Soul of Africa Tour - Copenhagen to Cape Town

NOT easy to get a full nights sleep, when you know your adventure is about to start. The view from our bedroom window at 5.00 am showed a mirror like surface on fjord, blue sky and sunny. What a perfect day for the 400 km trip from the island of Mors to Copenhagen. 

Time is flying when you are having fun, they say. My breakfast with Maiken and Adam went on, and I got away from Copenhagen later than planned, to catch my pre-booked ferry from Rodby to Puttgarten in Germany. To make matters worse there was massive traffic congestion just outside Copenhagen, and soon I was chasing to get to the ferry on time. About 60 km from the ferry the yellow light for reserve fuel came on, and I had to make a decision whether to chance it on my fuel supply and reach the ferry, or go to a filling station to get fuel, and definitely miss the boat!

Long distance driving on the German autobahn is definitely not favorite food for me or the X-Country, but I had to go to Munich to pick up my Carnet de Passages, which had been issued by the German Automobile Club (ADAC). Due to some misunderstanding with the transfer of funds from Denmark to Germany - ADAC require a deposit of € 3000 - they could not post the carnet in time for my departure. To save time I decided to pick it up myself, as my planned route was heading towards Munich anyhow. Full marks to ADAC and to Gloria who handled everything so efficiently. Thank you!

When a “news flash” on Horizons Unlimited mentioned that the UNESCO city of Ceski Krumlov was worth a visit, I decided to make a stopover since I was heading in that direction. I found a perfect viewing spot from the top of a hill in the city, overlooking the old city and the Vitava river that snakes it’s way around the city. I have included a couple of pictures of this beautiful place.

I left the beautiful campsite at lake Balaton early morning, so at least I could get a cool start to the day. The route would take me south through Hungary, and into the northern part of Croatia, ending the day at Plitvicka Lakes National Park. Although I have visited Croatia 9 times previously, I have never entered from this side, and driven through the mountains and forests. Ideal for motorcycle riding with plenty of thrilling hills and switchbacks A great couple of hours on the bike.

My intention had been to visit the falls at Plitvice, but when I arrived at the entrance to the park, and saw the massive queues, I gave it a miss, and continued towards Dubrovnik. Driving through lush forest, it was really pleasant, and for the first time on the trip it felt a bit chilly! Fantastic. A couple of hours later I could only dream about chilly weather - it had become almost unbearably hot. When I opened the visor to my helmet, to let a bit of cooler air in, it felt like someone was standing with a hairdryer on full speed and max temperature, blowing into my face. 

Got an early start from Camp Alfa and headed towards Slovakia and the capital Bratislava. The plan was to reach lake Balaton in Hungary later in the day.

Wanted an early start from Dubrovnik, but the campsite owner had decided to go shopping, with no one else around to take care of business.I had to pay and checkout, so nothing else to do but sit and wait. Eventually, an hour later he turned up, apologetically.

A couple of weeks ago, if someone had asked me for a few facts about Albania, I would have been hard pressed! That has now changed!

Situated on the Balkan peninsular, with a coastline to the Adriatic and Ionian sea, it is a small country of only 3 mill. For many years it was under communist rule, which ended as recent as 1992. Recently there have been talks of the European Union considering the country as a future member.

Back in Euroland! The custom officer on the Greek side gave me a hearty smile and welcome to Greece. Not all custom officials have to be unsmiling and gruff, it seems!

The day before leaving Greece I had moved to a place on the coast called Artemida, about 10 km from Athens airport. I was watching BBC worldnews on TV, and they were talking about the fact that the EU had finally ended the austerity measures imposed on Greece almost a decade ago at the beginning of the financial crisis. 

My trip to Tel Aviv was done by Aegean Airways from Athens, with a brief stopover on Mykonos. The “brief” stopover turned into a 3 hour delay. Have to give full marks to Agean though, as they provided meal vouchers to all passengers, and at checkout we were handed a formal letter offering a free ticket to any destination in the Aegean network.

The ride from Haifa to Nazareth is only 50 km and takes about an hour. I tried to get in at Abraham’s Hostel, but it was fully booked. Settled for another place called Antique Hostel, which turned out to be a bit of a run down hostel. Completely hidden away in the center of Nazareth, and the last 500 meters only on foot through narrow streets and alleys. Miracles in this part of the world are not uncommon!!

