Thoroughly enjoyable .... thanks 
Looking forward to the rest ...
Looking forward to the rest ...
Gaels return to West Africa
- Thread starter simondippenhall
- Start date
The ride there was interesting because it was the main road to Dakar with lots of traffic most of whom regarded an oncoming motorbike as no obstacle to an overtake
Fortunately thanks to BTBRider of this site I have a powerful set of auxiliary lights and I was working these overtime! (Whilst also scanning my emergency run off route in the verges off the road).
I am not sure if they thought I was an oncoming truck or a police motorcycle - but either way it did the trick and they popped back into their place.
But it certainly took a lot of vigilance and concentration and I was glad when we found the Hotel de Paris down a backstreet of Kaolack!
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Fortunately thanks to BTBRider of this site I have a powerful set of auxiliary lights and I was working these overtime! (Whilst also scanning my emergency run off route in the verges off the road).
I am not sure if they thought I was an oncoming truck or a police motorcycle - but either way it did the trick and they popped back into their place.
But it certainly took a lot of vigilance and concentration and I was glad when we found the Hotel de Paris down a backstreet of Kaolack!
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Inspirational stuff Simon and a refreshing change from the many Black Forest & Alpine pass reports, this is somewhere I'd love to explore when I eventually have time but I'll make do with a trip to Turkey later this year.
Mike.
Mike.
Great stuff Simon, thanks for another entertaining (and highly informative) write up.
But we had an important pharmaceutical issue to resolve - we were running out of sunscreen!
I soon learnt this is a challenge when 99.9% of the population have the right skin pigmentation did the conditions!
In the first pharmacy, my eloquent description resulted in the offer of a tube of fire burns treatment cream. Then in to the next pharmacy who had nothing and sent me across town to the third who hadn't a clue who referred me to a fourth who admitted they had once stocked some but 'there was no demand for it'. When the fifth pharmacy they referred us to turned out to be the first one we had visited I realised it was time to call it a day!
Fortunately when we went for a drink we met a Belgian lad who in exchange for a beer gave us an almost empty tube of factor 50.
I was not too concerned as now we were back in the moto with helmets on there was less exposure.
So the next day we set off for the Saloum delta which had been recommended by my son’s friend who lived in Dakar.
The road there was surprisingly good recent tarmac, until we reached a sign to turn off the road towards the ecolodge.
I quizzed two locals about the piste and they assured me it was 2 Kms of easy track.
It started ok
but by Kilometre 4 (of the 2 km track!) it was getting sandier
and we charged on into this
and with one mighty slalom swerve the GS ended up on its side.
Fortunately the fall was at slow speed and we got the bike back up again, although Kit had a badly bruised foot. I rode the last kilometre of sand while Kit bravely walked it.
I had about 6 local kids hanging off the back of the GS, supposedly helping but really making a difficult ride harder. So eventually I told them I would speak to their parents if they didn’t go home and this did the trick
.
Finally we made it to our lodgings
It was worth the hike and the prang!
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I soon learnt this is a challenge when 99.9% of the population have the right skin pigmentation did the conditions!
In the first pharmacy, my eloquent description resulted in the offer of a tube of fire burns treatment cream. Then in to the next pharmacy who had nothing and sent me across town to the third who hadn't a clue who referred me to a fourth who admitted they had once stocked some but 'there was no demand for it'. When the fifth pharmacy they referred us to turned out to be the first one we had visited I realised it was time to call it a day!
Fortunately when we went for a drink we met a Belgian lad who in exchange for a beer gave us an almost empty tube of factor 50.
I was not too concerned as now we were back in the moto with helmets on there was less exposure.
So the next day we set off for the Saloum delta which had been recommended by my son’s friend who lived in Dakar.
The road there was surprisingly good recent tarmac, until we reached a sign to turn off the road towards the ecolodge.
I quizzed two locals about the piste and they assured me it was 2 Kms of easy track.
It started ok
but by Kilometre 4 (of the 2 km track!) it was getting sandier
and we charged on into this
and with one mighty slalom swerve the GS ended up on its side.
Fortunately the fall was at slow speed and we got the bike back up again, although Kit had a badly bruised foot. I rode the last kilometre of sand while Kit bravely walked it.
I had about 6 local kids hanging off the back of the GS, supposedly helping but really making a difficult ride harder. So eventually I told them I would speak to their parents if they didn’t go home and this did the trick
.Finally we made it to our lodgings
It was worth the hike and the prang!
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We spent a couple of days at the Saloum delta, enjoying its beauty and giving Kit's foot a chance to recover from being pinned under a GS pannier when we went over in the sand.
