C
Camelman
Guest
Awesome RR. :thumleft:
Malawi and Busted !!!!
- Thread starter tour
- Start date
Moloko
Pack Dog
Thanks for the feedback guys...
So, after staying on the Kwando river for two nights (for Africa Twin repairs, backgammon lessons, cold beer and pre prepared food) we left for Zambia. Our first stop was at katima mulilo where we went to the hardware store (very big one at that) to get replacement parts for the rattled-to-death tripod and to purchase a metal file if anything were to happen to our chains. Then came the border crossings...
Checking out of Namibia was no biggy. Zambia, however, was a difirent story. I could not beleive how dodgy the zambian border was. I went in first (rudi stayed with the bikes). After signing in a man in a suit took me to one of the back rooms where the negotiations started. First it was changing american dollars to kwatcha (they only accept large denominations and dollar notes must be crispy, untorn and without blemish). Of course they make about 15 - 20% proffit on the exchange rate. Then you pay your entrance fee. This done you go to the next room for compulsory local third party insurance plus carbon tax (which at the time, we're told, has not even passed legislation). This room did not echange dollars, so i had to go back to the previous room to change currency. After all border formalities you exit the building and go to the trailers standing outside the border post. Here you pay local access fees... this goes to the chief of the district.
Another man came up to us and showed us in the direction of another trailer for more payments... here rudi and i decided to get on the bikes and ride into the sun. If they caught us skipping this payment we'll just plead ignorance.
We left the border about three in the afternoon wanting to push on to Livingstone. The smooth chinese roads was a suprise (if they will last out the next year is another story).
We arrived in Livingsone and decided to stay at the Faulty Towers. We arrived there in bush mode and we were supprised and quite disgusted in the backpackers comming all the way from america and europe, sitting there watching MTV. WHAT IS THE POINT!!
Ignoring the backpackers' warning of muggings and danger at night (hey, two streetwise guys from SA... what can go wrong), Rudi and i had a few Mozis (local beer), washed off some dust and decided to hit the town.
The next morning we decided 'what happens in zambia stays in zambia' (we actually decided this midway through the previous evening). :mwink:
What unfolded the next couple of days was truly a highlight on our trip and one of the best experiences of my life...
Vic falls, two rastas, loads of ellies, beautiful scenery and just being the chillest i've ever been. It was awasome!!!
So, after staying on the Kwando river for two nights (for Africa Twin repairs, backgammon lessons, cold beer and pre prepared food) we left for Zambia. Our first stop was at katima mulilo where we went to the hardware store (very big one at that) to get replacement parts for the rattled-to-death tripod and to purchase a metal file if anything were to happen to our chains. Then came the border crossings...
Checking out of Namibia was no biggy. Zambia, however, was a difirent story. I could not beleive how dodgy the zambian border was. I went in first (rudi stayed with the bikes). After signing in a man in a suit took me to one of the back rooms where the negotiations started. First it was changing american dollars to kwatcha (they only accept large denominations and dollar notes must be crispy, untorn and without blemish). Of course they make about 15 - 20% proffit on the exchange rate. Then you pay your entrance fee. This done you go to the next room for compulsory local third party insurance plus carbon tax (which at the time, we're told, has not even passed legislation). This room did not echange dollars, so i had to go back to the previous room to change currency. After all border formalities you exit the building and go to the trailers standing outside the border post. Here you pay local access fees... this goes to the chief of the district.
Another man came up to us and showed us in the direction of another trailer for more payments... here rudi and i decided to get on the bikes and ride into the sun. If they caught us skipping this payment we'll just plead ignorance.
We left the border about three in the afternoon wanting to push on to Livingstone. The smooth chinese roads was a suprise (if they will last out the next year is another story).
We arrived in Livingsone and decided to stay at the Faulty Towers. We arrived there in bush mode and we were supprised and quite disgusted in the backpackers comming all the way from america and europe, sitting there watching MTV. WHAT IS THE POINT!!
Ignoring the backpackers' warning of muggings and danger at night (hey, two streetwise guys from SA... what can go wrong), Rudi and i had a few Mozis (local beer), washed off some dust and decided to hit the town.
The next morning we decided 'what happens in zambia stays in zambia' (we actually decided this midway through the previous evening). :mwink:
What unfolded the next couple of days was truly a highlight on our trip and one of the best experiences of my life...
Vic falls, two rastas, loads of ellies, beautiful scenery and just being the chillest i've ever been. It was awasome!!!
Attachments
Moloko
Pack Dog
Some photos of Zambia border (by the time i took the second photo the guard with the AK - behind the car - was ordering me to pack away the camera... scary stuff).
