An Epic Motorcycle Journey into East Africa: 12 000km, 9 countries in 1 month, SOLO!

It has been more than a year since the trip has been completed- it feels so fresh and so far at the same time. Here is a shortest possible description of the whole trip, that I could come up with. I hope it will help someone to decide and - JUST DO IT!

Neil Eybers Africa trip map

The map of the trip

1 man, 1 bike, 1 adventure

Me- I’m Neil Eybers - a regular guy, spending my days behind the office desk and computer. Have a wife, 2 kids, dog, cat & mortgage on the house.

In 2013 with my 40th birthday coming up, I suddenly realized that time was passing, and daily life was getting in the way of a dream I have had for almost 2 decades, to travel through Africa on a motorcycle, SOLO. Every year I postponed the trip until I had the right amount of time, and money. I decided to tackle this adventure with neither an excess amount of time, unlimited funds or extensive motorcycling experience.

Being employed fulltime, I only managed to save up just under a month of “leave”, 18 days in fact, to realize this trip and had to use some unpaid leave at the end. The bike I already owned- that’s a start! I had bought the BMW F650GS, Dakar motorcycle about a year ago. Although the bike was bought for adventure, I used it for daily commuting from Somerset West to Cape Town and back. Most of my pre-trip riding has been done on tar, maybe I’ve driven about 100km off-road since riding motorcycles. The big question was money, isn’t it always? We had two cars and decided to sell one of them – my Toyota Tazz would sponsor the trip. The Tazz we got on our wedding day in 2005 and it was still a great car, but then my wife asked a question: Is your dream to own a Tazz or to go through Africa? Choose!” And I chose!

The original idea was to travel all across Africa to Latvia and although I had sorted out all visas and other requirements for it to happen, the trip had to be altered to East Africa due to time restrains.

Preparations: I had about 1 month to prepare for the trip. I know it’s a very short time, but I have been thinking and reading about the routes for a very long time (remember- I have been dreaming about it for 2 decades!)

The research on documents and paperwork probably took most of my time. I applied for a new passport to make sure I had enough empty pages for visas, while at the same time applying for a Shengen visa, just in case I got crazy and decided to keep going. For most of the countries on my planned route South Africans could get a visa at the border. Crossing from Africa into Europe or Asia was very confusing part of planning and I eventually decided to tackle it when it comes – it never happened. Of course I also had insurance that would cover my medical and transportation costs in any country I would be travelling- this was non-negotiable, especially for s solo adventure of this magnitude.

The Bike: For this trip a humble list of essentials was made up and included a centre stand, “crash” bars, new tyres and heavy duty tubes, tyre repair tools, and a pannier system. While the other equipment was bought ready-made, a friend made up a fairly light, and affordable pannier system. Besides putting the bike through a special service, I had the following with me: tent, sleeping bag; extra clothes; enough food for a few days, 3L Camel back, multi-fuel stove, aluminium pots, used Garmin and Tracks4Africa GPS program, sheepskin seat cover from Oskava, body armour and knee guards (for extra safety in case of accidents) and motocross boots.

On the day of departure I was still unsure of how far I could realistically go within 1 month, and how much I would see? 

 The countries I visited on this journey are:

1. South Africa, 
2. Botswana, 
3. Zambia, 
4. Tanzania, 
5. Kenya, 
6. Malawi, 
7. Mozambique, 
8. Zimbabwe,
9. Swaziland.

The trip begun on Friday, 5 July, 2013.

The bike felt heavy as I’m not used to driving with fully loaded panniers. The road seemed endless and I made a startling discovery - South Africa is a huge country! In only 3 days into my trip and I already dropped the bike, lost a sleeping bag and burnt the cover of my bike – but this was not going to stop me- I was going further!

The border crossing into Botswana being my first ever with a motorcycle, was relatively simple. This was exhilarating since it signalled my departure from South Africa. I drove into Botswana without a care in the world, smiling from ear to ear.

I was amazed by the wide open spaces and the landscape which appeared to be less green but still captivating. Getting closer to Chobe I was told by some locals that elephants were often seen crossing roads in these parts but I thought they were bluffing. I was shocked into “African reality” when I saw wild elephants by the side of the “highway” to Kasane. This sighting was followed by sightings of giraffe, warthog, and antelope. One night I camped at a lodge in Kasane. I was pleasantly shocked when an elephant crossed the road right in front of me while I was driving back from the supermarket. It was about 8pm at the time and completely dark. The grey shape crossing the road less than 20m ahead was awe inspiring. I really felt that I was in Africa now.