Each day the local villagers brought their horses into the delta and washed them with the salt water, as you saw above.
Sunset and sunrise were gorgeous
There were many ibis and cormorants
We had originally planned to head up to Lac Rose near Dakar but it was no penance to stay here, in a little bit with a bathroom open to the stars which were impressive.
The bike enjoyed a restful couple of days after its first topple in a decade
Fortunately the soft sand had left no mark.
When we set off I decided I would do the sandy piste solo and I lowered the tyre pressures, whilst we splashed out £3 for a villager to take Kit and the panniers the 5kms to the goudron (tarmac).
I made it safely to the goudron but I would be lying if I said it was easy
.
We were going to take a cross-country route with a ferry in the way as we were told it was more scenic (and it would avoid us retracing our steps through Kaolack. At this point we were headed back to The Gambia where we would need to get across the river on the notorious Barra ferry...But more of that later!
On the equipment front, I had taken my mini compressor home and brought a bicycle pump in my quest to reduce weight. Whilst my UK biker friends scoffed that I would struggle to blow up to the required pressures (which when 2 up with luggage are higher!), in fact it was straightforward to do and saved me a kilogramme of weight.
I had asked a couple of people about our route and they all said it was good tarmac. So with
we loaded up under a shady roadside tree and set off.
The ride was scenic and the ferry queue bustling for this small crossing of one of the delta's larger beaches
The ferry was well loaded:
And predictably, although I managed to get on first, we were regarded as deck luggage to be stuck in a corner
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Each day the local villagers brought their horses into the delta and washed them with the salt water, as you saw above.
Sunset and sunrise were gorgeous
There were many ibis and cormorants
We had originally planned to head up to Lac Rose near Dakar but it was no penance to stay here, in a little bit with a bathroom open to the stars which were impressive.
The bike enjoyed a restful couple of days after its first topple in a decade
Fortunately the soft sand had left no mark.
When we set off I decided I would do the sandy piste solo and I lowered the tyre pressures, whilst we splashed out £3 for a villager to take Kit and the panniers the 5kms to the goudron (tarmac).
I made it safely to the goudron but I would be lying if I said it was easy
.We were going to take a cross-country route with a ferry in the way as we were told it was more scenic (and it would avoid us retracing our steps through Kaolack. At this point we were headed back to The Gambia where we would need to get across the river on the notorious Barra ferry...But more of that later!
On the equipment front, I had taken my mini compressor home and brought a bicycle pump in my quest to reduce weight. Whilst my UK biker friends scoffed that I would struggle to blow up to the required pressures (which when 2 up with luggage are higher!), in fact it was straightforward to do and saved me a kilogramme of weight.
I had asked a couple of people about our route and they all said it was good tarmac. So with
we loaded up under a shady roadside tree and set off.The ride was scenic and the ferry queue bustling for this small crossing of one of the delta's larger beaches
The ferry was well loaded:
And predictably, although I managed to get on first, we were regarded as deck luggage to be stuck in a corner
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Ol' man on a boat...All that's missing is me vacuum flask full of tea and some marmalade sandwiches. Wait...I did have tea in a little vacuum, but I was saving that for the fraught Barra crossing ahead ...
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As we had, unusually, had internet access the previous day I had been researching the Barra ferry, intrigued by the horror stories a Landy driving British couple had told me in Banjul and by Drumacoon Lad’s enigmatic refusal to describe it, saying only it was ‘something I should experience ‘.
My researches did little to alleviate my concerns
https://www.ouestaf.com/gambia/m/Th...ervices-A-Disaster-Waiting-to-Happen_a32.html
I had investigated going inland to Farafenni, well up The Gambia river and a sizeable deviation, in order to be sure of getting a crossing
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My researches did little to alleviate my concerns
https://www.ouestaf.com/gambia/m/Th...ervices-A-Disaster-Waiting-to-Happen_a32.html
I had investigated going inland to Farafenni, well up The Gambia river and a sizeable deviation, in order to be sure of getting a crossing
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luke scott
Registered user
Simon
This is a great thread. Every update gets fully read. My mate did Morrocco to South Africa on his own last year but you have more pictures ��
Cheers Luke!
Simon
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Simon
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Excellent report as usual, Simon.... really enjoying this and many thanks for posting.
Just found a few photos of our lodge on the delta
Hardcore adventure rider fretting about the Barra ferry:
Our ‘umble abode with open bathroom
Pretty decent nosh too!
This was close enough to Dakar that people living there came for the weekend
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Hardcore adventure rider fretting about the Barra ferry:
Our ‘umble abode with open bathroom
Pretty decent nosh too!
