Ride Report- South Africa to Kenya
Bit of background first. My 28 yr old son has been riding sports bikes (Cue garlic / silver bullets etc) for some years but I only got interested about 12 months ago. Being based in Kenya I just “borrowed” a friend’s Fundoro and sort of taught myself to ride a bit. Went to the UK in March this year and passed my DAS, with the intention of maybe in a year or so taking my son to the USA, hiring 2 Harleys and riding Route 66.
Then I reasoned, “Who knows? I might not be around in a couple of years.” and decided that I would organise the purchase of two bikes in South Africa, fly down there with Ross, my son, and ride them up to Kenya where I live……….. Yeah… right…..!
A couple of months of trawling the internet (Thanks guys!); some REALLY helpful people on this site plus two friends in South Africa who tried out 34 different “For Sale” bikes before they found one 2007 Dakar (4,000+ kms) and one 2006 650GS (20,000+ kms) they thought would be just the job.
Ross and I flew to Johannesburg, then drove on to Pretoria to pick up the bikes.
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The plan was to take them off to the Drakensburg Mountains for the weekend, get used to them, then route back through Pretoria in case anything needed to be sorted before the long way up!
Saturday morning saw us at the local BMW dealer having the tyres replaced. I didn’t think the existing ones would last the trip. Don’t anyone tell you there is no money around! I have never seen so many brand new BMW’s and a STREAM of people in and out of the very friendly workshop getting things done from 0830 as soon as the place opened. Some guys were having their bikes prepped for the GS Challenge which was due in a week or so and others just wanted things sorted or replaced or bolted on.
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Ross had copied E &C’s logo and turned it into “Long Way Up” stickers for the panniers.
Created SO much interest and lots of questions and advice whilst the bikes had their new tyres fitted. What a really nice bunch of people!
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Off then out of Pretoria traffic and on to the beautiful wide perfectly smooth tarmac up towards Lyndenburg and Misty Mountain. Through wonderful winding roads and twisty passes that never seemed to end. My first real experience of such things so my sphincter was going in and out most of the time. Best thing of all was the Interphone sets linking Ross and I together as he rode behind me with a stream of advice, comments and the odd sarcastic quote…..
Arrived at Misty around mid afternoon – What a stunning place and the drop-off pool was perfect for the first beer of the trip.
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Next day we rode around the region getting used to the bikes (me!) and saying “WOW!! (Both of us.) Tried some more twisty passes and gradually got my confidence up. Moved on to some slight off-road as we visited Horseshoe Falls and other sights around the area. Just amazing scenery.
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Early start the next day – first of MANY- and since the bikes were just fine we decided to avoid Pretoria and route directly up to Martin’s Drift, about 40 kms south of the border with Botswana. A long day’s first ride, but we were cocky and the roads seemed good. Which they were, all the way to the B&B we had organised for the night. We could not find the place and when I telephoned them they said it was just off the main road. All we had to do was take the next right and it was about “10 kms down a track that has some loose sand…”.
Oh good grief!!
Both of us were a bit new to this and had a few “moments” on the way down, eventually turning in to the farmhouse and both of us nearly stuffing it on the last corner!
Really hospitable farm folk looked after us that night and again the next morning with farm fresh eggs and bacon for breakfast at 5.30!
Out on to the sand again, and this time it all went sadly wrong for me. I fought the damn thing for ages as the front went its own merry way and eventually it said “Enough!” and spat me down into the ruts at the side of the road, with my leg firmly held into about 15 inches of sand by the weight of the bike resting on it! Thanks to the Interphone I was able to tell Ross, who had disappeared ahead in a cloud of dust and he came running back to try and lift the bike off me. With the weight of the panniers and the way the bike had dug in he just could not do it. Fortunately I had the panniers keys around my neck so I gave them to him and once the panniers were off he raised the beast enough for me to slide out from underneath.
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Got my new TWAT suit dirty anyway!
