AFRICAN RIDE: PART 4 - BACK INTO BOTSWANA & SOUTH AFRICA

14^th – 15^th Dec 2019: Victoria Falls – Kasane - Francistown (Kazungula Road – A33,  562 km)

Its a looonggg ride today, hence I started at 6.15am. I rode the same Kazungula Rd to the border. I saw some giraffes and deers, but as usual, they were very fast. Within seconds, they disappeared inside the forest. There was not many people at the border as its still early. Border crossing for both sides was easy and I’m done in 20 mins. Then I rode 5 km on offroad to Kasane. I refuel here first and after that, I shoot all the way to Nata. It was crazily hot and I was soooo tired.

After refueling at Nata, the road deteriorates with lots of potholes on and off for about 20 km. There were some road works here as well. I stopped for a quick lunch at a picnic area and continued riding. I got tired pretty easily due to the heat but I cant rest too often, else I couldnt make it to my destination.

For the first time since my African Ride, today I managed to see wild elephants. Not once but three times!!! The first time, I spotted the elephant from about 150 meters away. The elephant was enjoying the green leaves just by the roadside. I waited for 15 mins but theres no sign that the elephant will leave the place. The road was as usual, deserted. When I finally saw a car approaching, I hailed it and told the driver that I need some kind of security by riding side by side with the car. The driver agreed. This was my first experience riding on a road shared with an elephant.

The second time, I saw the elephant eating grass about 80 meters from the road. I stopped my bike, switched off the engine and observed the animal for about 10 minutes. Elephants are territorial animals. They wont attack you if you keep a safe distance from them.

I was caught off guard for the third time. I didnt notice the elephant at all as the side of the road was filled with tall bushes. It was only when I arrived, I saw it – only about 15 meters from me. It was BIG, STRONG AND NOT FRIENDLY AT ALL!!! This is my first time to encounter a wild elephant this close. I was hesitating, should I stop my bike or not? Its an opportunity cum danger. When I saw the elephant started to shake his head and ears, I knew very well that the elephant was ready to charge me. So I pressed the throttle and rode as fast as my bike could take me. Phewwww.....

After riding for about 10 hours, I reached Francistown and rode straight to my host’s house. As most houses at a medium level residence, this house was equipped with an electric fence to avoid theft, which was a serious problem in African neighbourhood. Veronique was expecting me. She had two lovely kids, a girl and a boy. I was so so tired and she let me rest in the guest room.

I fall asleep soon after. I woke up to find the house empty and it was already 7pm. Veronique, or her nickname, Nikki, came back shortly. She bought a Nandos chicken sandwich for me and assured me that all Nandos in the whole of Africa used halal chicken/meat. She knew because she was a chicken and meat distributor in Francistown. We chatted while eating. She’s a very friendly and nice host and baked delicious fruit cake for weddings.

The next day, Nikki brought me to the town center because my mobile phone was not functioning ever since I charged the phone at the hostel in Victoria Falls. I suspected that the voltage at the hostel was higher than what my phone could take, hence it was overheated and couldnt be switched on. I was lucky that Nikki knew a place and I got it repaired for 120 Pula only. After that, we went for grocery shopping as I had promised to cook chicken curry for her family. Nikki showed me halal chicken at the frozen section of the supermarket which clearly had a halal logo on the packaging. Back home, I cooked for them and I’m glad that the whole family loved my chicken curry :)

16^th Dec 2019: Francistown – Gaborone (A1,  434 km)

I made a move at 7.15am after saying goodbye to Nikki and her son, Abbas. I rode south to the capital city of Botswana. There were lots of cow carcass which I could see. I supposed its due to the heat. At times, I need to ride on offroad when there was road work going on. There were lots of roadblocks as well. At one time, I was scolded by the police because I didnt stop at the exact STOP sign, but I followed the car in front of me at a slow pace. The police said that I must stop at the STOP sign and only move when he signaled me to move. Auwww....okay, sorry.

After being on the road for nearly 3 weeks now, I could say that riding in southern African countries is easy. The main road or highway is generally paved, but the one branched out from the main road is normally unpaved. It could be dirt, gravels or sands. Following the speed limit is a must. Not only because it was controlled by radar, but because animals also shared the road and there are lots of unmarked speed bumps.

As for driving attitude, RSA topped the list as the most behaved drivers. The least behaved is Botswana as they loved to overtake just a few inches apart from you.

Roadblocks are plenty. The culture here is always to ask “how are you?” So before the police ask, make sure you ask him / her first. Its a sign of respect and they will feel appreciated. The frequently asked questions from the police will be "where are u going today?", "where are u coming from today?" After that, they will ask you where you are from and surprised to know that you came as far as Msia, because to them, a 300 km journey on a motorbike is impossible. HAHAHA...

Good and bad police are everywhere on earth. So, its up to your creativity to tackle them. A good policeman is very proud of his uniform, so do not lie if he asked you as he will be very pissed off if he caught you lying. The problem for us is how to determine a good or a bad police?

I passed another Tropic of Capricorn sign on my way to the capital city. This is the third TOC sign for me, after Chile and Namibia.

It took me 6 hours to reach Gaborone as the speed limit reduced frequently which slowed me down by lots even though I got a tailwind all the way today. My accommodation today is at a lady biker’s place which I found in Air BnB. Her name is Tapiwa and she rode a Honda Shadow. We had a very nice chat about riding. I also loved the room which she discounted for me. However, it was blackout that night until past midnight. Urghhhh!!! When I finally get an A/C room on a very hot day, it blackout. It was so damn hot!!!

