorm to myself for most of my 4 night stay which was a nice bonus. Here's a couple of pictures I took around the grounds and the view : http://i.imgur.com/LkPTYDw.jpg http://i.imgur.com/ILdbLzd.jpg |
It took a few days of waiting but I managed to get on a tour and dive of Bazarota with Odyssea dive which was amazing. Really awesome place. Here's a GoPro shot selfie from the dune I hiked up :
http://i.imgur.com/LernNZt.jpg Beautiful coloured water and dunes. http://i.imgur.com/jKoOfbJ.jpg I did two dives (my first in Africa) on the two mile reef. http://i.imgur.com/rZF7Mue.jpg Moray Eel : http://i.imgur.com/0RoX2bq.jpg Shoal : http://i.imgur.com/ywLpagF.jpg My best picture of the dive's : http://i.imgur.com/QbSIMVE.jpg http://i.imgur.com/Q5edAHG.jpg Underwater selfie... http://i.imgur.com/s99YnF1.jpg Some fish. I'm really crap with their names... http://i.imgur.com/3K9C0UU.jpg Finally I get my first puncture! The value was ripped from the tube so I just replaced the whole tube for 250 Mets. I did try and get the tyre off myself but I just couldn't get it off and I was starting to damage the tyre so I gave up and this guy did it for 75 Mets. http://i.imgur.com/GPHry8u.jpg Not wanting to linger too long in Mozambique I headed south again to Tofo. I crossed the Tropic of Capricorn for the 3rd time (in 3 countries) of my trip : http://i.imgur.com/DetoVI0.jpg I had a drive around Tofo but wasn't that impressed to be honest. I'm not much of a beach person as I find them boring and Tofo felt very touristy so I decided not to hang around too long. Whilst there I stayed at the Mozambeat Motel which is a South African run "boutique" backpackers. Very nice place with an awesome pool, bar and cinema!* http://i.imgur.com/u6z6xKG.jpg A view *of the beach from Casa Barry. http://i.imgur.com/7fm4HUM.jpg After only two nights I headed south to Maputo. It was a long slog or a ride. 500 km's. I left at 9am and arrived 5:30pm. It was mostly continuous riding and just to set me up for the day I got soaked by heavy rain about 50 km's out of Tofo. It took about 300 km's before I finally dried. Nice! Also about 100 km's from Maputo I noticed my speedo started malfunctioning. Something I need to work out along with the fact I have just run out of chain lube. Most of the police waved me on during the day but one guy stopped me took a closer look and just pointed and said Go! I didn't hang around... Another one went through all my documentation with a fine tooth comb and let me proceed because he couldn't find anything out of order. He did question the fact my driving license expires in 2051 which was a weird mistake by the UK DVLA who issued the license. The traffic into Maputo was terrible. I arrived at rush hour and combined with all the road works going on it was a nightmare getting to "Base Backpackers" where I checked in for a couple of nights. I spent today trying to buy chain lube. I went to the main Honda dealership and they didn't have any idea and just told me to go to Game which I did and as I expected they didn't sell any. Tomorrow I will try Mica and the Yamaha dealership. I also took the front tyre off today and inspected the speedo gear. As I thought the guy who replaced my inner tube didn't seat the gear correctly and its worn down part of it. The guys at Honda will take a look tomorrow. They have CTX's and XL 200's so they should have the part. If not I will get it sorted in Swaziland. Ideally I would like to leave for Swaziland tomorrow but will see how I do for time. I don't mind Maputo as it seems like quite a nice city with plenty to do. I plan on crossing into Swaziland via Goba and heading for wither "Sundowners" or "Sondzela". I reckon I will setup a base at one of those two and spend a few days exploring Swaziland in loops. Its such a small country it should only take a few days to explore. As always I'm interested in anyone's feedback on things to see and do, roads to ride etc.. As I'm getting close to South Africa I'm sure you guys know plenty about this area. More long term I'm also looking for a nice itinerary to get back to cape town so please send your recommendations :) Distance so far : 22,500 km's |
Interesting reading
Your trip report makes for interesting reading. When in South Africa are you coming to Cape Town at all? If so let me know, will be good to have a bier.
