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DAYS 6 - CURRENT
» DAYS
1 - 5
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DAY 14 |
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Nigel and Ross left
Port Edward at 07h30 (before Nelius) as we were kitted up and ready
to go. The weather was dubious as they predicted rain and cold
weather. On the way to Mthatha (previously known as Umtata) we had
10 degrees and mist. Met up with Nelius at Mthatha, then Nigel and
Ross left for East London and Nelius headed for Coffee Bay. After
meeting David Vogel at Nanaga Farmstall (50km outside PE) we rode
the final bit together. Nelius decided to do some extra sight seeing
and only arrived home the next day.
In ending, it was a
fantastic trip, fuel was never a problem and with the weather we
had, we could have done the trip on dual tyres. There was also food
and lodging available on route, so not necessary to carry all the
camping/cooking equipment. The next time I would do Mozambique first
so one could spend more time visiting the coastal resorts (we
basically only saw the centre of Mozambique which was disappointing)
and then we would also not spend the last 6 days riding into the
sun.
In total we did
7452 km, moving time was 82 hours 16 minutes, and the total days
were 14. What an adventure!!”
Over and out …x
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DAY 13 |
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Today Nigel and I
did 650km from Simunya in Swaziland to Port Edward on the South
Coast. We were hoping to spoil ourselves tonight at the Wild Coast
Sun as it is our last night and we hope to make PE tomorrow. The Sun
and 3 other places we tried were fully booked. Nigel would not have
been a happy camper tonight, so somehow he managed to book us into
the Edwardian. I am sure that he either bribed them or subsidized
our rooms, as we had really great accommodation for the “price” and
he got them to include breakfast too.
Ross is fighting
off the flu and Nigel has not been able to keep his food down, so
we’ll see how we feel tomorrow. It would be great to get home and to
have a braai, as we are now so sick of fish & chips, steak & chips,
and egg & chips!!
We have done a
total of 6691km, and another 770km to go …!” |
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DAY 12 |
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Left Inhambane at
7am and headed to Maputo. This took us 7,5 hours. Crossed the
Limpopo River, which was spectacular! Ross managed to get a spot
speeding fine of R350.
He was warned
beforehand about a particular traffic cop whose radar was stuck on
“73 km per hour” … and guess what. Even though Ross knew that he was
travelling at a speed of less than 60 km per hour, the traffic cop
said he was travelling at 73km per hour. No arguments!
Nelius wanted to
see more of Maputo so he stayed in the 40 degree heat while Nigel
and Ross headed to Namatcha border post into Swaziland, an hour
away.
Ross and Nigel
enjoyed a scrumptious carvery at Sinunye Country Club (veggies were
most welcome) where they spent the night.
Nelius booked into
the Holiday Inn in Maputo for the night, and will meet the guys
along the road to Port St John’s tomorrow. |
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DAY 11 |
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Today we only had
280km to do to reach Inhambane. We experienced some rain today and
found a nice sandy road which was a short cut from Maxixe to
Inhambane. We booked into pension Pachina in town for 30 USD per
person, and will be going to a restaurant for some supper. Tomorrow
we head for Maputo. |
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DAY 10 |
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We left Tete at 6am
as we had to do 860km to Vilanculo with no place to stay in between.
The young girl at the motel we stayed at said it would take us 12
hours, and she was right. This was also the leg that I was worried
about the availability of fuel, but we were able to get fuel all the
way. The road was good and bad with some scary sink holes. We
crossed some awesome bridges of about one kilometer long. The last
40 km into Vilanculo was in the dark with narrow roads and lots of
people on the road. It was not a pleasant experience. The first
place we found was badly damaged by the cyclone which ripped through
Vilanculo at 282km per hour. We ended up staying at the Smugglers
Inn which was okay.
Mozambique
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DAY 9 |
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We left Monkey Bay
at 11am and crossed the border into Mozambique at 4pm. We then had
another 126km to Tete where we booked into the Tete Motel. We just
made it before sundown and managed to get a room. Ordered supper
(choice of goat, chicken or river fish!). Took our chances with the
chicken, and hopefully we’ll survive it! Tomorrow we hope to reach
the coast of Mozambique. |
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DAY 8 |
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Had a rest day at
‘Fat Monkeys’, Monkey Bay. We did a walk around the village and also
did some washing. Just chilled on the beach with the other visitors.
Nigel emptied the
bottle of "genuine Mandela Bay water" into Monkey Bay. Is bringing
some Monkey Bay water home.
At 4pm we did a
sunset cruise to an island which was close by. Had supper at the bar
then off to bed.
Monkey Bay
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DAY 7 |
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Arrived in Monkey
Bay late yesterday afternoon after another 11 hour day of exciting
riding. The roads are great in Malawi, and the scenery is
spectacular!
It took us 1,5
hours to cross the border into Malawi. We had to exchange dollars
for Kwachas on the black market as it was a public holiday.
The last 80km was a
lovely sand road and the bikes handled it well.
We are now 3858 kms
from home and it has taken us 41 hours of riding to get here.
We will rest here
for 2 days, and then head south for home. We really need to wash
some clothes and give the bikes a check-up. |
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DAY 6 |
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We arrived at
Chipata after 8 hours on the road. The last 180km was riddled with
potholes, road works, lots of goats, pedestrians and bicycles.
Tonight is our
first night of camping, and guess what, it started to rain! We are
now at our most northerly point, and tomorrow we cross Into Malawi
and head towards Monkey Bay. We did a total of 572 km today. |
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