Dale & Chris - African Odyssey 2018

We were both exhausted when the time came to board the plane in Dubai.  Neither could barely talk.  The best that could be managed were grunts and heavy sighs.  Boarding and take-off were delayed and the nano-second the Captain said “have a good flight”, we were both in the land of nod…  

By Dale Bartlett

Why a Moto Guzzi?  Especially, a Quota?  Good question(s) ... Firstly, it was the most bike (by kilo) that I could buy for the least dollars.  Secondly, it is agricultural in its technology; little has changed in 50 years.  And lastly, an esteemed motorcycle engineer friend supposed it to be possibly the worst bike to choose for a trans-African trip … ticks all the boxes.

Given that Guzzis are as reliable as a rock, all that remained was to custom build the travel items that are not available off-the-shelf … essentially everything.

We are fast coming to the end of an amazing eight years of living and working in Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, and at the moment we seem to have an overwhelming number of things to finalise before leaving Dubai. 

Preparing to get to the start line of our Cape to Cairo odyssey, Chris' spreadsheet is smokin' and Dale's bike modifications are coming to an end.  A friend recently asked why it has taken eight years to complete the bike modifications.  Dale simply replied “I was working”…

A strong recommendation prompted us to visit Carla’s Restaurant in Muizenberg to try her famous Mozambique Prawns.  Carla welcomed us with “we only serve prawns and we only take cash”.  We replied with a smile, that we knew “the rules”.  When asked to see the wine list, Carla replied “we have a house white and a house red”.  We ordered a white for him and a red for her, then later prawns and salad.  The first Europeans to settle in Mozambique in the 15th century were the Portuguese.

“Great wine requires a mad man to grow the vine, a wise man to watch over it, a lucid poet to make it, and a lover to drink it”  Salvador Dali.

We took the opportunity during a three day patch of cool, sunny and bright winter weather, to ride through South Africa’s famous Boland wine and fruit growing region.  This was to prove a good shakedown in readiness for our imminent departure from Cape Town.  Learning how to use a new GPS device, a Garmin Zumo, proved a little tricky.  I had mapped out a route, but Settings kept getting in the way of a joyful experience!  

The term Karoo refers to a semi-desert natural region of South Africa, defined by its low rainfall, arid air, cloudless skies, and extremes of heat and cold.  The Little Karoo (in Afrikaans, the Klein Karoo) and the Great Karoo are distinctively divided by the Langberg and Swartberg Mountain Ranges.

Aussies will recognise these words from a well-known Paul Kelly and Kev Carmody song; a song that describes the strength of an Aboriginal civil rights movement in our country’s history.  I’ve had these words bouncing around in my head for some time, as I keep feeling we are celebrating big things at the moment that all started as little things…

We knew it was time to leave Cape Town when hail fell during an early morning walk.  That was enough winter for us; time to go!  Plus our 90 day visas were nearly up. Rain and storms stopped us from leaving when planned, so when a window of clear sky presented, we mounted the Guzzi and rode off towards snow-capped mountains on our way to the Whale Coast.  

There’s this little town on the north coast of Western Australia, called Broome.  Broome is the pearling capital of Australia and is in a region known as the Kimberley.  Broome’s history is a collection of colourful and often violent tales, and one can only imagine what it may have been like during the fevered and heady days of wealth, pearling masters and indigenous slaving; all in the search for those creamy white jewels.

The weather was freezing and the Kalahari Desert sands were being blow at 26kph, gusting at 40kph, as we managed our first African border crossing from South African into Namibia.  Not ideal conditions but we were comforted, after going through the process of buying Road Tax,, getting an Immigration stamp and then getting the Guzzi stamped and passed through Customs, that without too much of a todo, we were now in Namibia!

Having lived in Oman, Qatar and the UAE in the Middle East, we can attest that Omanis are the friendliest people of all the Gulf nations.  We have been told Namibians have the reputation of being the friendliest people in Africa. Besides the Captonians, of course.  Turns out the Namibians are the Omanis of Africa!

The road into Camp Ndurukoro Chalets & Camping was gravel.  We had our hearts set on wasting time watching makoro (dug out local canoes) propelled along the river, sleeping in a tented chalet and firing up the barbie.  Leon the owner had promised us the Guzzi would manage the 9kms of gravel…

“With an unusual water ecosystem that gives life to rich and rare wildlife, birds and culture, the Four Rivers Route is named after the river systems that flow through the Zambezi and Kavango regions, namely the Zambezi, Okavango, Kwando and Chobe Rivers. The ecosystem created by the rivers is one of southern Africa’s best-kept secrets and is home to over 430 bird species, free-roaming wildlife and numerous culturally rich villages.  This route stretches along the Zambezi Region, formerly the Caprivi Strip, through to the Victoria Waterfalls.”

“Pangolins, also sometimes called scaly anteaters, are strange looking creatures covered with protective horny, overlapping scales. It is estimated that the Southern African Pangolin has been around for over 40 million years, adapting itself to the changing environment in order to survive. These mechanisms are, however, not adequate protection against man and pangolins now are reported to be the most trafficked animal in the world. Their scales and body parts are revered in Eastern Medicine and their meat regarded as a delicacy.”

Photos by Dale...with a big boy's camera

Photos by Chris...with a big girl's camera

We didn’t come across giraffes in any potholes, but the 13kms to the Zimbabwe border was severely in need of the road crews we passed earlier, to get a move-along.  Getting out of Botswana was so swift and orderly, that we kept wondering when we were going to hit the chaotic, corrupt African border crossings that we had heard about.

My sister, two brothers and I lost our dad 11 months ago.  He was a great man.  He was my friend, my inspiration, my motivation, my mentor, and my hero.  Amongst many things, he was passionate about radio communications and travel.  It saddens me that he is not here to share our African Odyssey with us.

Our exit from Zimbabwe felt quite grand.  We rode across the Victoria Falls Bridge trailing the “Pride of Africa”, an original 1930’s steam train, with Cecil Rhode’s words in our heads “build the Bridge across the Zambezi where the trains, as they pass, will catch the spray of the Falls”.  

Marula Lodge suited us perfectly.  Our tented chalet was very comfortable, the open air communal dining and lounge areas overlooked the river, and the deck chairs strategically placed along the river edge made easy work of enjoying a chosen beverage whilst watching elephants, crocs and hippos go about their business.  An innovative spiral ablution structure made of bamboo stems provided four private, open roofed and very well appointed bathrooms.  The weather was very pleasant, the swimming pool was refreshing and the staff were friendly and helpful.