My African experience with George the greek

[Rocky58]

I met George the greek outside a bottelstore in June last year in Grahamstown . His bike a 1200 GS was loaded full and I mean full . Noticed that it had Mexican plates on it . Started chatting to him and ended up inviting him home to sleep at my place .
When I phoned my wife to let her know that a greek guy on a Mexican bike was coming to spend the night , she asked me if she should lock my three university going daughters in the bed room . I said I think so . Any way George came and spent the night and we drank lots of wine and chatted late into the night . I let my daughters out eventually . A very interesting man .
He left the next morning and said he would visit later in the year . And so he did , he arrived two days before Christmas with his beautiful girlfriend Makerina who he met in Argentina . He ended staying for  a few days . Makerina was flying back to Argentina a few day later and he was heading back to Greece through Africa . I asked him if I could go with him as far as Maliwe. He agreed. I decided I would leave him in Maliwe an  go west through Zambia to Caprivi and down through Namibia to Cape Town and back to Grahamstown.

 

[Rocky58]

I left home on 10 th of Jan and headed to Durban to spend a bit of time with my daughter who had just started a job up there.took the route through Queenstown Maclear Kokstad a beautiful route .
Left Durban on the 12 th and camped in Barbaton municipal resort...What a dump .Had car guards
from Gautung camping net to me . they told me there were too many car guards in Gauteng so they moved to Barbeton . The plan was to meet George ay Blyde river canyon at forever resort .

camping in Barbeton

 

[Rocky58]

Meeting George @ Forever resort Blyde river canyon

 

[Rocky58]

WE rode around the old east tvl for a few days before we entered Mozambique

 

[Rocky58]

Gods window very misty

 

[Rocky58]

Pilgrams Rest

 

[Rocky58]

On the 15th we left for Maputo via Nelspruit we we stocked up with whatever we needed .



I thought Maputo was a holiday destination.
My first vew of the beach

 

[Rocky58]

We found a pub

 

[Knucklhead/knuckey]

And then bud

 

[Rocky58]

the pub
This place gets hot
And I was to learn later that when they said it was the rainy season they meant it.

 

[Rocky58]

We sat in the pub and and had a beer or two and waited for a mate of mine who was going to put us up for a few days.


He had a house in town and one out of town.
This is the one out of town

 

[Rocky58]

The Greek and the donkey

 

[Rocky58]

In the time that we were in Maputo , George got reversed into and hi radiator was spewing oil all over the place , and my bike drowned in a pothole in a street in the town itself . you heard right DROWNED IN A POTHOLE . So both bikes needed attention.

 

[Rocky58]

The oil that I drained out

 

[BMWPE]

Keep it coming  ;D

 

[Rocky58]

my mate that we were staying did not mind us staying on for a few extra days . George managed to order a radiator from ACME , and we patched hi broken Radiator eit a fancy sealent but it still had a slight leak . A few days later we headed up the coast.


Backpackers at Xai Xai

 

[Rocky58]

We were told the bikes had to sleep inside otherwise they get trashed .

 

[Rocky58]

The next day we headed for Zaphora lodge  as George was a keen diver and that was a big diving spot . I don't do water so I sat in the sun and drank beer .
Due to the RANAMO threat all these resorts were completely empty and the further north we went the worse it got.

Our hut at Zaphora

 

[Rocky58]

WE chained our bikes together

 

[Rocky58]

After a few days there we moved up the coast to Barra lodge near Torfu . Georges bike was now pissing oil and the part had not yet arrived . The news from the north is not good and RANAMO had attacked two convoys in the last week. the problem area was north of Vilankulos to about Chimilo.
I have a wife and kids at home I don't feel like playing Rambo . So I am thinking of chickening out .