Buya Ikhaya

Where are we now?

2008-04-03T09:50:00.006Z

Nothing came of the interview in Swakopmund for Charles so we went back to Plan A and have found a flat in Port Elizabeth and are just about to start job hunting. We are trying hard not to be sucked into the day to day mundane rat race. We also hope that we have learnt form this trip what little you can get by with without being sucked back into the world of competitive commercialism….we have decided not to buy a TV (for now).

PS we will be loading more photo's onto the blog over the next few days as our Photo album had expired and we are unable to renew the contract as their system does not have a payment option for South African post codes. But it still seem to be accessible at the moment so have a look while its still active!! (Namibia and SA are updated). Also we are working on the embarrassing spelling mistakes on the blog....we can only blame dodgy key boards and fast typing due to expensive Internet Cafe's...!?!

These are some of the people we met on the road in Africa and their relationships to each other.

South Africa - The End...and The Beginning

2008-04-03T09:47:00.008Z

19/03/08 - Bellville - Cape Agulhas THE END

So the final leg today to Cape Agulhas. We said our good-byes to the family and headed off, us in our bakkie with the two bikes on the back. Along the coast the scenery is again spectacular. At Cape Agulhas we did the photo standing on our boxes as we weren't allowed to ride the bakkie to the Southern most point of Africa. And with that Buya Ikhaya has come to an end. It still hasn't quite hit us and we do feel a bit sad that this wonderful experience of 7 months has now finished. But with that the new exciting adventure of setting up in South Africa begins. In due course we will be updating the blog with some interesting stats and helpful hints and tips so please pop in again. Cheers for now.
Rensche's final thoughts: It never really occurred to me ever to do a trip like this. But one thing I know: if I could manage this then anyone can. Being in my 30's I did not really have a burning desire to get a motorcycle license and even when I got my license in 2006 I was what you would call a "nervous fair-weather rider". Which meant that I did not really get a lot of miles under my belt in the UK before this trip!! I suffered countless cruel jokes at the motorcycle dealers when looking for a bike for me telling Charlie to hang me from the ceiling, break my bones, or trade me in for someone taller as I am 5 foot 1 inch and only have a 28 inch inner leg. But Charlie was determined to hammer and fiddle with each bike I owned (3 in total) so at least I could get my big toes on the ground. (Why are there no bikes for us short bikers ?). I had no off-road experience except a few falls in Salisbury Plains on "fair-weather" weekends in the UK. We decided to let my heavy BMW go for a much lighter 250cc scrambler. It did have hassles on the way but was easy to fix...and pick up in the sand! And it did make it to Cape Point in the end even after all the problems it had and all the "experts" telling us it won't make it. We had no sophisticated equipment as we had no space for it and no formal mechanical training. All you really need to do this trip is a bit of common sense, a bit of humility, lots of prayers and a good sense of humour. And after doing it on a bike I think there is just no other way of doing this trip. It was amazing. The only problem I had on this trip that caused us untold stress and anguish was the continuous hassle with banks and paying bills due to modern systems and procedures that seem to be aimed at catching you out. The only way I can see to avoid this problem is to leave someone you trust with all your bank passwords and a few blank cheques. (Down with Barclaycard!!!) ****Rensche finally managed to close her Barclaycard account in June 2009. The fraud that occurred in September 2007 was sorted out but Barclaycard insisted on honouring transactions on a closed account and persistently charged her interest on a 0 balance.****

So now the preparation begins for our next trip...

18/03/08 - Green Point - Bellville

7 months on the road today!!! Organizing insurance for our new car was a big shock. SA is expensive. We picked up the bakkie in the afternoon and spent another beautiful day in Cape Town with the family. We spent quite a while dismantling the bikes and fitting them in the back of the bakkie under the canopy! (Carmen flew back to Germany this morning)

17/03/08 - Sea Point - Green Point

In the morning we headed across to Stellenbosch to test drive the bakkie. It was a bit stressful riding on the National road at 90km/h while cars sped past us at 130km/h+. After test driving two bakkies we bought a Isuzu (Vauxhall) KB 240 LE 4X4 single cab for a good price as informed by Rensche's family. We decided to collect it the next day. With that we headed across to the bank to organize finance for the bakkie and then headed back to Cape Town to Ashanti Backpackers where Carmen was waiting for us. We set up camp and took a taxi to the V&A Waterfront for a stroll around. We spent the evening at Beluga's with Carmen, Katja and Alex (we met them in Tanzania), a German couple who Carmen met in Sudan and the backpackers we met in Peponi Beach. Small world again! 16/03/08 - Bellville - Sea Point – 100km

The wind died down a bit this morning and it was a clear sky so we decided to set off for the obligatory photo at Cape Point. Along the way we stopped off at Rensche's Grandmother. It was a beautiful sunny day and it seemed the whole of Cape Town was on their way to Cape Point! There were traffic queues everywhere as there was a Naval Festival in Simon's Town. We managed to get to a very windy Cape Point at about lunch time. Hanging on to the bikes in the strong wind fighting for a gap between the loads of tourist buses we eventually got the opportunity to pose at the Cape Point sign. WE MADE IT!!! The Odometer reading read 42,862km. We left London on 17,100km. So that makes it 25,762km start to finish WOW!!!We took a beautiful road back along the coast to Chapman's Peak where we met Jan and Jo (last saw them at Peponi beach in Tanzania). They arrived in Cape Town 3 days ago. After a lovely chat overlooking the splendid view across to Hout Bay we headed for Sea Point. Paul and Zoe, who had come down West Africa 2 years ago on two Transalps 650cc and had done a loop of Southern Africa recently on two 250cc Baja's, had offered us a bed for the night. So we spent a lovely evening at a local restaurant exchanging "tales from the road". Thanks guys, you were our inspiration from day one. 15/03/08 - Paternoster – Bellville – 168km

The notorious South Easter was blowing this morning at storm strength. To avoid being blown off the road we took the Malmesbury road through the back to Bellville via Durbanville and so avoided the stormy coast. It was throwing us all over the road and at one point we were going at 60km/h in the hard shoulder. At last we got to Bellville where another one of Rensche's uncles, Uncle Exul, lives and had another lovely braai. We spent the evening contemplating our "next trip", telling stories and laughing at their travel stories through Southern Africa.

14/03/08 - Gekko Backpackers,Citrusdal – Paternoster – 160km

We made our way down the West Coast today to go and visit Rensche's Uncle Jannie in Velddrift where we had a light lunch at Port Owen. We then battled the strong south easter down to Paternoster, stopping at Vredenburg for some Droe Wors (dried beef sausage). We finally arrived at another uncle, Uncle Daantjie. There we had a nice a braai and caught up with all the family happenings. Paternoster used to be a little peaceful fishing village on the West Coast but foreign buyers have pushed property prices up to the point where you pay R2million for a postage stamp size plot where you can only smell the sea.

13/03/08 - Algeria,Cederburg - Gekko Backpackers,Citrusdal – 25km

It was a really chilly morning and after a quick breakfast we set off on the gravel road to Citrusdal. The scenery was beautiful. At last we got to the tar road and after 10 km we came across the Gekko Backpacker's sign. It looked nice and we knew that Carmen had stayed here a few days ago. We spent a nice afternoon chatting to the owner who was very optimistic about the "New" South Africa. This is really refreshing after all the negative talk we've had with other South Africans after the latest low: "No more major development in South Africa due to power shortage". He also mentioned that Clive and Denise were here 3 weeks ago. Great news since we haven't heard from them again since leaving Livingstone. Hopefully we will bump into them again before they leave South Africa. We stayed the night in our tent and paid the cheapest rates in Southern Africa at R40 per person per night.

12/03/08 - Springbok - Algeria,Cederburg – 367km

For breakfast we had the best omelet in the world (and the cheapest) at the Springbok cafe. It is an institution to have a meal at this stop-over and have a look at their extensive rock collection and books. After checking emails and buying a SA sim card we headed off towards Vanrhynsdorp. The south east wind picked up and we were hanging onto the bikes for dear life while making way for fast cars overtaking us. We had a head wind all the way leaving us exhausted. We stopped in Vanrhynsdorp and while having a snack two guys came over and we got chatting and soon we determined that one of the guys (Michael Hare) had been in the same school (Woodridge College) as Charles although in different years. Mike recommended a campsite in the Cederberg so we headed to Clanwilliam and took the gravel road to Algeria campsite run by Cape Nature Conservation. Although a bit pricey at R215 we set up camp in very beautiful surroundings.11/03/08 - Noordoewer,Namibia - Springbok,South Africa – 144km

The Canadians left this morning on their way north up the West Coast of Africa. We spent the morning hanging around the campsite on the banks of the Orange River overlooking South Africa. Having finished the washing we both agreed that we were bored out of our minds and decided to break camp and head across the border. Immigration was straight forward on the Namibian side. We crossed the Orange river into South Africa - home at last! After a warm welcome by a police officer we were quickly processed by immigration. We then went to Customs and informed them that we want to import the bikes. They immediately asked for our purchase invoice which we didn't have. Fortunately Howard at Conquest Motorcycles had provided us with a letter valuing Charlie's bike between 650 and 750 pounds just before we left the UK. The letter with letterhead was acceptable as an invoice. They then informed us that the bikes would have to be processed by a forwarding company of which there were two a kilometer up the road. Charlie had to leave Rensche as surety while he took his bike to the forwarding company where they prepared the worksheets and importation forms at R100 per bike. Back at the customs office Charles were told he had to pay import duties there and then and they only accept cash in Rand. As returning residents one of the bikes could be imported for free but the other was 0 duties or excise but 14% vat. (zero duties because below 250cc bike). We had no cash on us in Rand and there is no ATM's on the South African border. So Charlie had to cross back into Namibia to draw cash and exchange it for Rand at the petrol station in Noordoewer again leaving Rensche as surety. Fortunately the Namibian officials let Charlie through without going through passport control again. Back in SA the custom officials said all was OK except that our carnets had to be stamped out by Namibian customs. So Charlie headed back to Namibia again with the carnets. There he was informed that carnets are not processed at this border because it is not an exit point from the Southern Africa Common Economic Zone. After some pleading the official was happy to oblige and stamp our carnets. RELIEF!!! We are not certain but our understanding now is that if you want to import your vehicle to South Africa you must get your exit stamp before entering and pay duty at the point of entering the Economic Zone (in our case exit stamp in Zambia and import duty at Kazangulu border in Botswana). All payments made and paperwork in order we headed for Springbok where we booked into the Springbok Cafe and had the nicest and cheapest burgers since starting our trip.

Wonderful Namibia

2008-04-03T09:45:00.006Z

10/03/08 - Helmeringhausen – Noordoewer – 461km

Today was a really long day in the saddle. We got on the road at 08h30 and quickly got to Bethanie where we enjoyed a short stretch of tar road. Turning off at Seeheim the gravel road had two large signs: Road Closed. But a car approached us from ahead and said the road was fine. 1km down this gravel road we came to a drift that was very muddy. Charlie went first and got bogged down to such an extent that he had to walk alongside the bike while riding it with Rensche pushing. The rest of the road was very straight and boring with a bit of excitement at the Holoog River concrete drift where we rode through a strong current of ankle deep water. We finally made it to Grunau where we stopped at the Shell truck stop to convey a message from Heino to the owner. After a brief chat we took the long and very boring tar road down to Noordoewer. We booked in at Felix Unite Adventure Camp (recommended by Rene back in Ethiopia) where we bumped into the Canadians from Cool Runnings Backpackers in Malawi. They made it all the way down to Cape Town down the East Route and are now on their way up the West Coast, circumnavigating Africa. We spent the evening exchanging GPS points and information about good campsites etc.

09/03/08 - Neuras – Helmeringhausen – 246km
We had about 20 water crossings today so the novelty has worn off a bit. But at least no mud baths just muddy boots and a few curses. After a lovely breakfast we said our good-byes after a lovely visit with Allan, Sylvia and Andrea and took the D850 to Maltahoe, crossing at least 10 muddy drifts along the way. We then headed south towards Helmeringhausen. The landscape after the recent heavy rains is stunning with all the hills green. This is a wonderful and rare opportunity to see Namibia at its most beautiful. Along the way Charlie came a cross a 2m long Cape Cobra which reared its head to bike seat height as Charlie rode past and then promptly slithered off the road before Rensche arrived on the scene. We booked into the Helmeringhausen Hotel Campsite.
08/03/08 - Neuras

We joined Allan after breakfast with some tourists on another wine tour. It is amazing what they accomplished here after 10 years. We lounged around in the afternoon and in the evening we had a potjie (South African stew made in a big cast iron pot on the fire).

07/03/08 - Solitaire – Neuras – 105km

This morning we had another slice of Apple Pie for breakfast while watching the overlanders leave. We had a restless night of thunder and lightening and strong winds but the tent held out. And at least the overlanders surrounding us were tuck into bed early. The scenery along the road was spectacular with green hills and white flowers blossoming. In desert Namibia!!! We took the C14 via Bullspoort to Neuras Wine Farm which is owned by Allan and Sylvia Walkden-Davis. Allan is an old school friend of Charlie's dad. It has been reported that they own the driest wine farm in the world on the edge of the Namib desert. Along the way there we had to cross a few rivers. At the farm Allan and Sylvia welcomed us along with their daughter Andrea. After a quick lunch we went for a tour of the wine farm. The vineyard is supplied by water from 5 fountains on the farm. Twice a month they flood the vineyards from dams fed by the fountains. They don't use any fertilizer - the water in the dams contains all the nutrients the vineyards need, mostly from bird droppings. The reeds surrounding the dams help to cool the warm eastern winds which creates an ideal micro-climate for the wine yard. The grapes are Shiraz and Merlot and the wine contain no chemicals or histamines, colourants or flavourants. Allan only add a little Sulphur Dioxide to stabilise it. Due to the small size of the vineyard Allan only produces about 2000 bottles a year and currently only supplies one restaurant in Windhoek where it sells for about R800 a bottle. Anybody else who wants a bottle must go and fetch it at the farm (after tasting this wine we would recommend the trip!!). Allan and Sylvia have hosted a number of specialists including Oz Clarke from the UK who were all impressed by this little wine farm in the desert which is miracle in its own right. In the evening we sampled a few bottles of the last 3 years harvests with some other visitors and fresh Kingklip fish.

06/03/08 - Swakopmund – Solitaire – 296km

After a restless and very hot night we were on the road at 07h30. We followed the newly upgraded gravel road behind the dunes between Swakop and Walvisbay narrowly missing a thunder shower. The road was in very good condition and it felt really good to back on the road again. The landscape was very beautiful and the further inland we went the greener it became. Passing through the Kuiseb and Garab passes was also very impressive with interesting rock formations.We arrived at Solitaire at 14h30 and immediately bought two legendary apple pies from Moose MacGregor. (not family of Ewan although Moose mentioned that Ewan and his whole entourage stopped by very briefly before heading off again in a cloud of dust). We were advised to camp in the first few campsites as the overlander trucks tend to camp further back. We set up tent and went for a swim and watched the first overlander truck, Nomad Tours, arrive and pull in directly in front of our tent, obstructing the washing area and completely annexing the ablution block! And using our braai area!Shortly afterwards another truck, Africa Travel Co, arrived and set up camp next to and behind us, against our bikes, leaving us totally surrounded. This while a whole area has been set apart for them! These truck are mostly filled by 18 to 24 year old drunken loud mouths. Not good company for long term travellers. With that we walked to the bar and had a beer...

05/03/08 - Swakopmund

We are planning to leave early this morning for Solitaire but not before stopping at the Swakopmund Christian Academy of which Phillip, Liza's husband, is the owner and headmaster. They started the school a few years ago. Just before finishing packing the bikes we noticed that Charlie's back wheel is flat again! And then when we looked at our spare tubes we noticed that they looked a bit perished from being strapped to the front of the mud guard all this time. Charlie decided to take Rensche's bike quickly to get some new tubes at Suzuki in Swakop. Just before leaving we noticed that Rensche's front wheel tube has moved and therefore also a risk for the valve being torn out. So off with Rensche's front wheel to try and twist the inner tube back to the correct position. We are obviously not leaving Swakopmund today! After struggling with Rensche's tube Charlie at last set off to get new tubes at Suzuki. At this time it was about 9am already and we were sweating in the heat and humidity. After changing the tyre we at last managed to get to the school at about 11am. There the kids climbed all over the bikes and listened to our stories of our trip. 04/03/08 - Swakopmund

Charles got a flat tyre right in front of the hospital in Swakop today. The valve was torn out again just like in Malawi. We think he might think he's still on his 900cc Yamaha Diversion from the UK and try and pull away too fast at traffic lights causing the inner tube to move over time... Carmen let us know that she managed to get to Cape Town safely today. She has taken her bike to BMW in Cape Town where they fixed her bike and will be fitting DAKAR plastics to her bike to replace the broken fairings.

29/02/08 - 03/08/08 - Swakopmund

Rensche's parents, Ryk and Anita and brother, Francois, are visiting over this long weekend. Her sister, Monica, had to stay behind in Johannesburg to work on university assignments. They have been trying to meet up with us on our trip for months but every time something came up: Kenya's problems, expensive flights to Vic Falls or bike problems. Its quite difficult to meet someone en-route since you can never plan more than a week or two in advance on a trip like this! We spent the whole weekend going through 6000 photo's with added commentary reliving our trip. It was quite a shock for us to see all our old photos of Sudan, Middle East and Europe again. It felt like it happened in another life time. Rensche's parents were pleased to see that we suffered no ill effects from the trip, we were healthy and happy, looking forward to the next trip. They could not believe that we managed for so long with so little on such small bikes. Anything is possible!! The weekend went too quickly chatting and spending time in Swakop's coffee shops. But we will see them again in a couple of weeks when we have to go up to Johannesburg in a BIG pick-up to fetch all the boxes we sent from London to Johannesburg via ship in August 07.

26/02/08 - 28/02/08 - Swakopmund

Lazy days in Swakopmund. Going for breakfasts, playing with Ian and Isabel (Liza and Phillip's kids) and catching up with the family. Charles has an interview for a job in Namibia tomorrow

We Made it!!!

2008-03-22T09:23:00.003Z

Just a quick update to tell you all that we made it to Cape Point on 16 March 2008!!! (Almost 7 months to the day after leaving London)

Sorry for the delay in updating our blog but we've tried to do it via email (didn't work) and the cost of internet cafe's in SA are high! So hopefully we will be buying our own laptop in the next 2 weeks and fill in all the blanks. We made it to Cape Agulhas on 19 March 2008....in a pick-up which we bought in Cape Town on the 17 March. The bikes are loaded in the back of our bakkie (pick-up) now and we are making our way to PE, via the Klein Karoo National Kunsfees (National Afrikaans Art Festival), where we will settle within a month or so. Hopefully. You will be happy to know that Rensche's bike is still ticking away happily but we decided on the bakkie not to push our luck and to avoid the SA drivers... And they laugh at us in all our gear! Lunatics.

Thank you for all your support and enquiries. We really appreciate it and hope you will return to our blog once it has been updated and beautified!!

Yummy Namibia

2008-02-13T13:50:00.018Z

26/02/08 - Swakopmund
Today we went for another walk along the beach and in the morning popped into town to catch up on emails and have a last breakfast together.

At lunch time Carmen was all packed and headed off as planned as she wants to be in Cape Town early next week and cannot wait for us. We hope to catch up with her before she flies back to Germany.

25/02/08 - Swakopmund

Charles went through great pains today to carefully build out the frame of Rensche's bike. And we are happy to announce it has been properly welded. And all put together again! Carmen, who is visiting for a few days, is having real trouble trying to find out how to fly her bike back to Germany from Cape Town or Windhoek with herself. Any ideas?
24/02/08 - Swakopmund
We spent some time uploading photo's and sending out CV's. Especially since we have not yet heard any replies from employers in the Eastern Cape for which we were aiming. Please have a look at our photo albums (Malawi and Zambia) and Route map as it have been updated.

23/02/08 - Swakopmund
What an easy day walking around the German town of Swakopmund! Elize arrived at lunch time and we were very interested to hear of all the opportunities for work in Namibia! Will keep you update!

22/02/08 - Brandberg - Swakopmund
We said good-bye to the other bikers, saying we will probably see them at Spitzkoppe. They advised us to give the White Lady Bushman painting a miss as it seems to have been painted over. So we set off towards Spitzkoppe. Charles gave Rensche's bike a go on the gravel road and found it much more skittish than his bike. We can only assume its because of the lowering link placing the wheels closer together and the new Dessert tyre on the front (changed from the Scorpion tyre in Sudan and Chinese cheapy in Windhoek).In hindsight it is not such a good idea to lower a bike so severely as it changes the dynamics of the bike. We will have to look for a new solution to a old problem in South Africa. We had a 100m long mud river crossings. Charles's bike fell over in the mud and Rensche and Charles both got plastered with mud while pushing bikes out of the mud. Just after we arrived at Spitzkoppe the other bikers arrived. We had lunch and decided to head for Swakopmund just 120km away (on tar) where Charles's sister lives. Arriving in Swakop we headed straight for the sea and stopped next to the old jetty for some photo's. It felt like we made it!!! We celebrated with coffee and apple pie at Cafe Trev. Unfortunately now the other side of the frame of Rensche's bike has also cracked. But at least we have a nice bed tonight and home comforts!

21/02/08 - Xaragu - Brandberg, White Lady Lodge
We got up at 04h00 this morning to watch the lunar eclipse. Very beautiful but was it worth it? It was already hot when we left at 08h00 to go to the Petrified Forest. This consists of fossilised wood formed about 250 million years ago. The cells in the trees are substituted with minerals like iron and magnesium which turns it into stone. The rings and bark on the massive tree trunks can clearly be seen. We also saw some Welwischia plants. There is one in Swakopmund that is about 2000 years old. The ones we saw were about 500 years old. They only have 2 leaves which are shredded by the wind into a number of leaves. After a cold drink we headed out to Brandberg. It was hard going on bad gravel and Rensche's bike was all over the place. A few muddy crossings here and there. Over a hill a dark cloud followed us and just before the camp site turn off we were hit by a hail storm! At last we arrived at the camp site through a long sandy track. At the camp site we bumped into Africa Motion Tours, a company that supply tourists with bikes and guided tours through Namibia. This time round they had 3 elderly gentleman from Germany, the oldest 75 years old! We joined them in the evening for some Damara song and dance from the local community and chatted well into the night. 20/02/08 - Xaragu
We had a difficult night sleeping due to the heat and we almost wished it would rain. At about 8ish we decided to go to Wondergat Sinkhole. The road was quite bad and Rensche's bike was more skittish than usual on the gravel. So going was slow in the heat. By the time we reached the San Rock Engravings we were already covered in sweat. The engravings are between 2000 and 5000 years old and are engraved because it was used for ritual purposes. Most of the engravings are of Rhino and Giraffe which were used as symbols for rain. There is also an interesting engraving of a lion with 5 toes which probably signifies the shaman or healer going into trance. Interestingly there are also engravings of seals and penguins which shows that the San people was nomadic. After that we went to see the Orrelpype (Organ Pipes) which is a miniature version of the Giant's Coarse Way in Ireland. After that it was the Burnt Mountain which looks like a big rock of coal. Unfortunately the road to Twyfelfontein is filled with nasty corrugations and when we returned to the camp we noticed that the only bolts keeping Rensche's topbox in place have now sheared off. When Charles tried to unscrew the remainder of the bolts out he found them very rusted and needed some persuasion at the garage of the camp site. New bolts were fitted and a new rod made to keep the seat and luggage rack into place. The welding will have to wait. It was 39C today. A high pitch aluminium noise have developed in Rensche's engine.