Also, one of my favourite vic falls photos (taken by rudi) - I call it 'Good and Evil'
Also, one of my favourite vic falls photos (taken by rudi) - I call it 'Good and Evil'
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![N[]vA](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/39fc70600d70a0afa40b682c3a695dc0?s=96){kind=avatar}
As Harold had said before ,the zambia border was the real gateway into "Africa" controlled by the US Dollar. at the customs office the 1st room had 2 guys and a container full of dollars. like you see with the gangstas in the hollywood movies. don t get me wrong the guys are real friendly and outside there is a real big sign that says
"Zambia says NO to corruption"
so i am sure the money goes to the right places... Also something that we notices was the sign that said welcome to central africa
this we only really noticed once we hit the town... we only planned for a dinner but...
you see Livingstone is a different city. it reminded me a lot about some of the south american cities without the spanish. a lot of vibe and really rundown. well that is only so to the naked eye.
here is where we really felt like a white dude in africa. very out of place and a feeling of really small.
WELCOME 2 AFRICA!!! was the theme. and here is where the trip started.
SO... we went for dinner and fresh zambizi bream was on the menu. yumm yumm so halfway through our meal there was a very attractive pair of ladies that joined us. Ashri and gigi where 2 well spoken, well educated and well hot girls that showed me (harold has a girlfriend) the way of livingstone. the nightclubs the beer and the wild dancing then continued till probably 3 or 4 in the morning. love that place..
so waking to a screaming babalas and not being able to ride my bike we then decided to walk to vic falls as some american dude told us that it was a half hour walk....
so after 10 kms and just the most awesomest day chillin with da rastas and finely spotting those damn ellies up close and personal. WE WERE IN AFRICA !!!!!!!!! O0
spent the whole dat at the falls, was really very special and emotional.
"Zambia says NO to corruption"
so i am sure the money goes to the right places... Also something that we notices was the sign that said welcome to central africa
this we only really noticed once we hit the town... we only planned for a dinner but...
you see Livingstone is a different city. it reminded me a lot about some of the south american cities without the spanish. a lot of vibe and really rundown. well that is only so to the naked eye.
here is where we really felt like a white dude in africa. very out of place and a feeling of really small.
WELCOME 2 AFRICA!!! was the theme. and here is where the trip started.
SO... we went for dinner and fresh zambizi bream was on the menu. yumm yumm so halfway through our meal there was a very attractive pair of ladies that joined us. Ashri and gigi where 2 well spoken, well educated and well hot girls that showed me (harold has a girlfriend) the way of livingstone. the nightclubs the beer and the wild dancing then continued till probably 3 or 4 in the morning. love that place..
so waking to a screaming babalas and not being able to ride my bike we then decided to walk to vic falls as some american dude told us that it was a half hour walk....
so after 10 kms and just the most awesomest day chillin with da rastas and finely spotting those damn ellies up close and personal. WE WERE IN AFRICA !!!!!!!!! O0
spent the whole dat at the falls, was really very special and emotional.
Attachments
just can stress how amazing this place is and the time that we were fortunate enough to have experienced here. the walk to the falls had given us a closer connection to africa again. day by day it eats at you and also just gives in abundance. the people, the bush and all that is good.
we were now fully into it and ready for wot eva was coming, little did we now that it was still only but the start...
we were now fully into it and ready for wot eva was coming, little did we now that it was still only but the start...
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Beserker
Grey Hound
Lekka Rudi..btw, me is back!!
CAR6850
Race Dog
Moloko
Pack Dog
That photo was taken when we returned from our game drive (on the bike of course). Rudi started playing around with the camera exposure when we decided that i would go and 'paint' the trees with our headlamps. Maybe rudi can show some more... (i dont want to post these pictures as rudi set the camera and took the pictures... i was just the assistant running like mad to get even light distribution without being caught in the shot)
Lekker trip ! Love the fotos ,esp the one of the cows next to the petrol "station" ( nr1438) , and the ones of the locals esp nrs 1638 and 4520 :thumleft: please can you e-mail those three to me ? sent you a pm also :thumleft: :thumleft:
Well well...
almost near another highlight, but not yet >
so just a little teazer is wot you will get as this next section of the ride was our most epic for reasons that cannot be disclosed just yet....
OH and these next photo's is just the tip of the iceburg
so till next week, have a nice weekend... :mwink:
almost near another highlight, but not yet >
so just a little teazer is wot you will get as this next section of the ride was our most epic for reasons that cannot be disclosed just yet....
OH and these next photo's is just the tip of the iceburg
so till next week, have a nice weekend... :mwink:
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- I would rather be in Great Brak...
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- Honda CRF-1000L Africa Twin
You okes are having such a jol...
;D
;D
Moloko
Pack Dog
...
On our last day in livingstone we went for a quick ride towards Zimbabwe. We stopped at the boder post, got our day 'walk in' pass and off we went to have a G&T at the Victoria Falls Hotel. And what a beautiful site!! What neither Rudi or i could understand was how the hell Zimbabwe can fund the maintenance of such a spectacular hotel with the amount of visitors on the Zimbabwe side.
