Bikes, boats and balloons

A long overdue, quick catch up. We have spent the past eight months in and around South Africa and Namibia (setting up a business), with short stopovers in Mozambique, Portugal and the UK. Wow, hasn't the UK become expensive? We had planned to spend more time there, but prices as they are now, it was not to be and so we scurried back to the warmth and the much lower cost of living in southern Africa.

We are currently in a spacious two bed, fully equipped AirBnB with swimming pool and yet still paying two thirds for a 4m x 2m shockingly filthy hotel room in Headingley with a bathroom whose floor tiles were broken and remained stuck to your feet should you deign to risk the unhygenic shower!

Anyway, just to fill in a few gaps of my favourite or should I say the most memorable events...

Moving the Motorbike from Zanzibar to mainland Tanzania

A day I shan't ever forget. To avoid the bureaucracy of using the only cargo ferry, which takes a few days (and dollars) to organise, we had help from a friend and were instructed to ride to Nungwi where we were told they'd be a boat and friends waiting to help. At the time we lived in Kizimkazi, the very southern tip of the island and Nungwi being the northern most tip it's roughly speaking a two hour ride, avoiding pot-holes, cows, vehicle traffic and pedestrains. We finally located the coffee shop we'd been instructed to get to and within minutes (the helmets being a give away) a gentleman came and starting giving us directions. Well, I can't quite remember how I'd anticipated this panning out, but I certainly hadn't expected a very small wooden boat with just one motor. I guess in hindsight, I should be grateful it wasn't a double outrigger swahili style ngalawa! Once I realised which boat was ours, I will honestly say I had to walk away for a few minutes to try and control my anxiety.

It took ten chaps to lift the motorbike up out of the sand and onto the boat at which point I was told to get in (if you listen carefully you'll hear them chanting in the video) With adrenaline still pumping I climbed in and sat under the right pannier... what a mistake! Despite the bike being well tied down, fear still engulfed me as I became convinced (owing to reasonably choppy waters and the amount the bike was moving) that it was going to keel over and thereby capsize us! I spent two hours frozen rigid with one hand on the boat, the other on the bike, each wave hitting starboard and thus getting thoroughly drenched. Chris on the otherhand was enjoying every minute, grinning like a cheshire cat! We finally arrived on a stretch of beach an hour or so south of Tanga, where the locals looked on, smirking at the sight of the mzungu female trying desperately to regain dignity and feelings in fingers after a white knuckle ride. Minutes later we were back on the bike in 35° C, salty skin and clad in wet clothes - somewhat unpleasant, but so relieved to have reached land again!

Falling Off

Arriving back on the mainland we decided to hit the mountains for some much needed cooler weather and ended up heading back to the West Usambara Lushoto Mountain Reserve. We found ourselves a bed for the night in a biodiversity reserve and decided, possibly optimistically, that we should do a hike to the top of the mountain. Alas, it was a little more than we could cope with (2200m altitude) and having pursuaded Chris, we opted to catch the next boda-boda (motobike taxi) to take us up the final stretch. It wasn't long before one passed and conveniently offered, insisting that three-up would be absolutely fine despite Chris's height (and weight). So we arrived at the top, where the lodge was actually shut but they still gave us a beer each and the place offered super stunning views. We were about to hike down when the lovely boda-boda driver suddenly appeared out of the bush and offered us a lift back down to our lodge - I immediately accepted! I have to admit it was quite wet and I did have my eyes shut most of the way down the super steep slippery mud paths... but it did finally happen. We all slid down over onto our sides. "Hurrah, hurrah, we weren't on the Africa Twin"!!!

holding onto the dear fellow whose eyes seemed to double in size when he saw the AT

Namibia - The Farm

And then… the icing on the cake, we were offered the opportunity of a lifetime; to invest in an eco-farm project on the Fish River Canyon. 10,000 hectares including 9km of canyon frontage with copious game living on the land, including leopards which roam at the base of the canyon and the famous vulnerable Hartmann's mountain zebra higher up.

So, during late June we met up with friends, Eric and his daughter Francesca both from Zanzibar and James with his son Henry, from Cornwall and together we did an amazing road trip south to spend a weekend at the farm.

It’s around 600 kilometers from Windhoek down to the farm. We stopped off for an overnighter at The Alte Kalkoefen Lodge en route. Wow, what a treat! One of the best home-made organic meals we’ve had throughout our travels in Africa, but not only that, a superb place to rest and the most welcoming hosts, who also have a Lithoparium.

Chris and I were speechless at the sheer enormity of the canyon. At it's very widest it is 27 kilometers and in places 550m deep. It's said to be the second largest canyon in the world and the second most visited tourist attraction in Namibia. Exploring the farm was exhilarating. The overwhelming vastness is simply breathtaking and the other-worldliness of the landscape hard to describe.

The Umis Farm Project is an investment opportunity open to eco-diversity lovers. Should you be interested please get in touch.

Riding high

On our way back home from Umis Farm, I was treated to The Most Amazing Experience EVER. The most ethereal, early morning dream followed by a champagne breakfast upon landing, which I'd love to do again and again. If there is such a thing as Ground Hog Day, let this be it! I suffer terribly from vertigo, but this was sublime - no fear involved. Namibia should definitely be on everyones bucket list!