19/02/08 - Warmquelle - Twyfelfontein,Xaragu
Water crossings seem to be the theme of the last few days. We survived the washed away road down the mountain from Warmquelle just-just and started on the C-grade gravel road again. Bad gravel and rocky dry river crossings. We were still exhausted from the previous day and the heat didn't help. The vibration of Rensche's bike did something to the rev's on her bike and soon Charles had to adjust it as it was screaming down the hills. We started the day in relatively green bush but the terrain slowly changed and by the time we hit the Huab river it was a very hot day with a landscape of rock and mountains. We saw Springbok, Giraffe and Eland on the way. At the Xaragu campsite we followed the 2km dirt track to a lovely campsite. By this time it was very hot and we could feel the sweat running down our backs. At the bar after a few Rock Shandies (soda and lemonade with a dash of bitters) and a dip in the pool we were all right again! There are quite a few rescued animals at the site. Unfortunately most in cages as they could not be re-introduced into the wild, including a baboon on a long chain. Baboons are too dangerous to let them run wild in the camp grounds even when "tame". There is also a very cute meerkat running around making it's home in our tent. In the evening we had a lovely meal with the other guests of snoek, lamb chops and salads. As it was one of the guest's birthday the cooks sang Happy Birthday in English and Damara language. Damara language is very similar to San (Bushman) full of clicks. It was still very hot, 25C. For some reason Rensche's bike doesn't stall anymore when pulling in the clutch. (the problem we had in Windhoek). The bike is fixing itself!

18/02/08 - Opuwu - Warmquelle
Today is 6 months on the road. After buying bread and rusks we headed out of Opuwu and took the C47 south. Note that A and B roads in Namibia are tar roads which makes a C-road a "good" well graded gravel road. Well that applies during the dry season. The whole region received heavy rains two weeks ago and every kilometer of the road showed evidence of damage with the sand washed out leaving course gravel and most drifts left with deep gulleys and sand beds. We had to cross a few major river beds over boulders and rocks. Joubert's Pass was impressive with one section so steep that it has been tarred in the middle of this harsh area. (why could they not tar the whole road??) Approaching Sesfontein it became very hot, and we had to take a detour through a river bed while a road crew were finishing work on a new bridge across the Skelm river. We stopped at the Sesfontein fort Lodge but were told the campsite was closed this time of the year. In 1995 the owners got permission to take over the old German fort and renovate it converting it into a lodge. Where Fanta's cost you N$15 each! (RRP is N$4). As we could not camp we headed across to Warmquelle and took a VERY rocky road to the Ongongo Hot Springs and were totally exhausted when we arrived. This time both Rensche and Carmen dropped their bikes while negotiating tricky rocky sections. It was like being on a mountain goat. The camp owner, Leanna, provided us with beers and apologised for the state of the washed away road. She directed us to the waterfall where we took a lovely cooling dip. Charles remembered the pool and waterfall from his childhood days when his family took a trip to Damaraland. After the swim we had a nice long chat with Leanna, set up camp and watched the beautiful view over the mountains as the sunset. (Rensche's welding broke again-the topbox is now only held in place by two screws and a strap).

17/02/08 - Epupa Falls - Opuwu - 185km
It rained quite a bit during the night and we were wondering what the roads were like! Rensche's welding has also not survived the corrugations from the previous day. She took the lead at a slow 30km/h with her broken frame trying to avoid potholes and corrugations. Charles and Carmen followed in third and second gear. The road was a bit easier than yesterday, the sand harder from the rain. But there were a lot of water crossings, small streams and muddy ruts. We at last got to the river, which bridge was completely under a strong current of water! We waddled through the mud on the bikes to a bit of concrete on the bridge and then Charles took over and rode the bikes through the water to the other side. Rensche was sure all these water crossings were not in the brochure! Finally we got to a huge water puddle across the road. We were not sure if we could cross. A government pick up arrived and rudely told us that we stopped on the wrong side of the road. We were too amazed to answer him back that this is not a road, its a river bank! He went through no problem and Charles took the plunge. No problem but he also took Rensche's lowered bike which almost had water up to the spark plug. Carmen went through with heart stopping speed and skillful correction maneuvers... At Opuwu we aimed for a welder to get Rensche's bike welded again. There we noticed that the threaded rod holding the seat and luggage rack in place has broken too. At the moment her bike is vibrating so much everything is taking strain. We welded everything we could at the welder rather untidily for N$150 but it will have to do although he burnt more holes through the metal than welding. We also welded a new big foot onto Charles's side-stand which he lost somewhere on the road today and headed for the lodge.

16/02/08 - Opuwu - Epupa Falls - 185km
This morning Rensche's bike had to be kickstarted one more time in the cold with a bit of swearing. We think (and hope) its because she's been putting on her front light as is the custom in Namibia. So we are back on "Energy Saving" again! We had about 500m of tar and then to Epupa falls on a graded gravel road. It became really hot and we could see evidence of rain everywhere. We crossed a few muddy river beds and to our dismay passed quite a few begging kids. Its like being in Ethiopia all over again. There are also a lot of Himba people on the road but we didn't stop to take photo's as it is quite expensive. The graded road soon turned into a two-track. The road was really sandy here and there with corrugations and every few kilometers or so we had a washed away dry river bed to cross. At least no water but mud and sand. Carmen had a slip with her bike but nothing serious. We crossed the river via the bridge that was in flood just a few days ago and carried on up and down the track in the heat. At last after 5 hours we got to Epupa falls and stopped in the Epupa falls community run campsite right next to a very strong flowing Kunene river. Unfortunately they asked for N$60 per person for camping (we expected N$50 which the Germans paid a few days ago) and decided to camp at the lodge next door for N$75 for a bit more luxury. It was amazing to watch the river in full flood and even more to know that Angola is just across the water. We went to look at the Epupa Falls which was really beautiful. The dark clouds gathered and it started to rain.

15/02/08 - Outjo - Opuwu - 435km
We got up really early after a late night to watch Tannie Juliana give milk to a calf, whose mother was not producing any milk. But unfortunately the calf was sick and had really bad diarrhoea and we don't think it will make it. Juliana also showed us a very old milk churner which she uses to make cream. The farm foreman had a go at welding Rensche's bike at the crack in the frame which was now a very definite break in the frame. We said our good-byes and were on the road at about 08h30. We made good time and arrived at Kamanjab at 11h00 where we met Micheal and Sebastian (the Germans from Vic Falls and Botswana) at Falkenberg garage where they were having their landrover's brakes fixed again! It appears their mad watery dash across Botswana damaged the break discs so badly that they just keep eating up fresh break pads within 500km. After chatting for an hour or two and learning that over half the road from Kamanjab to Opuwu has been tarred we left. The road follows the boundary fence of the Etosha pan but we only saw a herd of springbok. Just after the end of the tar we came across a contractor crew working on opening the temporary road which had flooded. One of the guys directed us around a large muddy section and to ride along the edge of the base course. As we pulled up Charlie recognised the guy as Wiseman, who he worked with in the past at Grinaker about 6 years ago. The rest of the gravel road was well graded and smooth and the last tarred section got us to Opuwu in good time. We headed for the Opuwu country Hotel campsite as being the safest option in town for camping. After dragging them half-way across the world we at last had our Boboti instant camp food sachets for supper which didn't taste that bad but didn't look so good... Arriving in town and earlier today Rensche's bike had to be kickstarted again... We hope its not the old Sudan problem. The campsite is swarming with huge Mopani worm moths.14/02/08 - Windhoek - Outjo - 367km
After a quick sandwich at a coffee shop with Charlie's mom and a turn at a bakery to buy homemade rusks we took the road NORTH for the first time since leaving the UK. Half way between Okhanja and Otwarongo we turned off at Sukses to take the gravel road up to Otjo via Kalkveld but 1km down the road the road was flooded as far as the eye could see. So we turned back and took the tar road. All along the road there were large pools and most of the usually dry river beds were full of water. Arriving in Outjo we quickly filled up with petrol and bought some droewors (dried out beef sausage) and headed out to Rensche's family farm: Teufelsburg. Arriving at the farm we received a very warm welcome from Auntie Juliana and Uncle Hans who Rensche last saw about 16 years ago. Her cousin, Dederick, also arrived and took us for a spin on the beautiful farm up some very rocky hills in his 4X4 bakkie. The farm is in the Ugab Valley and beautifully green after the recent rains. Hard to believe that only 6 weeks ago they lost 4 cattle due to drought. There is also a plague of commando worms at the moment on the farm and Hans got some FREE Japanese insecticide and 2 stroke pump sprayer from the authorities to try and control it. In the evening we had the best Kudu steaks and T-bone and ate too much again! It was really great to catch up while playing with their huge Boerbull dogs. The farm is mainly for cattle but they also get people mainly from overseas to come and hunt.

13/02/08 - Windhoek
So early this morning we went to pick up Rensche's bike. Oliver was dismayed at the state of her engine. The moving crankshaft had done a lot of damage. He thinks that it is terminal. He managed to get the bike to idle but it still stalls when pulling in the clutch. He cannot guarantee that the bike will make it to Cape Town without a complete engine rebuild. He also found some bits missing from the carb which explains the erratic throttle. This news depressed us a bit but since the bike has been running on borrowed time from Cairo we decided to still do our planned trip through the north of Namibia and then back to Swakopmund. We still only asked for a tune-up and service. Oliver only charged us for an hour's labour, new chain and oil change and carb service and it only came to N$1000 (80 pounds)!!. He also mentioned that he wouldn't mind having a go at taking the covers completely of and having a good look at the engine. At a later date perhaps! What a nice guy! Afterwards we (Rensche, Charlie and Carmen) went to Beautiful Gate Namibia. They look after Pre-Primary and other orphans due to AIDS or broken homes during the day. We had a lot of fun with the kids sitting on our bikes and telling them our stories. Beautiful Gate get no government funding and is totally reliant on donations. They provide children from 3 years up with 2 meals a day, education and much needed love. Most of the people working there are volunteers . Aids in Namibia is now at 20% and in some areas in the North of the country it is as high as 40%. The children are usually brought up by over-burdened family members, usually the grandmothers, when their parents die. Still they were just happy to hold your hand, get a quick hug or be picked up for a few minutes. We were given a tour of all the facilities, including a youth area for the older children where they can come in the evenings, and an area where children can come and do their homework including a library. It is amazing what people can accomplish. We left them deep in thought about the future of these children and Africa as a whole. In the afternoon Charles changed Rensche's tyres and while doing so noticed horrors of horrors a crack in the frame. We can only assume it's from a pothole she knocked in Malawi on the dust track from Flametree. It will have to wait until we are in Swakop to be welded...

12/02/08 - Windhoek
Early this morning we were off to Honda to get Rensche's bike sorted. We were so relieved when Oliver, the mechanic, immediately spotted the oil leak from the front upper gasket. We explained to him that we only want to tune the bike - not "fix" it - to get us to PE. He laughed, understanding our predicament, and when he heard the noise from the engine he mockingly walked away. It was clear he thought he's got a challenge today! We passed the time waiting for the bike at Elize's house, updating our blog. Charles changed his oil and tyres. About mid-morning Oliver called regarding the status of the bike. He said the mechanic in Cairo may have replaced the damanged bits in the engine but he did not measure the crankshaft settings properly when building it back together and now the old problem is back worse than ever. The Crankshaft is misaligned and now the main bearings may be damaged. That's were the noise comes from. He also said that the carb was full of dust thanks to the K&N filter. We were quite impressed by his good service. In the afternoon we went looking for an internet cafe to upload our 100's of photo's. We found 4 internet cafe's in the Namibian Capital but none prepared to let us download our photo's or even use a back-up disc we copied it on. Unfortunately Elize's dial-up connection won't allow us to upload to the blog either so photo's will have to wait! In the evening we had a nice get-together at Elize's house with about 8 of her friends and people Charles have grown up with. They have all been watching our progress on the blog. We had lovely Boboti with yellow rice and Chicken pie and again had too much to eat!

11/02/08 - Windhoek
So this morning we got up early (Charles went for a walk with his mom at 05h30...) and after breakfast we went to sort out the bikes. First to BMW with Carmen's bike. We left her there and off to Honda for Rensche's bike. They could only see Rensche's bike the next day so back to BMW. There they'd managed to plug the BMW into the laptop but seemed to be unable to interpret the results! Lack of training? They also couldn't give Carmen exact information on the availability of parts so she will have to have the problem sorted out at a later date as the mechanics said it will be OK. Apparently the Computor said the problem with her electrics occured 200 times! Carmen rode her bike to Elize's house but even in that short distance it switched off three times. After all that we all went for lunch and then went shopping....and had a car guard with a Royal Mail (UK postal service) vest.....Charlie bought a map of Namibia and 3 pairs of new socks as his is beyond repair. Carmen bought a cycle pump to be able to fix her own punctures when she rides on her own. We also stopped by at Mike's Motorcycles (KTM), the guys that provided us with our new front tyres and Carmen bought herself some tyre leavers. Mike informed us that he had no confidence in Honda but that there were no other mechanics in town and that he was working on bikes the rest of the week as there was a rally this coming weekend. Sigh. In the afternoon, Rensche typed up the blog, while Charlie repaired a worn wire for his digital speedometer which snapped this morning. Charlie also cleaned out our airfilters that also had seeds in them! In the evening we all sat on the stoep overlooking the beautiful scenery of Windhoek city and had a light supper perpared by Elize as we were still suffering from the excess of lovely meat we had at Joe's the previous evening!

10/02/08 - Gobabis - Windhoek
This morning we tried to fix Rensche's valves as her bike stalled on pulling in the clutch for the last 2 days. But even after loosening the tight front exhaust valve the bike was still stalling and now it didn't even want to idle. Oh DEAR! We took out the airfilter for just in case. Charles found out from the camp managers about a Suzuki/Honda mechanic in Windhoek. We left the campsite keeping the rev's up on the struggling bike and after it warmed up it seemed to be OK again. On the way to Windhoek we stopped next to the road where another cyclist from Canada was cycling through Southern Africa. He had quite an exciting story to tell from when he wild camped in Botswana close to a hungry rogue male lion! He quietly sat in his tent the whole night but could hear the lion try charging the tent. Needless to say he didn't get much sleep that night and left in a hurry! We set of and did the last hilly ups and downs to Windhoek. It was surprisingly cold as the rain clouds came over but luckily we just missed a huge thunder shower. We arrived at Elize, Charles's mother's house, just before her and we all had a huge welcome. The afternoon was spent chatting and relaxing and going through some of our paperwork. In the evening we went to Joe's with some friends and had the best steak ever!!

Brilliant Botswana

2008-02-12T07:17:00.007Z

09/02/08 - Ghanzi - Gobabis (Namibia)
Yesterday evening Charlie overheard another camping guest ask if they must pay no or in the morning as they wanted to leave at 7am. The owner said there would be someone there in the morning. If only Charlie knew what would happen he would have paid up the night before. The next morning we were ready to go at 7am but the office and bar were locked up so we hang around till 8am. Still nobody showed up. We made a list of all the drinks we had + the cost for the camping which all together came to 204Pula. Charles left it behind the bar with a note. Just as we got onto the bikes the owner finally arrived so we told him we left the money behind the bar. We headed off slowly down the sandy track. Half way along the owner came speeding up behind us hooting and said very accusingly that we had got the bill very very wrong and that we in fact owed him P264. Charles got a bit upset and said he had no time for this quibbling and paid him P70 telling him he can keep the rest for a tip for the staff and the owner drove off in a huff. We are absolutely certain that we paid everything in full on the bill and can only imagine that the extra 60 Pula was for the Internet!!! We were given the impression that it was for free! This makes it the most expensive Internet we have used so far on the trip. Back on the road we pumped up our tyres again which we deflated for more comfort on the sandy road still annoyed at the rudeness of the owner. We made good progress to the border dodging many donkeys, cows, goats, horses and quite a few HUGE flying beetles which really hurt when they crashed against your arm or chest.

At the Botswana border we did not have to have our carnets stamped as we were still inside the SADEC economic zone. On the Namibian border we had to pay N$100 per bike for the Road Fund. Arriving at Gobabis we filled up with petrol and bought a few items of food. It was so weird to be in a town where everybody speaks Afrikaans as first language, even the natives! We also saw our first Bushman but unfortunately he was drunk as most has a very high affinity for alcohol. Just outside town we booked in at the Xhain Quaz camp which looks newly built. We spent the afternoon with the owners around the bar relaxing and watching Wales beat Scotland on the TV. It is a really nice campsite with new facilities and friendly staff.

08/02/08 - Maun - Ghanzi
Everybody at the Old Bridge left today: the Americans and the Germans are heading into the Caprivi and Toby is going to hitch across to Windhoek as their are no buses and we are making our way to Ghanzi. By the time we left Toby was long gone but we spotted him in a lay by 50km down the road and then again in Ghanzi trying to hitch. We also had to go through 3 Foot and Mouth disinfection check points when we had to wash all our shoes and all our tyres including our spares with disinfectant. We headed for the Thakadu Campsite as recommended by the guys at Old Bridge but had to negotiate 3km of very sandy road to the entrance. A nightmare with our cheap Chinese tyres on the front and our road tyres on the back! We weren't that impressed by the camp site (had its day) but there was no going back. We took shelter in the bar from the rain and saw 6 Eland just calmly walk by. The owner let us use his laptop for a quick email check.

07/02/08 - Maun, Old Bridge Camp
The Germans have to get their car sorted out today as the air filter is blocked from all the plant seeds in the water they went through! In the afternoon they, Carmen and the Americans are going for a flight over the Okavango Delta. When they came back they reported that the flight was lovely but that poor Carmen didn't see too much of it because she was suffering from air sickness from the Bush Pilot's antics in the air. Poor Carmen. 06/02/08 - Maun, Old Bridge Camp
From talking to the local's Botswana seem a very nice country to live in. And visit! There is almost no crime, guns are illegal and their currency is stronger than the rand! We've also had no begging and people are really friendly and interested in our trip. Today we visited the Okavango Delta!!! We went with Toby (another German backpacker) and 2 Americans touring Southern Africa. Amazing! We took quite an adventurous trail over sandy ruts in an old 4X4 truck to the delta where 4 mokoro's (little wooden boats) were waiting for us. Of we went into the delta between the reeds for about an hour: to see Hippo's! 4 pairs of eyes watched us over the water, cooling off, as we kept a safe distance. Hippos are the biggest killers in Africa! We made a cautious U-turn after taking some photo's and went towards one of the many islands. By this time the clouds have disappeared and we were baking in the African sun. At the island we started our walking safari. We walked for about an hour and then saw 6 giraffe watching us curiously over some Zebra. On the way our guide showed us hippo tracks, hyena tracks and ant eater holes. Now we were really boiling and gratefully took a break in the shade for lunch. After lunch we set of in the mokoro's again to where we left this morning where Mike and Martin from the backpackers were waiting for us in their motorboat with some nice cold beers! We took a fun ride back in the motorboat sipping a cold one and watching the bird life. In the evening the 2 German guys we met at Vic Falls arrived. They did an impossible road today full of water from Chobi via Seruti to Maun. They had videos of the water even splashing over their bonnet!

5/02/08 - Nata - Maun
We were on the sandy road from the lodge at 07h30 and once again on a dead straight road that carried on for miles and miles. The vegetation changed and for a long stretch both sides of the road had many large ponds of water. Near Gueta half the road was under water and we found out later that last week there were major floods in the area and people had to be air lifted to shelters. While passing through Nxai Park we spotted a large elephant next to the road. As we moved off it became agitated. Rensche carried on to get her noisy bike out of the equation but Charlie noticed that Carmen had not moved yet so stopped. Just then the bull made two mock charges and as Charlie pulled away it charged along the road and trumpeted. It then turned, gave Carmen a mock charge and ran off into the bush. (hearts were pumping!!!). Arriving in Maun we found our way to Old Bridge Backpackers and we were well received by a very friendly Helena. This promptly followed by David at the bar force feeding us tequilas! The backpackers are in an idyllic spot right on the river. Carmen's bike gave her problems again today. At Windhoek it will hopefully be sorted out. Just as we sat down ready to order our steak Chris arrived. He has done the West Coast of Africa on a CCM400, a British bike but with a Suzuki DRZ 400 engine. He has had no problems with the bike and was very happy with it. He also knew Dan and Lynz whose trip was interrupted by Dan breaking his arm (see their blog on the right) and was actually with them when it happened. He has also met Chris Willits from Dorset on his big R80 BMW with the 42L tank (he is now in Cape Town after completing his trip on the West Coast) and we met him in Dorset before we all started of. Small world again! Unfortunately he told us him and his friends were robbed at a campsite in Namibia. We had the most delicious steak for supper and chatted about our adventures!

4/02/08 - Livingstone,Zambia - Nata, Botswana
The previous evening 2 German guys arrived that are also doing the East Route from Germany to Cape Town. They heard from Carmen from the Tanz-Swiss hotel in Tanzania. We also did a lot of organizing yesterday confirming dates with family and booking Carmen's bike at BMW in Windhoek to look at her electrical problem. Also we decided to take the plunge and do a loop through Botswana to Windhoek, then a loop through Kaokoland and then to Swakopmund to meet Rensche's folks. We were up at 6am and on the road by 08h30 after saying goodbye to Clive and Denise once again. They are on their way to Namibia. We took the quick 60km to Kasangala. Immigration and customs was straightforward but just before we embanked on the pontoon we were asked where our receipt for COUNCIL TAX was. So we were sent back to go pay $10 per bike for the pleasure of using Kazangulus potholed roads. The ticket for the ferry was US$5 or R50. As we embarked we had to dodge the swarm of trucks ,cars and pedestrians and avoid the sheets of metal and wood peeling off the deck of the ferry. On the other side of the river the boat stopped 2m short of the bank and we all had to ride through the water. The only reason we could think of for this was to wash the wheels for foot and mouth because on exiting the immigration compound you also have to wash your feet and ride through a wheel wash. Immigration and customs in Botswana was fine and we had to buy road tax which also covered 3rd party insurance for Pula70 per bike. Once in Botswana the first petrol station had no petrol. We then head into Kasana and found the only petrol station in town which had a delivery of petrol that morning....this caused panic at the pumps with lots of people queueing for petrol. Filled up we took the road south to Nata. It is 300km with 4 turns in it otherwise the road is straight. Half way down a massive thunderstorm passed in front of
us and we had to put on our wet weathers once again and head into the storm. Along the way we spotted 2 large elephant bulls and when they saw us slowing down flapped their ears and trumpeted. We spotted another lone bull and a giraffe along the road later on. At Nata we headed for Nata Lodge as the only place in town to stay. Well the place was US$10 per person per night for camping and the campsite was nothing to write home about. Approaching Nata Charlie felt his clutch becoming sticky so at the camp site he had a look and found that the clutch cable had almost worn through. Fortunately we brought 2 extra spares so Charlie quickly fitted the replacement. In the evening we sat at the bar next to the pool and wondered why the price was so high for this 3 star lodge.

Bible places we visited on the way earlier in the trip

2008-02-02T03:56:00.004Z

Greece, Philippi: The jail where Paul was held as in Acts 16 where the jail door flew open during an earthquake and the jailer was saved. Also see the letters Paul wrote to Philippi in Philippians.

Turkey, Troy: Troas was an old Christian church (Acts20: 6-7).

Turkey, Assos:. This was also one of the earlier churches but now it is the sight of a pre-Ottoman mosque perched on top of a hill.