Back on the main road and our first border crossing just after 0800. Everyone was really helpful, pleasant and no-one wanted to look at the bikes or our stuff so we were on our way in to a new country within about 45 minutes!
The plan was to follow the border all the way up through Francistown, and night stop in Nata, leaving a short hope across the Zambezi on the ferry for the following day.
Roads in Botswana were good, miles and miles and bloody miles of straight tarmac with hardly any traffic. Just magical and so typically African landscapes all around as far as we could see.
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Temperatures started to rise with as the sun really came down and there was no shade to be had during our planned hourly stops for a pee and a stretch. It was about 38 degrees and I don’t know how we would have managed without our Camelbaks and the 6 – 8 litres of water we drank during the day.
After a quick burger stop in Francistown we rode on to Nata arriving after 4.00pm to find the road to the campsite was down a ….sandy track! AERGHH!!!@.
Pitching the tent in loose sand was not fun but we tied the thing to the bikes and went off for a swim in the pool. The first beers did not touch the sides!
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Early start again the next morning but that seemed to work well for us. Up around 5 or so and take the tent down. On the road just after 6 and then stop an hour later for something to eat, followed by regular 100+ km stops for a pee, a walk around or for fuel. It meant that we were NEVER saddle sore or bored and the kms just seemed to click off really easily most of the time. The Interphones helped pass the time and we had all sorts of philosophical conversations en route (e.g “If money were no object what sort of bike would you have and what bling would you have on it…?)
This time the ferry crossing was before the border and E & C showed it on LWD. Basically a large wooden plank with a 150hp engine on it shuttles across the Zambezi carrying people, cars, HUGE trucks and the odd idiot motorbiker!
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We got moved on first (uphill, through SAND……!) and then we were told to shove the bikes in the “passenger” walkway. Ross managed to put his side-stand down in the only major hole in the decking and was in with a very good chance of throwing himself, and the bike to be lunch for the crocodiles but he yelled for help and we got him back up again.
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They loaded one big truck and its trailer then allowed the masses on board,. In no time we were surrounded by a hoard of people carrying the things they had bought across the border and we stood next to the bikes thinking “What the %&*& have we got ourselves into!?”
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It’s only a few minutes across the river then straight into the queues of people for immigration (US$140 for a UK passport holder to get a visa!) then the third party insurance and finally the US$35 “Carbon Emission Tax”. DON’T get me started on THAT one!
Then out the gate and into our THIRD country with just 120 kms to go until Livingstone and Victoria Falls!
We had booked a guesthouse there and had already decided to take a rest day. We sorted out microlight flights across the falls for the next day and then just tried to recover a bit as the heat and the efforts of the border crossing had really drained us.
The day at the Falls was unforgettable! The microlight flights were fantastic, even if I did have a death-like grip on the side of the machine, and I even got to fly it for a few minutes! Breathtaking sights of the falls, with the moisture rising even towards us in the air, then flying over elephant and hippos by the side of the water. Just too much for words!
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Rest of the day was spent wandering around the falls park itself. As the water was quite low at that time of the year we were able to walk right up to the side edge of the falls themselves and look down to the surging waters below. Unforgettable!
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Next day was the long, long haul to Lusaka, over 600kms. And ALL of it done through sidewinds. Every time you went around a corner the wind would hit you from another direction and the overtaking trucks and buses gave us serious cause for concern. Apparently we were invisible. Either that or we were actually being targeted!
Not impressed with Lusaka. Just another biggish Africa city. We had booked a small hotel based more on security for the bikes overnight than anything else. That worked out well and again the next morning we were on our way quite early.
We had the first major problem with panniers that day. (Givi’s – all that was available at short notice.) We had cursed and struggled with the things since the start. Either they did not lock or they did not open. Would not go on the bike or would not come off. Ross was ahead of me as we came out of the city and his offside pannier just flopped down almost off the bike. Again the comms worked well and I shouted a warning. Thank God for duct tape and bungees! Never again would I have plastic panniers!
