Round the World - Do you have beer we are coming to visit?

[michnus]

Yebo yes! Schalk I remember you well.  :thumleft:

Doing the trip in stages is much better on the budget and you are doing it right! meaning you can spend as much time seeing, exploring and getting to know a country than racing through it while having to stick to a time frame. I follow many travelers and adding a time limit to a trip often leads to a hellova lot of stress and not much enjoyment. I can honestly tell you now from experience taking it slow is the absolute best way to get out the other side with a sane mind and wallet.

Also the people that rush an extended trip like this end up with ' selective memory syndrome'  :biggrin:. We have experienced it. Because you are not in a routine like your day to day job doing sort off the same thing everyday driving back and forth to work, your mind do not work the data and store it like a computer. With routine work your brain do not exercise. Look I am no scientist or psychologist so I rely on my pseudoscience here. Feeding your brain everyday with new stuff it needs to deal with, you start to forget things, can't remember stuff and places you have seen 2 months before. It is because you experience new things everyday, you brain must compute the stuff everyday. You bloodywell get a memory overload. You need to park off for a week or so at places to do some diary work or check your photos and edit them. Like defragging the brain  :biggrin:

The only reason you go to Nairobi is for Jungle Jungle and to get your bike sorted for the next half of the trip, tyres, service and so on. If you can get your bike sorted with Denis in Dar es Salaam you can ride around Nairobi with ease and wild camp or just stay in camps.

The rest of the way through Sudan is the same, Ethiopia is the same and you must get your visa either before hand or wait in Nairobi to send your passport back to SA. Same for Sudan, just check the times, they issue the visa valid from date of issue. It might bugger up your times.
Then, the SS FAIL from Wadi to Aswan apparently the road is open for the last few months and you do not have to use that piece of shit ferry anymore. But use Mazar to do your paperwork in Wadi. https://www.pikipiki.co.za/travel-route-around-the-world/sudan/
You can go from Sudan to Saudi via Port Siad, but you need to get your visa for Saudi in Khartoum, but still make sure you can get into Jordan from Saudi then to Israel. I still think going into Egypt is the quickest way and then to Taba into Israel and will cost the least.

Africa East side is absolutely no problem for travel. We also very rarely stuck to the main route everybody else uses for this overland. There is no need to eat tar and more to see taking the back roads.

Israel is moer expensive! So fill up in Egypt and you can get to Ashdod with one tank. Israel is super cool and you can wild camp nearly anywhere. But fuel is R20per/L and bread, milk and beer double SA. Also insurance there is fucking crazy expensive. I will post you the shipper in Israel details and arrange before hand when the ferry is leaving that you only spend a few days in Israel if need be. The shippers are not scoundrels and unlike the Egyptians wont shaft you in the ass.
The R12000 was for both of us. So you will get away cheaper. You will also have your own butler Trying to ship from Egypt I promise you, you WILL chew off your own arms from frustration. The Israeli's and Italian as super efficient and fast.

Europe is expensive!!!! Make no mistake! But.... keep to super markets, camp and wild camp as much as possible and you can get away with around 34Eu - 45eu per day including fuel maybe even cheaper, check for Couch Surfing if you are okay with it. We do not like it and will rather wild camp than that. I think fuel is now around R18per liter there. The best is to cut your speed to 100km/h from start. You save 30% more fuel and have less chance of stopping your trip due to an accident with a local or animal. Also the wear on your bike, tyres and such is much less, which will help with replacing stuff too often.

Yes please keep in touch, if you are not on Facebook get on it, as it is the easiest way to follow fellow travelers. You do not have to post like a frantic pimple face teen, just an update now and then so we can follow and maybe yes we will meet up. When you post on Facebook do it on the HorizonsUnlimited page as it is dedicated for that.

Depending on your route try and get out of Eu as fast as possible or store your bike somewhere. Check on HorizonsUnlimited for people with storage place. Most wont charge you. Also get your Carne canceled once out of Israel as you do not need it in Eu. Eu do not need any paper work for our bikes and your bike can effectively stay there forever.