Turkey, Pergamum: another old church (Rev2:2-15).

Turkey, Akhisar: This town was previously Thyatira, one of the first churches (Acts 16:14).

Turkey, Sart: the ruins of Sardis- another old first church (Rev 1:11).

Turkey, Alasehir: the old church of Philadelphia.

Turkey, Pamukkale: is the old church of Hierapolis (Col 4:13).

Turkey, Leadicea: This was also an old church and a place where the first Christians prospered (Col 4:15).

Turkey, Colosae: (Col 1:2). We looked for it for hours but couldn’t find it and the locals didn’t know.

Turkey, Patara: also one of early churches and the birth place of St Nicholas and have a few ruins and piles of rock.

Turkey, Myra: also one of the major cities of Lycia and in Acts 27:5 Paul is transferred to a new ship on his way to Rome under arrest before been shipwrecked on Malta. St Nicholas was famously the bishop of Myra.

Turkey, Olympus: is also the site of an early Christian church from 9AD.

Turkey, Tarsus: another old church - Acts 9:30.

Turkey, Cappadocia: as early as the 2nd century. See 1 Peter for the letters Peter wrote to the Christians in Cappadocia. About a 1000 early churches in Cappadocia.

Turkish carpets from Cappadocia region and 2 Persian carpets from Aarat (Gen8:4) and the Iran border. The carpets are also of different methods from the basic kelem to wool woven carpet.

Syria,Road to Damascus: It is on the road to Damascus that Jesus challenged Saul about his persecution of the church as in Acts 9:1-31.

Syria, Damascus: Kisan Gate was we entered St Paul's Chapel. The walls inside the chapel (Roman Catholic) were decorated with paintings and hangings covering all the major events in Paul's life from his conversion, his time on Malta and to his final days. The Wall from which he was drop down with basket (Acts9:23-25) is next to the church.

Jordan,Umm Qais : ruins of Gadara which has both Roman and Ottoman ruins. From this view point there is a spectacular view over the Sea of Galilee and Israel. This is where Jesus called his first disciples and walked on water (Mat 4:18 and John 6). You can also see the Jordan Valley to the south and Golan Heights and Lebanon to the north.

Jordan, Jordan Valley, Bethany: Baptism Sight at Bethany-beyond-the-Jordan.This is the sight where John the Baptist baptised Jesus (John 1:28-34 and Mat 3:13-17). This is also where Elijah ascended into heaven. (2 Kings 2:1-17).

Jordan, Mount Nebo:. This is the sight where, as God promised, Moses saw the Promised Land before dying which he was not allowed to enter. (Deut 34:1-4).

Jordan, The Kings Highway:. (Num 20:17). We followed a beautiful road of twisties and gentle rolling hills but with little vegetation and soon reached a very deep gorge which was Wadi-Al-Mujib Canyon, the Kings Highway (Num 20:17) to Aqaba

Jordan,Karak Castle: was important in the battles between the crusaders and Saladin during the 12th century. In the Bible it is known as the fortress of Kir Heres in 2Kings 3 where the King of Israel and his allies from Judea and Edom ravaged Moab and besieged King Mesha.

Jordan, Petra: is referred to in the Bible as Sela in Edom. (Jer 49:16-18. Is 42:11, Is16:1, 2Kings14:7). Petra was a rose stoned city built in the 3de century BC by the Nabataeans who carved palaces, temples, tombs and stables from the sandstone cliffs. From here they commanded the trade routes from Damascus to Arabia. Petra was destroyed by an earthquake in 555AD.

Jordan, mount Hor: close to Petra. Another traveller (German) pointed out to us the mountain where Aaron (Moses’ brother) is buried (Num 20:20-29) on mount Hor close to Petra.

Egypt, St Catherine’s Monastery next to Mount Sinai: The road there was very beautiful but through barren desert and we thought of the poor Israelites who wandered this wilderness for so long (Exodus 16).

Egypt, Mount Sinai: where Moses received the Ten Commandments from God (Ex 19). This is also the place where it is believed the Burning Bush was (Ex 3).

Egypt: And to think that Moses was brought up in all this marvellous splendour and wealth (Exodus) but obeyed the Lord and led the Israelites out of Egypt.

Egypt, Saqara: The Black Pyramid was built by Amenemhet III (Joseph's Pharoah in the last few chapters of Genesis)

Zap through Zambia

2008-02-02T02:04:00.007Z

3/2/08 - Livingstone
Well the day started in glorious sunshine and we sat outside preparing breakfast. We then did some washing and headed off to the Internet room to load up some more photos. Tanzania is now almost done. Just before lunch the heavens opened and our hope of having a rain free day were dashes. Our wet washing is now in a bundle in our tent. We just checked the exchange rates are are happy to report that since last checking the SA Rand has dropped from R13.65 to R14.31 to the Pound. Two Germans arrived, they have been travelling the East Coast as well.
2/2/08 - Livingstone
Vic Falls day today! Today we woke up to blue skies and scattered clouds...hurrah! We got the free bus to the falls along the potholed main road to the Zim border. After booking into the Vic Falls Reserve we first took the hike down to the boiling pot where, due to the recent rain, the path was washed away and we had to cross some streams and muddy ditches. From there we walked around to the View of the bridge and saw a number of mad crazy fools throw themselves off it! The view through the gorge to the falls and with the boiling pot below was magnificent. We then crossed the Knife Edge bridge and got showered by gallons of spray that left us drenched. It was amazing to stand so close to the thundering powerful water as it crashed down into the gorge. One of the 7 Wonders of the natural World for sure. We stopped off at a Super Spar on the way home to stock up on the basics and found it it difficult to keep track of the costs of items. With all the zero's you have to be careful you don't grab a block of cheese that you think is ZK1000.00 when in fact it is 10000.00. For example one bottle of beer costs KZ4762 and a small tub of Simonsig cheese is ZK17823. The exchange rate is KZ3850:US$1 double that for Pounds. We have managed to upload the last of our Ethiopia and all our best Kenya photos so have a look on the link on the right. Tanzania, Malawi & Zambia to follow shortly.

1/2/08 - Choma - Livingstone - 190km
No joke, it rained heavily during the night. We got up dry but dismayed at the miserable weather. Carmen had some Ouma Rusks for breakfast for us. The weather cleared and we headed off for the last stretch to Vic Falls. We were getting excited that soon we would see something interesting on the very very boring road through Zambia. Unfortunately we had about 50km of very bad potholes. Slowly and frustratingly, throwing big zig-zags across the road, we dodged most of them in between giving way to the oncoming trucks and taxi's. Fortunately by the time we got to the washed away bridge there was a big digger with a Chinese operator filling in the hole and we and a queue of trucks were able to pass. Arriving in town we headed straight for Jolly Boys and found Clive and Denise there who had first tried out Fawlty Towers but found it rubbish. In the afternoon Charlie helped Carmen change her chain and sprockets as her old chain had suddenly sagged by 10cm. The starter button worked perfectly although the old problem of the bike just dying when hot is persisting.

31/01/08 - Lusaka - Choma - 320km
The rain stopped during the night but the ground was thoroughly wet and muddy. Charles changed Rensche's front tyre quickly in the morning. Poor Carmen had some unwanted attention during the night from some drunk Russians who camped nearby and she was not impressed! We packed up and organized for a guide to take us for a walk in the reserve. We saw some buffalo close-up, and giraffe and kudu! The bush was almost like forest with all the rain. We then left Lusaka on the muddy track out of the campsite. Rensche thought she's ice-skating with her new tyre. We then set off on a boring road but had to stop soon to put the wet weathers on. The rain was so hard that the wet weathers were basically useless. When the skies cleared we took them off and were still wet! We soon got to Choma, Gwende Safari Camp which is also a crocodile farm. From the log we could see that Jean and Jeanette have been there on the 9th of Jan. We had salads for supper, played with the three Jack Russels and contemplated whether to go via Botswana...

30/01/08 - Lusaka
It AGAIN did not stop raining. All our washing hanging in the boma to dry is now still damp from all the moisture in the air. Our 3-day old wet washing is smelly and needs another wash. Poor Clive and Denise spent another damp night in their tent and decided to pack up and head south for some sunshine. Charles and Carmen left to do some shopping and look for a proper front tyre for Rensche. Rensche guarded the tents against the swarms of monkeys investigating the bins for scraps of food. Later on Charles will have a look at Carmen's electrical problem. We think its worse in the wet? Heading into town after negotiating the thick mud on the exit road Charlie found Honda Zambia which is a car and bike centre. They presented him with the two options of 21' tyres in stock: a 4-ply Chinese and a 6-ply Chinese. The 6-ply happened to be cheaper than the 4-ply at Zambian Kwacha 140 000 (US$40) so Charlie took it. (the tyre is called Golden Boy...). From there Charlie and Carmen headed out to a major shopping centre to draw cash (Mastercard -ATMS are far and in between Africa , its the only card Carmen has). They managed to get all the shopping on Rensche's list at a Super Spar and Charlie even managed to buy Rensche's eye cream. Generally things are very expensive in Zambia too! Charles got some charcoal on the way. Back in the camp the fire was started while Charlie had a look at Carmen's bike. It turned out to be a worn out starter switch that has caused all the agony! A bit of filing down the plastic and it seemed all good again. Time will tell. Charlie also bent Carmen's bent topbox lugs back in place from a previous fall. Just as we finished braaing the rain came down again in buckets. We huddled in the vestibule of the tent with the camp dog and ate our feast of wors (sausage), chops, garlic bread, potatoes, onions and BBQ green pepper. We heard from a visitor later that night in the bar that a bridge have been washed away between Lusaka and Livingston. We'll see!

29/01/08 - Luangana Bridge - Lusaka - 256km
It rained heavily again during the night with thunder and lightening. We felt sorry for Clive and Denise who camped in the open. We had breakfast up the hill while listening to the angry bark of baboons overlooking the fast-flowing river. At least it had stopped raining now and we made a quick escape down the dirt road to the main road. It was a bit of a boring ride and we were sweating in our wet-weathers, ready for the rain that never came! We were stopped at the "Tsetse Fly Check point" by an official and his "Tsetse Fly Net" and were amused at the border that stops these flies! We arrived in Lusaka, which is not a bad town, and about 3km before Eureka camp Charles had a flat tyre. He managed to keep the bike upright and rolled to a stop. A nail was the culprit. This time he managed to change the hot tyre much quicker without the peanut gallery and arrived in Eureka camp in some sunshine. Quickly we got everything out to get some of the dampness out of our clothes, towels and bedding and camped underneath the last remaining bomas. The triumph arrived a few hours later but had to camp in the open again because there was no more bomas available. When we took a walk later on we saw some Zebra and Giraffe up close, chased by the little camp dog. Unfortunately in the evening the skies clouded over and the thunder and lightening started again and it bucketed down.

28/01/08 - Chipata - Luangana Bridge - 362km
The rain did not stop and this morning we had to put on our wet trousers, socks and boots. Also our gloves are still dripping. We spoiled ourselves AGAIN with fried eggs and toast. Apparently Ewan and Charlie also stayed here on their trip. When there was a break in the weather we set off down the muddy track and left for Lusaka. Just about 100km from Chipata we spotted a Morris Minor 1958. (http://www.rondouglas.co.uk/)They have done West Africa down to Gabon from where they ferried down to Cape Town and are now on their way up East Africa to back to England. We exchanged advice about roads etc and just then the Triumph arrived and we could get photo's of the two oldies together. We headed off together (4 bikes) and got to the most potholed road ever. The road got better and had more livestock on the road. Rensche had to do an emergency stop to avoid four little black piggies crossing the road. It was clear we were not going to get to Lusaka today! We left Clive and Denise behind as they wanted to stop at Zulu Kraal Camp at Petauke and we headed for Bridge Camp at Luangana Bridge. About 50km before the bridge we got to some road works with a very very muddy detour. Buses and trucks were struggling in the thick mud and we wondered how we were going to get across. We took it slowly and managed to get through with just some muddy boots. We then passed a beautiful bridge over the fast flowing Luangana river. At Bridge camp we dried out all our belongings again. The owners are wanting to sell the place and move to SA. Just after setting up camp under the roof Clive and Denise arrived having found the Zulu Kraal a bit run down. Carmen's electric starter still gave her some problems today. We had a nice bully beef bolognaise for supper and spent the evening up the hill in the beautiful bar overlooking the river and watching a magnificent lightening and thunder display.

Marvelous Malawi

2008-02-01T11:58:00.008Z

27/01/08 - Lilongwe - Chipata, Zambia - 159km
When we got up this morning the rain had stopped and it looked like its clearing up. Clive and Denise left for Zambia just as the sun came out and we (Rensche, Charlie, Carmen) sat down for our french toast when it started bucketing down again. The parking area soon turned into red mud rivers and we sat waiting for about an hour for it to clear. Charlie phoned Jimmy to let him know that we were waiting for the rain to subside before we meet him for Rensche's front tyre. After about an another hour there was a break in the clouds and we set off to get the tyre. When we arrived he only had a baldly front tyre. We took it anyway for 500 Kwaches (2 pounds) as a back up and stacked it on top of Charlie's off-road back tyre. Jimmy had a wide range of dirt bikes in his shop and also a white BMW Funduro 650cc - Rensche's first "big" bike. To her it looked like a clumsy elephant compared to her light off-road 250cc. Just as we left Carmen's bike refused to start on the button. After a few stressful moments the bike started again. An electrical problem on a small bike is just an inconvenience compared to an electrical problem on a big complicated bike. You cannot push-start a fuel-injector bike with a flat battery for one thing! She needs to get to a BMW dealer fast! (closest one in Windhoek, Namibia). The heavens opened again and it pretty much rained the whole way to the border. The exit out of Malawi was smooth with no hassle and no monies due. Carmen's bike again didn't want to start. She's already had the problem looked at in Nairobi but no fault could be found by the local mechanic. Charles told her to put the bike in first gear and rock it and after a few tries it started again. Could be a loose wire somewhere... At the Malawi side we were approached by lots of money changers and after agreeing a rate with them they told us they will meet us on the Zambia side as the police there are less strict. At the Zambia side Rensche guarded the bikes standing in the rain with her helmet on and Charles and Carmen went to immigration. Luckily for us South Africans the visas are free but for all others the visa fees have doubled since last Friday! (GBP125 for UK, US$50 for German) Charles also paid 50 000 Kwachas per bike for "carbon tax". (A tip from their Zim friends perhaps where you also pay "carbon tax"?) Customs was straight forward. Carmen was invited for lunch by the immigration officials while we waited in the rain. The curse of the South African passport! It did not stop raining until we reached Mama Rula's camp in Chipata. On the way there we slip-slided for 5km on the red mud track from the tar to Mama Rula's. At the camp we found Clive and Denise and was told by management that the Canadians have left that morning. Unfortunately everything is now thoroughly wet. We spoiled ourselves with some marvelous T-Bone steak while catching up on BBC news. Unfortunately it showed that Kenya is still in chaos.

26/01/08 - Cool Runnings - Lilongwe - 170km
We were all up at 7am and after breakfast it started drizzling. We hung around till 11am reading and waiting for the rain to go away. When it did the Canadians loaded up and headed out aiming to be in Chipata that afternoon. Just before we left Cool Runnings, Rensche noticed that the knobblies on her front tyre were also worn down like Charlie's were. Charlie went to enquire with Sam whether she knew where we could find a cheap tyre to get us to Katima where new tyres are waiting for us. She phoned Jimmy from "Dirt Bike Shop" in Lilongwe and it was agreed that Charlie was to phone him the next day (Sunday) and he would come in and open shop to sell Charlie a tyre. She also gave us directions to Jimmy's and the Mabuya campsite in Lilongwe. We said our good-byes to Sam and launched ourselves down the wet dust track. As we got onto the tar and pulled away Charlie's back wheel went flat. With a huge group of onlookers Charlie removed the tube and found that the tube had rotated and sheared off the valve (bit generous on the throttle on pull-aways). Ignoring the peanut gallery and struggling with the stiff cold tyre, he fitted a new tube and we were off! Just around the corner we had to stop and put on our wet weathers as the rain clouds were gathering around the next hill. With that we charged head long into the rain which persisted all the way to Lilongwe including a section where the mist was so dense we could only see 100m ahead. Arriving in town we followed Sam's directions and booked in to Mabuya Campsite (previously Kiboko's). There we found Clive and Denise huddled on the stoep out of the rain. We had supper together but as it the rain got even worse we decided to get a room at 2000 Kwachas a night . Carmen booked into the dorm.

25/01/08 - Cool Runnings
Another day at Cool Runnings! After having breakfast with the Canadians and Carmen and talking till 13h00 we decided to stay another day and leave tomorrow morning. We at least spent the time wisely and did the oil change and washing as the sun was out. The mosquitoes are vicious and Rensche has at least 10 bites on each foot. This through our 100% DEET! The evening we had fish and chips and chatted about all adventures we've had. The Canadians have met Robbo (see links - Hard way Home) and Jean and Jeanette at JJ's and Jan and Jo in Arusha.

24/01/08 - Cool Runnings
It almost rained the whole day today. Poor Carmen had water in her tent. At first we thought we might leave when the sun came out but it stayed overcast the whole day. We spoiled ourselves with a full English breakfast instead. The day was spent lazing on the deck staring out onto the big lake and even seeing some fish eagles. Charles read a very interesting book on Zimbabwe: " Cry Zimbabwe" - Peter Stiff. Its all about Zimbabwe from independence to 20 years on. We butchered a pine-apple for lunch and some extra hot bully beef for supper. At sunset the Canadians (whose bikes we saw in Arusha) arrived. http://www.2canadiansonbikes.com/ Mike an Ruby are making DVD's about their trips and are planning to go up the west way in Africa after reaching Cape Town. That evening we were all chatting in the bar and Sam told us that they had more than 500mm of rain in the last week! The average rainfall for December and January is about 800mm.

23/01/08 - Ngala Lodge (aka Heidi's) - Cool Runnings, Senga Bay - 248km
Again just as we started packing up today the first few drops started to fall. We packed the tents up quickly and headed for the "Beach Bar" to cook our breakfast of boiled eggs and bread. At about 8am the rain cleared and we headed down the sandy - wet dirt road to the tar. After about 20km we made a U-turn as Carmen thought she might have left her Leatherman behind. We luckily found it in her luggage - its the only knife she has left after her tank bag was stolen in Syria. We headed out towards Nhkotakota where there is a pottery with a very nice restaurant for lunch. Unfortunately the red sand dirt track from the main road was really muddy from the rain earlier and we had a few hairy moments on the way. We reached a lodge and were told that we took a turn-off too soon (the correct one having been 100m further) but that we can take the little dirt foot path to the pottery. "Its good for bikes" - it's funny how car drivers have a totally different perception of what conditions are good for bikes! Carmen put her bike down just as we entered the sandy track and then the men said "Maybe we better go back to the tar". But we were not going to do that slippery mud road again and headed forward on the track. We went down hill on a very eroded muddy road onto a bridge and then up again over an eroded footpath. Then we were faced with a little 3-plank "bridge" over a meter deep stream. Both Carmen and Rensche put down the anchors as they saw Charlie's back wheel break the first plank. No way they are not going over that bridge and Charles had to ride 3 bikes across. Stressed and sweaty we reached the pottery and had a nice apple pie and cream for lunch. We were also shown a demonstration on how they make the beautiful pottery dinner sets lining the shelves. We also met some South African there working for Caterpillar/Barlow and asked them about the state of the right road to the pottery. They said muddy! After lunch we set off on the right road and was slipping and sliding all over the place. Poor Carmen's bike switched off 4 times. Rensche sympathised with her. We aimed for Salima to draw money and buy some groceries and found our first begging kids. At last after a bit of sand riding we got to Cool Runnings in Senga Bay. Wonderful.
22/01/08 - Nkata Bay - Heidi's - 129km
We had breakfast this morning with Carmen overlooking the lake. On it, far away, we saw clouds of smoke on the lake surface. When we asked the manager what it is he told us its Lake Flies! The road back down from the lake was a bit easier than yesterday's rocky climb and before we knew it we were back on good old tar road. These flooded sand roads are tricky with stones and deep ruts which requires good balancing! Rensche find it amazing that small Carmen can ride such a big bike. We took the most beautiful twisty roads up and down the mountains with almost no traffic and no rain. Malawi has beautifully tarred main roads although many pedestrians and livestock use it as well. Along the way we kept a hand ready for a quick wave to all the kids. Malawi is very poor and full of children - mostly AIDS orphans. We stopped off at Flame Tree Lodge for a fanta and took photo's of the beautiful scenery. After looking at the price list we decided that 600 Kwachas per person per night for camping is too expensive and off we set to Ngala Lodge (previously Heidi's Rest Camp). It is beautiful and well looked after. Again the owners were not there but the staff was very friendly. But 750Kwachas per person for camping. We managed to talk them down to 500 Kwachas per person. In the afternoon Rensche had a sit on Carmen's bike (sometimes misses her BMW) but found her feet dangling on both sides. Carmen also seem to have an electrical problem on her bike. We have heard of a few BMW's with electrical issues. She is looking forward to a BMW dealer soon to plug her bike into a laptop to diagnose the problem! In the afternoon we went to buy some groceries and found Malawi expensive compared to Tanzania. We made a delicious supper in the "Beach Bar" on the beach of pasta and tuna while looking at the moon rising above the lake.

21/01/08 - Chilumba- Nkata Bay - 188km
It rained heavily during the night and just as we started packing up it started spitting again. We could see the lightening and hear the thunder across the lake. At least we had a good breakfast after our disastrous supper the previous evening and waited for the rain to stop. We paid the huge amount of US$50 for the night, Internet, supper and breakfast and left. Just as we stopped outside for a photo a gentleman told us that there was a lady biker at the lodge next door from Germany. So we popped in and found Carmen from Germany on her BMW F650GS. She originally started her trip from Germany travelling with Peter but they took separate roads after Nairobi. Unfortunately he had the cooker and the tent and she had to buy a cheap tent in Nairobi. Then she travelled with Stefan in his 4X4 but he had an accident in Tanzania. She travelled with Katja and Alex in Sudan and had some falls damaging her thumb but she and her bike seem to be OK now after Chris at JJ's had a look at it. She also met Jean and Jeanette at JJ's. She had some bad luck in Syria - her tank bag was stolen, and in Ethiopia - her sleeping bag was stolen when the tent was cut, but was lucky that she got her GPS back in Syria and could get a sleeping bag in Addis. She is really tiny and did well getting such a big bike through the rough roads. We all took off together and took the road south to Nkata. The scenery was spectacular up and down the mountain and we only had a drizzle here and there. We stopped off in Mzuzu to draw cash and fill up with petrol. Petrol is now 200MK/L from last weeks 170MK/L. The country is expensive! The Standard bank ATM would not give Charles even 2000MK (10 pounds!) but at the Malawi National Bank branch Charles could draw more substantial amounts. At Nkata we followed the signs to Nyaya lodge up and down a very very bad rocky and eroded road. The lodge is nice but quiet and the owners are in the UK.