BACK INTO SOUTH AFRICA

17^th Dec 2019: Gaborone – Tlokweng/Kopfentein - Pretoria (R49 - 4, 380 km)

I said goodbye to Tapi and rode to the border. It was the usual morning rushed hour so there were lots of traffic on the road. It took me 1 hour to reach the border even though the distance was only 33 km. Before crossing the border, I changed my remaining Pula to SA Rand at a money changer. I also refueled here as fuel in RSA is more expensive.

Then I walked to the border office. There were 3 buses full of athletes already ahead of me and the cue was very long. I waited patiently until one guy whom I assumed was one of the team’s officer told me to jump the cue and went straight to the front. He said that they were from Lesotho and just done with a sporting event and now returning back to their country. I did as told and managed to save some time. Then I went back to my bike and was greeted by Botswanan traffic policemen. They were thrilled to know that I’m riding solo. We chatted for a while and had some pics together.

Later, I rode to the South African side. Some of the Lesotho athletes were already there, waiting at the door which was blocked by a barrier. I waited together with them. While waiting, more athletes arrived. A minute later, the immi officer let us in. The athletes didnt give me any chance nor space to cue, even though they knew that I was there before the barrier was lifted. Since none of their officers were there, I had to double the line. Its unfair for me to go to the end of the looong line. When I shoved my passport to the officer in charge, and the girl next to me shoved hers as well, the officer asked who should be first? The girl accused that I didnt line up. I defended myself. In the end, the girl and her friends were scolded by the officer because they didnt show any respect to me who was much older than them. Moreover, even though they stamped their passport, they still need to wait until the whole team stamped theirs, then only the buses could make a move. So whats their point of not letting me have my passport stamped first?

Since I’m entering RSA again, I need to stamp my carnet at the customs. However, the customs officer at this border was new to this, and he didnt know what to do. I had to teach him and this took some time. In total, I wasted more than 1 hour for this border crossing.

I was already behind schedule. By right, I should arrive Pretoria around 12 pm as the High Comm of Msia is expecting me. There’re 355 km more to ride. I rode as fast as the speed limit allowed me. I had to pay toll 3 times, summing up to R110 in total. I was very tired as I didnt stop at all for rest. My fuel was getting low, but I didnt want to stop as refueling will take more time. I whispered a silent prayer hoping that the fuel could last until I reached Pretoria. By right, it could, but I need to slow down. The bike was tested way back in 2016 when it managed 450 km when I was crossing the Atacama Desert in Chile.

Finally, I made it to the Ambassador’s residence at 1.30pm with the fuel light blinking. H.E. Mohamad Nizan Mohamad, his wife Madam Ros and all the Msian embassy, defense and MATRADE staff were already there with their family. I was exhausted, but very thrilled. I didnt expect to receive such a warm welcome. Doa was recited by Mr. Dzulazhar, then the Ambassador gave his speech and followed by my own speech. After a photo session filled with laughter, I was taken to the dining room where I was feasted with delicious Msian food. All of them were so kind to me. The caring Ambassador insisted that I stayed at the residence which I accepted happily.

After resting for a while, I went downstairs as I had promised to show them my GDR video. All the people who were here this afternoon were still here, so it was like watching a movie at the cinema. After the show was done, all of them clapped and congratulated me. I was so touched with the hospitality.

18^th Dec 2019: Pretoria – Johannesburg (N1, 60 km)

I felt so very lazy to get up from the very comfy bed, but I had a flight to catch today. Why is that so? Because today I am flying to Dubai. YEAYYY!!! Actually, while waiting for my bike to arrive Cape Town about 3 weeks ago, I received an email from the secretariat of the crown prince of Dubai, inviting me to be one of the speakers for Emirates Travelers Festival, 2018. I was very thrilled. This was an offer not to be missed. This was also the reason why I had to rush my ride and rode many kilometers every day with only 3 rest days to enable me to attend this event.

The same big family had arrived at the residence when I got down to the dining hall. Each of them brought something from home for breakfast. Again, we had a delicious Malaysian style breakfast with nasi lemak and delicacies. I really didnt know how to thank all these lovely people for their kindness.

Ambassador Nizan then flagged me off officially. Thank you very much Ambassador, Madam Ros, Mr. Dzulazhar and wifey Madam Ila, Mr. Azhar, Col. Ishak, Sargeant, Mr. Hairi, Madam Yus, Madam Mas and Madam Sal for all the effort and making my visit here so memorable.

I rode slowly to Johannesburg. While on the way, I saw two ostriches ran inside a fenced field about 10 meters away from me. It was fun watching them. I followed their pace, just to know whats their running speed. Guess what? They ran at 60 kmh. Too bad I didnt turn on my Gopro cam as I thought its just a short ride today, so I didnt manage to capture ‘our race.’

I arrived Yamaha Linex, as instructed by Roger Davidson, Givi importer in South Africa. I first met Roger during Givi 40^th anniversary celebration in Iseo, Italy. He asked me to contact him after knowing that I’m going to ride in South Africa. Roger had arrived before me, and I was introduced to his partner, Danny. My bike was left here for oil change and service. Roger then drove me to the airport which was 40 km away. He promised to fetch me after I’m back from Dubai. That was very kind of him.

I said thank you to Roger and checked in for my flight with Emirates. The 8 hours flight was not so pleasant as I was seated with noisy people. I didnt manage to get any sleep at all.