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South-Eastern African Circuit (Somewhere between 2022-24)
I'm getting the Africa itch again, after my living situation in Tanzania fell through in 2018 due to various work visa issues before I could locally purchase a bike and ride the continent, and this time I'd like to get there on slightly more even terms as a long-term mototraveler.
So, with that in mind, my goals are: - To get to South Africa starting wherever air freighting a bike in will be cheapest, so most likely in Gauteng (Jo'burg, Pretoria) - See some family friends and my old school in Tanzania (where I studied as a kid 2006-07 and taught for four months in 2018) - See some of Kenya and/or Uganda, and potentially attempt a circuit of Lake Victoria - See Victoria Falls - Tour Botswana and Namibia - Ride as much of the Southern and Eastern Cape as possible Time frame would hopefully be within the next four years (two would be awesome), and a length of 3-6 months. Length depends on how much money I can pool, especially considering that a) I plan on shipping my own bike if I cannot requisition a good one locally for cheaper, b) I'd have to quit a job for this to happen so I'll need a little extra saved at the end for re-acclimating at home, and c) I need to save up and plan for at least two years unless I get really lucky with my cashflow. Realistically, three or four years may be necessary to Selling my car and a few other things will help. I'm not a rich man by any means, just a 26 year old with big ambitions and minimal debt to pay off. I'd certainly love to use my own CRF250L Rally, as my Honda is deadbolt reliable and capable at any and all posted highway speeds I've ever seen on that continent. My current budget lines include: - Round-trip air ticket - Round-trip bike shipping or local bike purchase - Visas, especially for the countries that really see Americans as walking dollar-signs - Per diem costs, including gas, food, and local campsites or backpacker hostels (aiming for about $30-35/day average, will obviously be more expensive in some countries and less expensive in others) - Tourism one-offs like park entries or guided tours (I don't plan to do too many, especially in countries like TZ where prices are mind-blowing, but as a lifelong wildlife biologist type I do really love my safaris and bushwalks) (big question: how many parks outside TZ allow two-wheeled vehicles?) If anyone's got recent experience with a similar tour (I've already read through the Piki Piki Overland blog and insta, and their ride report on ADVRider) let me know! I've also watched a couple of SA-based moto touring shows for inspiration. |
G'day mate,
great idea :D I'm living in Europe for many years now as South African expat, but have been travelling the southern continent for weeks and months whenever time permitted ;o) First of all: Africa is budget compared to Europe. The climate is ideal for riding. The cheapest way is definitely camping and the campsites in southern Africa are mostly in good condition and far cheaper than a room, although, in rural areas you do come across room prices between 10 - 15 Euros. Fuel is half the price of mid-Europe. Food is far cheaper than here. Then the landscape: This region offers a great variety. Lots of good roads and loads of off-road pistes, usually quite easy to ride. Currently I'm on the road, but as soon as I'm back home I'll collect some suggestions for the five southernmost countries and post them on the HUBB. You're absolutely right if you intend to visit the Eastern & Western Cape. Add Lesotho, and you've got the most interesting biking region in SA. Botswana isn't quite the hit for bikers being rather flat and sandy. Very little variety, but reknown game reserves. Namibia is quite different and definitely a very interesting bike spot, albeit not always easy regarding sand. Lodging is very expensive in Namibia, but the campsites are just as well equipped as in SA. As for entry fees - all government parks in SA & NAM have a 3-level price system. The locals pay the lowest prices, citizens from other African states pay a bit more, the oversea tourists several times as much as the locals :thumbdown: A 250cc bike is probably fun on rough terrain - I reckon the best compromise would be something like the 400cc DR-Z. You could also check the local market: https://www.gumtree.co.za/s-motorcyc...ters/v1c9027p1 As in Europe, the best prices are in autumn/winter , that is May - July. |
Glad to hear! I've been to northern Limpopo in SA, the southern Cape, and much of Tanzania, and even those small slices of the continent have had such incredible variety in terrain, plant life, and animals. One of my big inspirations for this trip, all the way back in 2015, was a poster on the wall of a biology building office in Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, showcasing the different ecological landscapes of Southern Africa in their incredible variety
Also, used bike prices on Gumtree seem to be pretty reasonable. Will have to eventually sit down and see how shipping costs compare to purchasing/registering a bike as a tourist. Seems like even DR-Z prices in SA aren't too bad! |
South Africa and Lesotho
Here is the first section:
Hidden Gems of Southern Africa The below listed places can all be found on Google Maps. Except for the first two suggestions the routes are totally off the beaten track. The game reserves in Southern Africa are practically out of bounds for motorcyclists. In order to visit these reserves a solution would be to stay in a town in the vicinity and book a game drive into the parks with local safari tours (or rent a car). Beginning in Johannesburg, travelling anti-clockwise:
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Thank you!
Another quick q: the last time I was in SA I was mostly in touristy areas, and found English quite easy to use everywhere. Do other languages become more necessary once you get further off the beaten path? Fortunately, I tend to pick up languages (or at least useful phrases and slang) quickly |
I managed most of Southern and East Africa with just English, I got by even in rural Mozambique albeit with some sign language and my few words of Spanish, yes I know they speak Portugese there but it was the best I could do. There are many languages in Africa but with English in the South and East, French in the West and Arabic in the North are the most commonly spoken.
