Dragonfly-XC
Race Dog
- Joined
- Jun 30, 2012
- Messages
- 2,432
- Reaction score
- 1
- Location
- Melkbosstrand
- Bike
- Triumph (all models)
:sip: Geluk, jy beat my met so 6 mde. :3some:
Living the Dream Solo Around the World Trip
- Thread starter schalk vd merwe
- Start date
Lekker man.Geniet elke oomblik en veilig ry.
Sub
Sub
Awesome journey.
Wishing you safe travels further.
Wishing you safe travels further.
eduard
Race Dog
- Joined
- Aug 16, 2014
- Messages
- 572
- Reaction score
- 16
- Location
- Meyersdal - Johannesburg
- Bike
- BMW R1200GS Adventure
BradleyT
Race Dog
I am enjoying the updates. Godspeed.
schalk vd merwe
Race Dog
Update 31/05/15
May 24
The road to Livingstonia was nice. Before Nkhata bay I saw some cute signs see photos. Then came the gravel mountain pass. I strapped my enduro jacket on top of my luggage and I kept just an enduro shirt and my body protector on. Right at the first bend there were a lot of loose stones with a steep incline to the left. I turned the bike back and made a u turn in order to gain momentum. From the word go it was very technical with a lot of rocks and large loose stones and some erosion trenches on the road surface, then a steep incline with the next bend turning right. As I was approaching the bend I heard my big yellow bag scraping on the ground and also against the rear tyre. I thought I could not stop there as it would be impossible to pull off due to the steep gradient and I only wanted to go another 10 metre but then the bike just pulled dead and as the bend was sloping very steep to the right my leg was about 300 mm too short and I drop the bike. Fortunately my leg did not get trapped under the bike as it was very heavy with all the kit etc. With the bike now lying with the tank lower than the wheels I saw the reason why the bike pulled dead. My sea to summit bag and my endure jacket had been pulled by the knobblies into the rear swing arm and the wheel was now jammed with the wheels higher than the rest of the bike and petrol leaking from the tank. The nearest petrol pump is 100km away and there is nothing more that I hate than to see petrol at R20/litre leak out of the tank like that. I could see my endure jacket did not endure as it was now totally destroyed and my sea to summit waterproof bag did not make it to the summit and is now not so water proof anymore and even my sleeping bag inside the bag was damaged. I knew I would not be able to pick the bike up by myself and traffic on this road is extremely limited as only 4x4 and bikes could use it but I had faith in Africa. Like so many times before when things looked hopeless you just have to belief and carry on as if help will arrive any time. So I started to loosen the luggage and tied a rope around a tree in order to see if I could pull the bike up that way and then my belief in Africa was confirmed again. I heard a two stroke bike coming uphill. It passed me and at first I thought the guy was not going to stop but it just found level ground and the driver and his passenger came walking down to assist me. He was on a Yamaha two stroke scrambler 175cc and what helpful guys these Malawians are. We picked up the bike and then put it into neutral and rolled it back to get the bag and jacket out between the swing arm and the tyre. We started the bike and put it into gear and walked it up to a point where it was more level. They even helped me to carry all my kid up and I tied it to the bike again but moved some luggage to the front handle bars in front of the head light to put more weight on the front wheel. As they were going the same direction and distance I promised them a nice tip when we get to the top. It was 38C degrees and the radiator fan stayed on all the way up. I was much quicker uphill than what they were. The hairpins were extremely tight and I had to go at least 22km per hour to keep momentum with my heavy load. The road was very technical with a lot of loose stones as well as fixed rocks. Half way I came across two ladies walking the 11km down. I stopped to chat and found the one was from Australia and the other one from Cape Town. They were walking all the way and came for lunch at one of the lodges. After they left I waited for my two do gooders as they were much slower than me. At the gate of the Mushroom camp I paid the two guys a handsome tip and went down to book into the camp. The camp is now owned by a brother sister team from America. When I was here 5 years ago it was owned by an Australian.
