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Crossing Africa was my biggest dream ever. It will be a once in a lifetime solo expedition from Cairo, Egypt to Cape Town in South Africa.
My means of travel will be my bicycle, i will have to endure about 14.000 km in the saddle for 8 months. Endure or enjoy ? Time will tell 🙂
I will fly by plane to Cairo, where ofcourse i will visit the town as well as the piramids in Giza. From here i will go south from where the Nile flows.
In Luxor i will visit the temples in the Valley of the Kings and Valley of the Queens and in Aswan, waiting for the ferry to take me to Sudan, i will go and see the Temple of Philae.
Floating on the Nile, looking at the night stars. I remember all the adventures of Kara Ben Nemsi in Africa, on the Nile, in Egipt and Sudan. It was my favourite character in Karl May books.
So going to Khartoum seems natural. But on the way i will go see first The pyramids of Meroe. Forgotten in the Saharan desert, far away from the eyes of your usual tourists.
I will leave Sudan for Ethiopia, but i will try to see Sabaloka Gorge and Jabal al-Awliya’ Dam on the way out.
Ethiopia, the first nation to adopt Christianity. I will have to visit the Bahar Dar monasteries , the complex in Gondar and as well Lalibela to visit the monolithic rock-cut churches.
The british with the help of ethiopian patriots captured Addis Ababa from the italians in World War 2. Now it hosts the headquarters of African Union. A good place to visit and rest a while.
The Omo Valley will be my last objective in Ethiopia, and so, i will cross into Kenya, where i will meet the invisible line of equator.
Lake Nakuru lies at 1754m above sea level and attracts a vast quantity of flamingos. And it`s just on my way to Nairobi, Kenya`s largest city and also it`s capital. Nairobi is legendary for its colorful colonial history. It was once the capital of British East Africa, luring settlers who came here to stake their fortune in the coffee and tea industries.
Masai Mara National Reserve, Mount Kenya ,Amboseli National Reserve , all of them are also my objectives here.
Lake Victoria and Mount Kilimanjaro guard Tanzania, so i have to sneack between them so i can admire the Ngorongoro Crater and take a safari in Serengeti.
As my journey is half way i will rest a while on the beaches of Zanzibar and i will also see the Stone Town.
From Dar es Salaam i will go south to the ruins of Kilwa Kisiwana and i will say goodbye to Tanzania near lake Tanganyika.
The first european visit in Zambia was that of the portuguese explorer Francisco de Lacerda in the 18th century. I may not be the first here, but i`ll be looking forward with great enthusiasm to see Victoria Falls, the Kafue National Park and the lower Zambezi river.
I will cross Botswana to Namibia and on the way i will enjoy it`s natural parks as Chobe National Park, Nxai Pan National Park and as well the Kubu Island.
I saw pictures of the Namib Desert and i dreamt of it, i read about the Himba tribe and it amazed me the story of Kolmanskop Ghost Town and it`s short endeavour in the diamond business.
But this is not all that i want to see in Namibia, there is Etosha National Park with it`s Okaukuejo waterhole, Epupa Falls on the Kunene river and Sesriem Canyon, just on my way to …
South Africa and the end of my journey. I will see several national parks to Cape Town& Cape Peninsula.
Every time as i thinked about a trip to Africa i envisioned this as my final destination, but i need to see one more thing here in South Africa : Cape Agulhas . To see the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean in the same time.
This is my plan, i will try to go and see all of the objectives i mentioned, but probably i will see a lot more things. My trip will be an open one, i will do things as they come and i will let myself float on the african breeze.
My journey will start this autumn . On this page you will see my stories and photos.
Do you wonder what are my previous adventures ? Go and see my other website, http://www.motoafrica.ro
Why did i choose a bicycle over my motorcycle for this trip ?
In 2013 i had an accident with my motorcycle and i suffered a tibyal plateau fracture on my left leg. From this kind of fracture you`ll never recover 100%, and i already have a post-traumatic arthrosis.
So you wonder again, if my leg isn`t so well, why in the world i would ride a bicycle for 14.000 km ?
Because i still can, in fact, for my leg condition is highly recomended. When i ride my bicycle i feel great, normal and i forget about any pain.
A bicycle trip is more personal, will not need ridiculous amount of money, complicated paperworks and so on. The bicycle trip is only about you and your dream.
This are my most important reasons for choosing my bicycle, but not the only ones. As my story will slowly unravel here you will discover all of them.
I usualy don`t post any quotes, but this one is an exception, as Mark Twain is trully right :
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.
… An explore i will, discovering new people and places, living my dream. With a world so beautifull out there and so many paths awaiting, someone’s gotta do it!!
