Southern Africa 2003
 

Hi all.. Seems a bit strange that there aren't more threads in the Sub-Saharan Africa section. A friend of mine and I are planning a trip beginning 2003 starting in South Africa. Riding from Cape Town along the coast to PE, then up through the Transkei, along the wild coast through to Durbs, then up through Kwa Zulu Natal to Swaziland.

From there on to Mozambique (some diving and beach lounging) all the way up to Malawi, then down through a bit of Zambia, down through to Vic Falls, then through Botswana (hopefully a nice trip to Okavango Delta) and across to and through Namibia and then back down along the west coast to Cape Town.

The trip is still very much in the planning stages and I'm pleased to say that this bulletin board is providing great info. My friend who is in London at the moment (I'm in US- shortly he'll be in S.A and I'll be in London) has bought Chris's book and I will too.

We hope to get good cond. pre 90's XT Tenere's (apparantly they are the shit for this type of thing) and will most likely adopt the less is best approach and rough it out, except for the must haves. So much planning involved and it seems like it's going to be very expensive to get kitted out. I hadn't thought of cooking stoves (assumed camp fire would do it) but obviously after a hard days driving you want to get some food in yer mug ASAP. The list goes on about things I hadn't thought of and all I can say is thank God for all you crazy mofo's whove attempted these kinds of things before and are now able to impart your great wisdom.

I am happy though that we still have a year to get things in order. Going to be flat broke and unemployed after this but one could argue that the life experience is well worth it. I hear many Amens and grunts of approval from you all.

So.... you will most likely hear a lot more questions from Martin or myself about this upcoming beast of an adventure. Here's to experiencing the life without the Discovery Channel.

ps.. oh.. the original idea of posting this thread was to ask for any info you might have to help us plan.. thanks!


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Many Miles to Motor

Hi!
I am travelling by bike through that area in six weeks time. I shall be able to give you plenty of info when I return, I believe sometime around February. Mi plan was to travel from Spain to Cape Town, but time and political situation recommended to avoid islamic countries. We plan to fly to SA, buy a bike there and travel up to Ethiopia and down again. Let´s keep in touch, I´m sure I will be able to give you some info.
By the way, do you know anyone in SA to get in contact to buy a bike there?
Cheers,
JP

Try contacting the Johannesburg Horizons Commmunity, they may be able to provide contact details for a dealer or two. - go to http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/com...tEnglish.shtml

Also Trefco in Cape Town is good - they are on the Links page.


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Grant Johnson

Share the Dream!
at: www.HorizonsUnlimited.com

Hello Juan.

The trip sounds damn fine. Jonathan and I have also deceided to revise our trip a little and stick more to the east coast of Africa. We realised that there is no need to tackle the world in one go, as we are sure that this is something that we will want to go back to time and time again.

I would love to give you info on getting a bike in Cape Town, but at the moment, I have no real concrete info to pass on.

I have been in contact with friends and they have been giving me some ideas, but due to the limited funds that I will have, I will have to buy privately and hopefully cheap.

Please do give us any news on your trip, all news, details and what not are most welcome.

I am getting butterflies in my stomach I am so excited about my adventure to come. So far we are keen on going through South Africa, up to Mozambique where we want to spend about 3 weeks or so, then up to Malawi and a further 3 weeks or so, then up to Tanzania and up to Zanzibar to go and get some really good diving in. Not entirely sure of the final destination at which point we will turn south and head back, but I am dead keen on visiting Lake Kariba as well and spending some quiet time fishing and doing pretty much nothing else.

Good luck to you.

regards
Martin

Hi Martin
I´ll give you final details of my trip in a couple of weeks, just before my departure. Of course, additional and more reliable info after my return.
Our route looks pretty similar to yours, but we shall include places that, I´ve been said, we should not miss (for example, Uganda).
I´ll be in touch.
JP

Hey Juan.... really looking forward to your info on your return. We couldn't have asked for a better contact to make before our trip. The best of luck to you and also, please let us know how the purchase and rigging of your bike went.. Martin and I have been discussing doing a one or two week trip around S.A beforehand to gain a bit of experience before heading into Mozambique. I think we should simpy place S.A in our itinary and if things go well continue without looking back.

Later..

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Many Miles to Motor

Thanks Grant for links on bike purchase. This is an awesome BBoard you've created here and the help is invaluable! We look forward to posting some info/pics on our travels here. Later.

Happy to help - we are constantly impressed ourselves by the awesome number of people out there willing to spend a minute and help others out. It's all about Community and sharing... and you guys are all doing just that and helping create a fantastic Community - and for that I thank you all!



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Grant Johnson

Share the Dream!
at: www.HorizonsUnlimited.com

Hi all
If you are heading up the East Coast of South Africa, anywhere near Durban, please call in on our dirt bike touring operation www.africanoffroadtours. We will hook you up with friends up and down the coast, as far south as Cape Town and as far north as Zimbabwe. Best of luck on your tour
Reagrds

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Danny Steyn
www.africanoffraodtours.com

Hi to all. I stay near Cape Town and can help look for bikes for sale in this area. I know of a Suzuki DR650 for R12 000 now. 600 Tenere is harder to find, but jou can get them for R15 000. Old BMW R80GS are harder to find, but you can get them for under R20 000. Old XT500 are there plenty of and sell for R6 000.

I am leaving from Cape Town to the equator in June this year with my 1150GS and will report to you on my way.
One question, some people told me it is not a good idea to travel alone, but I canot find people to go with and are not going to stay home. What is your opinion on this? What safety mesures can I make?

Cheers
Johan Claassens
RSA

It is a bit of a concern . I travelled a bit in Southern Africa alone and the biggest problem was when I ran out of petrol ( near PE) as people told me not to leave my bike alone !

I think your main concerns should be avoiding dangerous drivers on the road and sometimes getting bored in the evenings.

Then you have to consider walking around new towns in the night time by yourself , which is probably my biggest worry too ( off next week to Sth Am for 6 months solo bike trip ) .

Hi MArtin
I am back from Africa. We bought a Suzuki DR Big 750 and a Kawasaki KLR 650 in Cape Town and drove 12,000 up to NAirobi, in 9 weeks. We did not go through Mozambique (be careful with petrol), we went thru Namibia and another 6 countries to reach Kenya. The experience was incredible, with no problems at all. Tell me what kind of info you need and I will be happy to share my trip with you.
Juan Pablo

Jono

We're currently in Kenya having spent 6 months riding up from Cape Town via, Lesotho, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Malawi & Tanzania. We have a page on our website for each country we've been through and mention people & places that we've found useful/comfortable.

Give special attention to Mozambique as fuel and changing TC's can be a problem.

Other than that we've not encountered any major problems other than BMW fitting the bikes Throttle Position Sensor (factory set) in the most ridiculous position known to man-kind, (yes, I've just knocked mine off), fortunately Nairobi has a BMW main dealer.

All the best,

Goose

www.gooseontheloose.com