First day of the three of us riding together11th to 14th October Nata, Livingston 2 Lusaka.
First day of the three of us riding together, very pleased to see that the pace was nice and relaxed, especially as the road was badly potholed in places with short dirt sections.

End of the dirt for now!

Not my favourite type of riding. Again another hot day and still battling to keep hydrated.
The ferry across the Zambezi as always was a nightmare. Leaving Botswana was dead easy; all that was required was having our passports stamped. Zambia however was another matter; as soon as we boarded the ferry we were swamped with “clearing agents” ( AKA rip off artists de lux). An hour later after paying road tax, carbon tax, third party insurance, council tax and having our passports and carnets stamped, all at different counters, none marked or even in the same building we were on the road to Livingston, a short 65km away. We checked into the Marimba River Lodge for the next 3 nights.

Miles and David together with Martin a travelling Priest at the Zambezi Sun Bar.

On Saturday Omar an Egyptian and his Australian girlfriend Bridgette arrived on the most heavily loaded Honda I have yet seen. He is hoping to join us for most of the trip up. Could be a very useful person to have around after my last experience of Egyptian customs, 27 hours sitting at the border! It’s interesting to note that he flew his bike into JHB and reckons it took him 7 days and R18 000 to clear? Almost a case of poetic justice.
Sunday morning saw the 3 of us on the Zambezi. Miles and myself decided (in a moment of madness) to boogie board down the rapids. We were the only 2 fools out of a group of 18 rafters. The biggest rapid we did was a grade 5 the highest allowable rating for commercial operators. Needless to say it was awesome, exhilarating but frightening at times. We had absolutely no control and I held on for dear life at times. That evening I paid the price, I could not lift my arms above my shoulders. I spent a night in agony and most of the next day trying to book a massage.

Looking over the edge, falls low currently.

Yesterday I had my first lesson in motorbike mechanics, how to change the oil and tighten the chain. Sounds easy, is easy if you have the right tools and most important the knowledge how to do it. Without Mile’s supervision / help it would have been disaster!
Today we topped up our tanks for the 500 odd km trek to Lusaka. It was / is a bit worrying as there is no fuel anywhere currently. I visited at least 8 garages en route looking for fuel with no avail.

Roadside stop looking for black market fuel, no luck this time.

Eventually I purchased some petrol at a hefty premium from at tout next to the empty BP Pumps! Work that out! Needless to say it had been diluted with I think benzene but I made Lusaka and am currently sitting at Shirley’s Grill house and coffee shop waiting for as large rump steak that will have to serve as lunch and dinner.