Article written for the BMWMCQ July 2017 journal It is day 43 of the Cairo to Cape Town expedition. The scheduled ride for the day is from Arusha to the capital city of Dodoma in Tanzania, a total of 429km. Cindy is back on Blue Betty the BMW 700GS for the first time since her … More Bespoked
Since our return from the C2C, many people considering adventure expeditions have asked us about the success of our packing and planning. Although for the purposes of this article ‘one’ fits within the definition of ‘many’ and ‘blankly staring cat’ fits within the definition of ‘people considering adventure expeditions’. Did all that thought, development of … More Africa De Brief
The return to normality can be tough. Post Tour Sorrow Disorder, more commonly known by its PTSD acronym, becomes a risk particularly when a friend’s first question is where the next big trip will be? The C2C is over, and completing the laundry has become a highlight of the week although the presence of a … More Return Of The Jetlagged
Day 77 and we are making our final African border entry of the C2C, the next one for most of us will be back into our respective country of origin. The process has become routine now, and with improving IT and rubber stamp quality the further south we go, it all happens very quickly. Which … More RSA, All The Way
It is Day 65. Heat is not moderated by high speed motorcycle movement as we pull into the Namibia immigration building, like Botswana a modern and well laid out facility, although the budget didn’t extend to the nice-to-haves like air conditioning. With a few brow drops of sweat smudging the truthiness of the written information … More Not Kiddin’ Ya. It’s Namibia
The late morning entry into Botswana Day 60 commenced as with all border crossings in the immigration building, as expected this was modern, clean, and relatively efficient. People leaving Botswana were over on the other side of the room, resulting in a loud conversation over the top of the officials in the centre with a … More Botswana. No Drama
The entry into Zimbabwe on Day 52 commenced with a small movement up the road past the Mozambique gate, where we were directed by someone to park up a steep gravelly slope under a tree. Firstly filling in our arrivals card, we clutched the passport and the completed card and entered the immigration and customs … More No Way, Zimbabwe
Day 46 saw us put Tanzania in the rear view mirrors, and head into Malawi. The immigration facilities reverted back to fairly primitive, and the crowds of ‘tween border money exchangers and food sellers and plastic bottle collecting kids were out in force. Combined with the humidity along the plains to the west of the … More It’s Lilongwe to Tete if you want your spokes to roll
It is just before lunch on Day 35, and we have broken free of the bureaucratic bonds of Kenya at the Namanga crossing quite easily. A ride up a hill to the slightly less salubrious Tanzania immigration shed and we started the process for the fifth time of the trip. A disinterested observation of immigration … More Tan-zane-ia, Tan-zan-ia. Tom-ay-toe, Tom-ar-toe.
It is just before lunch on day 28. Ethiopia with its quirks including restrictions on social media that only people under 30 can figure a way around, and delicious Injera bread that looks like a homeless man’s bath mat is behind us. Suddenly we see a border facility that looks modern, and it is on … More Across The Equator. Kenya Believe It?
