Cape to Cairo 2010

Today was a TRUE rest day! We are at the Livingstonia Beach Hotel in Senga Bay which I have come to think of as one of the closest things to paradise that I have ever found. The hotel is virtually deserted because its out of season and this location is breathtaking.

We have become accustomed to 5.30am wake up and today was no exception so after an early breakfast we devoted time to the bikes to get them washed and generally maintained before settling into a very lazy day of too much sun, food and cold beer.

We are currently 1 day ahead of schedule which we would like to retain so that we can get an additional day in at the Ngorogoro crater in Tanzania which we will get to in about a weeks time.

Tomorrow we sadly depart Senga Bay for Nkhata Bay, approximately 330km north of here along the lake.

The “where are we now” page is not currently updating because cell signal is lousy so although we are currently in Malawi (trust me on this one), the page still says we are in Eastern Zambia…hopefully this will rectify itself tomorrow.

The warrior (right) and the troll being washed and maintained.

Senga Bay

Senga Bay

Ancient Baobab tree growing right on the waters edge.

Local Fishermen.

Kuche Kuche..Essential daily sustenance whilst in Malawi!!

Malawian coal vendor…Its a living.

Senga Bay

We left Chipata in Zambia and headed for Malawi this morning.

Malawi has a speed limit of 80km/h on ordinary roads and 50km/h through the villages although the villages are all on the main transit roads. It took us 4h30 to do 350km…it was like a slow death!

We are spending the next 2 days at the Livingstonia beach hotel in Senga Bay which is old and basic but unbelievably located right on Lake Malawi, is clean, the food is good and the beers are cold.

We are now 4500km from home.

The local beer is kuche kuche.

Livingstonia Beach Hotel

We have today been away from home for a week and are both talking about the fact that we are missing family already notwithstanding that we are having a great time.

We were up early today to deal with Dale’s puncture and to get onto the road as soon as possible. The route today was to get to Chipata, approximately 100km from the Malawian border where we will cross into tomorrow.

The ride was through some of the most beautiful African landscape we have ever seen with long winding mountain pass roads and wafts of a beautiful sweet scent of burning mabongwa wood that the local villages use for fire. These small rural Zambian towns have a particular charm and the people really are wonderful, curious and welcoming.

We are spending the tonight at Mamarulas bed and breakfast in Chipata which compared to last night is heavan. We have done 4,150 km’s since leaving Cape Town.

Saying goodbye to our hosts!

Beautiful mountanous countryside,

Zambian high street.

Luanga River Bridge

Negotiating lunch.

Zambian date night!!

The route today was supposed to be Livingstone to Kafue (just outside Lusaka and 450km from Livingstone) however, when we got to Kafue and realised that there was nothing there we decided to press on to Luangwa Bridge another 270km away even though it was already 15h00 and sunset was at 17h50.

The route to Luangwa took us through Lusaka (The capital of Zambia) which is a frenetic African city with traffic “rules” that have been invented by the Zambians and understood by them alone. Getting through Lusaka took a lot longer than anticipated so when darkness started to fall and we were still 100km from our destination we started to search for a place for the night. Our GPS units advised that the Dam view chalets (sounded charming enough) was only a few km’s from our location on the T4 so decided that that is where we would spend the night.

On arrival, we did indeed find 2 chalets with a dam view however, seemingly abandoned and not a soul for miles, this simultaneous with a front wheel puncture on Dale’s BMW so even had we wanted to press on, it was now impossible.

The chalets, it turns out are owned by a neighbouring school and occupied by a charming lady called Angela who is a social worker at the abovementioned school. We elected to camp for the night on the lawns in front of the dam…..the Royal Livingstone is now a distant memory as Angela’s radio plays in the background and the sound of trucks go trundling by on the nearby road.

Biltong sticks and dried fruit for lunch on the road.

Our charming hostess Angela (left), and her sister Nancy.

NOT The Royal Livingstone!!

Dale’s bike with a front puncture.

Well today was supposed to have been a “rest” day, however, it was only a rest from riding a bike but far from restful in every other sense.

We decided it would be a good idea to tackle the Zambezi white water rafting at 7am and whilst it was an absolute blast the water was cold and the rapids were pretty hard work that produced a much needed exercise session.

The highlight of the morning was when our raft flipped and we went trundling down rapid 24 sans boat!! Awesome!!

The Royal Livingstone Hotel is all that it is cut out to be and we have had an amazing time here.