Tantalizing Tanzania

2008-01-26T05:26:00.005Z

20/01/08 - Mbeya - Chitimba (Malawi) - 268km
This morning we woke up with a wet tent into a grey day. The took the road south towards Malawi and very soon had to stop to put on our wet weather gear when it started raining. We passed many tea plantations. We stopped at a petrol station 5km from the border where we filled up and exchanged our last few shillings. It stopped raining by now. After fighting our way through touts and money changers on the border we entered the immigration compound. On presenting our carnets the customs official asked Charlie for his receipt he got entering the country. Charlie told him that he specifically asked the customs official when entering the country whether any monies were due to which he said there were none. Charlie told this official that if there was an issue he should phone his colleague on the Kenyan border but that Charlie is not going to pay a cent. The official handed back the carnets duly stamped. Immigration was straight forward. On the Malawian side the customs and immigration were straight forward and free except Rensche got a bit hassled while "guarding" the bikes. We made our way to Chitimba camp. By this stage we had damp helmets, gloves, socks, boots , tent and was hoping for a bit of sunshine! Yes we know Chitimba is a serious overlander stopover point (and it did not disappoint..) but with that you are pretty much guaranteed clean toilets, reasonable food, sensible prices, good chance of Internet and noise in the evening! Unfortunately the Internet is 15MK a MINUTE (US$6/hour) so we barely did emails. Blog and photo's will have to wait. Malawi is a lot like Ethiopia. People everywhere waiving and green green green!

19/01/08 - Old Farm House - Mbeya - 282km
This morning we left early under gray skies keeping one eye on the sky and one eye on the potholes. We went through beautiful fields and hills. We didn't have any rain and rolled into Mbeya at about lunch time. Not a pretty town and we were aware that there is also crime reported by other travellers. We found our way to the Karibuni centre thanks to the GPS coordinates Alex text us. After a quick lunch at the restaurant Charlie inspected his front tyre and decided it had to go. On the Marsabit road one of the knobblies got cut off and since then every second knobbly had started wearing down to the point where four of the knobblies are about to expose the ply. Charlie headed into town and all he could find was a cheap and nasty VEE-Rubber 4 ply soft rubber Thailand tyre which should hopefully make it to the Namibian border. The rain came down just as we finished cooking our pasta and with that we went to bed.

18/01/08 Old Farm house
We spent the day hanging around the farm and inspecting the flower plantations. The flowers are picked, packaged and shipped daily via Dar Es Salaam to Europe. In the evening the Austrian couple we met in Damascus arrived! The had gone all the way down to South Africa and are on their way back. They had a few scary stories about tourists being attacked in Namibia at camp sites some of which where they were present. This is very sad news.

17/01/08 - Boabab Valley - Old Farm house - 188km
It was a day of firsts today: our first speed fine and our first road kill! Unfortunately not our first dry day since leaving Peponi but what can you do? We left Boabab after shooing the monkeys off our bikes and headed for Iringa. The road was beautiful and winding. Pity about the crazy bus drivers! Just outside Ilula we were pulled over by a big man in his white uniform and radar gun. We were going 62km in a 50km zone in town he said. He gave us a choice: 20 000shillings with a receipt or 10 000shilling without. We chose the latter. So off we went very cautiously obeying the speed limit and ducking the fast buses. While admiring the surroundings (Tanzania is stunning, Ethiopia has moved to second place) Charlie didn't notice the poor little fury animal run out in front of his wheel. Rensche followed in horror hoping a truck would finish him off as he was still trying to lift up his mauled head. A few kilometers later we saw a green-lime boomslang streak across the road. At Iringa we stopped to draw some cash (daily now...) and Charles spotted a bike workshop and managed to buy a second hand mirror to replace the one he lost in Ethiopia. The local mechanic had a listen to Rensche;s knock and diagnosed a loose timing chain. We now have a)piston b)loose clutch basket c)bottom bearing d) timing chain e) all of the above! Seeing big dark clouds develop on the horizon we made a run for Old Farm House and arrived just as the first drops started to fall. We had some nice hot chocolate and amarula to warm us up and had a good chat with the lady owner, Nikki, about the State of Africa. Unfortunately she told us that her worst customers are self-drive South African tour companies who trash the place. Unfortunately this is not the first time we have heard from lodges that they dread the South African 4X4 tourists. Also Nairobi is at lock down again and she's had overland companies diverting to Dar Es Salaam instead of Nairobi to finish their tour. In the afternoon a Swiss couple arrived in their landcruiser that was on the ferry from Aswan to Wadi a few weeks before us. (Alex and Katja) It was amazing how small the world is as they knew of people we know. We had a very romantic candle lit 3-course dinner in the restaurant and savoured every morsel.

16/01/08 - Morogoro - Boabab Valley Camp - 185km
For the first time since arriving in Tanzania we had a really good night's rest. No noise and nice and cool. At about 08h30 after a breakfast we headed out of town onto the beautiful Tanzan highway. This road goes straight through the Mukumi Nature Reserve which makes this one of the few main roads in Africa going through a Nature Reserve on where you can ride with a motorbike. We were expecting it just to be one of these reserves where you strain your eyes for hours to see anything but were pleasantly surprised! Within minutes we saw A large herd of elephant and then a herd of Zebra shortly followed by a large herd of Giraffe and then a massive herd of Buffalo and Impala and Gnu.(Wildebeest) We even saw a 3m long rock python on the side of the road although sadly one part of it's length was slightly flat and the ants were in the process of carrying it off. And we saw a family of warthogs with their aerial tails trailing above the grass. Exiting the reserve we stopped off at the Tan-Swiss hotel for lunch. As we approached the Ruaha river it started to bucket down again. Just other side of the thundershower we arrived at Boabab Valley Camp. It is a really nice place to stay with beautiful rooms overlooking the river but slightly out of our price range with a honeymoon suite going at US$65 per person. But fortunately camping is the standard US$5 per person including boma to camp under to keep you out of the rain!

15/01/08 - Peponi beach - Morogoro - 360km
We again couldn't sleep because it so hot and stuffy and decided to leave paradise. Apparently we missed a spectacular thunder storm during the night so we must have caught some shut-eye. So we asked Denis to prepare the bill and said our good-byes to the other overlanders. Rensche's bike wouldn't start but Charlie noticed a wasp flying into her exhaust the previous day. After a bit of persuasion the bike started fine with some debris flying out of the exhaust! We only managed to leave at about 10am and already drenched in sticky sweat. Just as we exit Peponi we nervously spotted dark clouds on the horizon. We decided to take a short cut to the main road but before long it was raining and our short cut turned into a red mud Africa track in seconds. It was slow going on the slippery gooh and we tried hard to avoid the water-filled potholes. Before long we hit the tar road with a sigh of relief, put our heads down and headed south. The clouds became heavier and we had sharp short showers and drizzle here and there. Fortunately the road winds it's way between the big thunderstorms. At the Chalinze crossroad we got on the Tan-Zam highway where we filled up, bought a pineapple,cashew nuts and a kettie and headed into the black cloud ahead. All of a sudden we were in monsoon rain wetting us through to the skin in seconds and swishing our toes in our shoes. After about 30 minutes we started to exit the cloud lightening on our left and keeping our eye on the bit of blue sky on the horizon. We were now thoroughly wet. At last we arrived at Morogoro just before sunset. After asking everywhere for camping and being quoted US$10 per person at a local hotel-dump we headed up the mountain to find a room at the Peace Mountain Lodge for US$25. Hot shower and TV! Even a cover for our bikes against the rain. We hope the rain we saw today is not a sign of things to come. Apparently there is flooding in Mozambique from all the rain in Malawi and Zambia which is both on our route south.

14/01/08 - Peponi beach
Another lazy day at the beach. It was really hot and clammy last night and we tried to stay as far away from each other as possible in the stuffy tent. The mozzie's are about as well so we can't even open the door slightly. But at least a dip in the warm sea sorts that out! Although at low tide the sea is 500m away! We learned today the word for white people (Mzungu) actually means in Swahili "hangover" and in Kishwali "person wandering about aimlessly". The word came from the early European explorers, Dr Livingstone I presume, who wandered around Africa. Not much has changed then except they are now Aussies and Kiwi's and Overland trucks. Tanzania is truly the Real Africa if you could find such a thing. It has beautiful beaches, green forest, nature reserves full of animals and friendly people.

13/01/08 - Peponi beach
We had a lot of rain last night and are glad that each camp pitch has a thatched awning. Stew and Natty are leaving today and offering Jan and Jo a lift to Zanzibar so we said good-byes again. We saw a magnificent sunrise this morning with the sea at high tide a stone's throw from our tent. At the local Internet cafe we tried photo's again but no luck. There is also a little shop with beach fashions and European luxuries like peppered cheese and bacon! In the afternoon we caught the local fishermen and bought two chokka (calamari) for supper and fried it in our farm butter for supper. Delicious! 12/01/08 - Lushoto - Peponi Beach - 216km
The noise of the forest kept us awake most of the night and we got up a bit groggy to start our descent down the main road. Rensche had a firm foot on her back brake down the slippery dirt track. Once back on the main road we made our way around to Tanga where we filled up petrol and stopped for a Fanta on the beach. Last time we saw the sea was in Nuweiba! It was hot and humid and we wanted to move again. We took the rocky road to Peponi beach although it had recently been graded and they were adding top soil. After about 20km of corrugations and potholes we reached Peponi Beach. Paradise!! Beach camping with swimming pool and restaurant. And there we found Jo and Jan together with Stu and Natalie! The last time we saw them was in North Sudan in the desert where they had to leave us to go and see the gorillas in Uganda. We spent a nice evening over a few beers. There is quite a few people "hanging" here waiting for the troubles in Kenya to settle including an American couple, Eric and Sherry-K in a Landcruiser (has come down West Africa and now going up East Africa) and a Swiss-Italian couple in their 1960 VW Camper van waiting to go up. Apparently Kibaki has now refused to speak to Condolisa Rice (USA) but is talking to Mugabe (Zimbabwe)... There are rumours that tourists are now also being attacked. The guys on the Ducati's have emailed us for info as they are now stuck in Ethiopia with other travellers waiting for the situation to improve. We are so relieved to be out of Kenya.

11/01/08 - Moshi - Lushoto - 256km
After taking some photo's of Kili we headed south passing the foot of the Usambara mountains all the way. Along the way we were surprised at the number palm plantations for all those Big Macs and cosmetics in the western world. All traffic was fine even the buses but one Audi A4 with a SA GP numberplate almost pushed Charlie off the road followed by two Mzungu ladies who lost patience with us obeying the speed limit through town and blasted pass us on a blind corner onto a bridge crossing and barely missing an oncoming bus. At Mombo we took a small winding tar road up a stunning valley to Lushoto. Lushoto is known as Africa's Switzerland with its high mountains and deep valleys with dense forest. From Lushoto we took a tiny dirt track which has recently been eroded by flood waters to Irente farm where we set up camp for the night. There we bought some nice farm produce of bread, butter, cheese, jam and veggies from the farm shop and had a nice afternoon snack overlooking the forest. There was a short sharp shower - the first rain to catch us since Montenegro and we moved our tent and bikes under the boma where we spent the rest of the night.

10/01/08 - Arusha - Moshi - 108km
Before heading out of town we quickly went to Barclays and Charlie tried to use his card (which he hadn't used since leaving the UK) at the ATM machine. It wouldn't accept the card so we went to the internet cafe and Charlie phoned Barclays to be informed that yes his card has been cancelled because Barclays has sent him a new one. To SOUTH AFRICA without telling him. There was no need for him to get a new card - his current card is valid to 2010! They also said they couldn't help him now and that he should phone back at 07h00 UK time. With that we left town. We rode east and all along the foot of Mount Kili. It was beautifully clear. Arriving in Moshi we stopped at the internet cafe and finally saved all our photo's taken since Egypt to disc. Charlie also phoned Barclays and after some persuading they reactivated his current card but asked him to cancel it when we are back in the UK...Charlie did not tell them that he is going to close his account once back in SA. The card has still not reached South Africa and we suspect it has too fallen inbetween the cracks of the South African postal system. (Rensche still has not received her two replacement Mastercards...) We booked in at the Honeybadger and noted that Clive and Denise have left that morning and Jan and Jo a few days before. In the afternoon we tried to upload our photo's again but no such luck!

9/01/08 - Arusha
Internet day! The WHOLE day at the local pattiserie. We couldn't get our photo's uploaded but at least did all our emails and checked banks. Charlie could still not log into his Barclays account...

08/01/08 - Arusha
We spent the evening with Clive, Denise and Roy. Roy we met briefly at JJ's and he travels Africa about 2 weeks a year on his old BMW 1000cc. We all went to Stiggy's where we found the best meat in town! Bill Clinton and some other celebs have dined there with the Aussie Chef.

End Ethiopia - Kenya Korruption - Arrival in Tanzania

2008-01-09T09:45:00.007Z

Tanzania

8/1/08 – Arusha

There are about 3 overland trucks here and they spent a rowdy night in the bar. They are filled with Aussies and Europeans. Two buses from the Pink Caravan full of Swedes are also here. We spent the morning typing up our blog on word as there is no Internet connection so with a bit of luck we can publish it soon.

KENYA: Vote K for Korruption

7/1/08 – Nairobi – Arusha - 295km

Last night a landrover from the FREE STATE (RSA) arrived! It was occupied by a paraplegic father and his two sons from Welcome. They are travelling from Cairo to Cape Town and have also had problems on the Moyale-Isiolo road with a broken shock. Their departure from Cairo was delayed by a month because their landrover was delivered to Italy instead of Egypt! In the morning we went to First Assurance around the corner from JJ's to buy insurance and was surprised to found that it would cost us 6500 Kenyan Shillings (US$100) for the Kenyan third party insurance and 2 months Yellow Card Comesa per bike. We were expecting US$50. We also settled our bill at JJ's which came to US$100 and said our good-byes. JJ's is empty now. We then headed out of town through crazy traffic and road works and were glad to turn off the main Mombassa road (apparently the most dangerous road in Africa) to the relatively quiet road heading south to Namagara. In the distance we saw Mount Kilimanjero growing bigger and bigger as we headed south across the beautiful landscape. Kenyan border formalities were straight forward and Tanzania was straight forward as well except for the surprise that we had to pay US$50 each for a visa. In Tanzania we started noticing many Masai people along the road. The road down to Arusha is very beautiful with Mount Kili on your left and mount Meru ahead. And passing through beautiful rolling hills. Arriving in Arusha we headed straight for Masai camp and on arrival spotted Clive and Denise. We also spotted 2 BMW 1200cc GS belonging to Canadians. We assume they are the ones Rene met on the way going up. They seem to be in one of the National Parks at the moment as they are not around. Our blown budget doesn't allow any trips to any National Parks as it is very expensive.

6/1/08 – Nairobi

We took a walk to a small shopping centre (the Junction) close by JJ's. We had breakfast at a coffee shop and it felt really strange to be surrounded by lots of whities! They were there discussing the week's events over their strawberry waffles and bacon and eggs. Most of the vehicles we saw had embassy plates. We are definitely back in Southern Africa and feel a bit deflated. Our trip is now going to consist of a sequence of hops from one lodge to the next making our way down to Cape Town trying to avoid all the big 4X4's with their trailers and Overlander Trucks on Booze Cruises just coming up for a fortnight for their "African Experience". Hopefully this will not be the case but time will tell. But we can tell you it was a real treat going to an air conditioned supermarket that had actual isles and trolleys and played background Christmas music while we passed real milk and PACKAGED meat! And real sliced brown bread. But SO expensive. Back at the camp we had a nice long chat to a German couple, both architects, who had been traveling through Southern Africa in their Toyota Hilux Twin Cab for 2 years. Clive and Denise left while we were out shopping. The afternoon was spent removing the knobbly tyres fitting our other street tyres that Jean and Jeanette had dropped off for us. We also topped up our petrol. We decided to leave Kenya for Tanzania tomorrow. It's a shame because we have a list as long as our arm of things to do in Nairobi from phoning the family to posting back up CD's of our photo's to visiting a camp shop. It has just been too expensive for us to hang around after sitting in Marsabit for 6 days and buying petrol on the black market. It's a real shame. The only photo's we have of Kenya is Henry's farm, the River Lodge and Chris's back yard. Also they are planning another protest on Tuesday and Chris and our other "contacts" are worried.

5/1/08 – Timau – Nairobi - 229km

Just before leaving the climbers let us know that their insurance has given them permission to climb the mountain. Good news for us and them! Other friends have also let us know that all is quiet in Nairobi. On our way south we were passed by many petrol tankers going north. As we got closer to Nairobi crazy overtaking started and Rensche was back to her normal self flashing oncoming idiots overtaking directly in front of us. We didn't see any sign of disturbance but quite a lot of police check points. We stopped off for the obligatory photo at the equator just south of Nanyuki. Arriving in Nairobi the GPS led us through the busy town straight to JJ's. There was no sign of Denise and Clive. Jill and Pete have left that morning and given Jan and Jo a lift out of town. But Eloi (one of the Spaniards we met in Luxor) was there! Basically they were still all together (him,Fransisco,Henry) in Wadi Halfa. There they did a bit of off-roading in the desert and he had a bad fall. In Ethiopia Fransisco left them and went south never to be seen again. Henry and Eloi did the north of Ethiopia together. On the "Road of Death' Henry had a bad fall and they had to get his BMW on a truck but didn't strap it down and the bike bouncing in the back of the truck wrecked the bike. Eloi's monoshock of his Yamaha XT600 died and Chris fixed it for him.

Apparently there was about 15 people trapped there at JJ's and although all is quiet now they had shooting directly outside their gate and people tried to get in. We were glad we missed it! Immediately after putting up the tent Charlie drained the oil out of the bikes while the engines were still hot. Just then Clive and Denise pulled up. They had a horrible last leg on "The Road of Death". They spent 3 days doing Marsabit to Isiolo and just before Isiolo had a fall which broke the luggage rack. Fortunately a lodge owner took them in and welded the bike back together again. JJ's is full of broken bikes from the "Bike-Killer Road". Clive and Charlie had a look at Rensche's bike and on Clive's suspicion opened up the clutch and found that there was a lot of play on the springs which could be the source of the "engine knock". Chris had no part in this shaking his head saying "Why open a working bike?" So our mechanics in the UK was right when they advised us in Syria to ignore the noise and just keep going! We still really have no clue what the knocking is but the engine pulls fine and doesn't lose oil so we are just going to keep going!

4/01/08 – Timau

So early this morning we were woken up by nature: the local flock of tarentale, peacocks, ducks, chickens, geese have made themselves known around our tent. There are lots of other travelers stranded here including an overland truck. www.climbhotrock.com The truck is a hop on, hop off tour around the world stopping at every potential climbing spot in every country. These guys must be very frustrated sitting right below Mount Kenya but their insurance company has instructed them to either stay put or evacuate the country due to the unrest. We spent some time with the tour leader exchanging information as they are on their way north to Ethiopia, Sudan, Egypt. We spent time cleaning the air filters and doing damage control on the kitchen. The camp manager managed to arrange 10L of petrol for us as Isiolo is also dry which should get us to Nairobi.

3/1/08 – Marsabit – Timau - 348km

At 07h30 with the absence of clouds of mist we headed off on the second leg of "the Road of Death". The road started off good and we made good progress, at times doing 60km/h. Henry said that the Chinese had graded the road closer to Isiolo and we reckoned we should be in Isiolo by 2pm. On the way we saw very colourful and interesting Samburu people but didn't stop. There were no signs of trouble anywhere. Out in the desert plains the road was a bit more rough but not that bad. We reached Liasimis at about 11am and looked forward to the "good "road. The road became progressively worse and the corrugations deeper and wider – like riding on a whale's ribs. We don't think the Chinese have ever graded this road! At about lunch time we saw the big red MAN truck with the Austrians coming north and after we said our hello's topped up our half tanks and filled every other container we could find to relieve them of 27L of petrol they bought for us. So there we headed off EXTRA slow with 15L of petrol strapped to the back of Charlie's bike. Thank you Chris at JJ's!!! Due to our slow pace and riding in first and second gear due to the bad road the whole time our petrol range had decreased from 500km to 300km and with the lack of petrol in the area this fuel stop was essential to get us to Isiolo. The corrugations were intensely frustrating and closer to Isiolo a few HUGE potholes were thrown in for good measure. Our bottoms were aching! Just before Archer's Post we saw the Triumph's tyre tracks but no sign of Clive and Denise. Approaching Isiolo we could see that the road has recently been a mud trap but now has fortunately dried out. At last we reached the TAR road just outside Isiolo at about 17h30. We both opened our throttles and blasted down the road to which Rensche's coughed, spluttered and died next to the road. We took out the airfilter (which was clogged with dust) and limped further. It went back to normal after a few kilometers so we assumed some dirt was sucked into the carb. We headed up the side and around Mount Kenya which is one of the most beautiful mountains, and stopped at Timau River Lodge at sunset. We heard that the demonstrations didn't happen in Nairobi today. Meanwhile many texts were coming in from friends and family containing words like "contact", "safe house", "secure source" and "evacuation" and we felt like we're playing a part in the latest 007 movie. It was shocking to watch the news on the TV that evening over our T-Bone steak. The country was in chaos. We are very, very pleased with ourselves and our little bikes that we survived the "Bike-Killer" road without incident or injury, which will be tar in 5 years time as the Chinese are about to start the first section from Isiolo to Merille. The only injuries we have are a sore bum and Rensche had a little passenger on the way down because her bottom is covered in bites. This road causes 50% of bikes to end up on a truck due to broken suspension or frame or mechanical failure and our little 250cc (even Rensche's with all its issues) did it no problem What do you say to that BMW?

2/1/08 – Marsabit

Thanks to a call for restraint to the people from both the president and the ODM it seems that the violence has subsided. At about 10am Adam, our petrol sourcer, arrived and said that he had found petrol and that we should follow him into town. We followed him through the dusty streets ducking chickens, children, goats and dogs and stopped outside a small store room. People selling Chat (stimulant leaves to chew) next to us. Soon half the town gathered to look at us and almost knocked Rensche off her bike a few times. At last the petrol seller arrived and we filled our tanks with 40L of petrol at 200 shillings (US$3.75) per litre. Yes that is US$150! Each election and government official was issued with a 210L drum of petrol or diesel for their vehicles just before the elections which they are now selling for a huge profit. At the camp site we moved our tent inside boma to avoid the wind for at least one good night of sleep and start packing for an early start tomorrow. We paid up and Henry let us pay half price as we were there against our will. The protest march is still on tomorrow in Nairobi even though it has been banned by the government and would be oppose by the army and police but it shouldn't affect us as we are only going as far as Isiolo and will see from there. The leader of African Union (president of Ghana) is due to arrive to mediate between the two leaders. The opposition has said it will only agree to talk to President Kibaki if he admits that he stole the election. Chris at JJ's let us know that he has sent petrol with guests that are on their way north in a big MAN truck. Its quiet in Nairobi he said and the roads are open.

1/1/08 – Marsabit - Happy New Year!!

All Kenyan TV and radio broadcasts have been suspended. The army and police have been deployed and some towns have 24h curfews. 140 people are dead. News have come through that 30 people have been burned alive in a church in Eldoret. (on our intended route to Uganda). The USA has now also declared foul play in the elections. There is still no petrol in town (or diesel) but Charles has managed to find some groceries. Basic foods are running low. We are getting a bit bored hanging around doing nothing but we are grateful for being in a safe place. We can't go anywhere because we don't have petrol! Marsabit is a dusty dump. Nairobi is locked down so even if we had petrol we wouldn't have been able to enter or would have been caught up in the violence. At JJ's people are trapped (roads are closed) and we can just imagine the panic of all the foreigners in the house sitting in front of the TV listening to the bad news. At least here we have peace and quiet in the middle of the bush watching the cows, baboons and the new-borne goats. Jill text us that they can hear the shooting outside the gate. The opposition leader has called for a mass demonstration on Thursday. More news in: 4 of the members of the Kenyan election commission have now made statements that they suspect irregularities in voter figures. The official international opinion "Elections have fallen short of international standards".