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The guys at Honda Maputo were pretty useless and didn't have the part or any chain lube and couldn't tell me where I could buy any! Do they not lube their chains at all ? Anyway I left Maputo and headed west through Matola. I popped into the Yamaha dealership and managed to buy some chain lube there.
Leaving Mozambique was quick and easy. Entering Swaziland was even easier! They didn't even require a TIP or check any of my documentation. I paid 50 rand road tax and that was it. http://i.imgur.com/8fq9WBw.jpg The guys watched as I stuck my Swaziland sticker on the bike too. http://i.imgur.com/qTJV3Rx.jpg I had lunch in Sideki and sorted out an MTN sim card. MTN are the only provider in Swaziland on account of the king apparently owning a 30% share and banning all competitors. On my way to Manzini I was stopped by the Swazi police for a license check. He was curious about my GoPro so I managed to get this picture. http://i.imgur.com/v39yOTR.jpg I headed straight for Sundowners Backpackers*and checked in late afternoon. Its a really nice and comfortable place to base yourself and I heard from some of the peace corp volunteers that its the best backpackers in the country. I was still having trouble with my speedo and noticed Carson Motors just outside Manzini so I popped in the next morning and they replaced the special washer inside for 90 rand. *Below is a picture of the old one. You can see how its worn away where it wasn't seated properly. Unfortunately though this didn't totally fix my problem. The speedo is fine when you are accelerating but when you engine break or cruise it's all over the place. I'm due a service soon so will have it sorted properly then. I reckon the park this washer meshes with is worn too. http://i.imgur.com/HSh3r8G.jpg The guys in the dealership were very helpful and pretty amazed that I had taken the CTX so far. They have a lot of them in Swaziland so they know the bike well. That evening I drove up the hill behind the backpackers and watched the Swazi sun set. I also got a nice time lapse video of it too. http://i.imgur.com/PW4lTCI.jpg I had a lie in the next morning which is easily done at Sundowners, a very comfortable place! I headed out on the bike through Pine valley and past Sibebe to Malolotja Nature Reserve. There was no fee to enter the park and they didn't seem to care I was on a bike which was unusual. I rode all the way around the park for a few hours and took in the awesome views : http://i.imgur.com/gYAOya2.jpg http://i.imgur.com/uZY0SYf.jpg That evening I had a few beers and a chat with Sergio the owner who rides a GS 1200. Also staying at Sundowners was Max who rides a KLR 650. We all agreed to head out the next day to explore one of Sergios routes in the South West of Swaziland. You can see Max behind me on the KLR. http://i.imgur.com/lWOKgVq.jpg Stopping for a few pictures. http://i.imgur.com/2CLEg5Z.jpg http://i.imgur.com/pQ5ljaY.jpg Awesome view point behind one of the cell towers. http://i.imgur.com/XWXXDbw.jpg Sergio and I. http://i.imgur.com/NX7yGfQ.jpg Nice trails through the forests. http://i.imgur.com/f5Mz21w.jpg You can view or download our route here (in GPX format). Being very aware of the end of my trip looming and after 5 days in Swaziland I decided it was time to head back into South Africa. Here's the route I took as suggested by Max. Mostly tar but with around 20 km's or gravel it was a scenic route towards the border. http://i.imgur.com/tFV7Knj.jpg http://i.imgur.com/W8x0jtn.jpg http://i.imgur.com/I06YTt6.png Now the flags are building up on the front of the bike people often stop for a look and read out loud all countries I've visited so far. Here's a picture of four guys talking about my bike. http://i.imgur.com/65GX8Gr.jpg The border crossing itself was pretty straight forward. The fact I had already been in South Africa did cause them a little problem but I have a flight booked for the 30th of June which put them at ease. The police also wanted to check my passport and then driving license but when he saw we were the same age (32) he didn't care about my license any more... weird. http://i.imgur.com/osRYeDA.jpg The road beside pongolapoort dam. http://i.imgur.com/rdvkKSq.jpg I shouldn't really have left it so late to leave as the sun was starting to set and I still had 50 km's of gravel to drive before I made it in to Sodwana. Still I made it just before dark and checked in to Natural Moments Backpackers and got a room for 150 rand per night for two nights. The next morning I headed next door and managed to get on a lunchtime dive to the Stringer dive site on the 2 mile reef. http://i.imgur.com/saQsN11.jpg Underwater there are fish. http://i.imgur.com/eOsYDOG.jpg Including this Potato bass who was very friendly and curious. I've never seen one before but one of the divers was banging on the floor and it came right up and was very interested in what he was doing. Amazing. http://i.imgur.com/L5U5Fn4.jpg The next morning I headed down the coast to St Lucia and checked in to Budget Backpackers. Being low season I have a whole dorm to myself for 150 rand a night. I plan on going to the crocodile center and visiting the beach today. Not exactly sure where I will go tomorrow but I may pop in to Durban to get the bike serviced on Monday. As always if there are any suggestions I'm all ears. |