We are leaving for Europe at end April to start again for another 6months.  

 

[schalk vd merwe]

Yebo yes! Schalk I remember you well.  :thumleft:

Doing the trip in stages is much better on the budget and you are doing it right! meaning you can spend as much time seeing, exploring and getting to know a country than racing through it while having to stick to a time frame. I follow many travelers and adding a time limit to a trip often leads to a hellova lot of stress and not much enjoyment. I can honestly tell you now from experience taking it slow is the absolute best way to get out the other side with a sane mind and wallet.

Also the people that rush an extended trip like this end up with ' selective memory syndrome'  :biggrin:. We have experienced it. Because you are not in a routine like your day to day job doing sort off the same thing everyday driving back and forth to work, your mind do not work the data and store it like a computer and it is routine work your mind do not excerise. You start to forget things, can't remember stuff and places you have seen 2 months before. It is because you experience new things everyday, you brain must compute the stuff everyday. You bloodywell get a memory overload. You need to park off for a week or so at places to do some diary work or check your photos and edit them. Like defragging the brain  :biggrin:

The only reason you go to Nairobi is for Jungle Jungle and to get your bike sorted for the next half of the trip, tyres, service and so on. If you can get your bike sorted with Denis in Dar es Salaam you can ride around Nairobi with ease and wild camp or just stay in camps.

The rest of the way through Sudan is the same, Ethiopia is the same and you must get your visa either before hand or wait in Nairobi to send your passport back to SA. Same for Sudan, just check the times, they issue the visa valid from date of issue. It might bugger up your times.
Then, the SS FAIL from Wadi to Aswan apparently the road is open for the last few months and you do not have to use that piece of shit ferry anymore. But use Mazar to do your paperwork in Wadi. https://www.pikipiki.co.za/travel-route-around-the-world/sudan/
You can go from Sudan to Saudi via Port Siad, but you need to get your visa for Saudi in Khartoum, but still make sure you can get into Jordan from Saudi then to Israel. I still think going into Egypt is the quickest way and then to Taba into Israel and will cost the least.

Africa East side is absolutely no problem for travel. We also very rarely stuck to the main route everybody else uses for this overland. There is no need to eat tar and more to see taking the back roads.

Israel is moer expensive! So fill up in Egypt and you can get to Ashdod with one tank. Israel is super cool and you can wild camp nearly anywhere. But fuel is R20per/L and bread, milk and beer double SA. Also insurance there is fucking crazy expensive. I will post you the shipper in Israel details and arrange before hand when the ferry is leaving that you only spend a few days in Israel if need be. The shippers are not scoundrels and unlike the Egyptians wont shaft you in the ass.
The R12000 was for both of us. So you will get away cheaper. You will also have your own butler Trying to ship from Egypt I promise you, you WILL chew off your own arms from frustration. The Israeli's and Italian as super efficient and fast.

Europe is expensive!!!! Make no mistake! But.... keep to super markets, camp and wild camp as much as possible and you can get away with around 34Eu - 45eu per day including fuel maybe even cheaper, check for Couch Surfing if you are okay with it. We do not like it and will rather wild camp than that. I think fuel is now around R18per liter there. The best is to cut your speed to 100km/h from start. You save 30% more fuel and have less chance of stopping your trip due to an accident with a local or animal. Also the wear on your bike, tyres and such is much less, which will help with replacing stuff too often.

Yes please keep in touch, if you are not on Facebook get on it, as it is the easiest way to follow fellow travelers. You do not have to post like a frantic pimple face teen, just an update now and then so we can follow and maybe yes we will meet up. When you post on Facebook do it on the HorizonsUnlimited page as it is dedicated for that.

Depending on your route try and get out of Eu as fast as possible or store your bike somewhere. Check on HorizonsUnlimited for people with storage place. Most wont charge you. Also get your Carne canceled once out of Israel as you do not need it in Eu. Eu do not need any paper work for our bikes and your bike can effectively stay there forever.

We are leaving for Europe at end April to start again for another 6months.  

