Thursday March 7. All 5 of us have finally arrived safely in Cape Town, after some challenges. And some baggage is still lost in the the mysteries of the Air France system. This morning we are enjoying delicious coffee and croissants in Camps Bay, where 4 of us are staying. Camps Bay is a rich and charming area, with little stores, good restaurants on the waterfront, and expensive houses. There is a lovely sandy beach with huge crashing waves breaking onto it.

We are staying in a charming bed and breakfast run by Marion. She is a lovely lady, though legally blind from macular degeneration. Two friendly dogs help her. The house is lovely, old African furniture. Capetown is still suffering from severe water shortages so water usage is constrained. We are below Table Mountain and Lions Head.

Yesterday Allen, Brian and I jumped on a red open top double decker bus for the tourist tour. The bus wended it’s way along the beautiful beach front road, looking out onto the Atlantic. The most expensive properties are the ones considered to be in the “wind free zone”. The guide pointed out that certain unscrupulous real estate agents expand what is considered “wind free” but this can be judged by the state of the palm trees and whether they are leaning…

We hopped off the bus in the old port area. We enjoyed a lively market area with lots of high quality African crafts. Allen and Brian purchased wooden bow ties for their own mysterious reasons, Don resisted. Wandering around the harbour and dry docks (very active) we came across a remarkable art gallery built out of the old concrete grain terminal. Remarkable engineering. Then after sampling some South African beer, we jumped back on the bus, and headed up Table Mountain. We didn’t have the energy to climb to the top, or even take the cable car, but the views over the harbour were spectacular.

Testing the beer!

View of Capetown from part way up Table Mountain

Allen and Don spent lots of time in August developing the route, together with our guide, Andrew Vaughan of Ride Down South. The map below shows the general route we have planned. Starting in Cape Town, we first do a familiarization day looping around the Cape. The next day we head out of the city and north. We eventually cross into Namibia. After several days riding there including a couple of stops by the ocean, we reach Netosha National Park. From there we head east into Botswana, and get to the Okavango delta. Onwards we cross into Zambia, briefly back into Namibia, and finally end up in Livingston, Zambia, at Victoria Falls. Probably we will avoid going into Zimbabwe, which seems advisable, but perhaps we will feel adventurous!

It would have been in the mid 1970’s when Allen discovered the photography of Freeman Patterson (below) and especially his pictures taken in Namibia. He vowed then to one day visit this remote part of SW Africa but little did he know it would be over 40 years before realizing this goal. As we plan, pack and ready ourselves for our big adventure one wonders whether the land has changed and whether expectations will be met.

It was Don who urged me on and said he’d love to be part of the trip. After numerous searches for the right guiding outfitter, most wanted to accommodate us in 5 star hotels, Don and I found an outfitter that seemed to fill the needs column admirably. Ride Down South is run by an adventurer named Andrew Vaughan based out of Cape Town. We emailed and eventually Skyped and the story began.

Our trip itinerary was based upon seeing as many of the hotspots as we could without spending long days in the saddle. Andrew helped us avoid duplication and made recommendations on accommodation.

Our travellers are Don Eadie, a fellow Mayne Islander and a friend that I have enjoyed riding with, especially our epic trip to Alaska and the Yukon in 2017.

Morrie Trautman is a friend of some 35 years. We worked together in the outdoor industry but this will be our first big trip together. He is based out of Everett Wa.

Brian Henry is another outdoor industry friend who recently purchased a house on Saturna and owns OceanRiver sports in Victoria. This will be our first major trip together as well.

Gary Caroline is my part time neighbour here on Mayne and one day he asked if I had any rides planned, I told him about Africa and he signed up “on the spot”.

The story begins several years ago. Allen and Don went with four other guys on a two week motorcycle trip from Mayne Island BC to Alaska. This included a somewhat gruelling ride over the “Top of the World” road which starts near Tok, Alaska, and winds over gravel roads to Dawson City, Yukon.

After this wonderful adventure Allen and Don discussed future possible trips that could match or exceed our Alaskan experience. And Africa came up. And in the way these things go, was, if not forgotten, at least put aside.

In the summer of 2018, Allen reached a significant life milestone. And Don was eager to ride in Africa. Finally on the big birthday Allen committed!

A lot of time in August 2018 was spent researching possible guides, and routes, as well as recruiting other riders. We wanted a custom trip for just our group, and wanted to be sure the route covered all we wanted to see. Allen’s priority was wildlife watching, and Don wanted to see Victoria Falls. We were both keen on seeing Namibia, and wanted to experience bush camping at least part of the trip. Many hours on the internet later plus phone calls with potential guides, we landed on a company called Ride Down South, owned by Andrew Vaughan. Andrew came up with a route starting in Capetown, riding north into Namibia, then into Botswana, and finally Zambia. We would spend time in Netosha national park in Namibia, and the Okavango Delta in Botswana, both famous for wildlife.

Don and Allen on the road to Alaska, Clinton BC, June 2018

Don and Allen on top of the Midnight Dome in Dawson City, Yukon Territory. The mighty Yukon river in the background. June 2017

These are our own bikes that we used on the Alaska trip. Allen rides a Kawasaki Versus 650 (front)and Don rides a Honda CB 500F (Rear)