Really enjoying reading about your trip. Some great pictures and stories
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I drove down to beach in St Lucia and had a walk around for a while. Its a really nice long beach and almost nobody there. http://i.imgur.com/wbK2Gdf.jpg After a drive around the town and lunch at the yacht and boat club. I headed to the crocodile sanctuary. I got chatting with the owner who was also a biker. Nice guy. http://i.imgur.com/aQI6KIm.jpg I don't remember learning this one for my theory test! http://i.imgur.com/96spnpC.jpg The next day I drove to Durban and checked in to Gibela Backpackers Lodge*which wasn't cheap at 240 rand a night for the dorm but its a very well run place. I guess you would call it a "flashpackers" rather than a backpackers. I got in contact with "The Badger" on the forum and he suggested we go out for a ride in the valley of 1000 hills. We met up Sunday morning along with EssBee and his wife and headed out. The weather was great and the views stunning as we weaved off road through the hills. Taking a tight corner a bit too fast I managed to lowside and my foot got trapped under the bike as I fell forwards. I didn't actually fall over but must have twisted my ankle under the bike. It didn't feel too bad initially so we kept on riding. http://i.imgur.com/G50BI3d.jpg Stopping for a rest by this cascading river. In the distance were some "plastic bikes" (as The Badger called them) riding up and down the side of a very steep hill. Impressive stuff. http://i.imgur.com/BPDTShV.jpg We finished up the rider about lunch time with the awesome view of the Umgeni river. http://i.imgur.com/EfwYtzU.jpg Here's a panoramic my The Badger. http://i.imgur.com/Lv1uwyL.jpg We headed down to The Badger's house where his wife kindly made us some lunch and we sat around chatting for an hour or two. After sitting down for a while my foot began to hurt more and by the time I made it to the backpackers it was really quite painful. Here's the bruise that was starting to form a few days later after the swelling had gone down. Ouch! http://i.imgur.com/xRgR3Rf.jpg After resting my ankle for a few days in Durban I could nearly walk again so I booked my bike in and got it serviced at the Honda dealership in Pinetown. It cost me 1330 rand! I had got used to cheap services on my travels and this was a bit of a shock but they did a good service and drove me around which is was being serviced. In fact I'm not entirely sure that the Honda dealerships in Malawi and Zimbabwe were official dealerships just because they had Honda painted on the wall outside. Ohh well. The next day I was feeling better and decided to head off to the Champagne Valley in the Drakensburg. After taking the motorway about 2/3rds of the way I set my GPS to avoid motorways and took an R road and then some dirt roads the rest of the way. I came across this bridge full of cows. http://i.imgur.com/MYjVjmp.jpg As it became for hilly I could tell the scenery was going to only get better as I got deeper into the mountains. http://i.imgur.com/zv8pUPw.jpg The mountains in the background as you drive into the Champagne valley. http://i.imgur.com/MtNTv0y.jpg I headed for Inkosana Lodge which was recommended by the last backpackers. The place is pretty much empty because it's low season but its a really nice place to stay and very reasonable at 150 rand per night for my personal dorm. The day after I arrived I regretted leaving so early. My ankle was really hurting again and the bruising had got worse. Perhaps I had pushed myself a bit too much!