And now the real pain...

Just another post-trip reflection. I read an article by a guy who did six months going round Australia on a Yamaha. He said it was the best and the wost thing he had ever done. What he was saying was that the experience was unmissable and utterly amazing but coming down afterwards was hell. Even 10 months on I can relate so well to that sentiment. The trip, even though it was less than 3 weeks haunts me most days. I long to go back, learning from my mistakes and experiences; and yet I doubt I ever will get the chance. It is hard not being there when you have done it and it is almost impossible to imagine exploring any other remote place other than on a bike. "The pain now is part of the happiness then" C.S Lewis

Bikes are back!

Bikes are back...Weird to think that the last time we saw the one was in Rwanda and one was in Mombasa. Plenty of red dust to testify to their incredible journey. Respect to Humphrey and Unique Forwarding for getting them home just about in one piece. Carnets were not included but now have been recovered and sent to RAC to retrieve our massive deposits. Dakar I is fixed (timing chain as suspected!) and running sweet as a nut, renovation city! Ready to sell or keep and enjoy, not decided yet. Dakar II is with Paul and ready for sale and looking good!


Want to go back, want to do more of this. Expensive...very expensive! Will post pics of Dakar I in full renovation glory shortly! PS Dakar I started first time but the engine noise was not pretty! Dakar II started first time after a little battery charging.

100% Fantastic

People have been so generous, thanks so much for all your donations to Love Africa. We are humbled and really grateful. You can still give for a while yet do just click at will!

And while I am about it...One of these would have been great!

Money no object...

Martin,

Would you consider adding a money belt to your list?

Photos

Some are posted at this URL no subtitles as yet but gives a sense of the trip!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=153214&id=542648887&l=c39cf3fe4c

If I had my time again...

From a kit point of view there are some things I (MW) would have done differently if money were no object these include;

A decent helmet that would handle visor and or peek removal. My cheapo could only have both on or both off. The peek gets caught by the windrush of passing trucks and nearly rips your head off at the neck...!


A centre stand. I think it would have been the best £150 I had spent...the side stand bends, is too steep and doesnt hold the bike on poor ground or in the back of pick up trucks!!!

Take some GPS that would have guided us on key routes, asking the locals for directions was initially amusing but in the end fairly fruitless! Left and right were usually a problem plus distances were normally estimated +/- 100% wrong. We met a couple who were doing Europe to Cape in a Land Rover, I chatted to them in my underpants (you don't want the detail but it was harmless!). They used Track for Africa and said it was excellent. More kit though, more to get nicked etc...but worth a thought.




Get rid of the ridiculous plastic rear mud guard thingie. Mine flew off at the first sign of bumpy roads as did Paul's! Nonsense! Remove and never replace. Bike looks better without it anyway!

Taken a Camelback. How many times did I dream of the Camelback sitting in my garage at home. It is simple. You need to drink 3-5 litres of water a day if you want to have a beer when you stop on the evening and not have cramp in the middle of the night. Stopping to drink out of the water bottles is hassle. So you don't drink so you get heat exhaustion (actually I had Malaria!). The only way to get the fluids in and keep riding is a Camelback...essential kit, one more bit of paraphernalia but worth it!



Maybe Paul will other views.....

Big shouts out...!

Well done Paul! An epic end to an epic journey...I would do it again any time...itchy feet already!

Big thanks go to these people and many more for all their support and help in times of crisis:

• Humphrey the Global Fixer
  
• Arthur Blick - East African Scrambling champion and his hot mechanics!
  
• Isobel & Abi at Viva Kampala
• Ros from Tearfund UK (part courier extraordinaire!)
• The boys in blue; wherever you may be...SERIOUSLY!
• Vines of Guildford esp Ian the tecchie
• BMW Motorworks
• BMW Tonbridge...top customer service!
• The people of Kibungo for sorting Martin out back to Kigali and for believing we could fix it when we did not. Thanks to Charles and his uncle Yussef!
  
• ACET Uganda esp Paul K..what a star...what a fixer!
• Pastor Paul for having us to stay at his house and looking after us like babies!
  
