Africa tour to the equator and back in 40 days
- Thread starter schalk vd merwe
- Start date
schalk vd merwe
Race Dog
Thanks mate-SchalkChinaPete said:
cloudgazer
Grey Hound
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- BMW F650GS / Dakar
ChinaPete said:
Yup, me too.
;D
Except for all the mud you guys encountered.
I wouldn't be happy with that.
schalk vd merwe
Race Dog
Daar kom nog, nou eers net oor halfpad. Dankie dat jy dit lees. Groete Schalk.Biesie said:
schalk vd merwe
Race Dog
Thanks Mate-Schalkcloudgazer said:
Man dit is nou 'n lekker trip die!! Gooi nog!
Julle kan gelukkig wees met daai crash in die gat.....ek dink as mens daar doer ver iets breek het jy groot stront op jou hande.
Sal graag wil sien as dit alles klaar is wat julle totale koste was ensovoorts.
Ek wag angstig vir die res.
:happy1:
Julle kan gelukkig wees met daai crash in die gat.....ek dink as mens daar doer ver iets breek het jy groot stront op jou hande.
Sal graag wil sien as dit alles klaar is wat julle totale koste was ensovoorts.
Ek wag angstig vir die res.
:happy1:
schalk vd merwe
Race Dog
Ons het altyd 'n plan gemaak-groete SchalkCarrots said:
schalk vd merwe
Race Dog
Day 23 27/12/2010 Masai Mara Game Reserve--Narok
The next morning we were up early, as there were no washing facilities we decided to go. The Masai man and his picky picky driver were going to guide us to the main gravel road coming from the Masai Mara game reserve. The road was much better than what we experienced the previous night. At the goodbye point we gave our guide a R600-00 tip, this was the biggest tip of the whole trip but I think he was really worth it. He said his nick name at the Game reserve was “the lion” and I think he was a real lion. Even though the Masai have very skinny arms he was very strong the previous night. The reason why they are so skinny is because they live with their cattle for long periods of time and only drink milk. That is also the reason why he did not cook the rice I gave him the previous night. We said our good byes and I promised him that we are going to look him up as we return to the Park in future. We travelled about 20 km from there and came across a game drive vehicle that just picked up some new tourist. They indicated that we must stop. Out jumped an Italian tourist with his camera and telephoto lens, this now was the real paparazzi as he took one photo after the other of us. Being Italian he was impressed to find somebody with a Valentino Rossi helmet on. He was also a motor cycle enthusiast and had 12 bikes back home in his garage. I told him that Yamaha xt 660 is made under licence in Italy and he was even more impressed. I suppose when he goes home he’s going to buy bike no 13 a 660 Yammy. From here we hit a very rocky road and I put a few smiles on my front rim. I got stuck in the mud again a little later and had to push the bike out with great difficulty. As we entered Narok I ran out of petrol. We could see the petrol pump about a km down the road. Shall we tow the bike or shall we fill from the 20 L can? The red petrol can won in the end. After that we booked into a cheap hotel (R 350) with the idea to wash off the “African guest house” a bit. For that we were going to need a hot and cold shower tap to work. The manager walked us to our room himself. As we opened the door we tried the shower first. In true African tradition only a bit of cold water came out of the cold water tap and non out the hot tap. The manager went down to reception and fetched keys for two more rooms. The next one was about the same and only in the 3rd room did we find a shower that worked. We both had a beautiful hot shower followed by a nice dinner.