After the past two days in busy Tel Aviv it was great being back on the bike again, and heading for the desert. I was on my way to Mitzpe Ramon, which has the worlds largest crater, or Makhtesh (geological erosion). It is not formed by a meteor, or volcanic but is believed to have been made by extreme water erosion. They only exist in Israel where there are 3, out of which the largest is the one close to Mitzpe Ramon. It measures some 40 km, and there are some stunning views, particularly at sunrise and sunset.

Not far from Mitzpe Ramon I stopped at a farm shop to buy something to drink. A young couple came over to chat, and I asked them about the best route to Eilat, as there were two options. They suggested the longer but more scenic and mountainous option along the Egyptian/Sinai border. That gave me a couple of hours on a perfect road, and amazing desert scenery, much of the time driving along some major fencing along the border. The Israelis (and Egyptians) are serious about protecting their assets!

One could easily spend a week in Jerusalem. So much of significance, everywhere. One of the ladies in the group doing the tour, wanted to know from the guide, whether he was sure that Jesus had really walked exactly where she was walking now! Well, the guide said, where we are walking now is about 4,5 meters above the original level, as different layers have been added over the centuries. Jerusalem has been fought over 16 times, destroyed 2, besieged 16, attacked 52, captured and re-captured 44 times. So, sorry I can’t say for certain!

Go with the flow - SOMEONE needs to tell me! After 45 years in business I find it incredibly difficult to accept that things don’t always function like clockwork. The ferry from Aqaba, Jordan eventually left 2-3 hours later than scheduled. Myself, a young French couple and 4 Japanese ladies were the only foreigners onboard, amongst what seemed like 1000’s of people. The ferry was full, with people and vehicles, mostly busses and of-course one motorcycle.

Customs in Nuweiba had provided me with an address, written in Arabic, for the Automobile Club of Egypt for me to show to the taxi driver. I showed the driver the address, and we agreed on a fixed rate to drive me there. Addresses in this country are often spelt in different ways, and can make it difficult to find a place, a problem I have with my GPS as well. The taxi driver just couldn’t find the place, and stopped several times to ask. He eventually found someone who knew, and we ended up going back to a place within walking distance from my hotel.

I arrived at the Nuweiba customs at 08.00, and the clearing of my bike could start. Three hours and about 1.500 Egyptian Pounds later I could drive through the gates of the port authorities and into the Sinai. A free man!

Today I would travel from the Sinai to Cairo, up along the Red Sea coast, take the tunnel road under the Suez Canal, and head for the pyramids at Giza, on the outskirts of Cairo. All along the coast there are hundreds of resorts. Some closed down, many in ruins, others half finished, standing like ghosts resorts. The few that are still functioning, are dilapidated and in dire need of repair and maintenance. The whole area has an air of desperation about it, and it is a surreal feeling driving past all these abandoned projects. Rubbish, plastic bottles and bags everywhere.

Although I hadn’t asked for a wake up call, mr Gamal took it upon himself to give me a call at 07.00 as I had told him the evening before I wanted an early start. I haven’t used an alarm clock for years, and always wake up 5 minutes before the time - almost to the second, so I was ready to go to the rooftop restaurant for breakfast, when he called.

My police escort let me off the hook about 500 meters from the Alhambra Hotel in Luxor, where I had booked one night. They called the manager of the hotel, and a few minutes later he arrived on his small Chinese motorcycle, to show me to the hotel. It was well hidden on the westbank of the Nile. Walking into the fenced courtyard from the sandy, dusty and narrow alleyway outside, was just like entering an oasis (see pic). Very neat and tidy place, run and managed by Mohamad who turned out to be an incredibly helpful and caring host.

Leaving Luxor early the next morning I was delighted to find that there was no police vehicle waiting to escort me, so I could get on with my 300 km trip to Aswan. The first 50 km I drove along the eastern side of the river, with it’s numerous speed bumps as well as many small fires right next to the road. It’s the Egyptian way of getting rid of all their rubbish. You just cannot avoid the smoke and it gives off really nauseating fumes, which on the bike with a helmet can be quite sickening.

Arriving at the Sudanese Consulate at 11.00 I was told that my visa was ready, and he would bring my passport as soon as he had finished attending to the pile of applications on his desk. Take a seat in the waiting room, and I will be with you shortly, he said. 