31/12/07 – Marsabit

In the morning Charlie went into the dusty town and still no petrol. He met Adam, a local, who said he would try and locate petrol for us on the black market and let us know but he didn't sound hopeful. Rensche put her phone on to do the necessary New Year texts but received a VoiceMail from Barclaycard asking her to phone them. It appears that the Visa card that was reported lost/stolen by Barclaycard by mistake in August before our trip had an outstanding balance on it which now almost left her in receivership. The transaction was funny enough for Card Protection but because the card was reported lost/stolen she did not receive any statements or could access it on the internet. What a stupid system. After spending about 50 pounds trying to contact them and close the account she was told to phone back on Tuesday. We really want to get moving to Isiolo and finish the "Road of Death" but after listening to BBC World we are thank full for being in this quiet town. Apparently there has been looting and houses burnt in Kisumu in the west and Mombasa in the east. Some towns have curfews and police are using live ammunition. Many dead. According to the International Community (EU, AU and others) there have been serious irregularities with the election results. Strangely the US has found everything in order. On National Radio the opposition has said: "The President may have the police and the army, but we have the people". We wondered if this is going to escalate into civil war. What a pity that such a stable country like Kenya can collapse into anarchy due to power hungry politicians who blatantly disregard the people's democratic wishes. Not a good sign for RSA elections coming up next year. We are concerned about Clive and Denise and have asked Jill and Pete (who was trapped at Jungle Junction in Nairobi) to let us know when they arrive. In the evening we braaied (BBQ) a farm chicken with wonderful flavour but tough as nails.

30/12/07 – Marsabit

In the morning we were engulfed in low clouds and icy mists. The Spanish headed off early and Clive and Denise decided that they would also head off. So at 10am after going into town to check the petrol situation we said our good-byes and they disappeared into the mist. The afternoon was spent listening to BBC World Service on our little SW radio. At about lunch time the TV announced that Kibaki was the winner of the elections and he promptly had himself sworn in as president. This sparked immediate riots and claims of vote rigging and corruption. We lay low at Henry's. We also heard on the radio that Benezer Buto (Pakistan opposition leader) had been assassinated. Today we moved our tent to more sheltered area from the heavy winds which blow during the night. In the evening we made a fire and made tomatoe, cheese and onion toasted sandwhiches.

29/12/07 – Marsabit We woke up with very sore muscles from the previous two days. The voting went well on the 27/12 and the election results were being counted and announced as they came in. In the morning Charlie and Clive went to the bank to exchange US$. Standing in the queue they were watching the results coming in on the TV. The opposition was the clear winner by more than 300 000 votes. Charlie went to the shops and then to the petrol station. As he arrived the pumps ran dry. Clive was there 5 minutes earlier and had managed to fill up. Back at the campsite we informed Henry of our situation and later in the afternoon when he came back he confirmed that there was no petrol in town. Apparently there has been some disturbances in Nairobi due to the delay in the announcement of results and the petrol tanker was not sent to collect petrol during the election. In the evening a Spanish couple arrived in a Landcruiser from Nairobi. Rensche spent the day trying to make her kitchen corrugation safe as even the Happy Cow Cheese Triangles have managed to vibrate out of their foil wrapping and were now little cheese balls in their box. In the evening the wind picked up. Henry has a bakery on his farm with lovely cheese, bread, eggs, muffins and butter! We had one of each for supper!

28/12/07 – Turbi – Marsabit – 130km

As foretold the road became really, really rocky and corrugated. The rocks were sharp and big and we went air-borne a few times at low speed not having a choice but go over them. Poor Clive and Denise were battling to keep afloat. We joked that Denise should strap a few bungees to her to keep from bobbing off the bike. It was horrifying for us to ride behind them seeing the bike bounding all over the place and we were praying that they wouldn't get injured (they don't wear any protection except their helmets..). We found large rock avoidance maneuvers to be a funny phenomenon: the more you try and avoid them, the more they find themselves directly in front of your front wheel. About one hour after we left Clive and Denise had a puncture. Denise promptly put Woody (small piece of wood carried all the way from Dover to put under their side stand) on her head to scare off the Big Furies. We told her this is the only way to avoid being eaten by a hyena as seen in the movie "Gods must be crazy too". An hour later we were back on the road. We saw a few ostriches and gazelle in the distance. We were truly in the middle of nowhere, no houses or farms anywhere. It's just as well we were traveling at such a controlled speed as it gave us the opportunity to take in the scenery. If we were going any faster we would wreck ourselves and our bikes. Stopping for lunch at about two in Bubisa we decided to tackle the remaining 45km to Marsabit. This section of the road was horrendous. It consisted of small volcanic rock pebbles and huge middelmannetjies (mounds between tracks). It was like riding on marbles. The bikes kept on wanting to climb up the sides of these mounds and once in the track you were stuck there unable to change tracks due to the heaps of marbles on either sides. Charles and Rensche took frequent breaks giving the Triumph time and space. A big rain storm passed directly behind us. Approaching Marsabit we rode past a cone volcano and around a massive crater. Arriving in Marsabit, even though Rensche had just gone into reserve petrol, we headed straight for Henry's Camp site as it was sunset.
27/12/07 – Moyale – Turbi -136km (National Election Voting Day)

We left this morning after another restless night (due to the town's generator, next to the camp site) to do "The Road of Death", although last night we decided to call it "The Road of Joy". We started of well on hard gravel with a few short sections of corrugations. We even had time to appreciate the local wildlife and saw tarentale (guinea fowl), dik-dik (buck), loads of camels and even a big fury (hyena) crossing the road in front of us. There are lots of herders (with long spears and traditional weapons) herding goats, cattle and camels. Slowly the road became progressively worse. We were grateful for the faint breeze and the clouds overhead and also grateful for not having any rain which we saw in the distance. Now and again a truck would pass us at high speed full of potential voters. At lunch time we were going at about 20km/h due to the road conditions. We stopped at a shop and bought the sweetest cool drink known to mankind with lots of E's and ended up diluting it with our 2L water bottles. Kids were staring at us like we were from Mars with our helmets and funny clothes. It doesn't look like people stop here often! The road then became really bad and turned more rocky with black sharp rocks and really bad corrugations. At about 15h30 we stopped at Turbi and decided to camp at the army base as it was another 100km to the next town. We were really glad not to have rain as signs of previous mud and agony were evident all along the road. We rode behind Clive and Denise all the way, at times we were down to 5km/h with Denise bobbing all over the place on the back of the Triumph and walking some bad sections. At the army base a friendly officer, Jonathan, helped us to set up camp and when we asked him who is going to be the winner of the election he flashed a sparkling set of white teeth and replied in true democratic style: ' the Winner will be the Winner". He also said that Steve and Rocky, two Saffas on KTM's, riding from Cape Town to London in 50 days ( see link on right) had passed by last week.

End of Ethiopia

26/12/07 – Yabello – Moyale – 220km

We popped into Yabello town and managed to find bread rolls and then we got back on the road south. The scenery stayed bush veldt all the way to Moyale and the tar road was in a poor state. It was interesting to see the changing of the sand from red to white. We stopped off to take a photo of a HUGE termite mound that dwarfed Clive. The aren't that many beggars in the south and there is very little sign of You-You's. Arriving in Moyale we immediately filled up with petrol, stopped at a hotel for drinks, and then went to book out of the country. Rensche and Denise met a Greek couple coming up from Kenya at the border while Charles and Clive were busy with customs which turned out to be a very straight forward process with no costs incurred. Arriving in Kenya the officials were very helpful and with our SA passports the visa was free. Customs were also free and when we asked about insurance they said maybe at Isiolo otherwise Nairobi. We booked into the Kenya Wildlife Services Campsite which has a hot shower and a nice view. While on the Ethiopian side we were informed that we could actually complete the whole customs process into Kenya and then return to Ethiopia to stay in one of the hotels on that side as there is really NOTHING (no real shops etc) on the Kenyan side. We didn't try it so Charlie had to go and brave the bad road out of the Campsite to scout for food.

25/12/07 – Lake Awassa – Yabello – 290km

We left Jana's this morning. It was really nice staying there and it's a shame that it looks like it will be closed by the end of the week. On the road the vegetation changed from tropical with pineapples, bananas and coffee to jungle to dense pine forests and then to dense African bush veldt with red sand, thorn trees and termite mounds. Throughout the day a LOT of waving was done to all the friendly people on the road. People everywhere… The road was pretty bad, full of dreadful potholes that made going slow, and the toilets were suspect. In between the dense vegetation small rondawels (round huts) could be seen. It was good to be back on the road again and the number of NGO signs along the road was overwhelming. We stayed at the Yabello Hotel where you can camp in their garden. (the rooms are not recommended). Other 4X4 travel companies also use this place.

24/12/07 – Lake Awassa

Today was a slow day – Charlie went to the shops and we had the Ethiopian coffee ceremony preformed for us. It is a slow process of roasting the coffee beans, grinding them and then letting it simmer. The smell is wonderful. According to the New Africa magazine which Jan and Jo had we found out that Kenya is having their elections on the 27/12/07. So we decided to leave tomorrow just in case of trouble in the capital as you would expect from any African election. So we're also leaving so we could get the dreaded road of North Kenya over and done with. The road from the border in Kenya to Isiolo (500km) is known as the "Bike-Killer-Road" due to the rocky corrugations which have left many bikes with cracked frames and broken shocks. We've named it the "Road of Death!" The road had bandits on it but they are not usually interested in us bikers but more in the truck loads of weekly shoppers that head down to Nairobi. In the evening we (Jo, Jan, Clive, Denise, Toby, Rensche, Charlie) had lentils......Merry Christmas everybody!

23/12/07 – Lake Awassa

Toby arrived today. We met him at the Baro Hotel in Addis and he also caught a lift on the OverlandMissions truck in North Sudan. He is back packing to Cape Town. There are Pharmaceutical Companies and Medical Supply Wholesaler companies everywhere in Aswan. Rensche can't help but wonder how credible they are. Also the street next to the lake is lined with NGO and foreign schools along with huge modern houses, all with the latest security and barbed wire fence. It looks out of place next to the begging children! Charles couldn't access his Barclays account today because of the missing pin card that disappeared in the post in RSA. Another hoop to jump through! Jan and Jo arrived and Jan was a bit out of sorts with a 24h bug.

You, You, You....Give Ethiopia!!!

2007-12-22T01:46:00.004Z

22/12/07 - Awassa
Hurrah, we found a fast broadband Internet cafe so all you check out our photo albums: Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia have all been updated. Blogger is giving problems so we have typed up the last 2 weeks on Notepad hoping to cut and paste when Blogger becomes available.21/12/07 - Awassa
A relaxing day reading, swapping books, doing some washing with good old Omo, fiddling with the bikes. Clive took Rensche's bike for a spin to see what the problem is with the the surging and the knocking. He agreed the engine was erratic and would probably be sorted out with a bit of a fiddle of the carb. He feels the knocking is not terminal and is most probably a loose gear behind the clutch basket that has developed some play which we will have a look at in Nairobi. Something is afoot in the camp. The owners had to go to the Supreme Court today due to an ongoing battle they have had with their noisy AK47 touting religious sect neighbours but the courts have decided in the camp owners and the local community's favour and now time will tell. We also spotted a old photo on display in the campsite of our mate Mark who came through these parts back in 2005 (link on the left 2k5) where he looks a lot more hairy.

20/12/07 - Addis Ababa - Lake Awassa - 250km
We had a chat with Hugh exchanging some GPS points and set off at 11ish in search of an insurance company to buy comesa yellow card insurance for the rest of Africa. We had the time to do it yesterday but it was a public holiday. Directed by the GPS we stopped at Africa Insurance Company but they couldn't help us. So we plan to get it in Nairobi. Getting out of Addis was a mission with trucks coughing up the most toxic fumes in our faces and very heavy traffic. The scene slowly changed from green and hilly to African bush veld plains with thorn trees and termite mounds and a few jacaranda trees. Still live stock everywhere with the odd suicidal donkey and very skinny sick horse standing in the middle of the road not moving. Although the traffic thinned out those trucks and taxis that were left drove like idiots with their crazy overtaking. Occasionally we had two trucks overtaking from ahead forcing us off the road. At last we got to the campsite in Awassa, Adenium Camping, run by a German lady (Jana) and her Ethiopian husband (Kurati). What a haven it is. We intend to stay here a few days to do some washing, bike maintenance and hopefully update our blog. We had a wonderful 3 course meal cooked by our hostess.

19/12/07 - Debre Libanos - Addis Ababa - 100km
This morning after our omelet we set off to Addis Ababa. The road is absolutely stunning again with long twisties up and down green mountains. The kids were lovely too clapping and waving as we came pass with just the odd "You you" which we preferred to ignore. There were about 5 year old children herding about 10 huge cows and bulls with just a small stick, women carrying HUGE bundles of wood, men walking with their long sticks hanging across their shoulders with their arms looped over it. The golden fields of grain, bundles of wheat, farmers using cattle to thresh the wheat. Once again why is this country so poor? When we got closer to Addis an assortment of bill boards for aid this and aid that lined the street. We went to Signal Hill but the city was completely shrouded in dust and smoke and we couldn't see much. The owner offered us camping but as we needed a few vital bits (ie wet wipes!) we declined and went down the hill again and found ourselves at the Baro Hotel. Nice with a court yard. There is much more Westerners here and a few a bit odd we thought. As our rooms were only available at 20h30 we spent the another few agonizing hours at the Internet cafe trying to check emails. The lady was very helpful but it seems hotmail is a problem here. Sorry if we haven't answered any emails. When we returned to the Baro Hotel we spent a few hours over beer watching the comings and goings at the hotel. And we noticed that to our horror there were more comings and goings that we thought normal for such an establishment! Then one of the guests (a German) mentioned that he has to vacate his room during the day to accommodate customers that require the room on an hourly basis. So that's why we can't have our rooms before 20h30! Fine if they have a regular room but to make us wait while they finish! Full of disgust we opened the lonely planet and our eyes fell on the Wanza Hotel which we recalled Rene recommended. We set off at 19h00 to go and find it. Now we were riding at night with the lights on full blast and wonder above wonder Rensche's bike did not die. (we can only assume it was the heated grips causing the electric fault all along) . They were fully booked but allowed us to set up camp in the court yard. There we met Hugh, a Irishman, circumnavigating Africa and on his way up to Sudan on his F650. www.lapofafrica.com He gave us some good tips about the Moyale road where he seriously damaged his engine when his cooling system failed. He has been in Addis for a month now rebuilding his engine.

18/12/07 - Debre Libanos
We had omelet for breakfast overlooking the gorge and spotted a large number of birds flying around including a large imperial eagle sitting on the cliffs edge close by. The owner said it was waiting for a bone. Just then a little girl popped out of the kitchen carrying a huge cow leg joint and walked to about 100m from the cliffs edge placing the bone in the clearing. Even before she reached there the eagle was circling. But the eagle was too slow and the ravens got in first. Thick bill crows and a mongoose also had a go. During the morning an Egyptian Vulture also took a nibble. Later that afternoon we sat outside the restaurant and spotted a Dik-Dik, Dassies, Franklin, Baboons and more eagles. WE had spaghetti bolognaise for supper which seem to be as common in all restaurants as Tepsi. This is a really wonderful place and we would recommend it to everybody.

17/12/07 - Debre Markos - Debre Libanos - 203km
We left 7ish this morning as the road through the Blue Nile Gorge was closed after 12noon for road works. the Japanese are busy completing the horrific gravel road down to the Gorge and up again. On the way we had the usual friendly waves from the kids with the occasional "you you money money". Who taught them these words??? The tar road started deteriorating and we got stretches of gravel here and there. As we got closer to the Gorge the gravel road deteriorated further to uncomfortable corrugations and very rocky road up the steep hill. Poor Clive and Denise had a fall and then Denise had to get off the bike and walk some f the way. Charles and Rensche were OK as long as they kept going. All the way trucks, lorries, buses and minibuses passed leaving us in a cloud of dust. The scenery was absolutely spectacular all the way. Beautiful valley. Green fields, villages and full of livestock. Rensche neatly missed donkey, lamb and suicidal dog. When we at last got some fuel we were in Fiche. A few kilometers later we saw the sign for the Portuguese Bridge Rene told us about. We turned in at the Ethio-German Park Hotel about 100km from Adis Ababa. The Hotel is right on the mountains overlooking the spectacular Jeam valley. Beautiful. Its is owned by an Ethiopian returning from Germany and has been opened for 10 months. Its more a lodge than a hotel. We decided to stay the night in the beautiful decorated spacious rooms with clean en suite bathroom and SUPER HOT showers. Charlie and Rensche took a walk to Portuguese Bridge which is 400 years old and very beautiful. The view is indescribable and a bit further down there is a waterfall into a deep pool and down into the valley below. Troops of baboons were everywhere scrambling up the rocky cliffs. The owner told us he is planning hiking trips and horse riding. We had tepsi for supper overlooking the deep valley and sat around the fire inside. We decided to stay another day! (Today we went above 3000m above sea level and the bikes spluttered up the passes)

16/12/07 - Bahir Dar - Debre Markos - 263km
After sitting around chatting and seeing Rene off (off to Simien Mountains) we head south to Addis with the aim of reaching Debra Markos where the road is closed from 12noon to 5pm due to road works on the Blue Nile Gorge. We rode through more very beautiful country side. At one point Charlie stopped to take a picture from a burnt out tank and as we slowed down a stone hit Rensche on the arm as a horde of children came running towards us shouting :"you you you". As we refused them money one tried to steal a bottle of oil of Clive's bike. We took off quickly leaving them in dust. The further south we went the more aggressive the pedestrians and kids became. The villages also had less "rondawels' and more huts built with wooden post walls limed with mud and grass and with tin roofs. We had noticed that it is just the very young that blatantly beg and shout at the ferengi's (whities) for money. The teenagers make the occasional half-hearted attempt putting their hand out. Most of the adults here don't seem to beg. We went through the most beautiful fields - like a tapestry, almost like Europe - and past a few large open plains abundant with livestock. Like the Prairies! Arriving in Debra Markos we booked into the Vulet Hotel with a court yard. After failing to understand the menu or the waiter fellow patrons recommended the Shebelle Hotel next door for supper. This was clearly an expat hang out with Manchester United playing on the telly.

15/12/07 - Bahir Dar
We woke up early this morning to the sound of bush pigeons, other birds, "monkeys" to a beautiful sunrise over the lake. Charles and Rene went to look for the road to the monasteries which they couldn't find but ended up having a "mixer" at a juice bar. Rensche wanted to finish her book" Salmon Fishing in the Yemen by Paul Torday. A very good read. Charlie came back to do the oil change. Rensche's bike started well on the button, still rocking and shaking like a lawn mower. And now also surges now and again in first gear. (maybe altitude sickness!). Jan and Jo got back after also trying to find the monasteries on their push bikes but ended up getting 15 punctures, harassed by children and arriving back found one of their tent poles broken from a native falling over the guide rope earlier on. What a day for them!

14/12/07 - Bahir Dar
We realised today that the mimicking bird we've been hearing is REALLY a Fish Eagle! Its really wonderful to see and hear this beautiful bird again. The Mimicking Bird also mimics monkeys and other birds. There are lots of birds here in the lake including a large flock of pelicans. The town though is not much to look at (a bit scruffy). At lunch time Jan and Jo arrived on their fold up push bikes. WE met them in Salma's camping in Cairo. They got a lift with the overland mission trucks from Wadi Halfa to Khartoum. Again very very small world! And they also knew the Spanish bikers and informed us that one of them have headed off south by himself. Also later Rene arrived on his F650GS. He is a Canadian travelling around the world and spent quite a while in Africa and is now on his way up to the Middle East via Djoubuti. (its website is on the right). He's been travelling for 2 years now across the Americas and up the East coast of Africa. We spent a nice evening around the fire chatting. Something just have to be said about the Ghion Hotel's cooking. Its truely disgusting. The only safe option is the spaghetti with tomato meat sauce. Avoid the chips at all cost. The fasting menu is OK-ish.

13/12/07 - Gondor - Bahir Dar - 180 km
Wonder on wonder this morning Rensche's bike started. We're on power save mode with her bike now. No more using the car horn of which she is so fond, or the front light, of the indicators. Its hand signals from now on. If that doesn't save the battery then the bulbs will have to be removed. The road was really pleasant with smooth tarmac and twisties up and down green mountains. And a local gathering where ever you dared to stop. The little villages on the way grew more busy with pedestrians and the kids a little bit more aggresive but not hit by a stone yet! Still most of them gave friendly waves. Its astonishing and concerning how many young children are running about. Most of them are herding goats or cattle or just walking in the middle of nowhere by themselves. This country clearly has a very young population. Ethiopia also, like the rest of Africa, has a very big AIDS orphan problem. Rensche's bike did fine with only a few splutterings at 2000m above sea level. But on the way she got stung by a wasp on her back, had a frantic emergency stop and let the culprit out. It stung like hell but after an hour vanished. At last we reached Bahir Dar and aimed for the Ghion Hotel where we could camp on the lake Tana. There we spotted Peter and Gill's "Ice-cream Van". So were reunited again. The Ghion Hotel is right on Lake Tana with beautiful gardens. Charlie spent the afternoon giving HIS bike some attention for a change, greasing the cables. We spent a few very sloooowwwwwww hours at the local Internet cafe trying to check our emails and went to supper. An Austrian couple: Michael, Stefani and Marie (their 2 year old) were also in the camp site. They were on the same ferry to Sudan as the Overland Missions (the two trucks we met in Luxor) and started along the rail way line route out of Wadi Halfa but had to return on the rail way tracks as their Mercedes Van kept getting bogged down in the sand. They also knew about the Spanish guys we met in Luxor. Small world! Peter and Gill are leaving us again tomorrow but we're sure we'll bumped into them somewhere.

12/12/07 - Aykel - Gondor - 64km
Naturally this morning Rensche's bike was flat flat flat. In the cool morning it didn't even want to be kick started and in the end we swapped batteries with Charlie's bike. We plugged everything out of the bike that could possibly have drained the battery and hoped for the best. WE tackled the remaining 60km of gravel road on an empty stomach as we could not find bread anywhere. But the gravel was nice and we made good progress even though at some point some vibration caused Charlie's horn mounting bracket to snap and leave the horn dangling by it's wires on the exhaust. We were going through small village after small village and children were far and wide yelling "you-you-you" or "give money". We braced ourselves for the "stone throwing children" of Ethiopia everyone warned us about but they never came. Maybe we just looked too haggard and dirty to waste a stone on! The scenery was spectacular with green hills and fields. We were diverted here and there for road works. At one point we stopped for a break...next to a SCHOOL, and in not time we were surrounded by about 20 kids. 2 could speak english very well and were very interested in the Africa map on our top boxes. We had a really nice chat to all the kids and to tell the truth they knew more about African Geography than we did! There is about 70 million people in Ethiopia in a country half the size of Sudan so we were seldom anywhere not within eye shot of a local! At last after 60km we hit tar road. The road was pretty busy with the usual Africa traffic: donkeys, cattle, people, mini busses, cars, bikes, tuc tucs! At last we reached Gondor and went straight Belegez pension. With spotless ensuite bathrooms! although showers are cold. A haven!! We had a delicious cheese burger each and then Charlie and Clive started on Rensche's "trouble maker". No fault could be found - the alternator was working fine. So we guess we'll see tomorrow. At least today was a kick start-free-day! After faffing with the bikes we went to change money and then to the Royal Enclosure. Built by Emperor Fasilidas around 1640. Its a massive complex with lots of castles and buildings. Our guide was very eager to point out to us that its in these castles that the Italians made their strong hold in their efforts to try and colonize Ethiopia during the 2nd World War. Ethiopia, along with Liberia, are the only African countries never to be colonized. Gondor is known as Africa's Camelot. By request of Ethiopia the English bombed the palaces, occupied by the Italians. The last Ethiopian king kidnapped all the British subjects in the country to force England to stop their influence. The British sent an armed force to free the subjects at which the kings supporters abondened him so he committed suicide. The British took his son captive back to England where he died 4 years later at 19 years. Walking back through the back streets we got a taste of local city life. Back at Belegez we met a British lady, Suzie, who had been travelling Africa with tour groups since the 80's. She gave us some good tips on where to stay etc.