* One evening I had a nice long chat with a friendly Australian lady and a fellow Wild Dog who I didn't actually get the name of in the end. Please post up here if you read this so I know who you are. It was a pleasure to meet you and have a good chat*:) This morning I decided that I should probably go and have the ankle x-ray'd just in case it was broken and needed treatment. I hopped on the bike drove 5 meters and noticed I have a flat front tyre! Noooooo! This is really not what I need right now. Its Sunday too and nobody is about to help me out so I soldier on and manage to get the tyre off and with the aid of some washing up liquid I managed to break the bead and inspect the inner tube. That crappy repair I had done in Mozambique was back to haunt me again. The rubber band that protects the tube from the spokes had snapped where he had bodged it together with glue and thread. Its a lot colder now so I wonder if that was what made it break now as opposed to earlier. I managed to get some thread, glue and gaffa tape and repair it. It seemed to hold and was a bit of a pain to get on the rim again as its much smaller than it was originally. I must replace it soon before it goes again otherwise I will probably have to make one with an old inner tube. I decided to use my new spare tube instead of patching the old one as its a slightly better brand and will hopefully last longer. I managed to get the tyre back on again with the aid of more washing up liquid only to pump it up and realise I had pinched the tube. Grrrrr.... So again I remove the tube and repair it and replace it. Guess what ? I pinched it again! Remember I'm trying to sort all this out with a really sore potentially broken ankle. Not my best of days. I carry on though and repair the tube again. This time I pinched it twice. http://i.imgur.com/jkMNoKN.jpg I decided I needed a different method so I went online and researched some extra tips. This time I inflated the tyre slightly and used the other side of the tyre lever with more of a hook to get it back on. This worked perfectly. Success!* http://i.imgur.com/yKrYHXw.jpg Very happy with myself after 3 hours of hobbling about and 4 patches later I have fixed both inner tubes and finally put the tyre back on the bike so I can get myself to Ladysmith for an x-ray tomorrow. I notice this evening that my ankle if feeling better than yesterday and the bruising has gone down a lot. I think I will see how I feel tomorrow. I'm hoping to explore the Drakensburg and then drive the sani pass soon so I hope to get better sooner rather than later. KM's so far 24,800. |
Great blog posts and trip! Good luck as you near the end of your ride.
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--- After leaving the hospital happy that my ankle wasn't broken I was greeted with another flat tyre. That bodge repair I had made on the rubber band that that protects the tube from where the spokes screws must have given way. Luckily there was a petrol station close by so I got them to pump it up again temporarily which gave me just enough air to get to a local motorcycle shop. They replaced the inner tube and the rubber band for me while I had lunch at Wimpy (Dagwood and chips, nice!). Unfortunately I must have dropped or left my gloves somewhere in all the mayhem as they wern't with my helmet when I picked up the bike. That's my second pair lost now! Doh! I blame the relaxant / pain relief they injected me with before the scan. Unfortunately my speedo wasn't working again and upon further inspection back at Inkosana lodge I noticed that they had not seated the speedo gear properly and it had pulled the cable out. Not a problem though as I fixed this up myself and the speedo actually works 100% now as opposed to before where it would falter when I wasn't accelerating therefore giving a slightly (~12% according to my gps) mileage reading. All good now though :) http://i.imgur.com/OJjBzCy.jpg The bike working well again I was bored hanging around the lodge (as nice as it was) and decided I needed a day out riding round the Drakensberg so I headed off first to the Cathedral Peak hotel for some tea (of course!). Here's a couple of pictures of the peaks : http://i.imgur.com/sppVDhw.jpg http://i.imgur.com/13LDpFO.jpg Next I took this windy gravel road towards northern Drakensberg : http://i.imgur.com/HP2eFOS.jpg I popped in to the Amphitheater Backpackers for some lunch and then looped back round to the northern Drakensberg. http://i.imgur.com/bBu1awz.jpg I came across the graffiti on the way and had to stop for a picture. Always makes the bike look cooler when there's some colour matched artwork behind it! http://i.imgur.com/tTaSCbm.jpg Time was getting on so the next day I decided to head towards the Sani pass and drove across some pretty remote windy gravel roads. On the last stretch with the sun setting I came around a corner with the sun in my eyes and just about saw a truck at the last second parked at possibly the worst part of the road with no warning triangle. I hope the next drivers that come along see the truck in time! I checked in to Sani Lodge Backpackers where I spent the night in one of their dorms. |
In the morning I set off down the pass and got stamped out of SA no problem and began working my way up the pass. The scenery really is spectacular here.