The next morning we were up early, as there were no washing facilities we decided to go. The Masai man and his picky picky driver were going to guide us to the main gravel road coming from the Masai Mara game reserve. The road was much better than what we experienced the previous night. At the goodbye point we gave our guide a R600-00 tip, this was the biggest tip of the whole trip but I think he was really worth it. He said his nick name at the Game reserve was “the lion” and I think he was a real lion. Even though the Masai have very skinny arms he was very strong the previous night. The reason why they are so skinny is because they live with their cattle for long periods of time and only drink milk. That is also the reason why he did not cook the rice I gave him the previous night. We said our good byes and I promised him that we are going to look him up as we return to the Park in future. We travelled about 20 km from there and came across a game drive vehicle that just picked up some new tourist. They indicated that we must stop. Out jumped an Italian tourist with his camera and telephoto lens, this now was the real paparazzi as he took one photo after the other of us. Being Italian he was impressed to find somebody with a Valentino Rossi helmet on. He was also a motor cycle enthusiast and had 12 bikes back home in his garage. I told him that Yamaha xt 660 is made under licence in Italy and he was even more impressed. I suppose when he goes home he’s going to buy bike no 13 a 660 Yammy. From here we hit a very rocky road and I put a few smiles on my front rim. I got stuck in the mud again a little later and had to push the bike out with great difficulty. As we entered Narok I ran out of petrol. We could see the petrol pump about a km down the road. Shall we tow the bike or shall we fill from the 20 L can? The red petrol can won in the end. After that we booked into a cheap hotel (R 350) with the idea to wash off the “African guest house” a bit. For that we were going to need a hot and cold shower tap to work. The manager walked us to our room himself. As we opened the door we tried the shower first. In true African tradition only a bit of cold water came out of the cold water tap and non out the hot tap. The manager went down to reception and fetched keys for two more rooms. The next one was about the same and only in the 3rd room did we find a shower that worked. We both had a beautiful hot shower followed by a nice dinner.
schalk vd merwe
Race Dog
schalk vd merwe
Race Dog
schalk vd merwe
Race Dog
schalk vd merwe
Race Dog
schalk vd merwe
Race Dog
Day 24 28/12/2010 Narok------Nairobi in Kenia
The next day we left early as we still wanted to find accommodation in Nairobi and see if we can find a Yamaha dealer as Juan's bike is still running with the same clutch cable which was tied down with a piece of wire in Karema on Lake Tanganyika many moons ago. We did buy a look alike cable from a Chinese bike shop on the way but it was much thinner and had no adjustment on, so we were not sure if it would work if need be. We rode right through save for stopping at a lookout point to look at the Rift valley. Entering Nairobi from the west was quite an experience, along the road was some nurseries and instead of having them in an enclosed area the beautiful flowering plants was stacked next to the road for a couple kilometres. We set the tracks 4 Africa to look for accommodation and it picked up an Italian guest house. The area must be a rather upper class area as all the different embassies were in this area. We arrived at the gate but there were no sign to indicate that this was indeed a guest house. We asked the security guard at the gate next door and he said yes that was the correct place and we rang the bell. A young Italian lady came out. We asked her the rate for accommodation but it turned out a bit stiff for a bikers budged. We then negotiated a more reasonable rate and it turned out great value for money. The owner of the establishment was a lady in her 90’s and her daughter was also there from Italy and the lady who opened the gate was from Tanzania and she had her baby there as well. So it was 4 generations present from different parts of the world together for Christmas to New Year. We just off loaded the bikes and got directions from our host to the Yamaha dealer in town. Here we hit the real Nairobi traffic and I got a wake up call and a culture shock and a real African driving lesson all in one. Here we saw minibus taxi's like in Johannesburg for the first time on our trip. As all traffic approach a red robot they just cross it and if you dare stop they hoot at you and nearly ride over you. At a circle it is free for all. I eventually kept extreme left at the many circles and always ensured that there are a car to the right of me to take the impact if need be. The mini bus taxi drivers in Jhb seemed to be angels with white wings all of a sudden. We made it alive to the Yamaha dealer in the City Centre and the workshop manager was extremely helpful. Although they don't keep any spares for our bike they allowed me to service my own bike in the back yard. Fortunately I brought everything along from JHB. 4 Litre Yamaha Lube, air filter, oil filter and a spark plug. Juan in turn did not service his bike. As they shared the wash bay with Toyota next door they washed our bikes with soap and a high pressure machine free of charge. The show room and workshop was on par with any Yamaha dealer I have seen in JHB quite a contrast to their traffic. They only stock 125cc and 200cc Yamaha's and spares, the one is made under licence in India and the other one in China. They sell 500 of these a month and I don't think there is a dealer in the RSA that sells so many bikes a month. Even a spaza shop on the way to the Equator was selling 5 a month and I wondered why our local population don't buy these time saving light on fuel bikes. Do they know something that our local population don't know? After servicing my bike we went next door to a spares shop much like Midas in RSA but much bigger as it was 2 floors high and we bought some chain lube as we were using oil for the last 1000 km or so. After the shopping we ventured back in the chaos of peak hour traffic. The traffic was like Spaghetti and it almost felt safer as all the cars and minibus taxis were entangled and could not move. We managed to ride around on pavements and in between the vehicles in by now true African and Kenyan style. As far as we rode people would hang out of the taxis and shout Mzungu (white man in Swahili) in a friendly way. We again made it back alive to the guest house where our host had the dinner ready and as we chose to sit around the same table than the family and for the rest of the evening they told us their very interesting family history in Africa from before the Second World War to date.