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Out of Lusaka was the worst road so far. 160 kms of badly potholed, broken tarmac, sandy filled sides and chunks of broken rocks. The trucks and busses had given up on the road and used the sandy sides, leaving plumes of dust and sand in their wake and reducing visibility to almost zero after they passed. NOT fun at all! The side wind continued…. And then it rained!
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It really was one of those “Let’s just get our heads down on the bikes and keep going until we fall off or get knocked off!” sort of times. And not all of the road was Motorway……
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To cap it all we had to cover 340+kms of absolutely nothing; no villages; no rest spots; and most importantly NO fuel! We had been advised of this and had carried 5 ltrs spare. The bikes did so well. The low fuel light came on after about 275 kms and we just kept going. After 340 kms we started to think we should put the spare fuel in so we did nit get down to any debris or crap at the bottom of the tanks, but the fuel station showed up just at that point and we pulled in gratefully. The bikes only took just over 12 ltrs each which was amazing given the roads and the wind and everything else. (28+ to the litre.)_
Next stop was Chipata, Mama Rula’s –where E & C had stayed. (Not a deliberate act of hero worship on our part – there IS nowhere else around!)
Very clean campsite with all facilities. Good hospitality too. Must be good – the Acting President of Zambia was there for an evening meeting with his friends, so our food took a little while to arrive that night………
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Through the border next morning into Malawi. Again no major hassles at all. (In fact, even when we came up to Police roadblocks they would often wave us past the queues of cars and trucks. If they did stop us, it was to ask about our trip and where were we going next.) Our plan was to head for Cape McClear at the bottom of Lake Malawi. Ross had a friend of a friend of a friend who had just opened a campsite there. The roads were excellent for the first part of the trip. Good solid tarmac with long sweeping curves and stunning views around the mountains. One of my greatest moments of the trip was when Ross waved me forward then followed me for about 35 kms not saying anything. Bit like going through the DAS again. At the end of that leg he said “I only have one comment. WHO are you and what did you do to the bloke who was riding your bike LAST week?!” He meant, of course, that my riding and my confidence had improved so much. Meant a lot to me.
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Then the bottom dropped out of the world. We came across over 70 kms of really rough broken and loose gravel, part of an ongoing road repair. At then end of that we had 30kms of loose dirt – followed by 17kms of the WORST possible corrugations and bumps we had seen. I really thought the poor bike would fall to bits. Not matter what speed you went at, and the potholes dictated that, the bike shook and rattled until you could not see the instruments or even hear the engine. I lost count of gear changes and ended up not having a CLUE what gear I was in. I was hot, tired, dirty and shaken to bits by the time we came to the campsite. Beautiful location but RIGHT next door to the noisiest bar playing African music LOUDLY all night! Our plan of three days rest there went out of the window and we were off the next morning.
Fantastic sunset over the lake though….
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The road out did not seem so bad as it had on the way in - Probably because we were rested a little. Managed to find a shorter way back to the main road and we were off - the lake on one side and either lush green trees or mountains on the other! Fantastic sights and it was only the twisty downhill roads with trucks on their sides or broken down around blind corners that stopped us getting off and taking photos!
Followed the shores of the lake for the next day or so. Such a huge expanse of water it is almost a sea. The water crashes against the shore and you could almost go surfing!
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Mzuzu was the next night stop. Uneventful. Then off again towards the border with Tanzania and then to Mbeya. We both found the whole thing was going TOO fast and we just wanted to keep on riding!
Tanzania was the most beautiful of all the countries we went through with so many contrasting landscapes of African savannah, bush, mountain, forests and wide open spaces. Ross had his dream come true when we passed along one road and right on the edge of the road there were 6 elephants grazing. I was ahead and stopped a safe distance away whilst the younger, braver element stopped his bike to take some photos. He said he would leave the engine running and I suggested he leaves it in gear with one hand on the clutch as well!
He didn’t do that and stayed bravely as close as he could. He thought it was worth it too!
