In search of Father Jack.

[Drumacoon Lad.]

Lots of different things for sale along the road. I could do with a mop at home and while it would be possible to strap it to the bike, taking it through customs at Heathrow may raise some eyebrows. I also liked the garden furniture but unfortunately they didn't do delivery. There a lot of locally made bricks on the side of the road and this is reflected in the village houses which here are predominantly built with brick as opposed to the round mud huts in Zambia. Seeing the guy with the corrugated roof sheet strapped to his bike, I wondered at the reaction if I turned up at a hardware store in Europe with a bicycle and asked for help to strap the sheet on. There are a lot of building materials for sale on the side of the road including sand.

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[Drumacoon Lad.]

The following dark picture I found the most shocking of the trip so far and was captured just by chance. I had snapped the two ladies in the foreground but it was the scene behind, that I then noticed. Some of the earlier photos have documented the hard physical lives of these people but seeing these men making gravel with hammers and chisels did shock me. This used to be 'hard labour' in prisons like Robbin Island and it was sad to see people having to do it here, to make ends meet. There are times I feel unduly privelaged as the rich westerner passing through this landscape and this was one of those times.

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[Drumacoon Lad.]

On a more cheerful note I should see the rain and resultant floods as a benifit and I now know what to do when I need to wash the bike.

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[Drumacoon Lad.]

Returning to the theme of the privileged westerner, I checked in to a lodge by Lake Malawi yesterday. As I rested, a proper dugout canoe passed by, then some local residents appeared. Some debate in my mind on the first bird, as this was the only view I got, either a Little Grebe or Southern Pochard, then an African Pied Wagtail, a good profile of a Hamerkop and baboon.

My biggest issue so far was the baboon in the tree above my chalet, dropping fruit stones on my roof. As the name of the lodge was The Monkey Bay Beach Lodge, complaining to the management seemed inappropriate.

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[wreck diver]

What a great way so spend a Sunday morning.
Good luck to you and thanks for posting.

 

[Drumacoon Lad.]

What a great way so spend a Sunday morning.
Good luck to you and thanks for posting.

Cheers, and I thought I was just being lazy

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[Drumacoon Lad.]

Inspiring stuff! Safe travels


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Cheers Simon, you saw all this stuff and much more. I just take photos with a helmet cam.

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[gspod]

Thanks for describing the process of the border crossing - I’m planning a similar trip so very interested in the nuts and bolts of your journey.

 

[Drumacoon Lad.]

Thanks for describing the process of the border crossing - I’m planning a similar trip so very interested in the nuts and bolts of your journey.

Welcome. Happy to chat it over some time. What helps me to manage borders is that getting through them is the task of the day. If they are known to be difficult or complicated, don't plan a long ride the other side to accomodation. Seeing them as a process to be worked through.
With all my negative feelings about them, I've not met one border yet that I've not got through, and Rosso was the longest at 5 hours.

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[gspod]

Thanks Jim, keep up the great work - photos too

 

[Greyrover]

Interesting commentary and great photos Jim.

 

[de crowe]

Great stuff Jim, really enjoying this. Question where did you get that nice Ireland sticker on the tank? safe riding

 

[Drumacoon Lad.]

Interesting commentary and great photos Jim.

John, you know me, just press the button and this stuff just pours out!

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[Drumacoon Lad.]

Great stuff Jim, really enjoying this. Question where did you get that nice Ireland sticker on the tank? safe riding

The sticker has been on the bike since the day it was bought in the Congo. A well travelled sticker, having covered 17,500km so far and handy that it matches my passport.

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[Drumacoon Lad.]

Well, I know you are all waiting for an update on the bike cover. It had its first proper field test last night, here by the side of Lake Malawi, where we had hours of heavy rain during the night. As I have a metal corrigated roof on my chalet, the pounding rain was loud enough to wake me up. However, when I came out this morning and checked the bike, my sheepskin seat cover was perfectly dry. So the cover is more waterproof that I expected. One up for the bike cover.

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[oblertone]

A business opportunity awaits; great write up and having done Rosso twice I concur

 

[Drumacoon Lad.]

I think its fair to say that yesterday, I was not at my most energetic. It was a warm and humid day with the threat of rain around. I had thought of taking one of the canoes out and paddling to the island opposite. Then someone took one of the canoes out and I felt a bit guilty for not doing the same. Well blow me, after looking at the remaining canoe for about a half an hour, someone took it out too. As all the canoes were now out, there was nothing for it but to get to recliner under the trees, before someone else did. Then one of the canoes came back and I considered taking it out, but that would have meant getting off the recliner and there was still the chance of rain, and in a few hours more it began to get dark and time for dinner. A pretty full day!

So today was going to be different, probably. Despite hanging around for quite a while after breakfast, no one took the canoes out. In the end I was left with no excuse. I spoke to the owner and he advised me where to go on the island opposite, explaining where I could land. He also pointed out the part of the island where the crocodile is normally seen. He reassuringly explained that the crocodile is actually afraid of humans, but I should keep an eye out as I would be in his environment. While he was at it, he clarified which canoe I should take, as yesterday one of them filled up with water. He further reassured me that if it fills up with water, it shouldnt sink but I should paddle for the nearest land and call for help. Only last week he had to do exactly that. With all that information I headed off thinking, what could go wrong

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[Drumacoon Lad.]

A business opportunity awaits; great write up and having done Rosso twice I concur

Yes, I went through it twice and the South - North was still unpleasant but not as bad as North - South. I considered another business opportunity after that which was to produce "I survived Rosso" tee shirts, but I concluded it would be a limited market.

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[Edventure]

Crococdiles, leaky canoe.....eek!!

 

[Drumacoon Lad.]

Now where was I, ah yes, paddling to the island with the crocodile that's afraid of humans, in a canoe that would probably stay afloat. Well the first problem was getting the canoe to stay on course. The guy operating the tiller at the back was doing a hopless job, as the canoe was zig-zagging across the lake and then I realised there was no tiller and it was all down to me.
Despite my amateur paddling, I got to the island. Now my intention on leaving was just to reach the island and hug the coast a bit and paddle home. Well now that I was here, it seemed a pity not to try and get on to the island.

Where I was landing was a hundred meters or so from where I was told the crocodile hung out, so probably perfectly safe. It might not be obvious to the reader but I'm no water-baby and beaching a canoe in a smooth rock was not the easiest task for me. I ran the canoe on to the rock and as I tried to step on to the island, it slid off and back into the lake. At this point my foot caught the paddle and I said to myself, don't loose the paddle Jim. In the end using the paddle as a punting pole, stuck into the bottom of the lake, I got on to the rock in a less than elegant manner and just grabbed the canoe as it slid off the rock. So I was on the island and no obvious crocodile welcoming party, just a few lizards. I knew it would be easy and the view was pretty good!

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