Fantastic Michnus you really gave me good advice. Could you please send me your e mail address. Mine is [email protected] I would like to buy one of those petrol stoves from you. Thanks a million and we will definitely stay in touch.

 

[michnus]

gestuur  :deal:

 

[schalk vd merwe]

gestuur  :deal:

Baie dankie

 

[michnus]

BTW, I have met with a few lekker bikers in Italy, will get you in touch with them, maybe they can help you to store the bike for free.

 

[KnopKop]

Michnus, first of all, huge thanks for the time and effort in doing a report like this!

Quick one, in hindsight, would you still have taken the Dakar in stead of your 1200GS?

 

[michnus]

Pleasure, and thanks for reading, I really appreciate it.  :thumleft:

Man, difficult to answer, yes and no. Yes, no waterpump shit on the 1200, it's a beefier machine, but, it's heavy. And oke's can say what they want, when you really want to enjoy the backroads of Africa and not cruise the main roads and you are loaded picking up a heavy bike is no pleasure. You also increase your risk of injury which will stop your trip for you with lots of expense waiting. Yes it's got tubeless tyre, but fuck I agree I also want it on my other bikes. The best so far is Tubliss. Drive shaft, yes but also will leave you in serious kak if it break. Also generally you can't speed and you must have rocks in your head to do high speed in these other countries. We have met with 4 or 5 people hitting the tar with serious shit due to animals, vehicles and people. One guy had to sit in Addis for 3 months to sort out his bike and busted foot. So having a fast bike means zero.

Now that we have done all the miles and been through all. I must honestly tell you lighter is better. Even a 450cc is better but the 650cc range is ultimately the absolute best compromise for travel. Lighter on fuel, easier and cheaper to ship, cheaper to get parts and maintain, cheaper to run than any 1190/1200/ect. It all adds up. Ship a part costing R100 to Sudan and it will cost R1000 by the time it gets there, any part into Africa rule of thumb we found x 4. Plus time to wait. My prop shaft broke in Aliwal on the 1200gs the other day. Stopped us in our tracks. Imagine that happened in Uganda? Fuck, R8000 for the part plus shiping to add and time. And it gave no warning. Chain you at least get some warning. But it is just an example.  

Bigger bikes are cool for around SA, Namibia, SADEC and so. Or if you want to hightail it to Egypt in 30days. But then shipping a 1200 back to SA cost more than a 650 to ship. And the Carne for 650cc is cheaper than a 1200 or other litre bikes. But when you really want to go places and enjoy offroad driving in Africa the likes of a Discovery5HSESXHDABS is not that clever. The difference is the 1200 is cool onroad like the KTM1190 and Yamaha Tenere, but not that lovely offroad with all your luggage. So where would you rather have the best bike? Off road ofcourse. So rather have a numb ass on tar than kakking on a dirt road with a loaded bike and potentially injuring yourself. There's no quick cellphone extraction in Africa, chop chop call a friend in Jouberg to help is not gonna happen.

The big thing I see is that our options on the 650cc-ish range is dying. Europe is building bikes for road use that look like Ewan cruisers. Only Africa, Australia, South America and USA a bit still ride offroad. Europe where the biggest market is there are very few to none dirt left. Germany does not allow dirt riding at all. Most go fuck around in Morocco for a week and call it riding. We are really privileged and fortunate to still be able to ride dirt in Africa the way we do, it's wonderful.

Our plan is to go ride South America to Alaska for 2 years end of this year. I am seriously thinking 450DR-Z's for that trip.

And that is why we must have more than one bike, different tools for the job.  :ricky: :lol8:

 

[KnopKop]

Shap Shap!!

I thought so! I am keeping my XT660Z then!

Thanks for the inputs!

 

[michnus]

The 660 Tenere is a lekker bike. Just check what lekker girls get drawn to them. https://www.pikipiki.co.za/travel-videologue/other-epic-videos-from-motorcycle-travellers/
:lol8:
1st 2 clips

 

[KnopKop]

The 660 Tenere is a lekker bike. Just check what lekker girls get drawn to them. https://www.pikipiki.co.za/travel-videologue/other-epic-videos-from-motorcycle-travellers/
:lol8:
1st 2 clips

mmmmmm.............nice!