• Rose & Emmanuel at Tearfund Kigali...thanks so much; great people to get marooned with.
• The crazy guys that looked after Paul in the JCB and beyond.
• Keith at Food for the Hungry Nairobi
  
• The home crew...you who kept us in your thoughts and prayers, you who were rooting for us, you who have given so generously to Love Africa as we have gone round.
• That Tanzanian Policeman...
• Frank - Ciprofloxacin - Armstrong!
• The big LT flight-meister!
• SS the blog-feeder
  
• Our guides at the the two Genocide memorial Churches in Rwanda...you are very courageous people
• The animals for letting us see them in the wild....er...I think that will be all for the moment..once you start thanking animals you are in trouble!
  

Limping to Mombasa

As soon as dawn broke I was awake. I hadn't slept well and the light woke me immediately. I looked at my leg and saw that the knee and calf were double their normal size. I knew that riding along this track was a non-starter.

As I sat in the cab of the JCB, I could see that the road had deteriorated further; Huge lorries were struggling to get up the smallest inclines and a 4x4 Land Rover turned over in front of me.


The Tanzanians tried to flag down a truck to get it to take me and my bike to the end of the track approx 1 mile ahead. No one wanted to stop, afraid they would not get going again. I therefore decided to try and walk to the better road where I intended to ride the remaining 300 miles to Mombasa.


With four of the guys pushing my bike and another helping me to walk, we made our way to the end of the track, taking an hour to walk just under a mile.

Mount Kilmanjaro

The road surface was better and, having strapped my knee as tight as I dared, I got on my bike, thanked the guys and began the final leg of my journey. After an hour and a half I was at the Tanzanian / Kenyan border. I limped from one office to another, getting the permissions and paperwork stamped. I asked about the road ahead to Voi and was told it was one of the worst and would take a couple of hours to get there. I decided I couldn't risk riding it - I only had to put my right leg down and I would have been in agony so I persuaded two guys with a small pickup to take me and my bike to Voi for around £40.

That was the best £40 I spent! The road was truly awful and it took nearly 2 hours to complete our journey. When we arrived at Voi I saw that the bike , despite having been strapped down, was lying on its side with the mirror and side stand broken. Normally I would have been hugely annoyed at this but I was simply relieved to have got there.

I got on the bike and rode to Mombasa, a fairly uneventful ride. I found a hotel where I immediately ordered a beer, then another before taking a long soak in the bath and going to bed.

The next morning I rang Humphrey "The Fixer" who met me in the hotel. I dropped the bike off at the port and he helped me to re-arrange my flights. 15.30 and I was in a taxi on my way to Mombasa airport where my luggage was taken from me and I was put in a wheelchair and wheeled to the plane. At Nairobi, another guy with a wheelchair met me at the plane and transferred me to the BA desk for the final leg of my journey home to Heathrow.

0500 and I was back home. It was freezing and standing (just) in a pair of borrowed flip-flops ( one of my shoes had been stolen some days earlier rendering the other useless!) I knew how ridiculous I must have looked but I didn't care. I had completed one of the most exciting, amazing and unforgettable journeys imaginable. I had also met some of the poorest yet kindest people in the world. Sure I had injured my leg but ask me if I'd do it again!

Pauls Story

As Martin has already written, it came to a stage where he simply could not go on due to the unreliability of his bike. This left me with the difficult decision as to whether to return with him or to carry on alone.

In fact, when it came to it, it really wasn't that hard as we had discussed that same prospect a few days earlier and I had told Martin that as long as my bike was going, I would continue, so when we reached that position in Rwanda, both of us knew what was going to happen.

We said goodbye to each other and I was off. In my mind this was now about completing the trip and fulfilling the commitment I had made to myself and also to everyone who had sponsored us. I set myself a goal of reaching Singida that night, a distance of around 500 miles including the border crossing from Rwanda into Tanzania.

The riding was fantastic and the scenery superb. Riding alone was much quicker than in a pair and I made great progress. The roads were, in the main, smooth with a good surface although I was caught out by one massive crater! Approaching it, it just looked like sand on the road, so I maintained my speed until I realised it was a huge crater, about 9' wide and 1.5' deep. I hit it at about 60mph, and was rocketed out of my seat, my feet losing grip on the footrests as the bike and I went airborne.