http://i.imgur.com/Z9h9S4W.jpg The view from about half way up down the valley. http://i.imgur.com/haG7Z1J.jpg As I was working my way up I noticed a guy walking down and as I got closer recognised him. His name was John from Ireland and we had met in Malawi at Nkhata bay so we chatted for about half an hour and swapped details. Small world! Next I tackled the end of the pass with its tight hairpin turns. Doing it on the CTX200 was actually pretty easy if I'm honest despite my tires not having so much grip left in them. http://i.imgur.com/iTOFqlu.jpg http://i.imgur.com/xUnaXIG.jpg The Lesotho immigration was pretty run down but quick and efficient. I had to pay 30 rand for the bike and that was all. I popped into the highest pub in Africa and had some lunch where I met some other tourists who were very interested in hearing my story after they heard how long I had been on the road. One of these characters was a south African called Rudy who gave me some pointers on a route and explained about Prince harry's involvement in Lesotho and his motorbiking across it quite frequently. Interesting. http://i.imgur.com/NyuEb7M.jpg It must have been about 3pm by the time I left the pub and headed off to try and find some accommodation. I couldn't find very much information online about Lesotho so I was relying on a poorly drawn map I had been given by a guide at the last backpackers. I made my way down the very rocky roads and wondered, at the pace I was going, whether I would actually make it somewhere before dark! I took a turning just before Mokhotlong and after about 10-20 km's reached a turn off to a lodge that was on my hand drawn map. The locals pointed me down a terrible road which lead to some stone houses. The guy in the local shop showed me the hostel / lodge that was 150 rand a night. I was the only one there but glad to have found a bed for the night. It was freezing cold and there was no heating or electricity of course. I cooked up some baked beans and tuna and made myself a cup of soup to warm up. Luckily I had my sleeping bag the duvet and 3 blankets to keep warm. I slept pretty well and had my breakfast then went outside to check on the bike and came across this guy who I thought was a night watchman. He didn't speak any English nor I Sotho. He seemed to be pointing at some sticks so I just nodded and gave him the thumbs up which is pretty standard when you can't speak the language. After breakfast I began packing up the bike and he started to play one of the sticks which have a really weird sound. It was pretty interesting and entertaining while I packed the bike so I gave him 10 rand which I think was perhaps too much. He was so pleased he tried to kiss my hand! http://i.imgur.com/IvhKb0C.jpg Setting off I came across the first ice I had seen outside of a drink. It really is cold up here and its not even properly winter yet!* http://i.imgur.com/LLIXJ8S.jpg The road was in pretty bad condition and my ankle was still a bit sore so it made it tough going in places. Looking at the distance involved and my lack of accommodation options I was again a bit worried I had bitten off more than I can chew. Still the scenery was amazing! http://i.imgur.com/3aTf3lR.jpg Another village up in the mountains. http://i.imgur.com/OHsUO3v.jpg One of the rivers winding its way through the mountains. Spectacular. http://i.imgur.com/pz6kitK.jpg They seem to be working on extending the roads towards the Sani Pass and I wonder how long it is before its tar all the way! http://i.imgur.com/Fpx6voy.jpg After averaging 20 km's an hour (with breaks) I made it to Thaba Tseka and that's where the proper tar began. They also sold fuel there which was a relief as I wasn't sure at all on how easily obtainable fuel would be. I had been carrying my extra 10 liters of fuel just in case. I had some lunch and then headed off towards Roma where I planned to spend the night on the advice of Rudy the previous day. If I had more time and my ankle was a but better I would have liked to have perhaps explored up to the Dam and stayed there for the night. http://i.imgur.com/M16Fxo6.jpg I worked my way through the many mountain passes including this interestingly named one. Must have been tough back before it was paved! http://i.imgur.com/wY9aepj.jpg The decent down towards Roma was impressive too. Nice twisty roads to ride along. http://i.imgur.com/WAutXmj.jpg The landscape become less mountainous the further west you travel through Lesotho. As I drove into Roma I came across this rock jutting out of the ground next to the