This was close enough to Dakar that people living there came for the weekend
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Avidly reading but not posting so my apologies, I know how disspiriting it is when you think nobody's following
Keep 'er lit
Cheers Jochen and others...we are on the last stretch of this chapter now...just the return to Gambia and the delightful prospect of the Barra ferry ahead...as a recent library photo whets my appetite (not!)
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As we left Senegal and entered the Gambia I quizzed the border officials about the ferry. Before trying to extort me over my passavant they said: 'Under the new President, now everything is working fine!'. I reserved judgment.
They tried to charge me several hundred Dalasi (maybe £10) for a passavant but when I told them I had only paid £2 equivalent last time they quickly re-prices the deal! But it is notable that (again) the only country on the road from UK to here where people have tried to con me or get bribes is The Gambia.
So after a quick check with a digital thermometer on our tongues (presumably for fever?) and sight of our yellow fever certificates (both firsts on the trip down) we were on our way.
And whether by luck or judgment, we arrived in Barra just in time to board the new, clean and well kept Barra ferry - the Chaotic queues and fixers preventing boarding without a gift were non-existent.
Leaving the ferry in Banjul
We spent a night in a hotel by the beach (which we had not realised was the centre of the Gambian sex industry until we saw so many elderly, tattooed and overweight Europeans of both sexes draped around young and attractive Gambians
).
Then it was time to return to the Sukuta campsite where I was again going to leave the GS until January
Dinner time
What the fashionable Tosser is wearing these days in West Africa:
Pushing an 1150 backwards up a ramp is not for the faint hearted
Kit says a sad farewell to the motorbike at the end of our tour
I just hope it will start when I see it again in Mibday afternoon! (I have disconnected the battery so hopefully it will be fine!).
So until next week when, all being well, the ride East from Senegal will recommence (but solo this time!
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They tried to charge me several hundred Dalasi (maybe £10) for a passavant but when I told them I had only paid £2 equivalent last time they quickly re-prices the deal! But it is notable that (again) the only country on the road from UK to here where people have tried to con me or get bribes is The Gambia.
So after a quick check with a digital thermometer on our tongues (presumably for fever?) and sight of our yellow fever certificates (both firsts on the trip down) we were on our way.
And whether by luck or judgment, we arrived in Barra just in time to board the new, clean and well kept Barra ferry - the Chaotic queues and fixers preventing boarding without a gift were non-existent.
Leaving the ferry in Banjul
We spent a night in a hotel by the beach (which we had not realised was the centre of the Gambian sex industry until we saw so many elderly, tattooed and overweight Europeans of both sexes draped around young and attractive Gambians
).Then it was time to return to the Sukuta campsite where I was again going to leave the GS until January
Dinner time
What the fashionable Tosser is wearing these days in West Africa:
Pushing an 1150 backwards up a ramp is not for the faint hearted
Kit says a sad farewell to the motorbike at the end of our tour
I just hope it will start when I see it again in Mibday afternoon! (I have disconnected the battery so hopefully it will be fine!).
So until next week when, all being well, the ride East from Senegal will recommence (but solo this time!
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Sandtribe
Registered user
Fantastic stuff! Inspirational as always. What a great trip!
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Great write up,s,
just because not a lot of ppl post up, it does'nt mean were not drooling....wishing we were there......
So does the Sukata campsite store bikes for travellers,as in the last picture,yours is not the only one...
Cheers Mike..
just because not a lot of ppl post up, it does'nt mean were not drooling....wishing we were there......
So does the Sukata campsite store bikes for travellers,as in the last picture,yours is not the only one...
Cheers Mike..
Great ride report
The pictures help tell the story well. Thanks for making the effort to write it up.
The pictures help tell the story well. Thanks for making the effort to write it up.
Thanks all!
Crumbles: yes Sukuta camping also has a compound where they store cars and motorcycles at a reasonable price...and it’s way more secure than my garage.
A sample of inmates
Old Unimog
And a few others
So it can make a great base for exploring West Africa once you have got the bike down there of course!
There is even an R1100GS with a burnt out starter motor which is crying out to be fixed and ridden, belonging to a guy in Germany.
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Crumbles: yes Sukuta camping also has a compound where they store cars and motorcycles at a reasonable price...and it’s way more secure than my garage.
A sample of inmates
Old Unimog
And a few others
So it can make a great base for exploring West Africa once you have got the bike down there of course!
There is even an R1100GS with a burnt out starter motor which is crying out to be fixed and ridden, belonging to a guy in Germany.
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