Into Africa - DASKOP's 12000km drive

[n0b0dy]

as ek volgende keer nee se... skiet my!!!!!!~

 

[MURPHY]

as ek volgende keer nee se... skiet my!!!!!!~

The cost is not really a big issue as this can be done reasonably cheaply , Time off work is the big one to get round . To crown it all i felt safer in Namibia , Zambia and Malawi than i do in my own country . NEXT ONE IS TANZANIA!!! :thumleft:

 

[n0b0dy]

Murphy Moer envious. next time!!!!! im in.. like flint.

 

[DASKOP]

[/quote]

as ek volgende keer nee se... skiet my!!!!!!~

The cost is not really a big issue as this can be done reasonably cheaply , Time off work is the big one to get round . To crown it all i felt safer in Namibia , Zambia and Malawi than i do in my own country . NEXT ONE IS TANZANIA!!! :thumleft:

Murphy Moer envious. next time!!!!! im in.. like flint.

Ja, jy wou mos nie luister nie.  :laughing4:


Volgende jaar Junie / Julie / Aug...................begin nou al beplan...................anders ry ek weer sonder jou.

Botswana / Zambia / Tanzania / Zanzibar / Malawi / Zimbabwe (sorry Murphs, I know you had a bad experience, but I still want to do Zim).

:ricky:

 

[DASKOP]

14 July 2013 (continued)

Rhys wants to get Gaille a special bottle of wine (the man knows how to keep the shares high), so we are off in the cage to Monkey Bay to go shopping. No luck there, and we go to Club Mac. Quite a drive, but what an amazing place.

Own landing strip. Big extensions going on. Very well kept gardens and walkways.

There is a huge Baobab tree next to the original accommodation building.

The staff are very professional.

Absolutely amazing beach.  8)

 

[DASKOP]

What is not to love about a place such as this...............providing you have the money to fly in on your own private jet, do the whole pamper thing, lie next to the pool with 5 star luxury treatment.

My problem...........I would get bored...............itching to ride..............Malawi has to much to see.............and, cannot really afford to do it that way.

Don't know how it would go down pitching a tent on the front lawn.

 

[DASKOP]

It's back to Illovo Cottage. Our last day here...............then Murphy drops the clanger. He is heading back to South Africa........he's had enough of African villages. Me, I don't know whether I will ever get this opportunity again. I am carrying on up north. It was not part of the original planning, but I am enthralled by Lake Malawi and it would not be a fitting ending for me to turn around now.

Now, knowing what I encountered on my way north, it was the best decision that I could ever have made.

Murphy, we will talk again after the rest of this RR.

We have our last night on the lake at Cape Maclear and we are spoilt again.

 

[DASKOP]

This photo is for the Davies family who were gracious and wonderful hosts that made our Lake Malawi visit an experience of a lifetime......thank you very much.

:thumleft:                        :hello:

 

[DASKOP]

15 July 2013

The bikes are packed and we are going to be on our way. I am going north to the Illovo Dwangwa Sugar Estate and Murphy is going south to Blantyre, where he will stay over with the Davies family before headig home through Moz and Zim.

 

[n0b0dy]

Kom daskopf. Is amper krismas hier in die toekoms. Ek will The end sien voor dan asb. Lekker krismas pressie. Die eerste foto van jou terug in PE wat ons geneemhet by drae.


Lekker lekker nog nog asb. Gooi mielies
:ricky:

 

[DASKOP]

Kom daskopf. Is amper krismas hier in die toekoms. Ek will The end sien voor dan asb. Lekker krismas pressie. Die eerste foto van jou terug in PE wat ons geneemhet by drae.


Lekker lekker nog nog asb. Gooi mielies
:ricky:

Krismis is baie possible...................weet net nie watter jaar nie.         :biggrin:

 

[DASKOP]

I am on my way out of Cape Maclear after saying my goodbyes and thanking the Illovo Cottage staff for their amazing service.

Last few photos on the way out. Fill up with fuel, check the luggage, check the GPS. Then I am on my own into the unknown. Rhys has organised me accommodation at the Dwangwa Sugar Estate. One less thing to consider. Rhys was seriously a great help in making this a memorable trip. Wait till you see what he arranged for me after Dwangwa.

