23rd Dec
2019: Johannesburg (Rest Day)
My flight from Dubai arrived
Johannesburg as scheduled. Roger was already at the airport waiting for me. He
brought me back to his nice thatched roof home. I was introduced to her sweet
wife, Jen. I didnt plan to stay the night here actually, but since I was very
tired and Roger insisted that I should stay for at least one or two nights, I
decided to accept his invitation. I slept the whole morning until afternoon. I
woke up to find the house empty as Roger and Jen went for their Christmas
shopping. They came back soon after. We talked about my journey and many other
things. My bike which was already serviced and washed (thank you!!!) was taken
back home by Roger. That night, Jen made a very delicious halal chicken and
pumpkin roast to be eaten with rice. She also showed me her crafts which she
made herself. She’s so talented.
24th –
25th Dec 2019: Johannesburg – Potchefstroom (150 km)
Not a single soul failed to question me
why am I going to Potch? Its not listed in the travel attraction list at all.
Well, the reason is because Grant Johnson, the Horizons Unlimited pioneer whom
I met in Indonesia told me that one of HU member owned a game park here where
you can enjoy a game drive and see lots of wildlife, and from Grant’s
recommendation, I could pitch my tent at the premise for free. Since I had not
seen any zebra as yet, this place is my last chance before I made my way back
to Cape Town.
I said goodbye and many thanks to my
lovely hosts, Roger and Jen with a promise to visit (and cook biryani rice for
them) the next time I come. The ride from Joburg was accompanied by some head
and side wind which was disturbing. Two km before reaching the game park was
gravel corrugated road and slightly climbing. While riding the offroad, I saw
ostriches and a group of oryx which made me screamed with joy.
I didnt expect much when I arrived at
Elgro River Lodge. In my mind, its going to be free camping and thats it.
However to my surprise, Kobus, the owner (thru his staff, as he was away for
Christmas) gave me a very nice riverfront glass wall chalet. FOC. I repeat,
FOC. A dorm bed in RSA’s hostel will cost you USD20, so how much do you think a
nice riverfront glass wall chalet will cost you? I really cant believe my luck.
After resting and cooking, I checked
out the lodge. It had a small outdoor swimming pool and a bar. The surrounding
was well kept and beautiful. I enjoyed the sunset by the beautiful Vaal River
when my eyes caught someone fishing not very far away from me.
I decided to greet him. Pete Goosen is
a very nice and friendly guy. He’s Kobus’ friend and always came here for
fishing. He said that he once caught a 35kg catfish at this river. His farm was
about 4 km from Elgro Lodge. When I told him that I havent managed to see zebra
as yet, he offered me a game drive at his farm tomorrow. An offer which I
couldnt say no. We talked while viewing the beautiful sunset by the river for
about an hour before I had to excuse myself due to mossies.
The next day, Pete came to fetch me at
8 am. We drove to his farm. He showed me his amazing trophy room. Then he drove
me around his huge farm. We saw lots of animals - impalas, different types of
buffalos, different type of antelopes, giraffes and of course zebras. The
zebras were so damn cute. I was very excited and screamed like a little kid.
For the first time, I managed to get as near as 50 meters to giraffes. They
were beautiful creatures.
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| Can you count the giraffes? |
Pete told me that there are leopards on
his farm and he was once attacked. Wow, thats scary. Then, Pete drove me to a
bridge which was his favourite bird watching spot. We managed to see some birds
here.
After that, we visited Pete’s friend
who had 4 beautiful dogs. Thanks Pete for making my day.
LESOTHO
26th Dec
2019: Potchefstroom – Bethlehem – Maseru (R501 – R721 – R26 – 8 – A2, 454 km)
I made an early start this morning. The
20 km offroad on R501 was a combination of dirt and gravels. Certain part was
very corrugated. I almost dropped my bike once when having to ascend on this
kind of road. Luckily I managed to control my bike. I saw some wildlife and
again, I saw zebras which brightened up my day.