church. http://i.imgur.com/CGRHucf.jpg I stayed at The Trading Post Lodge which I gather is where they start the Roof of Africa race from. I met a really nice Canadian couple who were adopting two local orphaned boys. One of them sat on the bike with my helmet on for some photos. Kids do love motorbikes. The next morning I headed for the border. I avoided Maseru and headed south exiting and entering SA at Sepapushek. I do prefer small border crossings as I find they are quicker and friendlier like this one. http://i.imgur.com/AVzKyOG.jpg I didn't really have a plan so I headed towards east London and met another biker on the way called Johan from Bloemfontein so we stopped at Wimpy and I had some lunch while he had a coffee and some ice cream. I left it a bit late to make it to East London so ended up staying at a small B&B in Queenstown. That evening I released I had missed the "Wild Coast" area. "The Badger" had recommended Port St Johns to me so rather than heading to EL I headed there the next day. Port St Johns was OK I guess. I stayed at Amapondo Backpackers*for a couple of nights as I needed some rest. I usually like to spend at least a couple of nights at places because its getting quite tiring getting everything ready each day and also it allows you to actually experience some of it rather than rolling on through. Some backpackers I met recommended that my next stop should be Mdumbi instead of Coffee Bay so I checked it out. Here's a picture of the river joining the sea on the way in. http://i.imgur.com/3nK9yJu.jpg Mdumbi beach. There were a few surfers staying at the place too. Seems like a popular spot. http://i.imgur.com/C64Vntz.jpg I checked into Mdumbi Backpackers*and decided to stay for a couple of nights. I met some friendly people to hang out with in the evenings and spent the next day visiting Coffee Bay and the "Hole in the wall" : http://i.imgur.com/KZctO10.jpg http://i.imgur.com/PhzxeqJ.jpg On my way back I was riding a gravel corner when a cow ran in front of my bike at the last minute. I grabbed a fist full of front brake and fell off again on the same bad foot. Damn! I swore at the stupid cow that ran off and expected more ankle pain. Fortunately for me it wasn't crushed under the bike and it didn't seem to do much damage so I was lucky and drove a little slower round the cows on the rest of the way back. http://i.imgur.com/nB56S2W.jpg I get most of my travel advice from other travelers. Its the most up to date information and almost always a good choice. I was recommended to stay at Buccaneers Backpackers in*Cintsa as my next stop instead of heading into East London. I drove a lot of gravel through the hills and eventually popped out on the N2. http://i.imgur.com/FDxa9X3.jpg The next day I headed to Hogsback and checked in to Terra Khaya Eco Backpackers. Its an interesting off the grid eco farm with very friendly people. I managed to snag myself a room for 100 rand as their dorm is full of laborers working on some new buildings. They even have an out door bath which is pretty cool to use at night looking out at the stars above. http://i.imgur.com/0QiRIcj.jpg I spent the next day exploring 60 km's of the forest trails around the area. http://i.imgur.com/ATZnlOg.jpg I rode across the side of this hill which I guess looks a bit like a hogs back (?) and round the back. Really nice trails. http://i.imgur.com/BwrEdHi.jpg Tomorrow I'm probably going to head off somewhere else. I haven't decided where though so lets see what happens. Just over 2 weeks until I want to be in cape town giving myself a week to sort things out and sell the bike. KM's so far 27,000. I also need to begin looking into selling the bike. I've just put an advert up in the Wild Dog small ads section so check it out here. I'm very interested in any help selling it so if you know anyone who might want it or if you yourself want the bike let me know by PM. All the details are in the thread there. I'm also interested what you think about the price (22,000 rand) and description etc.. I plan on listing it on gumtree soon but thought I would try here first. |
I left Hogsback and headed to Addo after an invitation from John to stay at his backpackers. I left a bit late after so ended up riding the main road through the park in the dark which wasn't the best idea. I also ended up riding straight past addo backpackers and managed to see my error with only 2% battery left on my gps! John welcomed me and sorted me out with a nice room for the night despite me turning up late and unannounced. Thanks again John!