I landed safely and kept going, surveying the bike as I rode to make sure everything was all right - it appeared that it was. I had around 180 miles to my destination and decided I would rest with 100 to go. When I reached this point and stopped the bike to get off, I immediately saw that my topbox which had been on the back was missing. I felt absolutely sick. In it, amongst the tools, clothes, etc, was my carnet, for which I had left a deposit of £5.000. No carnet upon my return to the UK meant forfeiture of my deposit, a sum I could not afford to lose.

Gutted, I turned back, retracing my steps in an effort to find the top box although I felt my chances were slim to say the least. By now it was getting dark and the headlamp on the bike had gone (spare headlamp also in top box!) so I stopped for the night in Nzega.

The next morning I woke early and began retracing my steps the 80 or so miles to the "crater" where I guessed was where it either fell off or was dislodged. I reached the crater and as I slowed, was waved at by a Samuel L Jackson lookalike. He asked me if I was looking for the top box!!! Incredible!!!! I said I was and did he know where it was? He did, and began to reel off the contents saying various people in the village had all taken something but he would help me to get it all back. We went to his house while he put out the word, and very soon my battered top box arrived together with most of my belongings, including the precious carnet.

Pens, Bombay mix (ask Martin), one shoe, my "Frankie Fraser's" and some SD cards were missing, and despite assurances that they could be retrieved, I simply could not wait any longer. Having fallen short of the previous days destination, I had some miles to catch up and made a mental destination of Arusha, which included a gruelling 150miles of unmade road from Singidia.

I made reasonable time, reaching Singidia and starting on the unmade road which was much, much worse than I had anticipated. The road was bumpy, uneven, with large grooves worn by the lorries which had filled with sand and which continually snatched the handlebars out of my hands as the bike slipped and slid from under me.

I rode this road for around 4 hours, speed never reaching more than around 30mph. I hardly saw a soul and did have the occasional concern that if anything went wrong I would be on my own!

At around 6pm, just as it was getting dark, the heavens opened and I was caught in a torrential downpour. In less than 5 minutes I was soaked to the skin and could feel the water running down my legs and pooling in my boots.

I had stopped momentarily to adjust my jacket and as I let the clutch out to pull away, the bike completely slipped from under me. The water has turned the "road" into a skating rink. The bike slid from under me so quickly that the handlebars caught my right leg, trapping my knee and pulling me from the bike. As I fell, I felt something snap in my leg which was accompanied by an intense, searing pain as my leg buckled under me. I knew I was in trouble. For a moment or two I just lay there, unable to move because of the intense pain in my leg. The bike was lying alongside me, the engine still revving, but I was helpless. I lay in the road, which, by now had taken the consistency of an oozing muddy custard, about an inch thick, which was creeping into my clothes.

As I lay there, a bus full of passengers drove slowly past, all looking out of the window but doing nothing. I watched as the bus slowly continued past me, still laying there.

I rolled onto my back to try and ease the pain and saw 6 pairs of eyes looking down at me! Two of them helped me to my feet whilst the others lifted the bike. I got them to help me back onto the bike, and tried to ride away, but again the bike fell from under me and as I instinctively put out my right leg to steady myself, the searing pain was back and before I knew it I was on my back in the road again.

Knowing I could do no more that night, I asked the guys for shelter. None of us spoke each others language, but they helped me into a JCB digger where I rested as best I could. I resigned myself to sleeping there the night and worrying about it all in the morning. I drank the water they offered me - not worrying that it wasn't from a sealed bottle nor that there were no mosquito nets. I slept on and off through the night, guarded by one of the Tanzanians who joined me in the cab with a torch and a set of bow and arrows with which he explained he would look after both me and my bike.

Thoroughly Contented

Sunset over Masaka

Thursday: Martin writes. The bike was taken to the overland truck transporter on Tuesday afternoon. It was put delicately and lovingly in amongst hundreds of Coffee Bean sacks. The guys that helped me prepare it for shipping were so helpful and Bernadette the agent was lovely. All seemed very sure-footed and knew exactly what they were doing. I dare say in a week or so it will be with Humphrey in Mombasa.

What we leave behind...or rather who...

I spent the rest of the day doing a major re-pack to try to get about 50KG's of sundry items including boots, tent, sleeping bag, helmet panniers into a manageable state for flying back to UK. I had to make a quick decision on whether to move with all my gear to Mombasa and wait for Paul or snap up a BA opportunity to fly home weds evening. Paul was making progress but at that early stage there was no way of knowing what would be round his corner...he will tell all when he gets to a computer...!

