Go Back   Horizons Unlimited - The HUBB > Regional Forums > sub-Saharan Africa
sub-Saharan Africa Topics specific to sub-Saharan Africa. (Includes all countries South of 17 degrees latitude)
Photo by Daniel Rintz, Himba children, Namibia

The only impossible journey
is the one
you never begin

Photo by Daniel Rintz,
Himba children, Namibia



Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old 29 Aug 2006
Registered Users
HUBB regular
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 28
kudu expeditions uk

has any one travelled with kudu expeditions uk. i have been looking at there trans africa expedition. wondered if anyone on here has done this trip. many thanks.
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 30 Aug 2006
Registered Users
HUBB regular
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Africa
Posts: 25
Kudu

Hi,

We did not ride with them but met up with them in Ghana. Everyone seemed to be enjoying the venture at the time. Will see if we can get you some contact details of guys that did the trip.

Regards
Frank
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 30 Aug 2006
Registered Users
HUBB regular
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Africa
Posts: 25
Kudu

Hi,

Just noticed a posting under travellers seeking travellers from one of the guys that just did the UK to SA trip with Kudu. He is offering info to all interested parties.

Regards
Frank
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 30 Aug 2006
Atwoke's Avatar
Registered Users
Veteran HUBBer
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Northumberland, UK
Posts: 219
Try searching the forum on "Kudu Expeditions". There is a posting from 28th MAy with personal experience....

Search and ye shall find!

Jens
__________________
You can never have too many bikes......

BMW R100GS
Triumph Tiger 885
Yamaha XT600e

Jens is gone, but not forgotten.
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 1 Sep 2006
Registered Users
New on the HUBB
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Park City, Utah!
Posts: 16
Searches are not turning up much. We'd be interested in hearing about people's experiences with this company as well. Thanks...
__________________
Glenn Wakefield

Where the road ends, life begins....
www.rocky-road.com
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 1 Sep 2006
Registered Users
Veteran HUBBer
 
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: USA
Posts: 992
Quote:
Originally Posted by gwbuild
Searches are not turning up much. We'd be interested in hearing about people's experiences with this company as well. Thanks...

Glenn,

Are you the Sami nut?
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 3 Sep 2006
Registered Users
New on the HUBB
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: chippenham
Posts: 6
I travelled with kudu for a few days during their trans-africa this year in Central Africa - I was travelling independently and just tagged along for a bit. I wasn't with them for that long, but I have to say my impressions of them were extremely good. They really seemed to have thought of everything and were obviously extremely well prepared before they left the UK (certainly more prepared than I was!). Their staff were very helpful to me indeed and got me out of a right pickle so I may be a bit biased. The riders seemed to be having a fantastic time - a few moans but more along the lines of "I want to stay in more hotels" rather than anything that most of the people on this forum would consider serious. Apparently one guy left the trip half way through who wasn't having a good time but putting it politely he didn't seem to have made a very good impression on the other guys to say the least! That's obviously the downside of group travel like this which you need to carefully think about - what kind of people are you going to end up stuck with?

In summary, they seemed very professional to me and I was very impressed. I have just come back from a solo trans-Africa and with the mechanical, border, visa and other problems I suffered, along with the loneliness of solo travel for weeks across central Africa, with hindsight I would have considered joining their trip rather than doing it on my own. I hope that helps a little anyway - I still have the e-mail addresses of a couple of the guys on the trip, I will try and get them to post here.
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old 3 Sep 2006
Registered Users
HUBB regular
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 28
kudu expeditions uk

brandy x thankyou very much for your reply.very helpfull; its just that i want to get this trip right. and the lad who dropped out [ i found it a bit offputting ] without knowing reasons etc.its just that i want to find out as much as possible before i commit my self. if you could get any others on that trip to get in touch; it would be brilliant. anyway thanks again. all the best regards byron
Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old 27 Sep 2006
Registered Users
New on the HUBB
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: London
Posts: 2
from a former Kudu expeditions customer

Hi

I travelled on the kudu expeditions Mar-Aug 2006 Cambridge to Cape Town trip. so could answer any querries you might have but I havent sat down and thought out some great what did I think of them type essay.

They are ok but they have a schedule and a budget to stick to or else they dont make so much money. This means sometimes they make you push on because they are worried about falling behind the plan just when you want to see something spectacular like the Etosha Game Park. Its marked as one of the trip highlights and we only got one evening and one day there before we had to move on which was a real shame. This was often the case on the trip and is a downside of going on an organised trip where you are not in control of the itinery.

Stopping when you want is ok but they often would follow only a couple of minutes behind you on the road. This meant that I rarely felt like I was on an expedition fitting the elements rather I was being nannied. This may or may not seem important but it will if your even slightly adventureous. Their reason was that they didnt want to loose anyone or that if you had an accident you where less far from help. These are valid reasons but didn't fit with my pre trip expectation.