Rowan headed back to Johannesburg today and Hilton heads back to Cape Town tomorrow so it will be Dale and I continuing alone for the remainder of the journey.

We head for Lusaka tomorrow, approximately 450km from our current location. The new page that has been added to this site..”where are we now?” really is an amazing application as it enables viewers to see our location in real time and to chart our progress automatically.

Sunset over the Zambezi.

Vic Falls in all her splendour

Dr Livingstone without his Rolux Magnum

Dinner on the Veranda.

Left Namushaha Lodge just after 7.30am for a short 350km ride to Livingstone, Zambia.

The English created beuracracy, the Africans however perfected it. The Zambian border post at Katima Mulilo, whilst relatively painless contained no less than 4 different counters with countless fees payable for the priveledge of entering Zambia.

Zambia is however beautiful and the people are friendly and welcoming. We are spending the next 2 nights (yes, we have a day off from riding tomorrow) at the famous Royal Livingstone Hotel..I never said it would be hardship all the way!!

Tomorrow we get to sleep in, white water raft and for those brave (or stupid) enough, the bungi jump!

We have completed 3200km thus far of our 13,000km journey.

Sunrise over the Kwando River at Namushasha Lodge

Enough said…

Crossing the Mighty Zambezi.

Left our Lodge in Rundu just after 8am heading for Kongola, our destination for the day.  In comparison to previous days, our ride today is a short 427km!

The Caprivi strip is beautiful with amazing bushveld scents and unusual road warning signs that I suspect are particular to Africa alone.

We are spending the evening at Namushasha Lodge 30km from Kongola on the Kwando River, just off the Namibia / Botswana border in the Caprivi strip. This Lodge is really beautiful and worth a visit under ordinary circumstances. The views, wildlife and quality of accommodation, food and service are all fantastic and really good value for money. The last 3km stretch of road to get here however was a bit challenging and Hiltons bike felt a bit sleepy in the thick sand just 50 metres from the entrance of the lodge…so close but yet so far!!

Today is our last day in Namibia as we cross into Zambia tomorrow and then 2 nights of bliss at the Royal Livingstone Hotel…I am first in line for the spa!

Crossing the Kavango River

Pit stop in the Caprivi…It was HOT!!

We aint in Kansas anymore…

Left Windhoek at 6am just as the sky got light and broke the back of the 700km that we had to do today by 10am. The route today was Windhoek to Rundu (the entrance to the caprivi strip in northern namibia).

Things went well until Dale’s radio stopped working which prompted a 150km detour to Tsumeb to get the radios for our bike to bike communications fixed. This detour resulted in a scenic 850km day.

The road to Rundu is the straightest road in the world…literally! Other than thousands of goats and cows on the side of the road, the trip was largely uneventful with the occasional heart in mouth when an animal walks into the road.

Accomodation this evening is…um…Basic! My shower has rat poo in it and I am pretty certain the bed has fleas, that said, we are so tired, that almost anything will do. The view at least is pretty….welcome to Africa!

The straightest road in the world!

Awoke to an awesome sunrise over the orange river. Southern Namibia is beautiful because of its starkness.

The ride today was a long 700km to Windhoek. Looooong straight boring roads with nothing but nothing to look at plus an unbearable heat that set in after midday.

The highlight of the day was crossing the tropic of Capricorn!!

sunrise over the orange river.

still a common mode of transport.

long roads with nothing to look at.

The highlight of the day!!

Wooohhooo!! Cairo here we come.

We met at 8am for fuel etc before leaving. 2 friends of ours; Hilton Bennewith and Rowan Crowie will be riding up to Livingston, Zambia with us over the next 5 days.

Our route today was up to the Namibian border (700km) and we are spending the night at Felix Unite (a lodge with Chalets next to the Orange river…Nice)

 The ride initially was hampered by a fog reminiscent of London pea soup but after about 100km out of CT, it became mostly uneventful with long straight stretches that produced bouts of sleepiness for all of us as no-one got to bed much before 1am last night with last minute preps.

The surroundings once we got into Namaqualand however were stark and beautiful.

Dale and Rui…First pit stop just outside Clanwilliam.

Rowan Crowie on his mustard Hot Dog.

The wife fully dressed with some branding from some of the corporate sponsors that very kindly donated to Ma Afrika Tikkun.

Rowan…The first traffic casualty!!

Hilton Bennewith (looking seriously unimpressed) and his Beautiful machine.

Welcome to Namibia!