She was the first to venture out to greet us in Wanale in Uganda

I purchased a very large suit case for £20 in Kigali and hoped it would carry my panniers, boots and tent etc home. I shed some sundry items that would be helpful to the Tearfund projects here in Kigali. I had dinner with the Tearfund Rwanda/Burundi director Emmanuel and his wife Alice. Turns out that Burundi is absolutely overrun with HIV/AIDS as govt has embezzled all the aid and the international aid taps have now been turned off. Emmanuel was telling me how the bishop is Burundi was weeping over the state of the nation and especially over how whole communities were being wiped out by AIDS. Terrible.

Also turns out that Emmanuel's sisters had both been delivered by one 'Rev Church' a famous missionary doctor who remains legendary in Rwanda for having been there through the 1950's Genocide and stuck with his people at the mission station throughout. This Rev Church worships at St James and has told many moving stories of being part of that mission as he grew up. Emmanuel said "There are two names that everyone around here will always remember, and one of them is Reverend Church."...wow! I felt so honoured to know John.

This little one was petrified of us. Scary Mizungu!

Next morning it was off to Nairobi to embark on 24hrs travelling. But not before I discovered more of what was happening to Paul to make sure I should not, even now, divert to Mombasa or somewhere...he will tell you more. And also not before I discovered that despite being careful to lock my door and despite the compound being under 24 hr guard I had had all my remaining cash stolen. GBP's USD's UGS's and KES's...all gone. Neatly taken from my bum bag during a brief absence some time that previous day. We think they climbed over through my balcony door.

So I set off for Nairobi sans argent. At the airport I went into the VIP lounge (all things being relative for Africa!). There was complementary sodas and food...very nice...I sort of blagged my way in. As I left I was presented with a bill for 6000RWS...er....I thought the food was Free...er I have no money...er this guy overheard and paid up for me...er how embarrassing. Thanks so much whoever you were!

My Nairobi flight was cancelled so I finally got off the ground at 1345. Someone who knows who they are but shall remain nameless to protect their blushes had rescheduled my BA journey to LHR and I was upgraded. So I was able to take the 9 hr wait to 2330 in the BA lounge at Nairobi AND to sleep really well on the plane. That wait at Nairobi in the corridors would have been horrendous. Hot, crowded, long. Plus I had no money! So THANK YOU SO MUCH!

I reviewed the journal of the last 21/2 weeks and added to it as I flew home. I was filled with a sense of deep privilege that I had been able thanks to the support and encouragement of so many family and friends, to participate in this African adventure. It has been a journey that I will never forget. I do not feel cheated, I feel very privileged to have had the opportunity to do it. It feels a bit like attempting Everest. It is not always a success in terms of getting to the top but to travel is always better than to arrive. This little Odyssey began the day Paul & I said we would go for it back in 2009. It continued with preparation and the final execution and it will continue to shape and form me in the months ahead. To have had a go and met so many extraordinary people and seen so many incredible and unforgettable places and to have ridden on two wheels on the most bizarre and quirky roads I have ever experienced; to have had that red dust kicked up in front of me and get into my eyes and crunch between my teeth...that was what it was all about. I will remember this trip with great joy and I have learned so much about myself, about faith, about priorities and and about the human spirit. I would not have missed it for the world. I am very grateful.

Sick as a parrot!

Tuesday Morning Feb 16th: Martin writes: Good news, Paul found his Carnet on retracing his steps and he had made amazing progress through Tanzania reaching around Nzega. Well done matey, obviously quicker to travel alone! I dare say he will give his own update once back in contact. Singida was less than 100 miles away as of last night.
Martin had a good night and tried not to look out of the window at THE bike...which has now become a sort of object of hatred.
It would not start yesterday at all despite several attempts so rumours of its death were by no means exaggerated! Except that today I drove it to the shipper to be loaded onto a container because it decided to start. Very spluttery and poppy but it made it to the shippers yard.

Ready to go!...home!

This served only to sicken me more. The whole thing is doing my head in but I still feel I had little choice but to do what I did yesterday given that we had many many hours of it not starting despite our best efforts.