11/12/07 - Metema - Aykel - 137km
The morning started badly with Rensche's battery being flat again and had to be kick started. To recap so far we've changed the spark plug, rectifier, fuses and swapped batteries with Charles's bike. What's wrong with this bike??? The only thing thats left is the alternator or a loose wire or a short circuit somewhere. We headed off on bad gravel raod (rocky) to Shehedi where customs were done by a very friendly official. The customs were free and when we enquired about insurance they said it was not neccessary....just don't have an accident.... At about 11ish we headed out in the heat of the day. It is a very beautiful road with dense vegetation and boabab trees scattered around. The road is very rocky, to the point that Charlie's mirror just fell off from the vibrations, but is in the process of being upgraded to tar with expected completion in 2-3 years. We followed the long deep valley and on the way we stopped for a water break. And noticed that Clive's back tyre has gone flat. Once the wheel was off we saw that Clive has picked up a nail. By this time we had a small crowd of people watching us. There are people everywhere on the roads and the children run for miles across the fields to catch you on the road as you come past to wave. Or shout for money. After fixing the tyre we carried on and headed up and up the mountain pass to Aykel. The land is green green green but still most people and animals look strangely starved and all beg for money. In Sudan people were sowing in the desert and wind and never begged. Is this what happens to a country with too much foreign aid? We booked into the Virut Hotel which has a secure court yard. Rensche was in a bad mood having her bike being kick started twice during the day with a flat battery. We had tepsi for supper and had our first taste of injera. (not to everybody's taste, a bit sour). It is made from 3 day fermented grain and then cooked to a huge spongy pancake which look like stomach ofal. We had cold showers just before the power cut and were entertained by Rensche's nausea at the sight of the overflowing long drop.

Suddenly Sudan

2007-12-06T09:27:00.007Z

10/12/07 - Geri - Metema (Ethiopia) - 320km
This morning we woke up early in our rubbish dump camp site, had a quick breakfast and were off. The landscape started slowly to get more bushy. At the Ethiopian turn off at Geradef, the trucks that have been following us since Khartoum left us thank fully and we took the new tar road all the way to the Ethiopian border. The landscape changed to green bush veld and we saw our first baobab trees and thorn bushes! At last we got to the border.

The exit out of Sudan was relatively quick and painless and free! We registered at alien immigration office then had our carnets stamped at customs and then we got stamped out at immigration. We got swamped with money changers but said we would change on the other side as they were really pushy. We got on our bikes and drove over the narrow bridge trying to avoid the hundreds of people and livestock moving between the two countries. Gallabat and Metema might as well be just one big town. Just across the bridge and on the right two gentlemen were sitting under a tree to whom we were directed. We had to present them with our Yellow Fever certificates and once they were happy that they were genuine we were sent to the immigration office shack and were processed for free. Customs is done in Shehedi so we will do that tomorrow. We got permission to set up tent within the customs compound to the left of the bridge for free and even witnessed a Sudanese being "roughened up" for refusing to open his doctors bag for inspection at immigration. When we went to go and exchange some money we found all the same characters from the Sudanese side on the Ethiopian side eager for us to exchange with them! One of the guys who seemed most trustworthy led us of to a shop where we exchanged at 9Birr per US$ which is very close to the bank rate. He also organized some beers for us (our first since leaving Aswan) and introduced us to Tepsi (fried beef goulash). Ethiopia has a totally different language (Amharic), alphabet and calender to the rest of the world. Today in Ethiopia it is 5th April 2000 as they use the Orthodox Calender. There are millennium celebration banners all over the place.

09/12/07 - Khartoum - Geri (Gerdaref Check Point) - 316km
Today is our first wedding anniversary!! We had another long chat with the bicycle travellers and then headed off at 08h30. Just as we headed down the same stretch of road (Africa rd) Rensche's bike died again. We removed the seat and found that the rectifier was very hot so Charlie decided there and then that it needed replacing. He headed off down the road and got directed to a "motorbike souq", a street lined with bike chop shops and spares kiosks. Charlie handed the rectifier to the first guy he found and said "same same". 5 minutes later Charlie drove off with the exact original part... and that for 5 Sudanese Pounds! We fitted the rectifier and headed off into the traffic out of town. We rode past a stretch of sand full of planes but were not really allowed to take any photo's.Nobody ever comments on their websites about the road south from Khartoum to the Ethiopian border. Well now that we have ridden half of it we understand why. Its flat and boring with the occasional bush, goat, donkey, person here and there. In the evening we stopped off at Geri Check Point and camped for free behind the immigration building which was very dirty... littered with plastic bags and discarded photocopies of passports and personal details of visitors... (the 32year old Texan architect: your secret is safe with us and the Geri community ...). 08/12/07 -Khartoum
We spend our day today uploading some photo's and just loafing about. We went around town (which is quite impressive) to do some shopping and caught a lift back to the campsite with a Belgium-New Zealand couple who are working in logistics in Darfur. They say its getting worse!!Back at the campsite two South Africans ,Ernest and Leanna, arrived on their push bikes from Cape Town and on their way to the far east. That evening we met a SA expat visiting the sailing club who has been working in the dairy industry for 5 years and warned us that there is Rift Valley Fever around all the way to Kenya and that we shouldn't drink the local milk. Bob from Mombassa came by again and we spent a few hours just chatting. WE were surprised at the large number of UN trucks and other NGO's and their activity in the capital and on the roads out of town. Landcruisers everywhere with one occupant in heading off into the distance to do what? We also understand that the British Embassy opens their bar to local expats every Friday evening by invitation. We were not invited.

7/12/07 - Khartoum - Sailing and Whirling
This morning was the sailing club's race day and we were roped into being crew. Rensche was assigned to the club champion who also happens to be a member of the National rowing team as well, so being the highly competitive character he was, Rensche was being barked hundreds of commands all the way round the race course and they came first. Charlie crewed for a slightly more relaxed retired part time Telecommunications Engineer lecturer and they managed to pull in 2nd last (8th). Clive's pairing came in a close second behind Rensche. The metal hulled club boats were designed in the 1930's when the club was founded and are unique to the club. The last boat was built in 1975 and the remainder of the fleet are slowly deteriorating. We hope the club will invest in a new fleet before the Sailing Club is left high and dry. During the afternoon a gentlemen from Mombasa got chatting to us and he mentioned that he had worked in Khartoum many years ago and that a friend of his was responsible for saving Lord Kitchener's Gunship from toppling into the Nile and him and a couple of mates moved it up to higher ground where it is still today. Lord Kitchener sailed his Gunships up the Nile armed with cannons and repeater fire guns and decimated the Mahdi in revenge for the killing of General Gordon, the then governor of the Sudan Colony round about 1860. In the afternoon we took a taxi to the Ahmed AL-Nil Tomb to see the Whirling Dervishers, a Islamic sect who sniff incense and spin themselves into a frenzied trance in the aim for spiritual enlightenment.

6/12/07 - Khartoum - fixing the water pipe
Poor Peter realised last night that he has a water leak from his reservoir. It looks like a water pipe expanded from the heat and burst. The manufactures had installed a short length of clear low pressure hose on the high pressure side of the water pump... Rensche continued with the washing as Charles helped Peter fixing his camper. Its a bit windy today and much much cooler thank goodness and we seem to be able to relax for the first time in a couple of weeks. Snotty noses still all round.5/12/07 - Khartoum - fixing the bike
Rensche has resolved herself to the fact that its either back on the bike or on a plane to Cape Town if the bike does not get going. As it is now it will take a million years to reach South Africa being kick started all over the place. Clive and Denise went to sort out their Ethiopian visas and Peter and Gill went to service their Nissan Narvarra. We started on the BIKE. When we wanted to turn the engine over to check the valves we noticed that the engine bolt has been rounded by the use of a hammer when the engine was put together again... Clive showed us how to turn the engine over by using the kick start which worked well. Rensche busied herself with the washing. She was too traumatised to watch the outcome of her bike. The valves just needed a little bit of adjusting and Charles spent about 15minutes just staring at the bike. Then again checking all the currents with the volt meter and undoing the tape around the rectifier wires. There the problem was. One of the wires was exposed and melted. This probably (hopefully) caused the bike to short every time it got hot and expanded to touch the other wires. We were so relieved.Clive had a listen to the engine knock and said we shouldn't worry about it - just carry on as our mechanics in the UK told us - and he doesn't think its fatal. Who knows why Rensche's bike eats up engines. We also managed to get the pannier strap fixed which Rensche tore off in one of her spectacular falls. So all in all a very good day which we celebrated by having a Debonairns pizza!!

4/12/07 - Khartoum - camp site trip-20km
We woke up to the sound of a helicopter gunship overhead flying very low. We suspected that there are some politicians in town as there is a lot of police presence and sirens. We spent the morning with Clive and Denise and at 11h30 decided to head across town to the National Camping site which apparently have good facilities and warm water. We headed off with Charlie in the lead, then Rensche and Clive following. 3km from leaving on a busy road Rensche's bike died again. We let it cool down, kick started it, and set off again when it died again after 3km. At last we got to the camp site - hot and bothered- to find the campsite very dirty, lots of people just living there and no hot water and in the middle of nowhere. We decided to swap batteries (Rensche and Charlies) to start diagnosing the problem. We then headed back to the Blue Nile Sailing club where we at least had a view of the Nile and in town even though the toilets are also dire. We arrived at about 17h30 (6 hours to do 20km in total...) Just after we arrived Jill and Peter arrive and reported that the road to Meroe is NOT tarred all the way as advertised and that the last 40km of the road still needed to be tarred and they ended up driving it in mud. Glad we didn't take that road! On our way back to the Blue Nile Charlie spotted a STEERS South African burger joint so headed back to get us all a burger and chips and it went down very well. We have no clue what is wrong with Rensche's bike and don't know what we are going to do if the problem is fatal. We got word from home that a teacher has been put in jail for having alcohol with him. Alcohol is illegal in Sudan even though only 70% of the country is Muslim. Peter found a UK newspaper and splashed across the front page was a picture of a mob of Sudanese with machetes begging for the head of a English teacher and her teddy. We had been in the country for more than a week and knew nothing of this world incident.

3/12/07 - Dongola - Khartoum - 510km - TAR
Up at 7am and had a grapefruit for breakfast and gave a spare to the check point soldiers. Peter and Jill left us bikers to try another tar road around to Meroe and Atbara. We got onto the tar road and 10km later Rensche's bike died again. kick started. Clive and Denise travelled with us until their chain broke and told us to leave them to try and get to Khartoum as we expected that Renshe's bike would be giving us trouble all the way thinking they will catch up with us. We got to Abu Dom after 160km and no problems and were pleased to see that the road to Khartoum was 303km and not 380km as per latest Michelin map. We stopped every 100km for a water and it was really really hot! It was interesting to see the landscape slowly changing from desert gravel plains to grass lands with bush similar to Namibia's South. We played dumb and rode straight through the traffic cones across the roads at all the check points and did not stop, with not much reaction from the police. Approaching Khartoum we slowed down for a checkpoint and Rensche's bike died again. We waited a bit for it to cool down but no luck. Charlie changed the spark plug next to the road and it fired up. (engine cooled enough or is it the wrong spark plug??). Entering town we slowly made our way through market streets with cars, buses,minibuses, people,donkeys, etc and Rensche's bike died every 50m. We were getting slightly stressed to say the least because it was getting dark and a crowd gathered every time it had to be kicked. It took us about 2 hours to do 12km. At last we made our way to the Blue Nile Sailing club where we just wanted to throw her bike in the river. We pitched our tent and had a cold shower and wash after a week of just wet wipes. Just as we were about to start supper Clive and Denise arrived. With all the problems we at least noticed that there are a lot of Chinese people about. We think China has bought up Sudan as the rest of the world won't have it. There are many Chinese projects about. The South of Sudan is much more prosperous than the north. New cars, tar roads. Khartoum is a modern African city with many new attractive skyscrapers.

2/12/07 - Desert - Dongola - 92km - Sand and wind
So this morning we got up 7ish and thought we were going to be in Dongola for lunch. Wrong again. the 'road' was powder fine dust and the wind was blowing it everywhere. Rensche went through the sand at about 1km/h walking the bike. She was adamant not to add to any of her bruises. Today her bike would also just switch off every 200m of so. Then to be kick started again. And just as sudden it would start on the button again. Charles was leading the party with his GPS trying to find the best track (least sand or corrugations) with poor Peter and Gill behind us helping to kick start or pick a bike up or push a bike through the sand. And wait for Rensche's bike to cool down as compression was lost when it overheated from all the kick starting. At some point it took us 3 hours to do 20km in the heat. For lunch time we stopped under a tree and tried to get out of the wind. And then just as sudden 17.5km before Dongola we managed to hit TAR road. Unfortunately this didn't stop Rensche's bike spluttering and we took a dusty air filter out. At Dongola we took the ferry across the Nile, bought some provisions and headed out into the desert to set up camp next to a check point. There we spent some time trying to check Rensche's electrics and dream about a shower. Clive offered to have a look at her bike once we're in 'civilisation' as he is a mechanic of 'older' bikes. Its unfortunate the bike problems distracted us from seeing the beautiful villages in the desert and colourful robes the people were wearing. We hope to find the problem with Rensche's baja and enjoy the trip a bit more. She's just relieved to have survived the desert!Accoding to the Michelin map Wadi-halfa to Dongola is about 600km and will take about 4-5 days on a bike.
Injury list:Charles: sore bum and nappy rash. Snotty nose from all the dust.Rensche: blister on hands- corrugations, blister on leg - fall in sand-exhaust pipe, bruises on calves-from footpegs walking the bike, bruise on thigh - blasting through sand, nosebleeds-dry air, wonky shoulder-fall in gravel, burnt nose and cheeks - 37C and antimalarial combination, snot nose. But still smiling!
1/12/07 - Desert - Desert - 100km - Sand AND Corrugations
The next morning Rensche had a spectacular whopper just as we started off. In the early hours of the morning she didn't see the soft sand and hit it really fast. She fish tailed a few times before coming crashing down, shattering her windscreen and tearing her Andy Sacks Bag right off one of the straps!. But only a bruised thigh and bruised ego! A few kilometers later Clive had a puncture in his rear tyre from deflating it to cope with the sand. (snake-bite) The sand was just awful and Rensche spent most of the time tip-toeing her bike through the powdery stuff. (I think Sandi called it Bull dust!) Clive and Denise suffered too and Denise had to get off the Triumph a few times. Also Rensche's electrical problem we once suffered at Giza seemed to be back and every time the bike overheated (ie every 1km or so) it cut out and Peter or Clive or Charlie had to stop and kick start it. Her knocking sound in the engine (fixed in Cairo ) also returned and everyone had theories as to why this happend from a restricted oil hose to an oval big end. Again we were grateful to have the kick start because to push a bike in the sand could not be any fun. At lunch time we were at a set of rapids on the Nile (Third Hill Cataract) and had to say a teary fare-well to Jean and Jeanette who have to finish their trip within 3 months. We are just to slow for them. So now its us, Clive and Denise and Peter and Gill left of the 10. Today was really hot and Rensche and Charles were a bit depressed that our Afrikaans friends have left. We also all developed a snotty nose and cough from all the dust. Sudan is the largest country in Africa and about 70% of people are still living in rural areas. We were amazed to see people sowing in the sand.There are small villages all dotted along the Nile. Denise had to get off the Triumph and spent the remainder of the ride in the back of Peter's camper as Clive's Triumph's luggage rack which had bent after their last fall was digging into the rear tyre every time the suspension bottomed out. Approaching Kerma the dust track intersected a beautifully graded road which we followed for a small distance before setting up camp in the desert. We stripped Clive's bike and luggage rack and bent the mudguard back. Everybody had some falls today and even Charles with his big feet had a near miss.

30/11/07 - Desert - Desert - 150km - Corrugations
We left at about 8am and after some sandy bits got to the most awful corrugations. Stuart dissapeared on the horizon in his landy but the landcruiser and bakkie stayed with us bikers struggling over the bumps. Charles and Rensche managed at about 30km/h (20miles/h) but Clive and Denise on the Triumph with its heavier load and negligable suspensions was struggling at 15km/h. At lunch time we all caught up with each other at Abri. We took our spare wheels (the ones we did not expect to last past Jordan) off Peter's roof as the "mobile home" had banged against the roof of the cab when going over a nasty speed hump he had a dent in it and gave the tyres to Jean and Jeanette to deliver to Jungle Junction in Nairobi for us where we might need new tyres after our knobblies have been chewed to bits by the Wadi-Dongola and the Moyal-Marsabit roads. After lunch Stewart dissapeared and the rest of us stuck to 30km/h all in convoy till sunset. When we set up camp in the desert we noticed Stewarts' landy not far off. They are on a very tight schedule as they have booked a Gorilla watching trip in Uganda for the 10th of Dec. They won't make it by landrover in that time so have booked a flight from Addis to Uganda on the 9th Dec. We are holding them back so we said our good-byes. Rensche had no falls today but blisters on her hands holding onto the handlebars during the corrugations. We also saw some jackal spoor and eyes during the night. Jeanette treated us with some really nice bullybeef and Jill made some pasta and tuna bake. Where would we be without our support team!

29/11/07 - Wadi Halfa - Desert - 100km - Introduction
Mr Mazar had heated words with mr Haider the next day but still we only have one blue paper. We were at the port at 8am and spent another hour standing around waiting for something to happen. Mr Mazar told us to get our operator to help us to move the barge but he was so useless that tempers flared again. Us bikers just got our own bikes off on a wooden plank but the 4X4's had to wait for a lage metal ramp that seemed to have been misplaced and equired the hiring o a truck to go and collect; odd considering they do this exeise every single wek of the year... The 4X4's got very angry and with a bit of yelling and swearing at last a ramp was found. Our engine and chassis numbers were checked and then we were detained at the port gate to wait for the rest. As a group we were treated.... At about 12noon we got back to the Nile Hotel and everyone was rushing to leave to get as far away from Wadi as possible. There is no 'road' between Wadi Halfa and Dongola. Just 100's of sandy tracks where people tried to make their own way around corrugations, loose sand, gravel etc. the sand is fine like powder and very slippery. The first hour or so out of town was bad gravel with a few meters of tar here and there. They are obvioulsy constructing a road and the "Man for Roads and Bridges Co" seems to have picked up all the contracts in Sudan as his sign is spotted all the way through the country. But not for a long time. At the end of the day Rensche had 3 falls in the sand - probably tired- and we called it a day. The Triumph struggled a bit as well. But the 4X4's were cruising. We camped in the desert with the most beautiful stars and had a delicious potjie. (South African stew made on the fire).28/11/07 - Wadi Halfa
Charlie and Rensche climbed a hill the next morning to watch the sunrise and to see the town wake up. We felt so happy and blessed to have met Jean and Jeanette who are also Christians. At last we met Mr Mazar as well and he gave us his details: House: N21.47.293 E31.22.801 tel: 00249122380740. He told us the correct fees and customs for a motorbike is as follows: customs: S£16. Departure tax: S£21, 'clerent' S£20. We got our passports back from Mr Operator with the famous 'blue sticker' at least which will give us permission to exit Sudan. We also had to hand our carnets back to him because he didn't fill it in. Not a very good operator! We also suspected that he is charging us as a group too much. We heard from Mr Mazar that Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman also stayed in the Nile Hotel so maybe it's not that bad then! Jean went to find some wood for our desert fire when we leave Wadi once we got our vehicles and we spent the day lazing around waiting for the barge to arrive. Mr Mazar said we should not pay again in Khartoum for the blue sticker in the passports as some officials make you believe so we'll see what happens! At about 16h00 we still haven't heard much of the barge and resolved ourselves that we will have to stay another night in the stinking Nile Hotel. But at 17h00 Mr Operator phoned to let us know that the barge was in and we should all come right now! At the port it was all a bit confusing and crazy. Mr Operator wanted to charge us US$10 extra for the bikes and we also learnt that the barge has been in the port since 12noon already!!! We spent a confusing 30minutes trying to sort out the last paperwork to get the vehicles released with MrHaider (operator) actually forgetting to charge Jean and Clive! We (Charles and Rensche) paid US$75 per bike but we didn't mind because we thought it would oil the wheels. How wrong we were again. We spent another hour fighting and trying to get the barge moved to the dock so we could get the vehicles off. No luck. While faffing around with Mr Haider trying to sort the paperwork the chief of the port has gone home and he is the only one who can give permission for the barge to be moved. We called Mr Mazar to complain and he told us to stand our ground. But in the end we left empty handed. We walked back to the Nile (about 2km from the port) to cool off in the desert sand! We spent a depressing evening with tempers flaring. Mr Haider has also only given us one blue paper (whatever that is) instead of 6 seperate receipts. ie he charged us as a group. This might be a potential problem when asked to give the blue paper on exiting the country. We hope we will be able to sort it out the next day.
27/11/07 - Wadi Halfa ferry
The next morning the SA couple reported that they were asked to move (and not very nicely) at 04h00 to make space for the prayer mats for sunrise prayers. We decided to make some breakfast in our air-con cabin and waited to go past Abu Simbel. Its strange to think that Egypt and Sudan were once one country ruled by the Egyptians. Just before the Sudan border we saw it on the right hand side of the ferry - very impressive statues. We arrived in Sudan at Wadi Halfa at about 15h00 but then we were all cornered in our cabin by an 'operator'. He took all our carnets, tore the correct pieces out and ignored all our requests for Mr Mazar. Before we could get off the ferry we had to have interviews in the restaurant and we were almost conned into paying $10 per permit for visiting some of the sights. We were only thinking of visiting the Pyramids of Meroe but you don't need a permit for it. When we finally got off the ferry we only saw sand.... So onto a truck at 5S£ each which took us straight to the Nile Hotel where our 'operator' booked 10 beds for us. The rumours are true - its pretty grim. The rooms are dorm style rooms with sand floors and a few communial long drop squat toilets. The showers are cold but bearable. Our 'operator' Mr Haider, joined us to take our passports again for immigration. He wanted US$40 each and 2 foto's. We Saffas booked in a 4-bed room while the Brits took a 7-bed room. Still we were asking for Mr Mazar. We spent the evening with a Sudanse lady Jeanette met on the ferry for supper and it was really nice to hear her point of view of Sudan and its problems. Afterwards Hasim and the men of the group chatted to a local about the road conditions. He said mostly sand and warned us to be careful when we camp because there are hyenas about. For this reason bikes are not allowed after 16h00 out of Wadi Halfa because a German biker was eaten by a Hyena a few months ago. Wadi Halfa is a one donkey town! The town only gets alive when the ferry comes or departs once a week. There are only sand tracks and little restuarants serving local dishes.

Congrats to Heino and Alessandra!!!