I left Karima early in the morning as I wanted to see if I could reach Khartoum before evening. It was a trip of some 500 km, through desolate desert most of the way. I filled both fuel bladders to the brim, when I finally - on my third attempt - found a fuel station with fuel. It would turn out to be a good decision, as there was no fuel available on the few stations along the way, and I had to empty both bladders into the tank, to reach my destination.

Osama, the manager of the Tuya hotel in Abu Simbel, is a really helpful man. He found out that I would have to be at the ferry around 06.30, to sail across Lake Nasser to Quasar. He then asked the young man, Mohamed, who had checked me in the day before, to arrange for coffee at 06.00 and also get me a breakfast packet to take along. He also called a friend in Wadi Halfa, where I could stay the first night in Sudan. As if that wasn’t enough, he gave me the name of a person at customs on the Sudan side, I should ask for when I arrived there. 

On the Sudanese side I started proceedings by offloading all bags on the bike for screening. On to passport control which took about half an hour. I also tried to contact the person that Osama at Hotel Tuya had told me about. After a while a man turned up and asked for the various documents, and he would get me through the system. He asked me to sit down and grab a cup of coffee while he did the running around. Twice he came back and told me how far he had gotten in the proceedings.

With a population of some 110 million people, Ethiopia is the second most populous country in Africa after Nigeria. Driving along the Ethiopian roads you quickly find out that it can be quite difficult to find a spot where you stop without interference from anyone. To take a picture, enjoy the view, check your bike, have a bit to drink or eat. Usually, within minutes you will have any number of friendly Ethiopians watching you.

I left the German Guest House already by 5.30. The guy drivning the tuktuk knew me from the two previous days when he had driven me to the Ethiopian Consulate, so I just jumped in and we were on our way! The plan was that I would collect my passport with the visa, go back to the German Guest House, pack my bike and be on my way. I hoped to leave around 10.00. 

Just before eight I spotted Richard at the entrance to the lodge, and we went straight down to the entrance where I paid for the 50$ ticket.

I had a fair distance to cover to reach Lalibela, so got an early start, driving in the most glorious sunshine back towards Gondar. No cars, no people, no animals.

My original plan had been to spend a day or two at Wim’s Holland House in Addis Ababa, a meeting point for many overlanders, and I had really looked forward to meeting other travelers. A quick calculation of the remaining distance to the Kenyan border at Moyale, made it clear that there would be no chance of a stopover at Wim’s - I would have to go straight for the border to meet the 28/9 deadline.

Immediately after the guard had opened the gate to let me into Kenya, I realized that I would now have to drive on the left hand side of the road for the first time since leaving Denmark. It was midday, and perfect driving conditions for the 260 km to Marsabit - once again on a superb road with virtually no traffic. I was now driving through “real Africa” terrain, savanna as far as the eye could see, in all directions. After all the mileage I had done through the desserts of Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia, I so enjoyed this change in scenery.

Debre Sina to Addis Ababa is a distance of about 200 kilometers on good roads. Approaching Addis the roads started getting a lot busier. I didn’t want to go through the centre of the capital, and drove through the city on the eastern side. Lots of construction in progress, with buildings going up everywhere, both residential and business. On the way to Addis I also passed several major Chinese industrial estates. I hope the Ethiopians haven’t sold their soul to the Chinese!

Bible and Mission Centre (BMC) in Denmark is doing a great job with a number of churches in Africa. One of the stars in the crown has to be BMC Arusha. I had left a message for Pastor David to contact me, and Saturday morning I was fetched at Malaika by Joy, a minister at the church (worship). 

Leaving Denmark at the beginning of August was not ideal from a climatic point of view - 2 or 3 weeks later would have been better. The first two months of the trip I encountered extreme heat until I reached Ethiopia. It is incredible, however, how the body adapts to all sorts of challenging exposure from the weather. Hydration, no doubt, is the key to a pleasant trip. I rather drank too much than too little, and when John and Oddrun from Norway, took petty on me in Khartoum, Sudan and offered me John’s Camelbak hydration pack, it became a “piece of cake” to stay tanked up!

I had a long day ahead of me, and left Malaika early. Arusha is a sizable city and traffic wouldn’t let go until I was about 10-15 kilometers out of the city. While in Arusha, I had admired Mount Meru, with a hight of 4562 meters, the fifth highest mountain in Africa. Today I didn’t get much of a view, with the weather being overcast and a light drizzle. Later in the morning I would be skirting the famous Mount Kilimanjaro, at 5985 meters Africa’s highest mountain, and hoped to get a good view of the peak. Sadly, that was not to be.