To be very honest with you dear reader my travelling companion was a total star and is not one to give up on anything or anyone to whom he has made a commitment. I am struggling with feelings of failure and deep disappointment in myself and the bike and the situation in general. I will get over it and as my mother used to say worse things happen at sea. The journey I did make will never leave me and so I am eternally grateful for every opportunity I was given to explore and experience a chunk of this amazing continent.

Rwanda has a sort of gentleness about it that is very palpable. People are gentle, slow and deliberate with a great sense of inner peace. I guess post 1994 the nation has been changed in many ways. There are many signs of sustainable and creative commercial growth here as well as a social scene that seems very relational.

Rwanda is very beautiful

Last night I was eating supper and in the room next door I thought I heard some guys being very loud and boisterous, I thought maybe they were playing pool or something. Actually they were praying. Like I have seen no one ever pray before, not even Koreans or Nigerians. They were praying as if their lives depended on it. I guess because for them, it does. I feel I have learned a little bit about that in the past few days!

Gorillas, Gypsies and a twist in the tale

We stayed in a really great Hotel in Kigali after the sorry events of the One Love Club. The Gorilla Hotel made for a very welcome and comfortable evening with real hot water, real food and real beds. As Paul reminded me in his own diplomatic way 'we have been living like gypsies since we came to Africa lets give ourselves a treat!'
Hotel Gorillas Kigali...nice!

We decided to treat ourselves before the rigors of N Tanzania. We hoped to reach the target town in Tanzania by making an early start at 7.30 and getting some miles in. We could find no evidence of hotels or guest houses at Kahoma so we got some rice and curry sauce from the supermarket and stocked up on water.
One hour into the ride we stopped for petrol, we were making great progress through beautiful hills and valleys of Rwanda. We went to leave the petrol station and guess who's bike would not start...only one guess required. One very sweaty hour later the spark plugs had been removed and re-set in the hope that it was just flooded. It started and we were off!

We needed to get a Jerry can because we thought fuel may be scarce on the next leg. As we neared the border we came through Jerry Cannesville. The side of the road was bright yellow with them. mmmm we thought, maybe the rest of the world needs them for their journey through N Tanzania as well!

Just in case you are not familiar with them here is a reference for you!



All the Jerry cans were full of veggie oil so we decided to try again later, Onto the bikes and GUESS WHO's BIKE WOULD NOT START!

We were surrounded on the roadside by dozens of Rwandans. The vehicles passing by honked their horns as the road filled with the small crowd. A mechanic arrived telling us to check our spark plugs...er...just done that! They pushed Martin for a bump start Paul towed Martin with a tow rope for higher speed bump start...no dice.

There on the roadside we had to make a decision. Mart's bike probably wouldn't start because the timing chain had slipped a couple of links and the timing was out. A legacy of the previous problem. There was no time to get the timing chain from Kampala to Kigali even if we could get it fitted and no guarantee this really was the problem, 'Dakar I' was out of the race.

During those stir crazy waiting days in Kampala Paul had said he would not give up the journey as long as his bike was going. Who could blame him.

In the midst of the crowd we made the decision. Martin heads back to Kigali and tries to repatriate the bike overland to Mombasa.

Paul travels on.

Neither one happy, both understanding the frustration of the other.

We waved down a likely looking truck and he wanted $200 to take Martin and Dakar I back 50 km's so we waited for another one!

Yussef arrived a while later minding his own business but he was driving a pick up!

He wanted $50...he had a deal,

We hastily checked luggage and that Paul had all he needed for the road ahead. The crowd magiced the bike onto the pick up and we tied it down. A man-hug in the middle of the road and Paul surrounded by now by his own crowd set off for Tanzania. 'Are you sure Helen will be OK with this' Martin asked. 'Of course' came the reply. And he was off. In the whole time we have been travelling I have never known Paul linger...

I was then told by one of the ring leaders in the crowd that I should give money to everyone who had helped get the bike onto the pick up...what all 20 of you! I dispensed a fistful of pens.

Yusseff and I got into the car and he drove about 2 miles then pulled off the road into a market area. I discovered this was where his shop was. He disappeared into the shop without saying anything to me, not that I would have understood! Eventually I found him talking to John his nephew who was to drive me to Kigali to the Tearfund compound. He told me the price had gone up, I told him Yussef was a man of his word and so was I and the price was the same and to get in the car and drive (that last bit was more in my mind!).