May 24
The road to Livingstonia was nice. Before Nkhata bay I saw some cute signs see photos. Then came the gravel mountain pass. I strapped my enduro jacket on top of my luggage and I kept just an enduro shirt and my body protector on. Right at the first bend there were a lot of loose stones with a steep incline to the left. I turned the bike back and made a u turn in order to gain momentum. From the word go it was very technical with a lot of rocks and large loose stones and some erosion trenches on the road surface, then a steep incline with the next bend turning right. As I was approaching the bend I heard my big yellow bag scraping on the ground and also against the rear tyre. I thought I could not stop there as it would be impossible to pull off due to the steep gradient and I only wanted to go another 10 metre but then the bike just pulled dead and as the bend was sloping very steep to the right my leg was about 300 mm too short and I drop the bike. Fortunately my leg did not get trapped under the bike as it was very heavy with all the kit etc. With the bike now lying with the tank lower than the wheels I saw the reason why the bike pulled dead. My sea to summit bag and my endure jacket had been pulled by the knobblies into the rear swing arm and the wheel was now jammed with the wheels higher than the rest of the bike and petrol leaking from the tank. The nearest petrol pump is 100km away and there is nothing more that I hate than to see petrol at R20/litre leak out of the tank like that. I could see my endure jacket did not endure as it was now totally destroyed and my sea to summit waterproof bag did not make it to the summit and is now not so water proof anymore and even my sleeping bag inside the bag was damaged. I knew I would not be able to pick the bike up by myself and traffic on this road is extremely limited as only 4x4 and bikes could use it but I had faith in Africa. Like so many times before when things looked hopeless you just have to belief and carry on as if help will arrive any time. So I started to loosen the luggage and tied a rope around a tree in order to see if I could pull the bike up that way and then my belief in Africa was confirmed again. I heard a two stroke bike coming uphill. It passed me and at first I thought the guy was not going to stop but it just found level ground and the driver and his passenger came walking down to assist me. He was on a Yamaha two stroke scrambler 175cc and what helpful guys these Malawians are. We picked up the bike and then put it into neutral and rolled it back to get the bag and jacket out between the swing arm and the tyre. We started the bike and put it into gear and walked it up to a point where it was more level. They even helped me to carry all my kid up and I tied it to the bike again but moved some luggage to the front handle bars in front of the head light to put more weight on the front wheel. As they were going the same direction and distance I promised them a nice tip when we get to the top. It was 38C degrees and the radiator fan stayed on all the way up. I was much quicker uphill than what they were. The hairpins were extremely tight and I had to go at least 22km per hour to keep momentum with my heavy load. The road was very technical with a lot of loose stones as well as fixed rocks. Half way I came across two ladies walking the 11km down. I stopped to chat and found the one was from Australia and the other one from Cape Town. They were walking all the way and came for lunch at one of the lodges. After they left I waited for my two do gooders as they were much slower than me. At the gate of the Mushroom camp I paid the two guys a handsome tip and went down to book into the camp. The camp is now owned by a brother sister team from America. When I was here 5 years ago it was owned by an Australian.
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
May 25
It was my 65th birthday and the Mushroom camp only specialized in Vegetarian and this was one day that I was feeling like eating a steak so I thought I would go and explore the Lukwe Eco Lodge next door. What a lovely place it was with a timber deck overlooking this beautiful view over Lake Malawi. This view always reminds me of the view from Table Mountain except that there are no buildings just some traditional thatch roof houses and the most beautiful valley. It was only 11.30am and I ordered a steak and a cold one from the very friendly staff and I told them they could take as long as they wanted to prepare the meal while I relaxed and enjoyed the view from the swinging bench on the edge of the timber deck. By 12.45pm the food was ready and I enjoyed the steak and rice and salad, a real treat in the middle of Africa. After lunch I went back to the Mushroom Lodge and as I was traveling down their very steep driveway which is about a half a kilometre long I came across a young German couple also on their way to the Mushroom Lodge. They came there by public transport and I think the minibus taxis are also 4x4 like on the Sani Pass but they don’t run every day. That night the German couple and the American Lady and I sat around the open air table and had a nice discussion about world problems etc. I got a free drink as it was my birthday.