2007-11-19T02:07:00.001Z

Congratulations to Heino, Alessandra and Orphea for making it all the way from London to Cape Town and then up to Windhoek. An awesome effort on your part Heino for getting you three safely all the way down. They say doing an overland trip on your own is tough, now add another person on the back...that is seriously impressive. Obviously also to Ale for being such a trusting passenger.
And congrats to Orphea for effectively circum-navigating Africa.
Please have a look at their blog which is very impressive and informative: http://transafrica.wordpress.com/

Desert Egypt

2007-11-18T09:15:00.003Z

26/11/07 - Aswan - Aswan ferry
We left at about 8am for the ferry and after a few mad U-turns in the town looking for petrol headed onto the small little road to the ferry port. There we bumped into the 1954 Triumph we've been keeping an eye out for since meeting the Spanish bikers in Luxor who told us they met two on a Triumph at the Lybian/Egypt border. After paying LE744 for the two bikes for the ferry and LE50 per bike for exit duty the long wait began. (Passport stamp duty was LE2 per person). We joined Stu and Natty (Scottish couple in a Land Rover), Jean and Jeanette (SA/Namibia couple in Landcruiser), Peter and Jill (English couple in bakkie-truck and with mobile home on the back) and Clive and Denise (on Triumph) on the deck of the ferry watching the bizarre loading of the barge below. Boxes of all shapes and sizes, fridges, TV's etc were just thrown on top and being piled higher and higher. Also the ferry became more and more congested with people throwing their mats and sleeping bags all over the deck to reserve a space. apparently the ferry was so full because the Sudanese people were being chased out of Lybia. We all had a cabin reserved except Jean and Jeanette and Clive and Denise and we asked the 'captain' if they could camp next to the captain's cabin. He said no problem and we settled in with them to watch the proceedings below. At last the ferry left at 18h00 and us Saffas went down below for quite a good supper!! But when we returned we were told to move to where the other people were already cramped in. We begged and grovelled until the 'other captain' said its OK as long as they (Jean, Jeanette, Denise, Clive) stay behind the 'line'. We frequently got yelled at to move back behind the line! We met Hasim, a Sundanese guy, who has spent many years in Russia and travelled South Africa extensively. It was really nice in our little space on the deck and stars and moon were brilliant. Before retiring to our cabin we all had to fill in a form and hand our passports over. We gave our thermarests to the SA couple so they could have an easier night on the deck floor and settled into our great cabin with air con. (cabin nr 14 - far away from stinking toilets...).

25/11/07 - Aswan - loading of the 4X4's
Today the 4X4's had to be loaded on the barge so we spent the day by ourselves at Adam's Home washing and trying to prepare for THE FERRY CROSSING!!!! Aida painted Rensche's hands and feet with henna.The bikes only go on the Monday morning before departure. Jean and Jeanette came back at last after stealing a shower at Jill and Peter's hotel (only cold showers at Adams Home) and we spent the evening with Mr Yahya trying to out do our SA braai from the previous evening with Kofte and kebabs. Nora also took Rensche and Jeanette for a spin on dance floor for old time's sake.

21/11/07 - 24/11/07 - Aswan
On the Wednesday we got up early and caught a taxi to Aswan city to give back our Egyptian plates and buy our ferry tickets. We first stopped at Mr Salah who was really really friendly and helpful.

He advised us to do the plates the following day and handed us David's battery charger. At this time it was about 12ish. We decided to walk to the traffic department anyway to get the process started. BIG MISTAKE. We were harassed all the way by kids, taxi drivers etc and even survived a Pick pocket attempt by 4 little school girls still in their uniforms. They surrounded us asking for Baksheesh (begging) and when we said LA (No) one girl slipped her hand around Charlie's GPS in his pocket. He GROWLED at them and they ran screaming down the street. If it wasn't so serious it could have been very funny. So when we arrived at the traffic department all our good intentions of being humble and polite went out the window when we were told that we must come back tomorrow. Charles hoped that they won't recognise him tomorrow after he expressed his dissatisfaction with their service after what we've been through getting there. Then on the way back to the Nubian Village (where Adam's House is) on the West bank it took us ages to get the ferry for all the feluca touts would not help us find the ferry station and kept on hassling us. It seems Aswan has become the hassle capital of Egypt as we have not had it this bad anywhere else. Back at Adams House we told Mr Yaha about the pick pocketing and he was very shocked. We had some tea with him and the 3 Nubian ladies working there taught Rensche some dance moves to Nubian music. He then invited us to join him at a Nubian wedding that evening. We couldn't believe it! The ladies dressed Rensche up in Nubian clothes with a bead head dress. We then went into the heart of the village to join the groom for supper at the mosque. Rensche felt a bit strange being the only woman there but everyone was kind and friendly. After supper we went back to Adams House to wait for the wedding party. They arrived later that evening with music: drums playing, people dancing - it was electric. Rensche was coaxed by Nora (Nubian lady) to join in the dancing. We greeted the Bride and Groom (who both looked very smart) before they moved on to the next house. It was such an amazing experience and we are very grateful to Mr Yahya that he included us in the festivities. So the next morning we got up earlier to start the Traffic department process again. We took the ferry from the West bank to Le Corniche and took a taxi this time for 10Gippos to the traffic department. There he asked if he should wait for us and we agreed on 50Gippos for about 2 hours. Before we knew it the taxi driver was in the Traffic department with us helping us to get to the right window. There they told us to go to the court and Kaleb (traffic driver) took us right there. We took our GPS along and tracked it on TracksForAfrica. We would never have found it and we were grateful we weren't on the bikes. It's in a rundown apartment block with a guy sitting on the pavement with a up turned crate as his desk - he is "reception". After making a few photocopies he took us upstairs into a dusty room with some people waiting where we sat for about half an hour clearly waiting for someone. The room became fuller and fuller. After a while everyone was ushered to one side to make space for a neat young man in a suit who waltzed in straight for his office without giving any of us mortals any attention. Charles was told to go in. "The Man" sat behind a huge desk with leather chairs and peered at our papers above his glasses. After giving it to another man he told Charles to "please wait". Charles didn't move and after a pause he dismisingly repeated himself: "Please wait outside" to which Charles scurried outside again. A few minutes later we were given another 2 pieces of paper hopefully declaring that we have not been guilty of any traffic offences and were told to return to the Traffic Department. Outside at the "reception desk" we were asked for 10Gippos per bike which we thought could only be baksheesh as we did not get a receipt. After a tea with Kaleb we returned to the Traffic Department and with a bit of elbowing from Kaleb we managed to give our Egyptian plates back no hassle along with pieces of paper from "The Man". We only had to pay 1.75gippos stamp duty per bike. We also got another 2 pieces of paper giving us permission to ride in Aswan with the bikes without Egyptian number plates. Then back to Mr Salah for the ferry tickets. There we said good bye to Kaleb and gave him 100Gippos for helping us at all the departments. We also took his number to give to Mr Yahya to contact him if he needs a taxi to the traffic department for a overlander coming through. At Mr Salah's we had tea again and paid our LE425 pp for a first class cabin for the ferry on Monday. We have to pay for the bikes at the port on the Monday morning. Mr Salah also explained the whole procedure and it was very straight forward compared to the rumours. Everything took about 2 hours to do. We took the ferry and taxi back to Adams Home where we decided to do our chores. Rensche got on with the washing and Charles decided to put our knobbly tyres on for the sand in Sudan. After Charlie had fitted the new tyre to Rensche's back wheel he plugged in the 12V compressor into his bike and it made a quick buzz and then stopped. We checked his electrics and thank goodness it was OK. It seems two plugs have been swapped and a fuse had blown. Charlie popped the compressor back into Rensche's bike and suddenly something gave and it stopped working. And then we noticed the tyre gone flat - must have punctured the tube. All this at once!! After super -glueing the pump back together Charles took the tyre off again to look for a puncture. In the meantime a boy on a donkey has joined Charles watching his antics and started to help him. There was no puncture and Charles used the hand pump this time to pump it up. The boy helped him with the other bike as well and they finished putting the new tyres on in no time. After another nice supper we spent the evening chatting to Mr Yahya and showing him some of our photo's. The Friday we relaxed and waited for the British couple to arrive from Luxor. They were bringing our papyrus order with them. They arrived at about lunch time with our papyrus... Not at all what we ordered and not at all the quality on the display table. Never the less it was our little momentum of Egypt and we decided to keep it as a joke.

On Saturday we went with Peter and Jill to Aswan to help them return their plates, do some shopping and do some last minute Internet before heading into Sudan. Back at Adam's House we found another Overlander: Jean (Namibia) and Jeanette (South Africa) Coetzee travelling from London to Namibia in their landcrusier. They have to be back in England within 3 months due to work permit restrictions so its unlikely that we will be travelling together all the way but at least we will be travelling together in Sudan for some of the way. They are Afrikaans as well and we spent the rest of the evening having a lovely braai (BBQ) with chicken, boerewors (South African beef sausage), brought from the UK in their freezer..., and roosterkoek (homemade bread rolls on coles) that Jeanette made from scratch.

20/11/07 - Luxor - Aswan - 207km
In the morning the papyrus hasn't arrived yet even though we missed the 7am convoy. Had breakfast and chatted with Peter and Jill ( a British couple who arrived last night). At 10h30 we reported to the convoy assembly point around the corner from Rezeiky where we directed to the front of the queue which departed at 11am sharp. The convoy moved calmly through town and joined the convoy from Hurghada. Immediately outside town the convoy started speeding up and it became a free for all with buses and minibuses and cars flying pass us. Just past Esna we were stopped at the check point where a new convoy was formed to go to Aswan. This convoy comprised of us and a minibus. A policeman climbed into the minibus and a police van followed behind us. Soon after departure the minibus sped off leaving us with the police van which escorted us all the way to Aswan at 80km/h. At Aswan we waived good bye to the police, crossed the bridge and found Adam's Home for camping. Mr Yahya, the camp owner, was just fantastic sitting and chatting with us and we looked through the guest book over the years. He also mentioned that David (from Overlandmission at Rezeiky) contacted Mr Salah asking if we could take a charger he left behind for him to Khartoum. (Mr Salah is the main man at the Nile Navigation company.) Mr Yahya also mentioned that the 3 Spanish bikers did make it on the ferry the previous Monday to Sudan.

17/11/07 - 19/11/07 - Luxor leisure
During the night 2 overland trucks arrived and we said hello in the morning. They were empty and their crew of 3 people per truck were delivering the trucks from Holland to Livingstone for Overland Missions. (http://www.overlandmissions.com/). On Saturday we visited the mummification museum which was brilliant and Luxor Temple which really impressed us. On the way there we walked along the Nile and were amazed by the number of river cruise ships most of which seemed to have been left to rot. It is difficult to imagine that Luxor was just a village before Napoleon rediscovered its hidden treasures which had been left to the desert.The highlights for us in the Luxor Temple was Isle of Sphinxes which originally ran all the way to Karnak Temple 3km away. Also the huge statues of Ramses II and the massive columns were very impressive. Getting back to the camp another overland truck had arrived and we were pleased to see it was Collin with "Big Fella" from Kumuka who we had met in Aqaba but this time he at least had some passengers to accompany him. Later that afternoon 3 Spanish bikers arrived (XT600, BMW F650GS, BMW F650 Dakar). They entered Egypt via Lybia and got stuck at the border for 3 days as they didn't have a carnet but were eventually allowed in with a temporary import permit. (They seem to have managed the impossible). They are also heading south to Cape Town but are catching the ferry this monday as their 14 day permit will expire. We had a lovely afternoon and evening pondering over maps and sharing information. In the evening there was a PIG spit braai at the camp site arranged for the overlanders. This was a real suprise as it is forbidden to have pigs in Egypt (against Islamic law) except on special licence. As the camp manager is a Coptic Christian he has no qualms about eating pork and we all had a taster. We also ordered a special custom made papyrus scroll to celebrate our first (paper) wedding aniversary next month.

On Sunday we could not build up the courage to haggle with taxis and touts to get to the Valley of the Kings so spent the day doing internet and bike maintenance within the safety of Rezeiky camp! Hopefully some new overlanders will pitch up and we can take on the touts together tomorrow. Strength in numbers! Rumour has it there is a couple on a 1954 Triumph right behind us as they entered Egypt with the Spaniards.... On Sunday evening Jan Joubert, a fellow Saffa, popped by to our camp to say hello and was heading back to SA at the end of the week.

On Monday morning we decided to drop our plans of going to the West Bank (Valley of Kings, Queens, Nobles, Temples etc etc etc) as the place is rather spread out and you need a taxis, which is a haggle hassle every single time, and the entrance fees are very steep (There we were saying in Cairo how we weren't being hassled at all). We've already now been in a number of tombs and temples and to the laymen there is not a lot of difference between the Old, Middle and New Kingdoms. For 3000 years the Egyptians built magnificent temples and tombs and pyramids all to ensure their safe passage to the after-life, but they seemed to have done very little else!!! We recall from our school days that they also invented the Shadoof to lift water from the Nile but we have not seen any in practice now; only many old Lyster water pumps. We spent the morning at Karnak temple which was magnificent in it's size and it must have been a spectacle to see in it's original state with all the images painted. The scale is quite overwhelming. It was used as the main centre of worship for about 1300 years for all the Theban gods, of which there were many variants. Charlie found the structure more impressive than the Pyramids in terms of buildability. The haggling isn't in your face, but no matter what you buy from any shop getting the sensible price from any seller is a constant struggle and after a while you just couldn't be bothered with trying and simply don't even enter a shop/site/taxi. The odd pushy street seller is swiftly shrugged off by simply ignoring them and walking past or respond in anything but English; especially Spanish for some reason; and they leave you alone. In the afternoon we changed the engine oil ready for Sudan and repacked our STUFF in the order more appropriate for the "rough" roads ahead; puncture and 1st aid kit on top.

16/11/07 - Kharga - Luxor - 346km
Well last night we were quoted 95Gippos per night but after 5 different taxes added and supper it rose to 174Gippos for the one night!!! The desert road to Luxor was a long long long lonely road.

The scenery did not change much and the wavey road markings and the wavey bitumen (tar) spray on the road mesmarized us as we sped on. We saw many random tracks heading off everywhere and there were many heaps of sand scattered along side of the road (this all the way from Cairo actually) left behind from the road builders. The least they could do is level it off as it really scars the landscape. As we got closer to Luxor the traffic increased and we could see smog on the horizon. Arriving on the outskirts of Luxor both sides of the road was lined with burning rubbish - this is clearly Luxor's rubbish tip - right on the main entrance/exit to the desert route! As it was Friday the roads were relatively quiet not counting the suicidal minibus drivers. At the checkpoint entering Luxor Charlie had a rant with the police because they accused him of lying when he said that we were South African (from Genub Afrikia). And for the first time we had to present our passports at a checkpoint. To this they had to radio a superior to confirm how South Africans were to be handled and it seems they don't really seem to be too concerned about us fellow Africans. At last we were allowed to leave and headed straight for Rezeiky Camp. After settling into the camp we checked the bikes over. We also sampled some local Luxor beer and had the most delicious Egyptian cuisine prepared by the camp kitchen.

15/11/07 - Dahkla Checkpoint - Kharga Oasis - 304km
We were back on the desert road at 07h30 after a quiet but cold night sleep with the occasional truck blasting through the check point. About 20km later we came across a German couple on a Tandem bicycle who are on a 2 week holiday cycling the Western Desert Oasis route. They had already cycled South America. We said our hello's and good byes and headed off stopping for petrol and bread in Dahkla. We were started noticing the worse the quality of the petrol the more it stinks! The petrol in these outbacks really stinks and the bikes are battling against the wind. We followed the edge of the escarpment all the way east and passed a huge mining town with thousands of newly and partially built houses but which looked abondoned. At one point our road took a sharp detour around the edge of a dune field and we could see two previous roads that had been gobbled up by the dunes. Arriving in Kharga we headed straight for Kharga Oasis hotel which is the only camping option in town although we did end up going for the room option. We have noticed that the further south or the closest to the Nile we get the more concerned the police checkpoints are for our safety; or they are just more bored as they seem to ask us more and more questions. Being South African seem to confuse them a bit as well.

14/11/07 - Bahariya - Dahkla Checkpoint - 372km
Last night when Charlie checked his mobile we got a text from Lukas (Swiss family) and after a few more text exchanges we agreed to meet in the middle of the desert 300km from us and 400km from them. After the standard ME (Middle East) breakfast we headed off and into the Black Desert where the now normal boring yellow-brown sand is covered by a layer of black Basalt rock. Shortly after that we entered the White Desert which is the limestone layer directly below the eroded Black desert layer. Concerned about the amount of tracks left behind in the desert by other travellers over the decades and not wanting to add our own we decided not to enter the White Desert via off road and only stopped for a few photo's at a official point along the main tar road. Further along we stopped at Crystal Mountain which at first sight looks very unimpressive but is in fact one large solid quartz crystal. We went through Farafra Oasis where we filled up for petrol and headed on into the desert. Approaching Bir Abu Mingar our meeting point, we dropped off the escarpment overlooking the edge of the Great Sand Sea which stretches off into the horizon. At this point we finally got mobile reception and got a message from Lucas saying that they had to abandon our plans and head straight up to Cairo as there was problems with their Lybian escort and visa. This was at 15h30. As there was absolutely no accomodation in Mingar we decided to push on through to Dakhla 220km away knowing that part of this will be in the dark as the sun sets at 17h30. 120km later with the sun on the horizon we arrived at Dakhla check point which is one small building right in the middle of the desert in the middle of nowhere. As we were both finished with sore backsides and our minds playing tricks on us we decided to stop and camp right there. We had our tent up just in time to watch the sunset and make bullybeef bolognaise. The yellow desert dog also came to say hello and thankfully was a female as although she showed a lot of interest in our scented tent she had no plans on leaving her mark. She spent the rest of the night circling our tent from a safe distance and occasionally growling. (anyone out there know how to remove pee from a tent?...washing with soap and water don't work.).

13/11/07 - Giza - Bahariya - 375km
We didn't sleep a wink as the camp dog supposedly there to guard us insisted on barking at our tent the whole night from a safe distance (could it be the mixture of scents: cat, dog, jackal, goat, yeti). Just before the mosques got going we lay awake waiting for the alarm to go off. It was still dark when we packed the tent away and had our coffee and marmite (at 40 Gippos per pot...) sarnies. At spending 30minutes trying to wake the gate keeper to let us out we got on our way at 06h30 thinking there will be no traffic. HOW WRONG WE WERE. The morning traffic was in full swing and after making 2 U-turns and various wrong routes we finally found the correct road out of Giza. Going around Giza square (that's what they call roundabout here) a Taxi pushed inbetween us and Charlie lost sight of Rensche and pulled over. After no sign of Rensche Charlie rode back against the flow of traffic to find Rensche standing with the bike on the side of the crazy round about. Rensche reported that just as the taxi cut infront of her the bike's electrics just cut out. She couldn't get her side stand down as the suspension had been lowered a tad more so had to paddle through the thick traffic to the side of the road. With many men just staring at her efforts and cars blowing their horns. The bike was still dead so Charlie just kick started it. (get a kick start if you want to do this trip). We finally got onto the Oasis road but then spent miles looking for a petrol station and eventually at 6th of October city we found one and filled up. With that we finally exited Greater Cairo metropolis some 30km away from the Giza and headed into the open desert. The desert scenery was magnificent which reminded Charlie of Swakopmund in Namibia and the Namib desert. We were surprised that the wind was icy cold and we had to close all our vents in our jackets. Arriving in Bahariya we fought off a few touts and found Ahmed's Safari camping which is very nice at 20Gippos per person for camping on the velvet soft green grass.

12/11/07 - Cairo - Giza - 30km
So this morning we packed and hung around the hotel doing final emails and fighting with British Gas about a phantom outstanding amount from our London flat. At about 12ish we caught a taxi to Anwar's to collect the bikes and got there just in time for lunch. Mohammed was also there so we could say our proper good byes - not knowing that we will see each other later again...Anwar handed us the bag of replaced parts with instructions to hand it to our "london mechanic" . We packed our "new" bikes and were on the road in the murderous traffic at about 15h00. At one point we had to jump on a pavement to get to the correct road to the Sahara- Ma campsite (Cairo's city planners have a lot to answer for) and Charlie's bike just didn't want to start after that. So onto the phone to Mohammed who dropped everything and phoned Anwar. Charlie started to strip the bike next to the road in a parking area. The noise and smoke from the traffic was terrible. We were right in the thick of things! In no time Mohammed was there with his car just as Charlie pulled the main fuse in and out. Just then Anwar arrived on his CBR and Arai helmet and thoroughly started to check all the wiring. Happy and relieved that it was just a loose fuse from the pavement jump we said our good byes again and we headed off around the corner to Sahara-Ma. Arriving we were told that it is not a camp site anymore and seeing that there was a large flock of goats grazing inside we agreed! The previous owner directed us across the road where somebody started up a new campsite. There is grass, lights and very small trees but the toilets again can do with a weekly clean or so. The guy who let us in said it was LE40 per night so we set up camp. 3 hours later the owner arrived and hearing that we want to leave at 6am said we must "pay now LE80"!! We objected making the point that Salma was only LE25 per person so the owner reluctantly agreed for 40Gippos (20 Gippos pp). And with that we went to bed.

Something just have to be said about the poor donkeys in this part of the world. A sadder animal you won't find anywhere else. They really got the short end of the stick and it breaks your heart to see them beaten and covered in sores and flies.

Charitable Chaps!!!

2007-11-11T09:20:00.001Z

A big thank you to all the people that have donated to BeautifulGate and a special thank you to the "bikers" and "biker chicks" at the Yamaha Diversion Club for their generous contribution and their ongoing efforts to raise funds for this and other causes (http://www.yamahadiversions.com/). We really appreciate your support for this very important cause and so does BeautifulGate.

Ancient Egypt!