Approaching Zanzibar, our ferry “The Flying Horse” found its way around a few container ships and yachts, and soon we could all disembark at Stone Town, the capital of Zanzibar. Most people refer to the capital as Zanzibar. Although the archipelago is part of Tanzania, you still have to go through security check and customs, and fill in an entry form for “The Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar”.

For 3 straight days I would be heading almost due west, traversing Tanzania from Dar es Salaam to the border of Malawi, and mighty Lake Nyasa. It turned out to be 3 glorious days of motorcycle riding in supreme weather in central Africa, through changing landscapes. Peaks and valleys, farm land, pine forests, pineapple fields, and even lush green tea plantations in the southwestern part of Tanzania. Some of the best riding days on the trip so far, the type of conditions every avid motorcycle rider dreams of.

It was a short 120 km drive from Utengule to the border crossing. Malawi is one of several African countries that has increased visa fees considerably in the past two years. The visa fee is now $ 75,00 + $ 20,00 RAF (road access fee) - payable in US$ only. The exit from Tanzania was fast and efficient, passport stamped, carnet for the bike sorted and I could drive the couple of hundred meters to Malawi customs. It took about an hour for the Malawi side to issue my visa, stamp my passport and fill in and stamp my Carnet de Passages.

There was no rush to leave Lilongwe. I would be staying at Mamarula B&B, not far from the border town of Chipata. Again a favoured meeting point for overlanders, and a journey of about 150 kilometers. The unknown factor when crossing borders is the time it is going to take with all the administration on both sides, but no problem in this case. Checkout from Malawi took about 15 minutes, and I was through the Zambian customs procedure in about 30 minutes.

I would have to drive almost 700 km to Livingstone, through the Zambian capital of Lusaka, so an early start was essential. More than one person had warned me that the almost 1300 km from South Luangwa to Livingstone on the T4, would be boring and uninteresting. It actually turned out to be an enjoyable trip, with the road leading through many small villages and markets, often following the railway line to Lusaka, and past huge tracts of land on both sides of the road. A fair bit of roadwork taking place along the way, but only good to see the road being maintained! 

As I got out of my dorm room at Fawlty Towers at 06.15 to freshen up and “hit the road” early, a Chinese girl ran up to me from her room, and explained that she had lost the charger to her iPhone. If I had one, could she please use it til the shops opened, and she could buy one. Realizing that a dead iPhone had to be the ultimate crisis for a young Chinese girl, I lent her my charger, and told her I would be leaving within the hour. She was absolutely delighted, and immediately got connected to her friends.

After some research I had decided to stay at Camp Swamp at Sepupa, a 350 km drive from Maun. The first 100 km were in a southwesterly direction, and then 250 km due north edging the western side of the Okavango swamps. Camp Swamp had boats taking tourists into the delta. Their big hit was a 3 day trip to an island in the delta, with game walks included. I would make do with a much shorter trip.

It was a short 70 km drive from Camp Swamp to the border crossing between Botswana and Namibia at Mohembo. Tidy small customs buildings on both sides at this remote border post. Very friendly and helpful officials got me through both sides in about 30 minutes. On the Namibian side at a security point, as a foreigner I had to enter my details again, and I was free to go. The day before there was only one entry, and the day before that, 6 entries. So not exactly a busy borderpost.

I started off early the next morning, along the C28 gravel road towards Windhoek, a trip of just over 300 kilometers. The first few kilometers were pleasant tar road, then followed really good gravel road, but soon it turned into a sandy and very challenging gravel road. For once I had not filled at least one of the fuel bladders with extra fuel, and I soon realized that it would be touch and go with the fuel supply, with the bike using considerably more under the sandy road conditions.

I was in two minds which route to take to South Africa - the quick 250 kilometer route straight south along the B1 towards Springbok, or the much longer journey to Lüderitz, back to Aus, down to Rosh Pinah along the C13, exciting Namibia at the border crossing in Oranjemund. The latter was certainly a lot more enticing, with it’s ghost town Kolmanskop not far from Lüderitz and Oranjemund, a small diamond town that had been closed to the world until a year ago. As I was still ahead of schedule it was an easy choice!

Immediately after crossing the Oppenheimer Bridge, I stopped at the South African customs buildings, at Alexander Bay. Not a busy crossing by any standard, and shortly afterwards I was in the Northern Cape heading for Port Nolloth, where I had decided to spend the night.