http://i.imgur.com/IG3nDFT.jpg The next days ride was an easy one down to Jefrey's Bay. I popped in to Game in PE on the way to get some oil. I met an 82 year old ex-biker on his scooter and had a good chat. The more flag stickers on my bike the more I get approached by people curious about my trip. At lunch time I met up with jupiter for some tea near his work. We had a good chat and agreed to meet up with a few others over the next days. I checked in to a dorm at*Ubuntu Backpackers*in Jefrey's Bay and had some good food at Nina's Real Food. Recommended! I arranged with jupiter to come visit the next evening and he kindly offered me a room for the night so I didn't have to drive back. It was a really cool hanging out with Tiger8, Crab and jupiter. Thanks for the pizza too :)*After a good nights sleep I headed back to Jefrey's Bay. It was freezing and I should have taken up Tiger8's offer of a coffee in the morning. Doh! http://i.imgur.com/e11d8qQ.jpg Jupiter gave me a map and suggestions for riding Baviaanskloof. Along with Die Hell I had Baviaanskloof recommended to me right at the beginning of my trip and was looking forward to riding it. I set off the next morning through Patensie and paid my entrance fee. http://i.imgur.com/IWJW4zL.jpg This was the main deeper water crossing of the route. I heard later that one side is much deeper than the other and I think I went down the deep side as the bike was just over half submerged for a small part of it. Nothing compared to my Botswana crossing of the pans so I wasn't too phased. http://i.imgur.com/0uMNfWp.jpg I passed a fair few bikers on the way and stopped for lunch with 3 German bikers who worked for Mercedes in East London. They made me some bacon and noodles, nice! http://i.imgur.com/H0DqmTn.jpg Jaywalking : http://i.imgur.com/yAMUkAS.jpg I see Radioman has been here too! http://i.imgur.com/Sz3aJF7.jpg I exited Baviaanskloof quite late and ended up staying at a B&B in Uniondale. The next morning I rode Price Alfreds pass to natures valley and checked in to Wild Spirit Backpackers. They even accepted*Bitcoin*and I was their first customer.*Pretty cool! Its a nice chilled eco backpackes with some nice walks in the area.*Here's the view from their dining area : http://i.imgur.com/QvI20nr.jpg I popped down to Natures Valley for lunch and walked on the beach : http://i.imgur.com/tceVvdE.jpg As I was riding back up the hill I noticed my front sprocket was slipping and upon closer inspection it was completely worn! oops! I had to be really gentle on the throttle. I booked myself in for my 28,000 km service at Honda George where I had my original 1k service. The next morning I packed up and headed off (gently) to George. Luckily they fit me in and remembered me from before. http://i.imgur.com/ppbh2DL.jpg With a new sprocket and a fresh service the bike was back to normal again. I met up with oldmanorman who kindly invited me to visit. I ended up staying the night and having a great dinner and chat that evening and following morning. Thanks again oldmanorman! It was a pleasure to meet you and your wife*:) I headed back to Knysna for a couple of nights and ate some great sea food and watched a few world cup games before heading back into George for one quick cup of tea with oldmanorman and then on to Ladismith Backpackers where I stayed a night. http://i.imgur.com/521Hlp0.jpg The next morning I headed to Cape Town. It was a weird feeling seeing the roads and places I saw nearly 9 months before. It began to really sink in that my trip was nearly over. I passed Ronnies Sex Shop but only stopped for a photo as I wanted to get into Cape Town. http://i.imgur.com/kbHYNNt.jpg I arrived in good time and checked into my favorite backpackers there, the*B.I.G Backpackers in green point. Th next day I rode Chapmans Peak one last time and had some lunch at