John drove me very very slowly to Kigali and the bike was duly taken off the pick up by a mustered team of men from the area around the compound. Rose and Emmanuel greeted me sympathetically and warmly and the horrible truth started to sink in. This was the end of the road and I had a week before we flew from Mombasa. Humphrey from Kenya the master fixer put me in touch with his sister company to sort out transit and that all looks like it will be OK.

MEANWHILE...Paul motored on through the Tanzanian border to within 100 miles of our southern most point Singida. Good going indeed, almost made me think I could try to fix Dakar I and catch up.

BUT...Paul's top box had fallen off his bike at some stage and in it were his shoes, his tools, and worst of all his Carnet De Douane. This is THE document to get through borders and to satisfy customs on the bike's retuen in order to get back the huge deposit we had to leave with the Carnet Issuer. Paul's Carnet is somewhere amongst the strewn contents of his top box up to 100 mile behind. This is a big problemo so he is re tracing his tracks tomorrow and I am seeing how I can help from this send.

The saga continues, now on two fronts....

Kigali - Genocide sites

Having transferred to the Gorillas hotel, we take the short ride to the outskirts of Kigali to see the two Genocide sites.

There has been much written about what happened in Rwanda in 1994. Furthermore little can be written in such a format as this blog to convey the variety of emotions a visit to such places invoke. Therefore we have simply posted some pictures and hope to tell you about it when we see you.

Martin says...It was a beautiful ride out to these sites just south of Kigali. The scenery was so beautiful it is hard to believe such atrocities took place here. It was an intensely moving experience and a profound mixture of horror, pity, disbelief and in a sense shame that any human beings could be so cruel and vicious to other human beings...quite unbelievable. We had a long chat with a survivor who took us round and told us his own story...In his particular case the killers were in his village for 3 days killing everyone in the most horrific ways. In the other site the killers came at 9.00 a.m. and were still slaughtering people including tiny children at 3.00pm in a very small community....unthinkable. The clothes are so movng, the only remnants of people slaughtered in the genocide.

Big push out of Rwanda and into Tanzania begins tomorrow, we are hoping to get to Kahama (I think it s called) Around 300 miles.

Rwanda

Saturday: left Masaka at 0800 and arrived at The One Love Club guesthouse in Kigale at around 1530 after aroumd 300 miles of riding and a border crossing. The 50km into Kigale was stunning. A challenging day overall. One Love is recommended by the guidebook but is utterly awful. If we werent so tired we would move. We will visit genocide memorials tomorrow and treat ourselves to a better venue Sunday night before the big push into tanzania. Time for us to update the journal! Mart's bike is goimg well but not looking to win any races! Delicate would be the term. Will clean air filter tomorrow to see if that helps.

Uganda into Rwanda - Sat 13th

Left Masaka 8am for the 300 mile to Kigali. Both bikes running well although Martin reports some problems with the air filter!

Arrive at the Ugandan / Rwandan border around 1pm, expecting the usual array of chancers to offer to assist us with the paperwork. These fail to materialise and we realise we are on our own. Amazingly, it turns out to be fairly straightforward - Immigration, Customs and then Police all stamp the various documents and we are allowed out of Uganda. Same again in Rwanda - Immigration, Customs and then Police and we're heading for the exit barrier.

Surprisingly, we haven't had to pay any entry or visa fees.

As we reach the barrier, we are flagged down by some sort of official who asks to see out passports, which we give him. He then asks for the motorbike insurance. Now this could be a problem, mainly because we don't have any because all the insurance options available are not worth the paper the are written on and are mainly scams!

Paul rummages through his luggage and withdraws a large sheaf of papers. With a flourish he hands him his AA travel insurance. The official calls another over, and to make things worse, starts asking if we have paid for our visa's!. We both ignore this, but in an attempt to confuse things, Paul starts pointing to the various appropriate words on the AA policy -"worldwide", "insurance" etc. He hopes to persuade him it is acceptable before he starts reading the clauses about lost baggage and delayed flights.

Eventually the barrrier is pulled aside and we are off, Martins bike travelling faster than it has ever been in its life!

We continue for another hour or so, arriving at the "One Love Club" in Kigali, as recommended by the Lonely Planet. Suffice to say that it did not meet up to expectations and Martin will be making contact with said publishers! We are stuck here for the night but will find another hotel tomorrow.

Guess who is reading which!?

