Where to Where?: London to Cape Town
Distance: Approx: 11 000 miles
Countries Visited: 22 Countries
Time Taken: 84 Days
Languages Spoken: Countless
Most Frustating: Waiting for Visas
Biggest High: Getting into Nigeria
Would you do it again? In a heartbeat!
20 Oct '18
So, what is to be said about embarking on an adventure like this?
Well, from this particular experience, the anticipated feeling or emotion does not hit you in the beginning or fully until your first major challenge.
This emotion builds momentum in stages, slowly from the moment you start packing and gradually building up to that first, significant milestone of managing a testing situation.
West is the best.
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You bet we had regrets on things we took...
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Visas, Shots, Maps and Work
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DO take a CamelBack.
DO try to obtain visas beforehand.
DO NOT use wired communication. Stick to Bluetooth.
DO NOT Seperate. Even to go for food down the road.
DO NOT
DO NOT use wired communication. Stick to Bluetooth.
DO NOT Seperate. Even to go for food down the road.
DO NOT
- Riding the entire route on the KTM stock seat.
- Not coming off the motorcycle.
"Explaining to Brandon that there is a huge Iguana in his boot. Brandon did not believe me and investigated the allegation.
His reaction was priceless when he picked up his boot, peered inside and this large lizard exited his boot at speed towards him.
The the sight of him setting a high jump record in the process was equally amusing."
"Riding the dirt roads to the edge of the Fish Rover Canyon in Namibia after meeting up with my father."
"No. Go away."
- Riding a tall bike like a pro on tippey toes.
- Hitting the hardest of all the terrain.
"Almost losing my facial hair in a freak cooking accident"
"Negotiating a place on the last military aircraft in Cabinda willing to transport my bike, destination Luanda.
Mid-flight, I am told that the Angolan president is at Luanda airport and we could not land there. We had to divert to Saurimo which is 1000km in the wrong direction.
"No. I need this."
It was pretty much coincidence that the two South African born guys met while doing their motorcycle licenses in the UK at the end of 2013. Even more so after they discovered they were living around 5miles apart!
The Africa trip idea had been on Brandon’s mind for quite some time, it just needed a time to happen… that time just so happened to be now. All the ingredients were there.
In 2016 at a pub in the city, the idea was pitched… I did not even wait for the normal sales pitch to complete, it was a resounding "Yes".
I had similar ideas on doing this in a LR Defender but when the bike option popped up, it made all the sense required.
A couple of years before the trip were spent brainstorming the strategy for this journey.
As the time passed, investigations into the motorcycles, routes, time of year and skills along with others experiences took place. The time flew by, before we knew it, the start of the trip was on the horizon.
Normally it is a case of “where did the time go”. Fortunately, we had planned at a pretty stable pace and have arrived with a To-do list consisting of a minimal set of items.
We would have them all completed had it not been for quite a few planning sessions which turned into parties.
Where do the badgers come in?
A badger may be a slightly off-track animal to act as a mascot for this trip at first glance but there is logic in the selection. The African Honey Badger is a ferocious and revered creature. It has a variety of tactics for each scenario...something shared with this trip to some extent.