After our last glimpse of the falls we went back to livingstone to pack. After about 2 hours (1 hour for packing and another hour to wait for rudi to pack, tighten and retighten his luggage, cleaning and recleaning visor etc) we left livingstone in the direction of sinazongwe which is on the Kariba lake. We took a few wrong turns here and there and subsequently took an earlier turnoff to sinazongwe... before we knew it the sun was setting and there was no lake in sight. In addition the area was quite populated and bush camping was out of the order. We decided to push on... and on... and on into this unknown road full of potholes and water crossings in the night.
We enetually arrived in Sinazongwe and found a place where we could hear the water breaking. The next morning we woke up to the Kariba lake...
On our last day in livingstone we went for a quick ride towards Zimbabwe. We stopped at the boder post, got our day 'walk in' pass and off we went to have a G&T at the Victoria Falls Hotel. And what a beautiful site!! What neither Rudi or i could understand was how the hell Zimbabwe can fund the maintenance of such a spectacular hotel with the amount of visitors on the Zimbabwe side.
After our last glimpse of the falls we went back to livingstone to pack. After about 2 hours (1 hour for packing and another hour to wait for rudi to pack, tighten and retighten his luggage, cleaning and recleaning visor etc) we left livingstone in the direction of sinazongwe which is on the Kariba lake. We took a few wrong turns here and there and subsequently took an earlier turnoff to sinazongwe... before we knew it the sun was setting and there was no lake in sight. In addition the area was quite populated and bush camping was out of the order. We decided to push on... and on... and on into this unknown road full of potholes and water crossings in the night.
We enetually arrived in Sinazongwe and found a place where we could hear the water breaking. The next morning we woke up to the Kariba lake...
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Moloko
Pack Dog
I woke up that next morning sick as hell. Low energy, throwing up, bad tummy, confused, feverish. But we decided to soldier on. We packed at a very slow pace, got fuel from a hard negotiating little bugger in town (Almost R 16/l) and headed of into the truly unknown.
We started our 1.5 day (which turned out to be 4 days) trip to siavonga via uncharted roads. We reconned that if the lake is on the right we're going in the right direction.
We started our 1.5 day (which turned out to be 4 days) trip to siavonga via uncharted roads. We reconned that if the lake is on the right we're going in the right direction.
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there was no we in the soldiering side of things.Harold was miff so he had to soldier on. i asked if he didn't rather want to rest for the day as we where in such a cool spot right next to the Lake, butt he was stubborn, ja yster is die woord.
by the fuel stop i could see that he was not well but we didn't know wot was wrong. we had consumed the same food and drink for the last week so it couldn't have been my cooking. so i tried to convince myself. :mwink:
we were truelly entering a wild area and i was really feeling for my buddy as i new he was not lekker. and in this type of place i was loving it and worried that the experience wasn't so cool for him. so after about 25km i came around a corner to see him sitting next to his bike surrounded by cows, it was very comical yet serious at the same time. the road was still in a fair condition so we, harold, soldiered on. kids came running out to greet us and rivers were beeing crossed. paths were criss crossing and we just went in the general direction that we thought was right. my gps had not been functioning well for some time now and i had to use it like a map, was good enough for us. this was the area that we were dreaming of. real bush with no cars and only the locals.
this stretch of 270 km was, as harold said before, seposed to take us a day and a half. butt we soon came to realise that,that will not be. we had enough food for a few days but not too much water.
after a few more kms you could see that the road had not seen cars for a very long time and that it was becoming a little more interresting. we were in it now....
by the fuel stop i could see that he was not well but we didn't know wot was wrong. we had consumed the same food and drink for the last week so it couldn't have been my cooking. so i tried to convince myself. :mwink:
we were truelly entering a wild area and i was really feeling for my buddy as i new he was not lekker. and in this type of place i was loving it and worried that the experience wasn't so cool for him. so after about 25km i came around a corner to see him sitting next to his bike surrounded by cows, it was very comical yet serious at the same time. the road was still in a fair condition so we, harold, soldiered on. kids came running out to greet us and rivers were beeing crossed. paths were criss crossing and we just went in the general direction that we thought was right. my gps had not been functioning well for some time now and i had to use it like a map, was good enough for us. this was the area that we were dreaming of. real bush with no cars and only the locals.
this stretch of 270 km was, as harold said before, seposed to take us a day and a half. butt we soon came to realise that,that will not be. we had enough food for a few days but not too much water.
after a few more kms you could see that the road had not seen cars for a very long time and that it was becoming a little more interresting. we were in it now....
Attachments
this was wot we were dreaming of but after 30 km we had to stop. harold had no energy and was white in the face. we had also just come to a place where you needed to be awake and not half dead. o it was also very hot and our water was getting less. we came to a river where the road or bridge had been swept away many years ago. harold made it half way through but stopped. we both knew that if something was to happen here we would be royally fuc...ed. so we stopped. now i cannot tell you wot we were going threw. we were baffled by this dissease, we had thought of malaria and food poisoning as the possible culpret but i was okay so malaria was ringing in our ears....