Another key component!

Key Component of 'the wait'

Back on the Road

We are back on the road thanks to so many people in Kampala and UK THANKS! Bike seems fine after 70 miles we left Kampala Friday 1630 and are staying the night in Hotel Zebra in Masaka this is the view! So good to be moving again!

I'm sure you are all as sick of reading this as we are typing it!!

It's 11.30 on Friday and we are still waiting for the part to arrive! It arrived in Nairobi last night and should have been delivered to the garage at 0730 this morning, so we had hoped to be up an away by lunchtime. For some inexplicable reason, the handover at Nairobi didn't take place and it was simply left in an office!!

We have heard that it is now on its way to Entebbe and should be at the garage early afternoon. Neither of us are getting our hopes up as there has just been one set back after another. We'll believe it when we see it.

Obviously this huge delay has impacted on our schedule and if we are not gone by lunchtime tomorrow I suspect we may have make alternative plans to repatriate Martins bike.

Even if we leave tomorrow we will be riding like the wind to catch up. But at least we will be riding.

We have come to the Bujogali falls an hour from Kampala to see the sight and kill some time. Outside possibility of a part fist thing tomorrow... We will see. Thanks so much to ACET working hard to help us.The miles ahead still to cover seem pretty daunting.

Various pics from the last few days in Kampala

This is the part that has caused all the problems! It has now been collected from BMW and delivered to "Roz". Things are at last moving!!

More Pictures

Our enforced stoppage means we will be at Namirembe Guest house for a bit longer. Here is the view from the terrace! Sort of feels like a view from Prison, we wanted to be in Rwanda by now. Patience....!!

Million Dollar View

Update on Martin's bike. The cam tensioner has had it and needs to be replaced. There are no spares in Africa so we've arranged for one to be sent from the UK. The trouble is that DHL have to clear it through customs which will take 5 days and completely ruin our plans - No Rwanda and no safari at the end so we have come up with plan "B"

This involved friends in the Met (BIG thanks to Mark Thomas) collecting the part from BMW Battersea and taking it to Roz in Twickenham who is an aid worker flying to Nairobi tonight. Upon landing, she will pass it on (rather like the Olympic torch) to a cousin of one of the ACET workers in Kampala who works for Kenyan Airlines and who will arrange for it to be sent to Entebbe. From there, it will be collected by Martin and I on the bike that is still running, and raced like a beating heart to Arthur Blick, Ugandan Motocross champion (x 7) and mechanic extraordinaire who will use it to breathe life back into the old machine.

In order to catch up the two days we have lost, we will ride to Rwanda as planned and visit the genocide museum, but instead of riding the 500 or so miles to Singida, we will travel overnight with the bikes on the ferry from Bakoba to Mwanza.

So that's the plan, but it's a tight schedule and depends on the part arriving safely on Thursday in time for Arthur to get the bike fixed. Otherwise it's back to the drawing board!

So for the next couple of days we are using the time to relax, get our clothes washed and see some of the local sights. Today it's chimpanzee island and in the evening we are going to a local festival for a barbecue and to watch some traditional dancing.

Every cloud has a silver lining....

We have hit a problem with Martin's bike making grinding noises in the engine casing. Amazingly we were within 10 mins of a guy who had been recommended to us in Kampala. As if monday night it seemed fixe but this morning it is stull grinding. We face an agonising wait and probably will need to get parts in from UK so will be stuck in Kampala for a whille...?!!

Kampala Crisis

Monday Feb 7th: we left for Masaka just beyond Kampala. We made Kampala in good time but took a wrong turn and ended up in Emtebbe. Just as well, as Martin's bike decided to start making grinding noises. When we had been in Iganga we had waited for some rain to stop before leaving the guest house. As we were waiting we met an American guy who gave me a number for Arthur Blick a renowned Motorcyclist who runs a garage in Kampala. Little did we know that we would be riding into his garage compound to see if he could work his magic. We had decided to contact him when, unbeknownst, we were only 5 minutes from his place. By the end of Monday he had fixed the timing chain tensioner and all seemed well but when Martin came to pick up the bike in the morning all was not well, the noise has returned. Theory is that the tensioner will need replacing or possibly a thorough clean out. We are waiting to see what they find. We seem to be in good hands. I (martin) am burning money on calling the UK to speak to BMW technicians at VINES OF GUILDFORD...THANKS IAN!!! Will keep you posted. I have sent some pics from my phone that should be uploaded some time soon.