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Quote:
No worries :thumbup1: In southern Africa most people speak English. Although - I once checked in at a bush lodge in the Caprivi strip and the two (black) receptionists spoke Afrikaans. When I joked about that they were using the language of the "Apartheid-People" they explained the situation: One was a Herero and the other was a Damara. Neither could understand the tribal language of the other - the only common language was Afrikaans :innocent: |
If nothing else I can always work on my Afrikaans place/people/food names pronunciation - I have one Boerie friend, Hough, whose name I can barely pronounce to the point where I called him the Anglicized "Hugh" like a total rooinek for months
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Lesotho
Lesotho isn't big, but very rugged, esp. in the east. Not many roads are tarred, mostly of course around Maseru, the capital. The road from Maseru directly east goes over several 3,000m passes to Thaba Tseka, from there it's gravel up to the road from Mokhotlong to Sani Pass. The road north goes to Butha-Buthe, where a turn-off goes to the beautiful Katse dam over a high pass.
Driving south from Maseru is quite uneventful, but a detour to Semonkong might be of interest, to one of the highest waterfalls in Lesotho. A fairly new tarred road connects Telle Bridge and Quacha's Nek, but, as noted above, there are much more beautiful dirt roads running parallel (Devils Staircase). One of the toughest pistes (or rather mule tracks) is from Ramatseliso's Gate past Sehlabathebe Nature Reserve north-west to Thaba Tseka. Turn-off is at S29.89864 E29.05022 over the Matebeng Pass (S29.87678 E28.97118). Some bikers have done it, but they battled. I was fortunate enough to be in a rugged 4x4 with a proper low-range gearing ;o) |
Namibia
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Botswana
When entering BOT at Ngome Bridge I travelled east to Kasane, which meant riding through the Chobe Game Reserve. Quite a frightening experience. It was early in the morning and the elephants had spent the night on the open tarmac road leading through the dense bush. I didn't see any, but passed their droppings – about the size of my riding boots ;o)
IMHO Botswana is best done with a good 4x4 plus roof tent. There are lots of game reserves, many pists are deep sand. The big difference to South African and Namibian game reserves is that the campsites in these reserves are not fenced in, meaning that the wild animals often walk right through the camp. In SA and NAM the campsites are securely fenced in. So, if your pitch a tent there make sure the zippers are closed completely as a safety measure, because the wild animals view the tent as a whole and respect it. Whereas an open flap might arouse their curiosity and peep inside. Mmmh, a good bite inside! I won't present any further suggestions for BOT, because I believe travel guide is more useful. |
Hey HUBB - been a while since my last log in, but I'm still alive and still hoping to commit to this trip - thankfully, I knew it was going to take me several years to save up necessary funds (I don't make a ton of money, just living modestly and saving what I can!), so in light of CoVID delaying Americans' access to international travel a hopeful date of 2023 now actually seems practical rather than giving me FOMO! Also gives me some time to save up for a carnet deposit, since I've decided I will be best off with one of those for the countries on my route (especially Kenya) and added that lump sum to my savings budget accordingly
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I've used a bike around Zimbabwe and Botswana and the experience was great, however it was a long time ago. I would now go for something like a Teneré 660 - not too heavy and good for most conditions.
Our most recent trip was Nairobi to Nairobi via Cape Town, 45,000 Km in 10 months, with a Montero. So, not directly relevant, however in terms of ideas for your trip, have a look at our blog at Un “ocho” en Africa / An “eight” in Africa . The posts are nearly all in both English and Spanish. re carnet, you could look at ADAC to see whether it would be cheaper than Boomerang. We're fortunate that ACC's carnets here are not that expensive. We've also obtained a carnet from CARS and it wasn't too expensive. However I think you have to be resident in the relevant countries to qualify for either of these two. You don't have to be resident in Germany to get one from ADAC. re visas; assuming you have a USA passport you should have little difficulty (for us it's a nightmare) - some are VOA, others e-visa. For Uganda, Rwanda, and Kenya get the EATV online. Border crossing are no problem, although budget a couple of hours. Some are now "integrated: - i.e., all in one building, so easy to do everything. Kazungula is not (!), it's the only place I would suggest getting help from a local, just to know where to go for each step in the process. re budget, some parks are really expensive (e.g., Tanzania) - RSA is inexpensive, and Botswana and Namibia are not bad. Zambia's inexpensive and has some great parks. I don't know how many allow bikes. At Victoria Falls, make sure you see both sides - either by crossing the border to explore both countries, or just by walking across one day. The roads: RSA - good, although some of the parks are more challenging (e.g., Richtersveld NP) and a few roads are badly corrugated (e.g., road from the south to Sendelingsdrif); Botswana - a few good but some are now badly deteriorated/potholed, Namibia - excellent, Zimbabwe - not bad, Zambia - generally good although poor in some areas; Malawi - good although with high population density so slow, Tanzania - some fine, others (e.g., Babati to Mbeya via Rungwa, last 100 Km of the road into Rwanda) are terrible in parts. Rwanda - excellent, Uganda - generally good, Kenya - very variable - some very good, others (e.g., North to Lake Turkana on the western route) terrible. Get a GPS with Tracks4Africa. Have a look at the blog and see if it gives you any good ideas. |
Just stumbled across this Ride Report: To the Lungs of the Earth
Which goes to show that you don't need a big bike to do a big journey. Of course a bike with more grunt is more fun, but a cheap 250 cc does the job as well :thumbup1: |
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