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.

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.

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.

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!!

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!

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.