Tumaine Children

Tumaine means hope. We went to visit the children at the Tumaine children's home. We have been working with Pastor Nicholas for 2-3 years.The children were in terrific shape, very happy and it was so good that martin was able to catch up with quite a few of them in person. The singing was, as ever, quite awesome.

Pastor Paul's Well

Pastor Paul's Small holding

Iganga & Wanale

Feb 6th: Great day visiting Wanale with Edith and Christine. We met with a few families who are living with HIV/AIDS in very tough circumstances. One lady we visited was at death's door when I met her 21/2 years ago (Martin. Thanks to UWCM and Love Africa she is now ell, she has some goats which are giving her food security and income. She was laughing and smiling which I had never sen before. The are literally scores of people whpo hjave been helped in a similar way and for every widow heled there are an average of 6 children who also have hope for the furture. We also visited communities in Iganga with Pastor Paul a Love Africa partner. We stayed at his house for the night. Quite an emotionally draining 24hrs some bike problems plus a touch of delhi-belly. If you are praying for us please continue!

Foot note

Foot Note: For those that have been following our blog. We have updated the posts since our arrival at Mombasa. You can re-read and get yet more insight, texture and colour! We will try to add pics when we can.

Baringo to Mbale...further than you think!

A two hour ride that ended up taking four but what a fantastic ride it was. Down into the rift valley and back up and out the other side. Roads were smooth and the views breathtaking. Pictures don't do it justice which is just as well as the clockwork computer we are using here in Uganda doesn't have enough cogs to upload them,.

Border crossing was an interesting event. Yet another fixer/chancer/angel (you choose!) very kindly offered to help us through the 5 stages of beaurocracy we had to endure for the transition from Kenya to Uganda. This whilst surrounded by hawkers selling drinks, currency, biscuits, insurance and the peace of mind that can only be gained by him guarding your bike! Needless to say the 'good samaritans' weren't in it for free and wanted "looking after' to the tune of around $40. Suffice to say they were disappointed.

Having crossed the border, we were immediately soaked to the skin having been caught is a ferocious thunderstorm. Luckily it soon cleared and we were able to focus on the trademark Ugandan road surface - red mud and potholes.

Don't worry Mums!!We were careful!!

Edith was there to greet us at the Mount Elgon Hotel, we had a cup of tea and some fruit in the semi darkness; we could only see two bright eyes and big smile!!! Food was very welcome as we had not eaten since 10.00 a.m. All our gear is wet, sleeping bag as well as bots etc. Hotel have done us some washing

Moving on...Lake Baringo

Amazing morning riding round lake Naivasha. Giraffe, zebra, wild boar, flamingos. Lunch Left the fishermans camp after a fab luncch and took a wild desolate heart of kenya ride to lake Baringo 100 miles from Ugandan border. Got here late so will explore tomorrow. Crossed the equator today!!!! Very tranquil with the most dazzling array of bird song. It is absolutely true that Afrca Wood Pigeon coo to a distinctly syncopated african rhythm. So much more funky than th british wood pigeon!

Around Lake Naivasha

Lake Naivasha is at the base of Kenyan Rift Valley. After a first night of camping (pillows improvised from stuff sacks full of clothes) we headed round to a smal lake nearby. On the way we saw warthogs (exactly like Pumba!!!) Girraffes, Antelope and more Zebra. Like our own private game reserve! We rode our bikes right down to the lakeside and looked at the ultra-pink-not-like-the-zoo-at-all Flamingos. Awesome!

Voi to Naivasha

Left Voi at 0750 and travelled over 300 miles to try to make up for the late release of bikes from customs. Many stories to tell about Mombasa, met some lovely people. Riding was demanding but exhilarating. Saw zebra and monkey on the way.Lesson here was to make sure we stop to take pictures, we did not see any more the whole way! Bikes have been truly fantastic.We are staying at Lake Naivasha in the Kenya Great Rift valley - camping. Hippos come to shore here at night so we are expectant!

Our Neighbors outside the tent... Monkeys!

Stayed overnight in fantastic Fisherman's Camp. Idyllic setting and these monkeys were not our only companions also saw hippos and storks all round the tent!