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More game for the next few hours with Giraffe; Zebra, and gazelles shying away from the edge of the road as the bikes came near.
Morogoro was the next stop, 640 kms away with another long day planned after that to Arusha via Moshi, around 650 kms. Best part of the day was a long 200kms of of decent road through spectacular mountains on one side and a vast savannah on the other. Just amazing.
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Worst part was the large busses tearing past us at breakneck speeds! That, and the BLOODY unmarked speed humps in the middle of nowhere which kept cropping up and drove us CRAZY!
Arrived in Morogroro “rush hour” which was our first major traffic for days! Bit scary after so long all to ourselves.
Quiet, uneventful night, then on to Arusha the next day. Treated ourselves to our first “decent” hotel. Knew if was good when Ross went in to the bathroom and exclaimed “Good grief! The sink has a PLUG!”
Out of Arusha on our final day, at dawn, deliberately so that we would see the sun rise over Mount Kilimanjaro. And Gosh was it worth it! Vast African savannah on one side and the majesty of Kilimanjaro on the other, the sun peeping around the edge and filling the road with a golden light. The highlight of the trip for me.
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And through the final border post at Namanga. And as I could have guessed, the worst possible long stretch of road after the border as we covered the final 130+ kms towards Nairobi. Soft sand, gravel, road construction, corrugations. You name it, we got it! The final straw was our very last fuel stop when some idiot in a pick up truck nearly backed in to Ross as he was waiting to fill up at the pump. All that way and to nearly get squashed with only 50 kms to go!
Turned off eventually to loop around the Ngong Hills to come in to Nairobi from behind. And arrived just after noon. The bikes did not miss a beat on the whole trip and we gave them some seriously hard roads to travel.
After 12 days on the road and 6,100 kms of conditions that bordered from great to absolute dog-shite we arrived in Nairobi and to lunch at the Wilson Airport Aero Club. Tired, incredibly dirty, but so elated and with the thought……
“That was fun! Where to next…?”
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Bit of background first. My 28 yr old son has been riding sports bikes (Cue garlic / silver bullets etc) for some years but I only got interested about 12 months ago. Being based in Kenya I just “borrowed” a friend’s Fundoro and sort of taught myself to ride a bit. Went to the UK in March this year and passed my DAS, with the intention of maybe in a year or so taking my son to the USA, hiring 2 Harleys and riding Route 66.
Then I reasoned, “Who knows? I might not be around in a couple of years.” and decided that I would organise the purchase of two bikes in South Africa, fly down there with Ross, my son, and ride them up to Kenya where I live……….. Yeah… right…..!
A couple of months of trawling the internet (Thanks guys!); some REALLY helpful people on this site plus two friends in South Africa who tried out 34 different “For Sale” bikes before they found one 2007 Dakar (4,000+ kms) and one 2006 650GS (20,000+ kms) they thought would be just the job.
Ross and I flew to Johannesburg, then drove on to Pretoria to pick up the bikes.
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The plan was to take them off to the Drakensburg Mountains for the weekend, get used to them, then route back through Pretoria in case anything needed to be sorted before the long way up!
Saturday morning saw us at the local BMW dealer having the tyres replaced. I didn’t think the existing ones would last the trip. Don’t anyone tell you there is no money around! I have never seen so many brand new BMW’s and a STREAM of people in and out of the very friendly workshop getting things done from 0830 as soon as the place opened. Some guys were having their bikes prepped for the GS Challenge which was due in a week or so and others just wanted things sorted or replaced or bolted on.
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Ross had copied E &C’s logo and turned it into “Long Way Up” stickers for the panniers.
Created SO much interest and lots of questions and advice whilst the bikes had their new tyres fitted. What a really nice bunch of people!
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Off then out of Pretoria traffic and on to the beautiful wide perfectly smooth tarmac up towards Lyndenburg and Misty Mountain. Through wonderful winding roads and twisty passes that never seemed to end. My first real experience of such things so my sphincter was going in and out most of the time. Best thing of all was the Interphone sets linking Ross and I together as he rode behind me with a stream of advice, comments and the odd sarcastic quote…..