Overall when you get back you can look back on the trip with kudu expeditions and feel good you did it but it could of been so much better if they would of listened to the participants during the expedition rather than just sending us a questionaire at the end once it was to late.

Its easy for me to say this now but after two of the 17 countries I was already confident enough to wish I had just set off with a friend or someone met from Horizons. If you are not good at organising yourself then these guys will get you there and you can tell your friends you did this great journey but I think you miss so much of africa because you just take the best roads possible (they have a schedule and mixed abilities to consider)rather than the most interesting ones.

look I could talk and talk and this is just a tiny part of my feelings today I must right something down and post it onto my web site as its impossible to describe the trip and how you feel about it even in a few pages but for me its still sinking in and dont want to say its all bad as its not but there are a lot of problems with kudu that I hope they do something about. Like the trip to Dakar we did this in much longer time and the road down there is boring then we got a day and a half to cross the sahara this was not quite the advertised three days but you see even this little part of the trip would require a message on its own.

Good Luck
Reply With Quote
  #10  
Old 11 Oct 2006
Registered Users
HUBB regular
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: N.Yorks UK
Posts: 79
I was very excited about a possible trip with Kudu, well, till I found out the cost.....and had some reservations about going on an "organised tour"

I would love a trip of Africa and the last post has answered/confirmed a lot of my queries, but what are the options as I am not experienced or confident about taking a trip like this alone and know of no-one to do such a trip with?

Phil
__________________
650 Transalp
Reply With Quote
  #11  
Old 13 Oct 2006
Registered Users
New on the HUBB
 
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Cirencester
Posts: 2
Hi Shandydrinker,

I am in the same boat as you and after scouring these message boards for info I contacted Kudu for a reference. They gave me a phone number of one of the customers who was on the last trans-Africa expeditions and he absolutely raved about the whole experience and Kudu as well - the exact opposite to what has been written here.

I suggest you get in contact with Kudu yourself like I did. I don't want to travel on my own and I have no great travel experience so they seem perfect to me. Having spoken to this guy and Kudu themselves if I can scrounge the money together and get a holiday pass from the wife I will be on the trip.

All the best mate,
Harry
Reply With Quote
  #12  
Old 13 Oct 2006
dkmoose's Avatar
Contributing Member
HUBB regular
 
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Cambridge
Posts: 76
kudu

I'm doing the 'halfway option'. Travelling with Kudu to Dakar (leaving in 4 weeks) and then continuing on my own. Being a relative novice of 'adventure motorcycling', I hope that the 3 weeks from UK to Dakar will be good training and acclimatisation for the continuing tour on my own.

Yes, it's a bit pricey, but they do give you full support for the 3 weeks (they can carry my stuff), get the carnet organised and hold a training weekend.

Kudu did say that there was someone else considering the trip and continuing after, or to do it all alone instead. Not one of you guys?

Martin
Reply With Quote
  #13  
Old 13 Oct 2006
Registered Users
New on the HUBB
 
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Cirencester
Posts: 2
I'm going to try and get onto their UK to Cape Town one in the spring but trying to get money together - going to see how much I can get for one of my kids on eBay first. Can't confirm on the trip yet but I'm going to give it a damn good try!
Reply With Quote
  #14  
Old 17 Oct 2006
Registered Users
HUBB regular
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: N.Yorks UK
Posts: 79
Does anyone fancy joining up for an "unorganised trip", seem's like there are a few of us who'd like to do a trip like this, Ideally I'd prefer NOT to go with an organisation, I could scrape the money together but still baulk at the thought of the cost of it in principal and am reluctant to travel alone for prolonged periods in unknown territory.

Phil
__________________
650 Transalp
Reply With Quote
  #15  
Old 25 Jan 2008
Registered Users
New on the HUBB
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Park City, Utah!
Posts: 16
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lone Rider View Post
Glenn,
Are you the Sami nut?
I guess that would be me.... My company was initially built on parts for Suzukis, but its only a small part of the overall business at this point. Still my sentimental favorite when it comes to 4x4 though.

Also, I just finished a trip with Kudu. Had a great time and would recommend them to anyone who wants to ride Africa and doesn't happen to have a bike on the same continent, is interested in a pretty cool route, and is looking for riding companions. I'm from the USA, so renting a bike and using their trip/guide plan made great sense.