The first half of my ride today was
very nice as I got a tailwind. The road was deserted and the view after
Bethlehem was awesome with lots of mountains and green views. However, I got
a side wind after that and it was pretty stressful.
I arrived at Maseru Bridge border and
exited South Africa without any problem.
Then I entered the 6th country in my African Ride, Lesotho. It was a very easy border. I only need to stamp my passport and pay the road fund, R40 (approx RM10) and thats it. No need to do customs declaration for my bike here.
Then I entered the 6th country in my African Ride, Lesotho. It was a very easy border. I only need to stamp my passport and pay the road fund, R40 (approx RM10) and thats it. No need to do customs declaration for my bike here.
I met a local biker at the border (but
he was driving at that time). We chatted for a while and he bought me water.
Then I rode to Maseru, the capital city of Lesotho. It was only a small town
actually. But the funny thing was, I saw Lim Kok Wing’s advertisement board
here.
I missed the turn to Maseru Backpackers
Hostel which was located just next to the beautiful Maseru Lake and had to turn
back. The entrance to the hostel was pretty steep gravel track but I made it
alright. I stayed one night here (R180). The afternoon was spent relaxing by
the lake and chatting with an advrider from Germany.
BACK TO SOUTH AFRICA FOR THE 3RD TIME
27th Dec
2019: Maseru – Bloemfontein – Beaufort West (A2 – N8 – N1, 700 km)
Summer is the windiest month in the
African region, especially in South Africa. Riding a bike as mine, its not
light enough for easy handling when riding on offroad, and its not heavy enough
to fight with the wind. Due to this, I faced a challenging ride as I made my
way south today.
I made an early start at 5.20am as
today’s distance was huge and since the wind will normally be more fierce
especially in the afternoon. Border crossing was very fast as there was no
other people except the officers. I got a tailwind for the first 400 km until
Colesberg.
 |
| A funny landmark which captured my eyes |
However for the remaining 300 km, I had
to struggle with crazy head and side wind. At times, I felt as if the wheels of
my bike didnt touch the ground anymore. Its not the scariest wind that I had
encountered, but its disturbing and I hated it. I lost count how many times I
screamed when I felt that my bike was already out of control.
Up ahead, I saw a cloud of dust being
blown from the left to the right side of the road. I knew that a storm was
passing by. So I stopped at a petrol station near Hanover for shelter and
waited for the storm to pass.
After 1 hour, the wind lessened a
little bit and I continued. The wind picked up strength once again while I’m
riding, and God knew how I struggled to keep my bike upright. I can only ride
with the 3rd gear, and could only manage the speed of 60 – 70 kmh.
It was a very exhausting ride that I no longer could enjoy the orange and
yellow mountains of the Northern Cape, even though the view was stunning.
Finally, I made it to Beaufort West
after riding more than 11 hours, which 6 hours of it were spent fighting with
the wind. Then I rode to an accommodation which I had booked earlier. It was
quite difficult to find the house and I had to ask passers-by. When I found the
house, no one responded to the doorbell. The wind was blowing fine sands into
my eyes and it was very annoying. Especially because I’m dead tired and
desperately need to rest. I had to ask the neighbour for help. Luckily the
neighbour knew the owner and rang her. The owner came 10 minutes later. I felt
so relieved when I finally settled down in my comfy room with A/C.
28th Dec
2019: Beaufort West – Gordons Bay (N1 – R43 – R45 – R321, 465 km)
Again, I made an early start to reduce
the wind impact on my ride today. The wind was still blowing fine sands which
were annoying. Todays ride was quite okay and the view was very beautiful. As a
matter of fact, among all the countries I rode in the South African region, to
me RSA is the most beautiful, followed by Namibia.
Here are some pics on the scenic N1
Highway, Hex River Pass & Theewaters Nature Reserve on R321. I really love
the vineyards, mountains and the blue waters. I stopped too many time for pics.
I just couldnt help it. Fortunately, the wind was not as disturbing as
yesterday.