Arrived at Misty around mid afternoon – What a stunning place and the drop-off pool was perfect for the first beer of the trip.
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Next day we rode around the region getting used to the bikes (me!) and saying “WOW!! (Both of us.) Tried some more twisty passes and gradually got my confidence up. Moved on to some slight off-road as we visited Horseshoe Falls and other sights around the area. Just amazing scenery.
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Early start the next day – first of MANY- and since the bikes were just fine we decided to avoid Pretoria and route directly up to Martin’s Drift, about 40 kms south of the border with Botswana. A long day’s first ride, but we were cocky and the roads seemed good. Which they were, all the way to the B&B we had organised for the night. We could not find the place and when I telephoned them they said it was just off the main road. All we had to do was take the next right and it was about “10 kms down a track that has some loose sand…”.
Oh good grief!!
Both of us were a bit new to this and had a few “moments” on the way down, eventually turning in to the farmhouse and both of us nearly stuffing it on the last corner!
Really hospitable farm folk looked after us that night and again the next morning with farm fresh eggs and bacon for breakfast at 5.30!
Out on to the sand again, and this time it all went sadly wrong for me. I fought the damn thing for ages as the front went its own merry way and eventually it said “Enough!” and spat me down into the ruts at the side of the road, with my leg firmly held into about 15 inches of sand by the weight of the bike resting on it! Thanks to the Interphone I was able to tell Ross, who had disappeared ahead in a cloud of dust and he came running back to try and lift the bike off me. With the weight of the panniers and the way the bike had dug in he just could not do it. Fortunately I had the panniers keys around my neck so I gave them to him and once the panniers were off he raised the beast enough for me to slide out from underneath.
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Got my new TWAT suit dirty anyway!
Back on the main road and our first border crossing just after 0800. Everyone was really helpful, pleasant and no-one wanted to look at the bikes or our stuff so we were on our way in to a new country within about 45 minutes!
The plan was to follow the border all the way up through Francistown, and night stop in Nata, leaving a short hope across the Zambezi on the ferry for the following day.
Roads in Botswana were good, miles and miles and bloody miles of straight tarmac with hardly any traffic. Just magical and so typically African landscapes all around as far as we could see.
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Temperatures started to rise with as the sun really came down and there was no shade to be had during our planned hourly stops for a pee and a stretch. It was about 38 degrees and I don’t know how we would have managed without our Camelbaks and the 6 – 8 litres of water we drank during the day.
After a quick burger stop in Francistown we rode on to Nata arriving after 4.00pm to find the road to the campsite was down a ….sandy track! AERGHH!!!@.
Pitching the tent in loose sand was not fun but we tied the thing to the bikes and went off for a swim in the pool. The first beers did not touch the sides!
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Early start again the next morning but that seemed to work well for us. Up around 5 or so and take the tent down. On the road just after 6 and then stop an hour later for something to eat, followed by regular 100+ km stops for a pee, a walk around or for fuel. It meant that we were NEVER saddle sore or bored and the kms just seemed to click off really easily most of the time. The Interphones helped pass the time and we had all sorts of philosophical conversations en route (e.g “If money were no object what sort of bike would you have and what bling would you have on it…?)
This time the ferry crossing was before the border and E & C showed it on LWD. Basically a large wooden plank with a 150hp engine on it shuttles across the Zambezi carrying people, cars, HUGE trucks and the odd idiot motorbiker!
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We got moved on first (uphill, through SAND……!) and then we were told to shove the bikes in the “passenger” walkway. Ross managed to put his side-stand down in the only major hole in the decking and was in with a very good chance of throwing himself, and the bike to be lunch for the crocodiles but he yelled for help and we got him back up again.
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They loaded one big truck and its trailer then allowed the masses on board,. In no time we were surrounded by a hoard of people carrying the things they had bought across the border and we stood next to the bikes thinking “What the %&*& have we got ourselves into!?”
