For long the imagery of Africa’s wildlife has been synonymous with the landscapes of the Serengeti – it’s vast savannahs, pockets of close bush and rocky outcrops. The real thing is no disappointment in that regard, either on the wildlife or the scenic count. It really is a global treasure and something that must forever […]
Author Archive | Gareth Morgan
Zanzibar Zing
For us Zanzibar was the opportunity to have some R&R off the bikes doing something totally different. So Floyd, Jo and I chose to use the week off to hone our scuba skills. Why not – with a sea temperature of 26 degrees it sure beats the hell out of learning down on the south […]
Call of the Muezzin
As we’ve ridden east across Africa the frequency of minarets has lifted and now our dawn is welcomed by the call of the muezzin. Historically it was the Europeans – specifically the Portuguese that brought religion to the west coast of Africa while it was the Arabs that brought it to the East. Of course […]
Lake Malawi & Lots of Fish – Not
Lake Malawi once skited of plentiful fish stocks but these days the resource is a shadow of its former self. Still that doesn’t prevent the locals spending day after day out on the lake in their dugout canoes chasing after the big one – butterfish, catfish and the prized speciality chambo, are the species of […]
Bike Cracks
6,000 kms into the trip and the bikes are showing some strain. This year it’s the exhaust pipes that have fallen victim to the severity of Zambian and Malawian potholes. The pipe passes just above the support bracket for the left footpeg and when the bike grounds in one of these canyons the two meet […]
They Love Their Donkeys
Donkey Love is a not altogether uncommon occurrence in this region of North Botswana through which we’re currently passing. We’re not surprised given the ratio of donkeys to humans in this neck of the woods. The following appeared in The Ngami Times yesterday; It’s happened again – well maybe it’s been happening all the time […]
Windhoek
We rolled into Windhoek, capital of Namibia, dusty and dry after 4 days of dirt roads. The reason for our call was primarily to check on Brendan and his bike, both of which left the group via truck and aircraft respectively, due to his suspected head gasket trouble. The good news is that a replacement […]
Nimble in Namibia
Across the border in an hour isn’t bad except we’ve been led to believe that this is the easiest border we’ll meet until the EU. The former homeland of Namibia welcomes us in though, and there’s a stream of 4WD vehicles heading south from Namibia’s National Park playground on this, the last day of the […]
Start of the Long Trek
Heading north from Capetown it isn’t long before suburbia gives way to vast open spaces – vast & open being what we mean. Firstly it’s rolling green hills, plenty of water and then it becomes scruffier and scruffier and the housing and townships more and more modest. Along the west coast at least, South Africa […]
Captive in Capetown
Clinging on to the African Continent’s bottom in Capetown waiting for our bikes to be released from Customs so we have the means to ride Up Africa. The shroud of cloud over Table Mountain is as per the “tablecloth” of the tourist brochures and the temperature at the top is as cool and sharp as […]