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Egypt! Excited to exit

Posted by Ria Moothilal on Thursday, December 22, 2011, In : On the road

21 December 2011

Wow, we're here. Nine months of travelling. 11500Kms cycled. Memories that will last a lifetime.

I can remember the 22^nd of March as if it were yesterday, and now today I sit on the end of the continent typing this blog. Its been one helluva ride. But before I get all sentimental lets take a look at our experience in country number ten, Egypt!

We left Aswan and basically followed the Nile on its course north to Cairo. In between we stayed in several towns, both small and l...

Simply Sudan

Posted by Imraan Sayed on Thursday, December 1, 2011, In : On the road

What an underestimated country – beautiful desert landscape, magnificent sunsets then night skies and roadside cafés bubbling with friendly, humble and generous folk.
Exiting Ethiopia was somewhat of a relief; we were at breaking point after dealing with stone throwing kids, jippo guts and constant mountain passes..

Last of the mountain passes in Ethiopia

Border crossing was a breeze, similar to all other countries on the journey, however the Ethiopian / Sudanese border is poorly signposte...

Addis to Sudan:

Posted by Jiten Magan on Saturday, November 19, 2011, In : On the road

With the help of the Sudanese Ambassador in South Africa we got a 2 month tourist visa in Addis, whereas normally only a 2 week visa is available. There was some palaver and stress but everything worked out in the end. After 10 days in Addis I'm still unsure if I like the city or not and was glad to finally be on the move again as we headed out to Bahir Dar, source of the Blue Nile.

On the 3rd day out of Addis we hit the Blue Nile gorge, a shear 1300m drop from the plateau and another 1100m ri...

From the Desert to the Highlands, hello Ethiopia!

Posted by Ria Moothilal on Tuesday, October 25, 2011, In : On the road

19 October 2011

Howzit! I write this not from a stunning beach, but a crumby “hotel” in Addis. The past two weeks have been rather interesting, and pleasantly surprising.

Lets start off with the end of the Kenyan leg, Marsabit to Moyale. You might have heard stories of terrible road conditions, or perhaps, banditry as the reason for us taking a truck on the last 250 odd kilometres in Moyale. Both partially true. The road is no doubt atrocious, and cycling across it would have been tou...

Marangu to Marsabit

Posted by Imraan Sayed on Tuesday, October 18, 2011, In : On the road

7000km and country number 7 (Kenya)

With our quads still feeling the deep burn from our Kilimanjaro hike, we crossing into Kenya back on the road and climbing into Kenya. Lodging close to the border at what we thought was affordable accommodation we realised the next day it was probably for good times :)

Border crossing into Kenya

Border crossing into Kenya was a breeze with friendly officials and a 1 month ...
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Part 2 of 2: The Kilimanjaro ascent

Posted by Jiten Magan on Tuesday, October 4, 2011, In : On the road

We got back to the Marangu Hotel on Friday 2nd and eagerly awaited the arrival of Donna (my girlfriend), Ashley (Ria's cousin's husband) and Kenneth (Ashley's friend). With the ascension team finally assembled we spent a day at the hotel resting and getting kitted out. Because we are cycling we were unable to bring any gear from home and all our gear was hired through the hotel. Ria managed to acquire a clown's top which we dubbed the 'happy jacket' as whoever looked at the yellow, red and bl...

Coast to Kili: Part 1 of 2

Posted by Jiten Magan on Thursday, September 22, 2011, In : On the road

This blog is written in 2 parts. The 1st is the trip from Pangani to Marangu (at the base of Kilimanjaro) and covers our safari. Part 2 is the longer and more detailed account of the Kilimanjaro ascent and will follow in a few days.

We left Pangani well rested and ready to tackle Kilimanjaro. We passed through sisil plantations and camped in one of these when it got too late. These tough, spiky plants, when not puncturing Imraan's hands with its steel tips are, are harvested for ...

Chappatis and Chai with the Maasai

Posted by Ria Moothilal on Wednesday, September 14, 2011, In : On the road

21 August 2011

Hey Raffikki!

Yet again I find myself sitting on the shores of another stunning beach, this time in a place called Pangani, a relatively quiet little town north of Dar es Salam. Yesterday we left the island of Zanzibar in style, but more about that later.

We arrived in the town of Dar es Salaam on Wednesday, the 10th of August. With the veterinary volunteer work done with, we decided to stay in the capital city for just a couple days. In this time all three of us discovered cracks...
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Malawi Border to Dar Es Salaam

Posted by Imraan Sayed on Tuesday, August 9, 2011, In : On the road

Ham Jambo - Greetings from Tanzania

Its been just over 4 months since we set off on our epic journey, and we loving every moment. We haven’t encountered a single negative experience and have no regrets; with each day bringing new challenges and rewards we just growing in strength and character.

To date we have cycled 6285km and our ascending altitude is 48112m.

Hello Tanzania ( country number 6) known as the birthplace of humankind Tanzania has an area of 943000 square km and a populat...

Lilongwe to Tanzania

Posted by Ria Moothilal on Thursday, August 4, 2011, In : On the road

And so the journey continues forward, ever northward.

Imraan performing a castration in Lilongwe

From Lilongwe, an internal combustion engine took us East back to the lake shore town of Senga Bay and to our bicycles which were safely tucked away at 'Cool Runnings', a lovely backpackers run by Sam. Transportation at this point in time in Malawi is quite a contentious subject and highlights ...

Hello Lake Malawi

Posted by Ria Moothilal on Friday, July 15, 2011, In : On the road

13 July 2011 - Blantyre to Lilongwe

Howzit

Jiten's last blog would've finished off with our arrival in Blantyre, or rather Limbe. The town where we spent several days of rest. Much needed, especially in my case where the previous rest day would've been in Vilanculos almost two weeks before. Our stay in Limbe was just what was needed and staying with family friends of Imraan's was a real treat. Again spoilt with meals several times a day we ate perhaps just a little too well. But we were also pr...