To get into Zambia I had to cross the Zambezi River by ferry. What an awesome experience. I only had a narrow space, less than 1m, in which to park the bike on a slippery surface. I shuddered at the thought of my bike falling into the water and being lost forever. About 4 hours of border-crossing-mayhem followed. Although it was not planned I decided (this is the greatest benefit of travelling solo- one does not have to worry what would the rest of the group say J ) to go and see Victoria Falls from Zambian side. I had only seen pictures of this natural beauty before. I can only describe this beauty in one word “WOW !!!””. Millions of litres of water pass over the falls every second and the sound is literally like thunder. I felt sad that I could not share this miracle with my wife and sons and the thought brought tears to my eyes. 

Zambia had been good to me, and on the 10th day of my epic journey I crossed into Tanzania. The border crossing itself was slightly chaotic, but expected. It seemed that locals could walk across in either direction at will, without so much of a glance from officials. They were also free to “harass” travellers as much as possible trying to change money and “assist” wherever possible whether needed or not.

After getting my visa (free) and Temporary Import Permit (for the motorcycle) I was guided by two persistent self-appointed “assistants” who guided me to a “third party insurance” sales office. This place looked extremely shady and had dimmed colourful lights all over. I was tempted to think this would be where I get scammed but the COMESA insurance certificate I received looked genuine enough and I was able to enter Tunduma, Tanzania with peace of mind.

Tanzanias’s traffic shocked me into amazement. There were hundreds of 125cc motorcycle taxis, tuk-tuks, cars, trucks, and carts being pushed around by strong looking men everywhere. It was intimidating at first but I gradually adjusted to the chaos.

A kind plain clothes policeman who was assigned guard duty at a local ATM insisted that I allow him to guide me to a nearby hotel which would be safe and clean. He jumped on the back seat of my bike and guided me to a locally owned Hotel by the name of “Lunch Time”. Well besides the ninja movie with 3 fully clothed ninjas being filmed in the entrance foyer, everything seemed normal here. Only after I had booked in and checked out my bedroom did my new police officer friend leave me. He looked genuinely concerned from the moment he saw me but I never felt in danger for a moment. Although we tend to think that Africa is wild and dangerous- I didn’t feel unsafe in any other country, except my own….

The “Great” North Road deserves to be honourably mentioned as the toughest road I have ever driven in my whole entire life!! From Iringa to Dodoma, this seemed the easier route. Ha!! 230km of the toughest roads, and I mean tough (!) followed. Chinese road building forced me to always ride either side of the “Great” North Road, but rarely on its unfinished surface. I battled loose talcum powder sand, stones, superfast buses, trucks and taxis, and always the dust, not to mention the heat.

En route I saw loads of Masai warriors walking next to the road in their bright red clothing, with their tall and thin profiles. My jaw dropped every time I saw them!

I crossed into Kenya on the 13th day which was also my birthday (18 July). This crossing went smoothly with no volunteer “assistants” hassling me at all. It was late afternoon, and a guard advised me to overnight at a hotel inside this border town. I thought about it for about 5 minutes, and by the time I had driven out of the border area, had decided to drive another 30km to a lodge with a camp site indicated on my GPS navigator. This lodge was supposed to be inside the Tsavo West National Park which where wild elephant herds roamed. After 30km of very difficult dirt road, and with a setting sun, I arrived at the point where the lodge was meant to be…… but there was nothing. I was 30km inside a National Park, it was rapidly getting dark, and I had to decide, drive on, or turn back. I drove on. 70km of the roughest shock-absorber-challenging trail followed. I stood on my footpegs most of the way and had visions of newspaper headlines reading, “SA Adventure Motorcyclist Dies in Tsavo West National Park After Being Mauled by Elephants and Lions”. Luckily this was just a vicious mind game and a few hours later I exited the park where a friendly local craft seller took me in for the night. All I could think was, “This is the best birthday I have ever had!!!”

After driving though another park area, Tsavo East National Park, I arrived in Mombasa, Kenya. Mombasa was amazing!! White sandy beaches, palm trees, and beautiful waters. After battling Mombasa traffic which combined everything including pedestrians, taxis, hand-pushed carts, large 4x4 vehicles and endless amounts of roadside smoke from smouldering heaps of dirt, I crossed from Changamwe via a ferry and headed south towards Lunga Lunga and the border with Tanzania.

  

After spending the night in Mombasa, Kenya I had used up half of my time for the trip and had to decide – whether to drive on to continue northwards or turn back home. I decided on the more rational choice, to return to Cape Town, but via a different route.