I could just watch the first one as the connection is so kak here in Zambia! But it was worth it!  :ricky:

 

[michnus]

You get the idea  :lol8:

 

[michnus]

The days were getting colder and we rode with lots of warm clothes and rain suits. Our last stay in the tent was the coldest we ever experienced while travelling. Lucky being out of season the hotel rooms were relatively inexpensive and we were able to book only a day in advance or at some places just pitch up without a booking. When in Italy, visiting Romeo and Juliet’s home town is a must. Verona is a picturesque and romantic town with street vendors and beautiful old buildings. The Verona’s Roman Arena is the third largest in Italy (after the Roman Colosseum and the arena in Capua).

Corso Porta Borsari.

City of Verona, Romeo and Juliet did their thing here.

View over Verona from Castel San Pietro

Verona claims to have more Roman ruins than any Italian city other than Rome.  Sauntering along one of Verona’s most famous shopping streets, the Corso Porta Borsari, the locals hardly seem to notice the magnificent, exceptionally well-preserved Roman gate as they pass under its great arches.

The statue have been removed in early 2014. Too many people wanted to touch her boob for good luck.

Juliet’s balcony.

Five:

Roads made for motorcycles! Italy is small but it boosts some of the best motorcycle riding roads in the world. With the Italians being such passionate bikers they will be quick to show and tell about their favourite scenic routes. From along the huge cliffs of the Amalfi coast to the towering passes in the Alps, no car or bus or any other mode of transport would be able to punch one in the face with such vigor and pure happiness that a bike can do.

The road over the Alps from Venice to Innsbruck is absolutely spectacular. We were warned not to spend too much time before heading over the Alps as it could snow and then we will be stuck in Italy.

Going through the Alps. The mountains reach into the clouds, with some of the most scenics roads in the world.

Coffee stop. Popular hang- out place in summer for bikers. Never ending twisties.

Italy is best taken slow with lots of time available for scenic drives, hanging out at local bars and the local foods. Camping is a blast and cheap with campsites in every town. Bread and a 2 Euro bottles of red wine is all you need!

Well there you have it. Only five reasons to get to Italy and enjoy it by motorcycle. There are loads more reasons but that’s your own to find out.​

 

[Xpat]

Hey michnus, I hope you don't mind me adding my 2c about Africa travels here. I've came down in one year from Prague in 2005/06 - you can find half finished (still in Uganda there) report in my signature.

I'm writing because it is interesting how experiences can differ. While I fully agree on the lack of wisdom of just rushing through Africa based on predefined plan, however I did no experience the memory overflow - quite the opposite actually, as I'm writing that report 9 years later and still doing quite well (no I did not do any notes, just pictures). I was lucky to not have a time limit on my trip. I've expected to do it in 6 months, ending up taking one year and 40000 km and staying to live in SA (original plan was to ship back to the rat race up there).

And I strongly recommend to take at least 6 months. You can go easily in 3 months from London to New York (e.g. along east-west axis) as Long Way Round shown, no problem - because you are not going to encounter much diversity on the way. Sure you may feel a bit exotic in Mongolia and maybe Kazakhstan, but let's face, almost the whole route you are in white man's territory and Europeans/Russians/Americans are much more similar than for example Ethiopians and Kenyans. That is why in my opinion Long Way Down sucks completely, as it (apart from other things) just doesn't have a chance to capture mind boggling diversity of Africa (or any north-south route) within the similar time space.

Back to memory - I had actually completely opposite problem, probably because I was one of those professional workaholic bitches before the trip. About three months into the trip, I couldn't actually sleep in night, as my brain just wasn't tired enough just from travelling - regardless how work have I worked on the bike that day. I would recommend to come up with some kind of intellectually stimulating activity (e.g. learning new language) as a side project during travel, as believe it or not, it will become monotonous after a while. And take breaks from riding (party in Kampala, climb Kili, diving in Dahab, whatever). 