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It’s only a few minutes across the river then straight into the queues of people for immigration (US$140 for a UK passport holder to get a visa!) then the third party insurance and finally the US$35 “Carbon Emission Tax”. DON’T get me started on THAT one!
Then out the gate and into our THIRD country with just 120 kms to go until Livingstone and Victoria Falls!
We had booked a guesthouse there and had already decided to take a rest day. We sorted out microlight flights across the falls for the next day and then just tried to recover a bit as the heat and the efforts of the border crossing had really drained us.
The day at the Falls was unforgettable! The microlight flights were fantastic, even if I did have a death-like grip on the side of the machine, and I even got to fly it for a few minutes! Breathtaking sights of the falls, with the moisture rising even towards us in the air, then flying over elephant and hippos by the side of the water. Just too much for words!
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Rest of the day was spent wandering around the falls park itself. As the water was quite low at that time of the year we were able to walk right up to the side edge of the falls themselves and look down to the surging waters below. Unforgettable!
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Next day was the long, long haul to Lusaka, over 600kms. And ALL of it done through sidewinds. Every time you went around a corner the wind would hit you from another direction and the overtaking trucks and buses gave us serious cause for concern. Apparently we were invisible. Either that or we were actually being targeted!
Not impressed with Lusaka. Just another biggish Africa city. We had booked a small hotel based more on security for the bikes overnight than anything else. That worked out well and again the next morning we were on our way quite early.
We had the first major problem with panniers that day. (Givi’s – all that was available at short notice.) We had cursed and struggled with the things since the start. Either they did not lock or they did not open. Would not go on the bike or would not come off. Ross was ahead of me as we came out of the city and his offside pannier just flopped down almost off the bike. Again the comms worked well and I shouted a warning. Thank God for duct tape and bungees! Never again would I have plastic panniers!
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Out of Lusaka was the worst road so far. 160 kms of badly potholed, broken tarmac, sandy filled sides and chunks of broken rocks. The trucks and busses had given up on the road and used the sandy sides, leaving plumes of dust and sand in their wake and reducing visibility to almost zero after they passed. NOT fun at all! The side wind continued…. And then it rained!
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It really was one of those “Let’s just get our heads down on the bikes and keep going until we fall off or get knocked off!” sort of times. And not all of the road was Motorway……
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To cap it all we had to cover 340+kms of absolutely nothing; no villages; no rest spots; and most importantly NO fuel! We had been advised of this and had carried 5 ltrs spare. The bikes did so well. The low fuel light came on after about 275 kms and we just kept going. After 340 kms we started to think we should put the spare fuel in so we did nit get down to any debris or crap at the bottom of the tanks, but the fuel station showed up just at that point and we pulled in gratefully. The bikes only took just over 12 ltrs each which was amazing given the roads and the wind and everything else. (28+ to the litre.)_
Next stop was Chipata, Mama Rula’s –where E & C had stayed. (Not a deliberate act of hero worship on our part – there IS nowhere else around!)
Very clean campsite with all facilities. Good hospitality too. Must be good – the Acting President of Zambia was there for an evening meeting with his friends, so our food took a little while to arrive that night………
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Through the border next morning into Malawi. Again no major hassles at all. (In fact, even when we came up to Police roadblocks they would often wave us past the queues of cars and trucks. If they did stop us, it was to ask about our trip and where were we going next.) Our plan was to head for Cape McClear at the bottom of Lake Malawi. Ross had a friend of a friend of a friend who had just opened a campsite there. The roads were excellent for the first part of the trip. Good solid tarmac with long sweeping curves and stunning views around the mountains. One of my greatest moments of the trip was when Ross waved me forward then followed me for about 35 kms not saying anything. Bit like going through the DAS again. At the end of that leg he said “I only have one comment. WHO are you and what did you do to the bloke who was riding your bike LAST week?!” He meant, of course, that my riding and my confidence had improved so much. Meant a lot to me.