It was my 65th birthday and the Mushroom camp only specialized in Vegetarian and this was one day that I was feeling like eating a steak so I thought I would go and explore the Lukwe Eco Lodge next door. What a lovely place it was with a timber deck overlooking this beautiful view over Lake Malawi. This view always reminds me of the view from Table Mountain except that there are no buildings just some traditional thatch roof houses and the most beautiful valley. It was only 11.30am and I ordered a steak and a cold one from the very friendly staff and I told them they could take as long as they wanted to prepare the meal while I relaxed and enjoyed the view from the swinging bench on the edge of the timber deck. By 12.45pm the food was ready and I enjoyed the steak and rice and salad, a real treat in the middle of Africa. After lunch I went back to the Mushroom Lodge and as I was traveling down their very steep driveway which is about a half a kilometre long I came across a young German couple also on their way to the Mushroom Lodge. They came there by public transport and I think the minibus taxis are also 4x4 like on the Sani Pass but they don’t run every day. That night the German couple and the American Lady and I sat around the open air table and had a nice discussion about world problems etc. I got a free drink as it was my birthday.
schalk vd merwe
Race Dog
schalk vd merwe
Race Dog
schalk vd merwe
Race Dog
schalk vd merwe
Race Dog
26 May
The next morning I packed up and carried my stuff up the 100metre very steep uphill stairs to where my bike was parked, I was out of breath when I got to the top. One of the staff carried my one bag that weight 30kg. Even the American lady helped to carry some of my stuff to the bike. What a nice and gentile lady. I again loaded some of the stuff hanging from the handle bars in front of my head light for better weight distribution for the downhill stunt. The 500metre uphill drive way by itself was a challenge. The last 100metre has got loose soil which they covered it with the day before. I walked it while sitting on the bike as there were deep trenches on both sides made out of rock and if you would fall in there you would really hurt yourself. If the bike was not so overloaded then I would have ridden it out standing. I managed up to about 10 metre from the main road. The incline was even more and if I hold the bike with the front brake alone it would just slide back and if you try to pull off the bike would first wheel spin through the loose stuff. I made up some Dutch courage and refed the bike and hoped for the best. The bike wheel lied the full 10 metre right into the main road which was slanting the other way. Then it was going downhill, it was 1st gear 2nd gear stuff all the way and I used the bikes compression to slow down together with both brakes especially on the hairpin bends. The radiator fan stayed on all the way down as it was 28 degree C. When I reached the bottom at the T junction I rewarded myself first price for not falling and bought myself a coke at a spaza shop. I had a long chat to the owner about business and I gave him some sound advice. There was a mad customer outside his shop, who told me to go away, but I bought him a Coke as well and he then went away. I suppose that is where the saying comes from that says there is method in your madness.
The next morning I packed up and carried my stuff up the 100metre very steep uphill stairs to where my bike was parked, I was out of breath when I got to the top. One of the staff carried my one bag that weight 30kg. Even the American lady helped to carry some of my stuff to the bike. What a nice and gentile lady. I again loaded some of the stuff hanging from the handle bars in front of my head light for better weight distribution for the downhill stunt. The 500metre uphill drive way by itself was a challenge. The last 100metre has got loose soil which they covered it with the day before. I walked it while sitting on the bike as there were deep trenches on both sides made out of rock and if you would fall in there you would really hurt yourself. If the bike was not so overloaded then I would have ridden it out standing. I managed up to about 10 metre from the main road. The incline was even more and if I hold the bike with the front brake alone it would just slide back and if you try to pull off the bike would first wheel spin through the loose stuff. I made up some Dutch courage and refed the bike and hoped for the best. The bike wheel lied the full 10 metre right into the main road which was slanting the other way. Then it was going downhill, it was 1st gear 2nd gear stuff all the way and I used the bikes compression to slow down together with both brakes especially on the hairpin bends. The radiator fan stayed on all the way down as it was 28 degree C. When I reached the bottom at the T junction I rewarded myself first price for not falling and bought myself a coke at a spaza shop. I had a long chat to the owner about business and I gave him some sound advice. There was a mad customer outside his shop, who told me to go away, but I bought him a Coke as well and he then went away. I suppose that is where the saying comes from that says there is method in your madness.
schalk vd merwe
Race Dog
Hi guys I am now in Dar Es Salaam and a little behind in reporting. A lot has happened in the mean time but I will report when I have Wi Fi again and a day off. it is 1h 21min am and I just thought I can not leave you oaks droe bek for so long
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