The next day we left early as we still wanted to find accommodation in Nairobi and see if we can find a Yamaha dealer as Juan's bike is still running with the same clutch cable which was tied down with a piece of wire in Karema on Lake Tanganyika many moons ago. We did buy a look alike cable from a Chinese bike shop on the way but it was much thinner and had no adjustment on, so we were not sure if it would work if need be. We rode right through save for stopping at a lookout point to look at the Rift valley. Entering Nairobi from the west was quite an experience, along the road was some nurseries and instead of having them in an enclosed area the beautiful flowering plants was stacked next to the road for a couple kilometres. We set the tracks 4 Africa to look for accommodation and it picked up an Italian guest house. The area must be a rather upper class area as all the different embassies were in this area. We arrived at the gate but there were no sign to indicate that this was indeed a guest house. We asked the security guard at the gate next door and he said yes that was the correct place and we rang the bell. A young Italian lady came out. We asked her the rate for accommodation but it turned out a bit stiff for a bikers budged. We then negotiated a more reasonable rate and it turned out great value for money. The owner of the establishment was a lady in her 90’s and her daughter was also there from Italy and the lady who opened the gate was from Tanzania and she had her baby there as well. So it was 4 generations present from different parts of the world together for Christmas to New Year. We just off loaded the bikes and got directions from our host to the Yamaha dealer in town. Here we hit the real Nairobi traffic and I got a wake up call and a culture shock and a real African driving lesson all in one. Here we saw minibus taxi's like in Johannesburg for the first time on our trip. As all traffic approach a red robot they just cross it and if you dare stop they hoot at you and nearly ride over you. At a circle it is free for all. I eventually kept extreme left at the many circles and always ensured that there are a car to the right of me to take the impact if need be. The mini bus taxi drivers in Jhb seemed to be angels with white wings all of a sudden. We made it alive to the Yamaha dealer in the City Centre and the workshop manager was extremely helpful. Although they don't keep any spares for our bike they allowed me to service my own bike in the back yard. Fortunately I brought everything along from JHB. 4 Litre Yamaha Lube, air filter, oil filter and a spark plug. Juan in turn did not service his bike. As they shared the wash bay with Toyota next door they washed our bikes with soap and a high pressure machine free of charge. The show room and workshop was on par with any Yamaha dealer I have seen in JHB quite a contrast to their traffic. They only stock 125cc and 200cc Yamaha's and spares, the one is made under licence in India and the other one in China. They sell 500 of these a month and I don't think there is a dealer in the RSA that sells so many bikes a month. Even a spaza shop on the way to the Equator was selling 5 a month and I wondered why our local population don't buy these time saving light on fuel bikes. Do they know something that our local population don't know? After servicing my bike we went next door to a spares shop much like Midas in RSA but much bigger as it was 2 floors high and we bought some chain lube as we were using oil for the last 1000 km or so. After the shopping we ventured back in the chaos of peak hour traffic. The traffic was like Spaghetti and it almost felt safer as all the cars and minibus taxis were entangled and could not move. We managed to ride around on pavements and in between the vehicles in by now true African and Kenyan style. As far as we rode people would hang out of the taxis and shout Mzungu (white man in Swahili) in a friendly way. We again made it back alive to the guest house where our host had the dinner ready and as we chose to sit around the same table than the family and for the rest of the evening they told us their very interesting family history in Africa from before the Second World War to date.