Anyway, anyone have any questions on how Kudu is running things lately, feel free to email me. I did enjoy the trip alot and the route they use thru Mauritania was about as danger-free as you can get in that part of the world despite the cancellation of the rally this year. The route thru the Atlas mountains we ran, even though on tarmac, was some of the most enjoyable paved riding I have ever done. Hundreds of miles of twisty-turneys on deserted narrow roads thru remote villages. The trip doesn't have to be all on dirt to have a great ride.
__________________
Glenn Wakefield

Where the road ends, life begins....
www.rocky-road.com
Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 Registered Users and/or Members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
first hand info on Kudu expeditions australianrider Travellers Seeking Travellers 4 27 Sep 2006 00:51
Bowline Expeditions Roman North Africa 1 11 Jun 2003 22:12
Desert Expeditions Book TonyM North Africa 5 3 Dec 2002 16:27
FJ Expeditions website updated andrasz North Africa 0 24 Jul 2002 15:59

 
 

Announcements

Thinking about traveling? Not sure about the whole thing? Watch the HU Achievable Dream Video Trailers and then get ALL the information you need to get inspired and learn how to travel anywhere in the world!

Have YOU ever wondered who has ridden around the world? We did too - and now here's the list of Circumnavigators!
Check it out now
, and add your information if we didn't find you.

Next HU Eventscalendar

HU Event and other updates on the HUBB Forum "Traveller's Advisories" thread.
ALL Dates subject to change.

2024:

Add yourself to the Updates List for each event!

Questions about an event? Ask here

HUBBUK: info

See all event details

 
World's most listened to Adventure Motorbike Show!
Check the RAW segments; Grant, your HU host is on every month!
Episodes below to listen to while you, err, pretend to do something or other...

2020 Edition of Chris Scott's Adventure Motorcycling Handbook.

2020 Edition of Chris Scott's Adventure Motorcycling Handbook.

"Ultimate global guide for red-blooded bikers planning overseas exploration. Covers choice & preparation of best bike, shipping overseas, baggage design, riding techniques, travel health, visas, documentation, safety and useful addresses." Recommended. (Grant)



Ripcord Rescue Travel Insurance.

Ripcord Rescue Travel Insurance™ combines into a single integrated program the best evacuation and rescue with the premier travel insurance coverages designed for adventurers.

Led by special operations veterans, Stanford Medicine affiliated physicians, paramedics and other travel experts, Ripcord is perfect for adventure seekers, climbers, skiers, sports enthusiasts, hunters, international travelers, humanitarian efforts, expeditions and more.

Ripcord travel protection is now available for ALL nationalities, and travel is covered on motorcycles of all sizes!


 

What others say about HU...

"This site is the BIBLE for international bike travelers." Greg, Australia

"Thank you! The web site, The travels, The insight, The inspiration, Everything, just thanks." Colin, UK

"My friend and I are planning a trip from Singapore to England... We found (the HU) site invaluable as an aid to planning and have based a lot of our purchases (bikes, riding gear, etc.) on what we have learned from this site." Phil, Australia

"I for one always had an adventurous spirit, but you and Susan lit the fire for my trip and I'll be forever grateful for what you two do to inspire others to just do it." Brent, USA

"Your website is a mecca of valuable information and the (video) series is informative, entertaining, and inspiring!" Jennifer, Canada

"Your worldwide organisation and events are the Go To places to for all serious touring and aspiring touring bikers." Trevor, South Africa

"This is the answer to all my questions." Haydn, Australia

"Keep going the excellent work you are doing for Horizons Unlimited - I love it!" Thomas, Germany

Lots more comments here!



Five books by Graham Field!

Diaries of a compulsive traveller
by Graham Field
Book, eBook, Audiobook

"A compelling, honest, inspiring and entertaining writing style with a built-in feel-good factor" Get them NOW from the authors' website and Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, Amazon.co.uk.



Back Road Map Books and Backroad GPS Maps for all of Canada - a must have!

New to Horizons Unlimited?

New to motorcycle travelling? New to the HU site? Confused? Too many options? It's really very simple - just 4 easy steps!

Horizons Unlimited was founded in 1997 by Grant and Susan Johnson following their journey around the world on a BMW R80G/S.

Susan and Grant Johnson Read more about Grant & Susan's story

Membership - help keep us going!

Horizons Unlimited is not a big multi-national company, just two people who love motorcycle travel and have grown what started as a hobby in 1997 into a full time job (usually 8-10 hours per day and 7 days a week) and a labour of love. To keep it going and a roof over our heads, we run events all over the world with the help of volunteers; we sell inspirational and informative DVDs; we have a few selected advertisers; and we make a small amount from memberships.

You don't have to be a Member to come to an HU meeting, access the website, or ask questions on the HUBB. What you get for your membership contribution is our sincere gratitude, good karma and knowing that you're helping to keep the motorcycle travel dream alive. Contributing Members and Gold Members do get additional features on the HUBB. Here's a list of all the Member benefits on the HUBB.




All times are GMT +1. The time now is 16:39.