Daunting, but exciting.

Fortunately, up to now, there were 2 of us riding together, time to adapt to the unfamiliar surroundings of our trip outside of South Africa.

 

[DASKOP]

Just some random pictures on the way to Dwangwa.

 

[DASKOP]

There are pedestrians or cyclists everywhere. In the villages or in the outlying areas. Never did I stop and not encounter people. Even if it looks deserted, moments after stopping, people would just appear out of the bush and stare.

We have many areas in South Africa, where you can stop along the road and experience a vast emptiness with no sign of life. Not in Malawi.

 

[BMWPE]

Kom daskopf. Is amper krismas hier in die toekoms. Ek will The end sien voor dan asb. Lekker krismas pressie. Die eerste foto van jou terug in PE wat ons geneemhet by drae.


Lekker lekker nog nog asb. Gooi mielies
:ricky:

Pretty please  ;D

Awesome RR by the way just maak klaar !!!!!!!

 

[DASKOP]

Kom daskopf. Is amper krismas hier in die toekoms. Ek will The end sien voor dan asb. Lekker krismas pressie. Die eerste foto van jou terug in PE wat ons geneemhet by drae.


Lekker lekker nog nog asb. Gooi mielies
:ricky:

Pretty please  ;D

Awesome RR (THANK YOU) by the way just maak klaar !!!!!!!      

I am trying, but please understand, I can do the RR to the end right now, but there will be no photos. Can you imagine the comments then?

:useless:

I still have a few thousand photos to sort. When I got a chance on the road, I just put them onto memory sticks wherever there was space and they are not in sequence. To buy more sticks at that stage was also not an option. The computer shops are few and far between.

Lesson learnt - take more memory cards with.  :deal:

Time is few and the photos are many.

So, for now, patience please.

 

[DASKOP]

Along the way, I came across the sign for Malawi Teen Missions.........somehow I am drawn to go in and investigate.

Tricky little sand road in, but I get there without incident. I meet Harrison Chumba, a very friendly and humble man who is leading the mission. They are under the umbrella of Teen Missions International.

They grow veggies and fruit for the local children who do not receive adequate nutrition at home. Those who want to change over to the Christian faith (predominantly Muslim population in the area) are given the opportunity to do so. This obviously does not go down well with the locals and the kids are often ostracised from their parental homes.

I just get the feeling that the international aid situation was initially based on good intentions, but there is no follow up. There are many half completed projects as well as half built churches everywhere. Conscience money has been paid, now we can carry on with our own lives. Rather not give anything than give someone hope and then not help them get to a position of self-sufficiency.

I am only saying this, because talking to Harrison Chumba, you can feel the man's passion to improve the situation of the people around him. He is definitely not doing this for personal financial gain.

Not something that we regularly experience amongst our own considerably more affluent (relatively speaking) community.

 

[DASKOP]

Any way, it is onward and upward.................that is, north.

I come across this police road block. I see the Illovo Sugar sign on the building and first ask permission to take some photos and I mention my connection with the General Manager of Illovo Sugar. (Name-dropping sometimes helps. :biggrin

I NEVER had any problems with ANY cops on my whole journey. They all treated me with the same friendly respect that I showed them.

 

[DASKOP]

Some photos late afternoon on the way to Dwangwa Sugar Estate.

I, at first, land on the wrong road to my lodgings for the night, but the gate security points me in the right direction. I get a very friendly welcome from the club manager, who has been expecting me. I get a very comfortable, fully kitted semi flatlet.

I spend some time on the verandah next to the pool overlooking the golf course.

Then it is a great meal in the dining room, shower and bed. Tomorrow it is on to Makuzi Beach Lodge. Just the name is enough to make me excited all over again.

:ricky: :ricky: :ricky: :ricky:

 

[DASKOP]

16 July 2013 - Dwangwa to Makuzi Beach Lodge.

It is a relatively short ride to Makuzi, so I take my time getting ready. Also, in Africa expect the unexpected, so I enjoy the great breakfast in a formalised setting. Have a nice shower, I dont know what lays ahead.

I leave Dwangwa at around 10 AM. It is already hot. To think that it is winter in PE.  8)