Malawi and Busted !!!!

[tour]

here are some pics of our saviours.
the kid with the red t shirt also with one arm on the left.
the mamma that gave us the water from heaven
and some other stuff that same day

i think harold might have some more.

 

[tour]

some more

 

[Moloko]

...

 

[Moloko]

../ water never tasted as sweet

 

[CAR6850]

You guys are having a seriously good trip :thumleft:

 

[Moloko]

Before long another day of riding was finished. Our destination, i.e. siavonga, seemed to be a myth. With the sun setting we decided to set up camp deep in the bush... we did not want to bother or impose on the locals.

When darkness fell we truly felt the African experience... you can hear villages from miles away, people singing, animals with bells attached to their necks roaming the uncultivated bushlands. And we had LOTS of water. Not making that mistake again.

It was a hard day in the saddle with beautiful scenery, friendly people and great technical riding sections. Also many wrong turns that chipped away on our progress. We felt very alive!!

 

[Panjo]

EPIC Journey! Respect and admiration to you both

 

[Frohan Visser]

Nice one!!!!

 

[funacide]

Hey Guys

Really enjoying this, please keep it coming.

 

[Gryshond]

This RR is great, keep it coming.

 

[tour]

we were now fully engulfed into the bush, stopping at every village to get water. well more like chatting and taking pics with
the locals. you will first get the odd look then people gathering and then the camera comes out and it is all laughs and giggles. just to see their faces on the screen makes there day or year. we were asked if we work for government or for world aid and every time we would say no... so why are you doing this??? to meet you!!! would be our answer. they felt real cool then.

On one occasion i had like a 5 year old girl move me out of the way of the pump cause i was doin it wrong... she was so proud to show the umlungu the right way. moloko waas daai foto??? we also met some church goin people that took our photos while posing with them.

most of the zambians were just sooo friendly. we never felt like there was any threat at all. humble people all round. and the most prettyiest girls in all of southern africa too. we saw at least 20 ladies that could be the new face of africa winner.

so water was in abundance now but harold's red lady was getting thirsty. and we saw no cars here...

 

[Moloko]

... as per your request

 

[Moloko]

Woo, that last photo i was super paranoid!!! We went to this bar in Chipepo to have a few beers and to stock up on some bully beef and cookies (or whatever was available). We started chatting to the guys but there wsas some sort of aura about the whole situation. The guy withthe round face kept asking me really hectic probing questions about our trip... each of my answers fell on very sceptical ears, met with laughter between the locals. It was if they did not trust us. They also kept talking and it started too feel like they were trying to keep us there. Later on a land cruiser with some very snazzy people arrived all wanting to know more about our trip, why we took that road, where we slept, 'do you know about the resources in the area'. I really felt vulnerable when the guy offered us protection... from what i still dont know.

As soon as they guy went inside i told Tour to say his goodbyes and lets be on our way. Not

There was something wrong at that bar - nothing to pinpoint but you know when you have to make a move.

Fuel in the red lady was running low again. We thought our destination or some other fuel stop couldn't be too far off, however, we did not anticipate the multiple wrong turns and technical sections lying ahead. GREAT fun!!!

 

[tour]

that last photo in the bar was our last visit to a bar... i had fallen my poe. off just before and wanted a beer, so after a beer or 2. we got offered protection... wtf? luckily i never heard that but harold got offered by the big dude with one foot. said he worked for the government. now if someone offers you that get out cause that is only bad news..

so the lesson was.. a bar is a bar where eva you are so if you want that experience there is always one nearer your home and we were away from home so wanted something else. that didin t mean that we never drank beer again tho >

now we were making really good distance through awesome terrain and we knew our final destination was between 70 and 120kms away. my baby was giving me about 22km/l butt harolds lady was more demanding like way more. think he was already in reserve....

 

[tour]

some pics

 

[tour]

this is the last pics that i have before we reach heaven. butt before you reach heaven you must first almost die...

 

[Marnus]

Wow! A real McDonalds report...

I'm LOVING it!!!!

 

[laurika]

Wow! A real McDonalds report...