Olympia Cafe in Kalk Bay. Good food if you get a chance! As I drove back the chain felt as if something wasn't right but on inspection I couldn't see anything wrong. It was only when I got back to the backpackers I noticed the problem : http://i.imgur.com/fNtQ6ek.jpg Eeek! The following morning I picked up my replacement front mud guard from Honda and asked if they could sort the chain but they gave me the address of Craig's motorcycle repair. On my way along the N1 just before the woodstock junction the inevitable happened. My chain snapped and I was stuck : http://i.imgur.com/LH29WVE.jpg I called everyone I knew and eventually got hold of a guy called Steve who picked me up and took me to Trac Mac where I had a new chain fitted for 250 rand. Phew! http://i.imgur.com/aoJpdZf.jpg Next I stopped off to see Chris at FlyingBrick and then I picked up my original tires from PistonPete at Outriders. http://i.imgur.com/5ULmvZK.jpg The following day I took the bike to the viper lounge for a good clean. It only cost 125 rand and they did a great job! An hour was spent by two guys giving it a proper clean. All shiny and new with the front mud guard replaced. http://i.imgur.com/P3Ss7fP.jpg Thanks to the*advert on the forum*I sold the bike to a fellow wild dog on the Saturday (I left on the Monday). I've asked for a photo of the new lady rider when she's out on her first ride. I know she will look after my companion for 9 months. I hiked Lions Head on the Sunday and got a nice picture taken on a decent camera : http://i.imgur.com/7SL8cd0.jpg And another on one of the bench's near company gardens. http://i.imgur.com/iGlOL58.jpg Monday evening I took the MyCiti bus to the airport and flew with British Airways direct for 10 hours arriving in the UK 6:00 am. Two more buses and I was back with my family. I have the front mud guard, worn sprocket and a cracked sump plug as keep sake's from the bike. http://i.imgur.com/XWGXgDp.jpg Thanks to everyone who I met on the trip and everyone who followed me online with my ride reports. It was great to have you all along for the ride! I plan on posting a few stats like my budget and all my GPS traces. I also want to edit together a video of the trip and will obviously post that here too although that may take a little while to edit together so bear with me ;) I'll let you all know when my next adventure takes place but in meantime I have a hell of a lot of work to do! Total KM's: 29,000. 9 Countries, 9 Months. |
Great report
Please tell me what it cost you to get into Malawi, visa, road tax etc.
I want to do something similar next year. Have a great one! Hans Steyn |
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Here's the part of my ride report about Malawi : http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...6-4#post462111 Quote:
Good luck with your trip. |
Hi Everyone!
Its been 4 months since I left SA. I wanted to give you all a quick update. I've been mainly catching up on work but I've also been going through all my footage and pictures. I'm going to begin editing it together soon with the idea to create a narrated mini (30 minute or so) documentary. I'll be sure to upload it to youtube and post it on here when its finished. In the meantime here's all of my GPS traces I took on the trip collated on to one map. Its really cool to be able to visualise it in this way. It's really interesting zooming in on areas like the Messum crater in Namibia, the Makadikadi pans in Botswana and the Chimanimani mountains in Zimbabwe. All area's I was exploring without much idea of direction. http://i.imgur.com/0TTkUfe.png The different colours represent a different trace which is generally a different day. I've added the map to my first post too for new people who come across this thread. |
Loving the reportbeer
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