For the bike choice - I'm fully with you 650 is best. I've done my trip on GSA1150 and have stuck most of the way off the beaten track, and while I have managed to drag that bike through most of the things including dunes and mud, I have often wondered what it would be like on a smaller and more nimble bike, on which you can actually enjoy riding the unknown dirt track, rather than wondering at what point to turn back.

 

[michnus]

Not a problem at all, gooi! the more info we can share the better.

Flipped I can't recall one monotonous moment. Okay I might be a bit doff and simple stuff keep me occupied, like drinking beer. :lol8: That said, the parts we had to make up miles and get through stuff was more of a memory problem than the parts we took slow. LIke Lalibela, Turkana and Uganda. We did a load of stuff everyday and it still felt like we did not have enough time to see everything. Those parts I remember well. But still taking it slower is better, no doubt.  :biggrin:

We have just started on trying to learn a bit of Spanish for South America and man! This is fucking difficult and it's burning the brain. Teaching an old dog new tricks is not a joke.  :sip: :lol8:

I fully agree 1000% with you on the 6 months thing. Doing these kind of trips in 30 or 50 days is an absolute waste of time and money. Time flies like it's nobodies business and although it sounds like a long time it goes past like stink.

 

[P.K.]

You gonna need the Spanish. did a trip thru Argentina, Bolivia & Peru a few years ago and you HAVE to have a basic knowledge of it unless you want to stick to the tourist routes. Awesome biking country tho`...
Best travel tip: Memorise the word  `Banyol`...fuck..I`m sure the spelling is wrong, but it means `toilet`...and I promise you it`s a word you will need...possibly in a hurry!!

 

[michnus]

:lol8: thanks for the advice.

Must tell you also just knowing the word beer has helped us many times. 

 

[michnus]

The lifestyle of the unemployed.

This is rapper style rubber. Kraaifontein and Danville oke’s will give their front teeth for a set of these.

There’s those with unlimited funds, no boring 9 to 5ér. Those are the upper class crust who does not need to work, the well heeled life of the unemployed. The people who enjoy the lazy pampered life on a yacht in the Mediterranean or sipping on an espresso or wine spritzer on a Wednesday morning in Monaco.

That's not us.. :lol8:

Ferrari, Vespa, Ducati and Lamborghini all a mere 150km radius. Can be visited in a day.

For a brief moment a vicarious thrill into the life of the rich and their luxuries.

Travelling Italy there is just no way petrolheads can miss the region with the most visually stimulating bodies in the world. Motorcycles and car bodies! No other nation in the world can boast the kind of flair and sexapeal that the Italian brand of cars and motorcycles parade and with as much exclusive heritage. We were able to visit Vespa, Lamborghini, Ferrari and Ducati in one day.  There’s your average  BMW or Merc poverty spec new car smell and then there’s Ferrari and Lamborghini new car smell. Their smell is of the gods.

Yes, you can even pay your arse off for a set of weights. If you really must have fast dumbbells


” Inaugurated in 2001, the Lamborghini Museum reviews all the important milestones reached by the House of the Raging Bull, with a foray into the past that has a strong emotional impact on fans of luxury super sports cars. The Murciélago was the first masterpiece displayed in this inspiring location in Italy’s Motor Valley. At its side gallops a broad collection that includes the Miura S and its iconic “eyelashes”, the 350 GT, the Countach S, the Jalpa, the Espada, the Sesto Elemento, the Reventón and the other exclusive supercars that have turned the Raging Bull into a legend. Engines, models and photos help provide visitors with a complete overview of the history of this automotive saga, which is continuing in the slipstream of Ferruccio Lamborghini’s first visionary idea.”

Admission is around 13euro’s per person and factory tours must be arranged.

Nope, not your Midas fake Carbon fuel cap sticker.

​

 

[michnus]

Boat racing engines!

The closest I will ever come to these, so had to sit there and make if I own the damn thing  :lol8:​

 

[michnus]

Even these older 80's cars still looks super fast standing still

​

 

[michnus]

Also in the museum the prototypes that never saw showroom floors

​