I'm LOVING it!!!!

yes, this is the things a book is made off.....always dream of being that free, and inventive, and open, and not bath, and only have one set of pants...and winging it.....and all of it in great pictures and oration.....the boys are also quite hansum, so i think in short.....there is a book here somewhere.... :thumleft: again...or have i said that before...and they are QUITE HANSUM...shoot , am sure ive said that before....where is firecracker when you need her????? :-\

 

[Moloko]

You're too kind , Laurika 

Back to the story...

As Tour said he was cruising along at 22km/l. My red lady, however, was gulping along at 8-10km/l - this resulted in a very interesting afternoon.

After taking the umpteenth wrong turn the Ten started to stutted. At this time the problem with my fuel consumtion was not yet known. We rode for probably 30 minutes wen the road just got narrower and narrower until we reached a small piece of cultivated land. The farmer stopped us and indicated that we have to go all the way back and take one of the previous turnoffs. It was hot and with all of the riding in thick, sandy riverbeds rudi and i was getting tired.

To top it all off, i was out of fuel. Doing quick calculations we decided to take two litres from rudi's AT and push towards Siavonga (we still did not have a clue how far it was or how to get there). We rode for 16-20km and againtook out 2 litre from the AT. All the wrong turns and technical riding slurped my fuel out of the tank. Another 2l transplant and 16km... this happened twice until we rode into a rural settlement.

We found one of those mobile clinics (doctors on bikes) where one of the doctors sorted us out with three litres. He also pointed us in the direction of Siavonga, a short cut, which was STILL 60km away. Which ment that even with his 3l contribution i could maybe reach halfway (and maybe with some more help from rudi and some very conservative riding, we could reach siavonga).

This was not the case. As per schedule, 30km later the Ten was done with its fuel rattion and the sun was edging towards the horizon. We deliberated for a few minutes if we're gonna do another bush camp, but we decided to push on. Rudi gave me 2l more and we were off. This would be his last donation as he too was sterting to get concerned about fuel (by this time i already took 10l from him).

Throughout all this fuel troubles, we had a awesome ride! All DS rides can wish for... from sand paths to river crossings, to rocky climbs, to river beds. Dreamy!!

Here is some photos of that afternoon.

 

[Moloko]

... and as per the Ten fuel requirements, another 20km or so and the fuel was done. We caught glimpses of the Kariba lake before i rad out of fuel so we knew we weren't to far from our destination. But the sun was down, night crept out of the long shadows cast by the trees.

The Ten was empty and the AT was running low. So for the second time on the trip we took out the tow cable (remember Gobabis), connected it to the twin and we made slow progress towards Siavonga. This time around, however, the towing was done in deep sand and we really struggled to make progress. We came to an uphill and suddenly there was not enough power or traction to get the Ten any further.

We knew Siavonga was about 10km away... so for the first time in the trip we decided to split up. Rudi would ride towards Siavonga to get me some fuel.

I was now alone in the bush, it was dark, i was tired, hungry, thirsty and my cigarettes was finished. The ten was parked halfway up a sand inclide. I just took off my gear and lied down on the side of the road... catching some rest.

In true Zambian fassion, within 10 minutes i had a crowd of about 20 people sitting on the other side of the road, just looking at me, whispering and laughing. As the minutes passed and with some return smiles and frienly gestures, the kids got more comfortable and moved closed until i tried to communicate with one of them. Everyone laughed at me, i laughed back. There was no way of understanding eachother. No one speaks english and this area is one of the lowers educated areas in Zambia.

Pretty soon the leader of the settlement approached me with about 3 adults. Through more gestures they offered to help me push the bike towards their settlement about 300m further. When we got there i was again supprised by their generosity and friendlyness. That brought out a canvas for me to sit on, got me a pachet of cigarettes, sorted me out with some Gin tot packs and water.

We sat there, me, the leader, his sons some neighbours sitting in a circle and 20 kids all around us, wanting to check out whats going on. The stars was out in full, Rudi was nowhere to be seen, but i was enjoying this moment, alone with the people of Zambia.

At some stage i got one of the kids to put on my boots, another to check out the armour suit, put some of the kids on the bike... it was very entertaining and they were loving it.

It must have been an hour and a half before rudi returned. We put some fuel in the Ten and rode of to Siavonga. Hopefulle this would be our last stretch. I had cold beer, steak, shower and a comfortable bed in mind...