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Then the bottom dropped out of the world. We came across over 70 kms of really rough broken and loose gravel, part of an ongoing road repair. At then end of that we had 30kms of loose dirt – followed by 17kms of the WORST possible corrugations and bumps we had seen. I really thought the poor bike would fall to bits. Not matter what speed you went at, and the potholes dictated that, the bike shook and rattled until you could not see the instruments or even hear the engine. I lost count of gear changes and ended up not having a CLUE what gear I was in. I was hot, tired, dirty and shaken to bits by the time we came to the campsite. Beautiful location but RIGHT next door to the noisiest bar playing African music LOUDLY all night! Our plan of three days rest there went out of the window and we were off the next morning.
Fantastic sunset over the lake though….
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The road out did not seem so bad as it had on the way in - Probably because we were rested a little. Managed to find a shorter way back to the main road and we were off - the lake on one side and either lush green trees or mountains on the other! Fantastic sights and it was only the twisty downhill roads with trucks on their sides or broken down around blind corners that stopped us getting off and taking photos!
Followed the shores of the lake for the next day or so. Such a huge expanse of water it is almost a sea. The water crashes against the shore and you could almost go surfing!
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Mzuzu was the next night stop. Uneventful. Then off again towards the border with Tanzania and then to Mbeya. We both found the whole thing was going TOO fast and we just wanted to keep on riding!
Tanzania was the most beautiful of all the countries we went through with so many contrasting landscapes of African savannah, bush, mountain, forests and wide open spaces. Ross had his dream come true when we passed along one road and right on the edge of the road there were 6 elephants grazing. I was ahead and stopped a safe distance away whilst the younger, braver element stopped his bike to take some photos. He said he would leave the engine running and I suggested he leaves it in gear with one hand on the clutch as well!
He didn’t do that and stayed bravely as close as he could. He thought it was worth it too!
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More game for the next few hours with Giraffe; Zebra, and gazelles shying away from the edge of the road as the bikes came near.
Morogoro was the next stop, 640 kms away with another long day planned after that to Arusha via Moshi, around 650 kms. Best part of the day was a long 200kms of of decent road through spectacular mountains on one side and a vast savannah on the other. Just amazing.
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Worst part was the large busses tearing past us at breakneck speeds! That, and the BLOODY unmarked speed humps in the middle of nowhere which kept cropping up and drove us CRAZY!
Arrived in Morogroro “rush hour” which was our first major traffic for days! Bit scary after so long all to ourselves.
Quiet, uneventful night, then on to Arusha the next day. Treated ourselves to our first “decent” hotel. Knew if was good when Ross went in to the bathroom and exclaimed “Good grief! The sink has a PLUG!”
Out of Arusha on our final day, at dawn, deliberately so that we would see the sun rise over Mount Kilimanjaro. And Gosh was it worth it! Vast African savannah on one side and the majesty of Kilimanjaro on the other, the sun peeping around the edge and filling the road with a golden light. The highlight of the trip for me.
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And through the final border post at Namanga. And as I could have guessed, the worst possible long stretch of road after the border as we covered the final 130+ kms towards Nairobi. Soft sand, gravel, road construction, corrugations. You name it, we got it! The final straw was our very last fuel stop when some idiot in a pick up truck nearly backed in to Ross as he was waiting to fill up at the pump. All that way and to nearly get squashed with only 50 kms to go!
Turned off eventually to loop around the Ngong Hills to come in to Nairobi from behind. And arrived just after noon. The bikes did not miss a beat on the whole trip and we gave them some seriously hard roads to travel.
After 12 days on the road and 6,100 kms of conditions that bordered from great to absolute dog-shite we arrived in Nairobi and to lunch at the Wilson Airport Aero Club. Tired, incredibly dirty, but so elated and with the thought……
“That was fun! Where to next…?”
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Great advice form the forum on writing the report in Word though, then adding the thing to the site in one go.
as my wife doesn't ride) and your pics make the wait seem that much longer....