2007-11-07T05:49:00.002Z

10/11/07 - 11/11/07 Cairo - Hanging out
Well Saturday was just another day in Cairo. Charlie had a haircut, we strolled around Downtown and again felt that this is one of the more interesting and exciting cities we have visited on our trip. Day and night you never feel that you are at risk of crime, the downside is the pollution of both smog and noise. In Downtown away from the tourist joints they offer you the real price so there is no real need for haggling. We really like the Egyptians who have a great sense of humour and are very friendly.Back at the hostel we took the dodgy lift back up to the 6th floor and spent the day trolling the web in search of more information on the XT660Z Tenere out next year, phoned the family on Skype and caught up on BBC AND watched some daytime tv. How boring. At 18:00 Mohammed phoned to let us know that the bikes were ready to go but it was too late for us to head out into Cairo at night so will collect the bikes Monday at noon when the shop opens again. hey ho!
On Sunday we hung around the hostel, strolled around the streets of Downtown and in the evening we followed 26th July Sharia across the Nile and found the All Saints Cathedral (Angilcan) right behind the Marriot Hotel. Their website had said that there were three services on Sunday with the 7:30pm being English. Walking into the church we found the service had begun with 15 people present, but it was in Arabic! We decided to sit through the service anyway as we hadn't been to church for almost three months now. The holy communion service followed the familiar sequence as back home and the small congregation sang their hearts out to fill the large cathedral. After the service we consulted the noticeboard and found that the main weekly service was in fact on Friday but on Sunday there were SIX services: one in English at 10:30am; 4 more services in various Sudanese languages; and the Egyptian Arabic service in the evening. The rest of the week was also filled with various other services and activities. We caught a taxi back to Downtown where we bought delicious chocolate cake.
9/11/07 - Cairo - Pyramids & Pizza
Today we went pyramid hunting. (the Pyramid age started in Saqqara in 27th century BC.....!!) Accompanied by Ruth (UK) and Cheryl (USA) we took a taxi for the day. We first headed south to Dahshur where we had the chance to see the Black Pyramid, Bent Pyramid and the Red Pyramid the last of which we descended into. The Black Pyramid was built by Amenemhet III (Joseph's Pharaoh in the last few chapters of Genesis). Its limestone outer layer is long gone and all you now see is the black mud-brick inner core.
The Bent Pyramid was built with much steeper sides than the others but when the builders got half-way up they started doubting their calculations and the stability of the pyramid so they flattened off the top half. These doubts persisted to the point where they decided to build a new pyramid: the Red Pyramid (Two for the price of one) but in the end the Pharaoh Snofru didn't reside in any of them. From there we headed to Saqqara which used to be the cemetery of Memphis (Egypt's original capital). We walked through the museum which is very interesting but limited on relics. From there we walked through the Tomb of Mereruka where every wall was adorned with images of daily Egyptian life. There was even a scene on the wall of Egyptians rescuing their livestock from crocodiles, attacking hippos and hunting of animals. There also were one or two false doors which lead to the "Netherworld". We descended into the Pyramid of Teti and were impressed by the many panels of hieroglyphics and an open black marble sarcophagus. A quick stop at the Step Pyramid (The earliest stone monument in the world; yes even older than Stonehenge) concluded our visit to Saqqara. On the way to Giza we had a flat tyre.....but this gave us an excellent opportunity to observe the daily comings and goings of present Nile Valley life while sitting next to the road waiting for our spare to be pumped up: donkeys pulling carts of recycling rubbish or sweet potatoes, kids on colourful bicycles, farmers, banged up cars, tourist buses. A kind farmer from nearby brought us 4 chairs to sit on while we waited. After fixing the tyre we were on our way again cutting through the back roads and alley ways to make up time and arrived at Giza. We braced ourselves for the touts and schemers but Egypt's touts have a few things to learn from Syria. We almost had no hassle at all and a few handy phrases (La Shukran - no thank you) were all that was needed to keep them at bay. Although its the only wonder remaining of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World it was a bit disappointing for us. Yes the Pyramids and Sphinx are very impressive but the chaos of tourists, camels riding touts, donkey riding touts, horse riding touts and tourist tat sellers did not do these magnificent structures justice. It takes away the awe and magic. There was also rubbish everywhere, considering the high entrance fee the least they can do is straighten the barred wire and pick up a few coke cans. Thanks to Cheryl who is an Egyptology buff we also now know that the largest pyramid is Khufu, the smaller for his son is Khafre (it looks bigger but is on a hill) and the smallest is Menkaure which has a big hole on the side of it. Apparently this is where Saladin's son had a go at disassembling it but gave up after 8 months. The Sphinx has a mystery of its own as no-one knows why it was built and for whom. After finishing looking at the pyramids we did the obligatory "kissing the sphinx" photos' and then went and had the obligatory pizza at PizzaHut which boasts the most spectacular view point for a sunset photo over Giza. Mohammed let us know that he is at the workshop so on our way back to the hotel we were dropped off there. On arrival Anwar had already built in the engine and was busy putting back the carb. Half an hour later he fired the engine up and it purred. No more lawnmower rattles...... Anwar made the decision to replace the piston arm, the pin that links the piston arm to the piston head and the section of the crankshaft to which the piston arm fits as they all showed signs of long term damage. He also noticed that the two original bash plate bolts had been used to fit the oil hoses (the bolts were too long, so the hoses didn't seal properly which was the actual cause of the oil leak in Croatia ) and asked what amateurs worked on the bike previously. It seems Rensche's lady has a checkered past. There is still a few things to do on the bike so we are happy to collect it Monday afternoon. Every time we've been to the workshop a couple of other bikers have been there chatting, eating, drinking tea, coffee and just general socialising while Anwar works on the bikes. He clearly has a passion for it. Mohammed says this is a regular get together for the boys. Much better than hanging around in a pub! Anwar works most nights and opens noon which makes sense because its cooler and less traffic for his customers and mates to come around. One of Mohammeds mates gave us a lift back to the hotel where we exchanged photo's with Ruth and Cheryl about our Pyramid day.

8/11/07 - Cairo - Collecting visas and the Egyptian museum
First thing we walked down to the Sudan Embassy. It was no use taking a taxi here as the streets are so congested and its just quicker to walk. After about half an hour of standing in the wrong queue an official grabbed our receipts and came back with our passports with one months visa! We were relieved that the photocopied photo of Rensche did the trick. We then made our way along the bank of the Nile to the Egyptian museum. Arriving on the scene the museum was swamped with tourists and buses and police and taxi's. But we were swiftly ushered through the first check point and bought our 50Gippo tickets. We noticed people leaving their cameras at an office next to the ticket office. We were not prepared to take the risk so stuffed our camera deep into our rack sack and walked through checkpoints 2 and 3 into the museum. Armed with the Lonely Planet we started our tour. AMAZING. The amount of history covering about 5000 years with about 120 000 relics was overwhelming. We first went to the mummy rooms (Kings, Queens and animals - even two 5m long crocodiles...). Its interesting to see how the mummifying technology/technique changed over the 1000's of years and how the skill was lost at the end of the New Kingdom to the point where they were mummifying decomposing bodies. The whole process of mummification took 70 days. All in preparation for the "Netherworld" and as a mummy you were even issued with a "Netherworld for Dummies" handbook to help you unpack your boxes and find your organs....and help overcome the various challenges and riddles on the way. As a mummy King you moved straight up to the top of the ladder to help Osiris fight the darkness from dusk till dawn every single day. But as a mere mortal you heart was weighed against the "Feather of Truth" and if the scale dropped you were gobbled up by a monster. After that we were dazzled by the sheer scale, gold and other bling of Tutankhammun's galleries. You could easily spent 2 days here getting lost in all the relics of the museum. We both felt sorry that we did not know more about the pharoahnic history. And to think that Moses was brought up in all this marvelous splendour and wealth (Exodus) but obeyed the Lord and led the Israelites out of Egypt. We were especially amazed that ancient Egyptian women wielded some much power and had so much freedom. They had female judges, doctors and prime ministers not to mention several queens eg Hatchepsut, Cleopatra to name a few. And all this about 2500BC! Even the Greeks were amazed at their equal sharing of power. It is a real shame that this civilisation disappeared with its progressive thinking which took 5000 years to be reintroduced. While we were at the museum Mohammed texted us to let us know that all the parts have been found and that the bikes would be ready Saturday. Woohoo!!!!Back at the hostel we arranged to go to various sites around Cairo and would be sharing with two other hostel guests.

7/11/07 - Cairo - lying around and doing internet
We did absolutely nothing today. Well not nothing - we spent the whole day on FREE Internet at the hostel updating our blog and putting back free good coffee and tea! In the evening we got directions to Khan al-Khalili to see Sufi dancing. It was a nice 1.5 km walk through very busy streets. But the Sufi dancing was rescheduled from 7pm to 10pm and we decided it's a bit too late for us old folk. (we are not very good tourists...) We did though find ourselves in Al-Ghouriyya market and got wonderfully lost in the small alley ways looking at all the wares on display and once again surprised at the lack of pushy sales tactics. Cairo gets alive at night and we were caught up in the various smells of food everywhere. The streets are busy with vendors and people and the city clearly never sleeps. Having learnt to survive as a pedestrian during the day this was made a bit more challenging at night as nobody used their headlights! We took a taxi back to Adly street and found ourselves at MacDonald. Sorry folks but sometimes the old intestines just want something familiar and also the fixed price is clearly advertised.

6/11/07 - Cairo - Embassies and mechanics
This morning we both woke up at 5am and stared at the ceiling wondering how the bikes would work out. We were too early for breakfast as we were out the door at 7am to get to the SA Embassy at 8am (as per their website).
We caught a taxi to the SA Embassy which is in Maadi, the plush expat part of town, and got there at 8h15 to be told that they only open at 9am. Fortunately they soon let us in and we filled in the required forms for the letter of introduction required by the Sudanese Embassy for us to apply for a Sudan visa. Then we were told that the guy who knows where the official letter template is saved on the server has not arrived yet. We took a stroll around Maadi and eventually found a shopping centre and right next door was a Costa Coffee shop where we stopped. By this time the SA Embassy had called to let us know that our letters were ready. After collecting our letters we caught a taxi back to the Sudan embassy which is also off Le Corniche just behind the "Co-op" petrol station and on the same side street that goes around the corner to the British Embassy. We arrived at the embassy at 11:45 after sitting in a massive traffic jam. We walked in and were directed to the table at the back to get the form to fill out but was informed by the official that we were too late and that we had to come back tomorrow. His junior gestured for us to go round the corner and speak to his senior which we did and we were sent back to the official with a small little paper with some Arabic scribble on it. We were issued with the required forms and with the help of the junior we filled out the form. He then proceeded to photocopy all the required pages and asked us for 2x passports photos. HOW STUPID of us...all our documents were in our bikes. Fortunately Charlie had two photos in his wallet and one of Rensche. They simply photocopied Rensche's photo and we were sent to the passport desk for processing and paid 2x crispy US$100 bills and told to come back in two days (bit annoying as we had heard that on some days it can be done in 2 hours). All done in 30min. From there we walked down to Anwar's workshop and on arrival was presented with Rensche's bike engine in bits on a table.

Anwar explained that the following had been uncovered:
1. The knocking had been caused by the worn bearing that links the piston arm to the crankshaft (as the scooter mechanics in Amman had suspected). This also caused excess wear in the rings which also would now require replacing.
2. A thread in the head casing was stripped due to man-handling abuse by a previous mechanic and would need welding and re-threaded
3. Some work is also needed on one of the the valve sleeves.
4. Anwar also pointed out that the rings that had been fitted back in England were not correct for the engine as they were thinner/flatter than original. This also speeded up the wear on the rings as every time the piston moved up and down there was slight play on the rings.
Anwar had already finished with Charlies bike and it looked as good as new. All that was wrong was some adjusting to the carb. Charlie is very very happy with the job done and it's definitely value for money at US$150.

We then walked back to the hotel as no taxi's were prepared to take us into downtown as there was gridlock the whole way. In the evening we popped back to the workshop and most of the spare parts were there, including complete gasket set and rings, except for the crankshaft bearing which they were desperately hunting for. They were still confident that the bike would be ready by Monday. After 7 days in Egypt we are really surprised by how friendly and helpful people are, this in significant contrast to what we had been warned by Lonely Planet, Rumour mongers and other travellers. This is based only on our time so far from Sinai and central Cairo and we will obviously expect some touting action at the very touristy sites like Giza (where we are going in the next few days).
The hole issue of traffic also needs discussing. Everyone warned us about how utterly horrific traffic will be when we arrive in Cairo. We do agree that yes it is chaotic but after having travelled through Turkey, Syria and Jordan we have been slightly desensatised by Middle East traffic (Antalya, Mersin, Tyranna, Damascus, Amman) so it was not as bad as the rumours go. For people coming directly from Europe via Libya we could imagine that Cairo will be a very big shock.

5/11/07 - Cairo - Downtown and bike workshop
Mohammed could only fetch us at 11h30 so we hang around at the campsite for the morning. He got delayed in traffic and arrived just after 12noon. The ride to the workshop was quick and scary. Driving in Cairo is like riding bumper cars at the Fun Fair. Cars are seen nudging each other and just driving off as if nothing has happened. We were very relieved when we got to Mohammed Anwars workshop. His english is not the best but he's a really nice guy. Mohammed translated for us the various problems of the bike and insisted that we should not worry about the bikes. Anwars workshop is a small workshop with about 20 pigeon coupes up the wall. The workshop is in an alley off Le Corniche (north bound) on the right just after Mercedes Benz. (GPS: N30deg01,289 E31deg13,825). They were really helpful and organized lunch for us and an Egyptian SIM card for cheap calls while we're here. Mohammed then took us down town to the New Hotel. It took a while as the traffic was choc a block. Mohammed explained that driving in Cairo is like playing a game where you only have one life. There is no lanes - everyone just squeeze in where they can find a space, folding their mirrors away to fit as they do. Unfortunately the New Hotel was expensive (150Gippos per night) and grim so we went around the corner to Let Me Inn hostel which Werner recommended. Excellent for 45Gippos per person. And free internet, includes breakfast, tea, coffee, water! It is also 2km away from the workshop. Mohammed phoned to let us know the damage: US$150 for Charlie's bike and US$600 for Rensche's bike. Charlie was a bit concerned wondering why a simple oil change is being charged at London rates. We spent the evening reading emails, catching up on BBC and having a simple supper at a kiosk down the road: small sausages/ liver in a roll.

4/11/07 - St Catherines - Cairo - 464 km!
We woke up early after a good nights rest in the roof tent and after a quick breakfast started to make our way to Cairo. The desert scenery was spectacular in Sinai with different coloured rock and sand. At one point the tar road stopped and we thought we need to cover the rest of the way to the coast to Suez on gravel. But fortunately 5km later the tarmac started again. We needed to keep going and couldn't afford any delays. On the way to Cairo it was suprising to see how unpopulated the country side is. No wonder there are 20 million people living in Cairo. We also crossed the Suez canal but as the road was so far from the actual canal we only saw one ship from far away floating across the desert. You actually take a tunnel under the canal; yes obvious in hindsight but we were expecting a bridge. As we got closer to Cairo the traffic became worse and worse and we both had a few near-misses and close-calls. Mohammed told us to enter Cairo today as it is quiet. We passed 5 horrific accidents on our way into Cairo. There are simply no rules here on the road and we've only ridden the ring road! Tomorrow we will see what the city is like. There are lots and lots of banged up cars. When we got Salma Campsite we were rather dissapointed that this dump is a legendary overland stopover. But it is close to the main road in and out of town and within seeing distance of the Pyramids of Giza! which we had our first glance of. After we scrubbed up we went for a well-deserved beer at the camp bar and met another South African couple! They are doing the same route as us down to Cape Town but on fold-up bicycles. This after sailing a yacht from Cape Town to Belgium where the auto pilot died 3 days out of Cape Town and they spent the rest of the trip on 2 hour shifts. When we got back to the tent we found that the camp dog had marked our tent. Of course!
3/11/07 - Taba - St Catherines - 120km
Charlie was up and about at sunrise and took some beautiful photos across the Gulf of Aqaba of the beautiful sunrise. We were packed and ready to go at 7am and had an Egyptian breakfast (we hope that this is standard throughout Egypt as it was excellent). We were bit surprised when we paid the bill......25Gippos per person and not 15Gippos as per the photocopies of Lonely Planet comments about Soft Beach Camping which was stuck on every wall on the campsite. Still a fare price. We were sad to leave and hoped to have stayed longer but we need to get Rensche's bike to Cairo ASAP. We've only bought a month's worth of road tax since it is so expensive but that means we need to be out of Egypt on 29 November. And the ferry to Sudan only leaves on Mondays. Via the Horizons Unlimited Website Charlie made contact with Jonathan Giesen, an American working in Cairo. He let Charles know that he is out of town but gave contact details of his friend Mohammed who would help us on arriving in Cairo. But chances are we not coming this way again so decided to stop off via St Catherines Monastery next to Mount Sinai on the way. The road there was very beautiful but through barren desert and we thought of the poor Israelites who wandered this wilderness for so long (Exodus 16). We arrived at the Monastery at 11h30 and sat down for a quick shai (tea) and read our Lonely Planet which informed us that the monastery closed at 12noon! Note to self: Read the Lonely Planet before you arrive at your tourist destination. So we spent an hour or two watching the stream of tourists pouring out of the monastery and dissapear into the dust. We were relieved that we were not caught up in that heave! The Monastery is at the foot of Mount Sinai where Moses received the Ten Commandments from God (Ex 19). This is also the place where it is believed the Burning Bush was. (Ex 3). Apparently there are many beautiful parts of the monastery eg a beautiful mosaic of Christ but this is not open to the public. St Catherine was a martyr who was killed for her faith. The Monastery dates from the 4th century BC. We drove around the corner and found Fox Farah Camp which is a Bedouin community run campsite. And at 20Gippos per person the cheapest option in town. While walking around looking for a place to pitch our tent we spotted a 4X4 with trailer with a BIG ZA sticker on the back, a vlaggie and GP (Gauteng Province...or gangsters paradise, South Africa) number plates!!!! We introduced ourselves to Dennis and Maike and their 3 children who has just arrived through East Africa from Johannesburg upto Germany. ( http://www.valphoto.co.za/ ). We had such a lovely chat with them until they had to join their guide and camels to climb Mount Sinai overnight. It was so nice and refreshing to meet them with their kids doing this trip and we shared some really nice travel stories. It was just wonderful to speak to a South African again!!! (although he is originally from Sierra Leone and she from Germany). We were so pleased to hear that they are returning to South Africa and hope we can bump into them in Johannesburg. Before heading off up the mountain they offered their rooftents for the night which we gladly accepted. While chatting to the SA family the French couple we've been bumping into since Petra also arrived! We then went and sat with the other camp guests around the fire listening to the camp manager playing his drum to his wife over the phone. We also met two Isrealies travelling around Sinai who moaned about how restrictive their passport is.

2/11/07 - Taba (Nuweiba)
After a rough night fighting off the mosquitoes (and the mosquitoe net) we woke up early in our beach hut. We went to have breakfast overlooking the sea. Omelet for a change Yipee!! We watched in amazement as a boy was raking the beach to make it nice and smooth for us tourists. We have defnitely arrived at a completely different level of tourism! While we ordered another Nescafe we waited for the other tourists to join us. Most were "senior citizens" and wearing kaftans. The camp site defnitely has a hippy feel to it with wind chimes, hammocks and cushions. Excellent service and a bit of pampering! Good place to relax. We also noticed a tourist police man at the campsite which was comforting. We spent the rest of the day lying on the beach (disgusting..) and wondering how we are going to get Rensche's bike in the middle of Cairo since it is notorious for traffic and bad driving. During the day we checked the valve clearance of the bike in the hope it was just a loose wire... but they were spot on and the knocking continued. During the morning we swapped to a different hut as ours were just a bit too beachy for our liking. Sand everywhere.

1/11/07 - Egypt Arrival - Nuweiba - ferry crossing
Passport control and immigration was done on the ferry. If you already had a visa then your passport was stamped and given back to you. If you had no visa your passport were retained and you were given a piece of paper and told to buy a visa at arrival. (on arriving in Nuweiba we noticed that 3 passengers pasports have been misplaced.) We arrived at Nuweiba at 14h30 and hang around in the ferry outside the harbour for a while. After mooring we all got up ready to disembark but they only let us off the boat at 15h15. Riding of the ferry there was absolutely no indication of where you had to go but we spotted a tourist policeman in his white uniform and walki-talki who directed us to the arrivals area. We braced ourselves for the horrors of Egyptian customs and immigration following the accounts of other travels. What followed appeared to be organised chaos which we experienced as follows:
1. Get blue/pink/green paper before disembarking ferry.
2. Ride off ferry and ride 500m around to immigration arrivals and park under the large shed with big sign: "ARRIVALS".
3. Go to bank and exchange/buy on visa 1000Gippos which will be gobbled up by the customs process.
4. Get small paper with your name and other details from vehicle inspector.
5. Go to vehicle registration office and get official form for which you pay 2.5Gippos per vehicle.
6. Get official to rub chassis number on form and then fill in the rest of the details on form.
7. Take pink paper, passport, vehicle registration document and carnet to the photocopy kiosk. There they will make two folder/files per vehicle for which you pay 25Gippos per vehicle.
8. Go to Arrivals Hall and down at the far end on the right pay your road tax at 550Gippos per bike for one month and get a receipt.
9. Go to insurance kiosk and buy insurance at 190Gippos per bike.
10. Go to carnet kiosk where they will take one of your files and carnet.
11. Fill out customs form at carnet kiosk - the form is in Arabic so you will need help filling it out. When we were asked address in Egypt the toursit policeman helping us told us to simply write South African Embassy Cairo which did the trick. Here they also check your receipts for road tax and your insurance document.
12. With all the above steps done go to the vehicle registration building where you will be issued with egyptian number plates and an egyptian driver's licence for which you must pay 35Gippos per bike.
13. At some point during this final step you will be issued with a small white paper which you will need later.
14. Go back to your bike and fit your number plate. You only need to fit your back number plate and stuff the second one into your luggage. Keep your original one!
15. You have now finished the customs process. If you feel the tourist policeman was helpful then you can at least give him a tip for his efforts - we gave 50Gippos. (US$10).
16. You will be directed to the exit gate where they will inspect your passport, carnet, egyptian drivers licence and they will take the little white paper you were issued in #12.
This is the sequence as we think it should work in the correct order as originally intended. In reality on arrival the tourist policeman was not available so Charlie started the process himself and got as far as #6 unaided at which point a tourist policeman caught up with him. Here the entire customs process for everyone who got off the ferry in a vehicle ground to a halt as the ferry officials never issued anyone with the pink/blue/green paper (see #1). After waiting 20minutes someone came running with a pink pad and the process could get going again. From then on Charlie just followed the tourist policeman from one office to the other dishing out Gippos as and when instructed. The tourist policeman didn't actually follow the sequence one step at a time but was leap frogging and doing many at the same time which any arriving tourist would find impossible to do. It could be possible to do this whole customs exercise yourself but it will take much longer, you will be frustrated and the various officials will get annoyed with you and tell you to find a tourist policeman (as this is clearly an unofficial requirement). So just do yourself a favour and take the help of the tourist police from the start. You get official receipts for each payment you make so no there isn't any bakheesh paid as the rumours go. So for us the total paid for both our bikes was 1645 Gippos which equates to US$150 per bike.
We entered Egypt at 17h30 at which time it was pitch dark. With our dim little lights we made our way north to the small town of Taba (more like a suburb of Nuweiba) where we booked into "Soft Beach Camping". It is paradise after our long day but we are now finally in Egypt and back in Africa. Opening our "Lonely Planet: Afrcia on a shoestring" we were informed that we had already started following the Rift valley which started way up in the Dead Sea and heads south via the Red Sea, Ethiopian, Kenya, Great lakes and down to Malawi.
Getting off the ferry this afternoon Rensche's engine knock moved up a level and started scaring children standing near by so we are now definitely taking it to Cairo to be properly diagnosed and not take the chance of just adding oil and heading south and seeing what happens. Will keep you posted.

Aids in the Middle East and North Africa

2007-10-28T10:09:00.000Z

An estimated 68 000 people acquired HIV in 2006, bringing to 460 000 the total number of people living with the virus in the region. AIDS killed approximately 36 000 people in the past year. Inadequate HIV surveillance in many countries of this region makes it difficult to discern the patterns and trends of their diverse epidemics.
Sudan has by far the biggest AIDS epidemic in this region. Adult HIV prevalence was 1.6% in 2005 and some 350 000 people were living with HIV. There are fears that HIV transmission could accelerate and broaden in the aftermath of more than two decades of war, as the lives of former refugees and displaced persons gradually return to normal.
Knowledge of HIV was extremely poor: only 2% of the men knew that condoms can prevent HIV transmission (Abdelwahab, 2006).
Progress in providing antiretroviral therapy in this region remains slow, with only 4000 people estimated to be on treatment at the end of 2005. It is estimated that some 75 000 people in the region need antiretroviral therapy (WHO/UNAIDS, 2006).
http://data.unaids.org/pub/EpiReport/2006/10-Middle_East_and_North_Africa_2006_EpiUpdate_eng.pdf