  

And, just like that, from heading northwards, I started heading back south. The border crossing back into Tanzania was hassle-free. I decided to visit a town called Tanga, after all, with such a name, this must be the place of every man’s dreams, right? Despite its coastal location, I struggled to find the beach and the reason for this place’s name. After much searching and driving on footpaths and sandy patches I discovered the beach. My BMW motorcycle stood out like a sore thumb and with no other tourists in sight I had a scary negotiation with a local fisherman cleaning small fish with a huge knife. He wanted to take me to Pemba Island but the 300US$ price tag was too much and I declined. I was very disappointment with Tanga, especially after all the excitement I had built up with the name.

I decided to avoid Dar Es Salaam since I was not keen on being stuck in another big city or its traffic, and turned inland with my sights set on the border with Malawi.

Entering Malawi was a bit problematic since I had used up all my Tanzanian cash in Tanzania, believing I could withdraw cash at the Malawi border post. Unfortunately I was unable to and a friendly post office worker volunteered to borrow me some cash to cross into Malawi. Had he not done this, I would have had to leave my bike here and seek a working ATM elsewhere, then come back for the bike. I’m still amazed by Africas people - so many helped me on this trip, although they didn’t know me! Interestingly enough many called me Mzungu = white guy, although in South Africa I would belong to a different racial group.

Malawi is very poor and rural. By evening I had only had glimpses of the lake in the distance. After driving on breathtaking mountain passes which snaked through mysterious villages along the way, I arrived in Nkhata Bay and booked into a backpackers lodge on the edge of the lake. This place was perfect, and with a full moon rising over the lake, I camped on the beach.

The next morning I continued southward towards Monkey Bay, with plans for staying there another night. However, I was worried about ATM cash availability, and also fuel, so I decided to cross into Mozambique instead.

I had followed the mountain pass through the Dedza mountains to an altitude of 2200m above sea level within a few hours and enjoyed the quiet road and awesome views. I was slightly disappointed at having to leave Malawi so quickly, but crossed into Mozambique anyway.

Mozambique was different. It felt strange and foreign, but in a nice way. Somehow, Mozambique had a “South American” feeling. Outside the lodge I stayed at an all-night-Portuguese-sounding street scene went on into the night. Few people here understood English.

A day later I crossed the Zambezi again, this time on an amazing new bridge which spanned the mighty Zambezi, making the transfer of goods and passengers much easier than the barges that still operated in some parts. I was on my way to Zimbabwe.

I expected many difficulties getting into Zimbabwe judging by the news we are fed on a daily basis back in South Africa, but this was not to be. I found Harare to be very clean, well developed, with lots of traffic and very good roads. My plan was to drive through Zimbabwe, exit at Beit Bridge and return to South Africa. However, after a chance encounter with a friendly motorcyclist, I made a slight detour of a few 100 kilometres and visited the Giraffe Motorcycle Rally where I spent the night partying with local bikers around huge bonfires.

The next morning I continued my journey and entered South Africa via the Beit Bridge Border Post. This was also the first and only place on the whole trip where I was searched and had to unpack the bike at the border post – coming back into my own country!

I must say that I was also disappointed for being denied access through Kruger National Park due to the dangerous animals … even though some parks I rode through in other countries allowed me in with no questions, and for free as well.

By the morning my mind was racing. I’d been on the road for close to my maximum allowable free days now and needed to make a huge decision. Now I was close to home but could potentially visit another 2 countries, Swaziland and Lesotho en route back to Cape Town.

I thought it would be sufficient to visit one more country, and chose Swaziland. Lesotho would have tempted me to enter via Sani Pass which was notorious. I was also aware that my bikes chain needed replacement and I didn’t want to tackle such a challenging pass on a tired machine.

Crossing into Swaziland was smooth and painless. The mountain pass after Barberton was breathtaking and deserted. I was very impressed. Swaziland looked and felt extremely well-managed and clean. Of course you have your African feel and some informality, but, that's Africa. I left Swaziland half-heartedly, not tired, as I had expected. It was truly a magnificent place.

I was back in South Africa and time was running out, I needed to move on. Two days of driving on the N1 led me back to Cape Town, and 27 days after starting an epic ‘’once-in-a-lifetime’’ motorcycle adventure, my journey had come to an end. I experienced a mixture of emotions ranging from happiness, relief, and sadness, to post-epic-trip depression. This had been nothing less than an epic journey and most probably the most daring adventure I had ever undertaken. For now…..

  

Looking Back

1. The biggest hurdle was to make the decision to do the trip, this would not have happened without my wife’s support;
2. The scariest part of the trip was leaving home, I was basically chased away by my mom, who was waiting for the keys since she would watch my house;
3. The saddest part of the trip was finishing it and coming home. Of course I missed my family and a decent bed, but adventure was definitely the food my soul had needed!
4. I have no regrets for doing the trip- none, zilch, zip! Go for Your dream- it is worth it!

This is a short description of the trip - more info available on the blog: http://www.1man1bike1adventure.blogspot.com/