I rode to Andy’s house (my agent) in
Gordon Bay. Andy was out riding, but his wife, Anne was at home. The wind was
blowing crazy again, but Anne said that this is normal at her place.
Anne took me out for sightseeing in her
car and we enjoyed a beautiful sunset at False Bay.
That night, Anne received a
message from Andy, saying that he fell off his bike when trying to avoid
colliding with a goat on the offroad. His bike was badly damaged. I felt so
sorry upon hearing this.
29th Dec
2019: Gordons Bay – Cape Town (N2 – M7, 50 km)
At 9 am, I said goodbye to Anne and
returned to Sam’s house in Cape Town. It was good to be back here again after riding
approximately 8000 km crossing 6 countries – RSA, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe,
Zambia and Lesotho. Sam repeatedly told me how relieved he was that I had
returned, safe and sound.
With that, the first phase of my
African Ride was completed.
Before I fly back to Msia on 31st Dec,
Sam and his family took me to a weekend flea market at Milnerton. I managed to buy some souvenirs to take back
home. Thank you very much Sam and family for the kind hospitality.
SUMMARY
Below are some basic info about riding
in the 6 countries:
REP OF SOUTH AFRICA:
- Carnet required
- No entry fee for self and bike
- Vehicle insurance not compulsory
- Bikes also hv to pay tolls on certain
highways
- Currency is Rand which is widely
accepted in Namibia & Lesotho.
REP OF NAMIBIA:
- Carnet not required
- No entry fee for self
- Road fund for bike NAD188
- No need to do customs declaration for
bike
- Currency is Namibian Dollar
BOTSWANA:
- Carnet not required
- No entry fee for self
- Road fund for bike P110 (per entry),
but I had an unpleasant experience and had to pay more.
- Bike insurance P50
- Currency is Botswana Pula
ZIMBABWE:
- Entry fee for bike & insurance
USD31
- USD is widely accepted
ZAMBIA:
- Carnet required
Payments for Zambia: Carbon Tax - 70
Kwacha, Road Fund - US$ 20, Toll - 20 Kwacha, Insurance - 103 Kwacha (minimum)
- Currency is Kwacha
LESOTHO:
- Carnet not required
- No entry fee for self
- Road fund for bike R40
- No need to do customs declaration for
bike
- RSA Rand is widely accepted
RSA sells the priciest fuel, approx R15
– R17 per liter. The cheapest fuel was sold in Lesotho, R12. you can find lots
of petrol stations in RSA, but a lot lesser in other countries. So, always
check if theres any petrol station in your route, or bring spare fuel.
Accommodation is pricey. As a matter of
fact, everything is pricey at this part of the world, especially RSA. The more
popular the attraction is, the pricier it gets. Camping @ lodge fee is
about USD10 - USD15 per person. So if there are two of you, you must pay double
even though you shared the same tent. Dorm rate starts from USD15 per person.
Only for a pre-booked private room on Air BnB or booking.com, the price starts
from USD25 per room (not per person).
Border crossing in Africa depends on
your luck. If you meet a good officer, good for you, but if not, you need to
have patience and some humour to tackle them. Most of them are poorly paid so
they see tourists as a source to earn extra income. Same goes to the police.
OTHER TIPS:
- There are lots of speed camera in
RSA, so watch your speed.
- Policemen in Botswana are very
strict.
- Always stop at the STOP sign even
though you didnt see anyone there.
- Potholes in certain road in Botswana.
Lots of animal crossing as well, so watch out!!!
- Drunk driving is common.
- Lots of checkpoints especially when
you are entering town @ province.
- Lots of unmarked speed bumps.
OVERALL
Its a good experience riding in Africa even though there are slight
hiccups. So, am I done riding here? NO. My bike stays in Cape Town. I will
return later to continue exploring this unique continent.
My utmost thanks to all my sponsors,
Sam & family and Roger Davidson and DMD for all the help, Uwe for the route
advice, Andy for my bike's shipping & clearance, Anwar Omar and Gavin in
Cape Town and Msian Embassies in Pretoria and Namibia for the support. Till we meet again :)
