Ride For Smiles

What a friggin classic that joint was. I was just relaxing half asleep and I hear this water start running outisde my window. I didnt think much of it but after and hour or so its more like a river running through the air conditioner not a drip, ok so I tried to roll back over and thought stuff this ive got to check out what is going theres just to much water running on outside.

Walked into the bathroom to have a slash and was confronted by the bathroom full of water and just about to come over the little legde and into the main part of the room and the roof sagging down drippingb all over the place ahahah seriously if it wasnt so dangerous it was hilarious. And in dangerous I mean theres live wires everywhere in this joint the light just hangs down out of the roof all the power points are dodgy to say the least and whats in the roof where all the water is coming from is anyones guess, one thing for sure I wasnt going to jump in the massive puddle to have a piss and see if it was electrified or not.

Theres still the river running outside my back window i’ve got to go see whats going on there. I felt safe enough going outside in the middle of the night as the security guy was walking around with the 12 guage shotgun earlier ill just sneak up behind him and grab him and let him no its me ahahah

Ok that went ok no pellets in the belly to report. I tell him about whats going on and we walk out the laneway and theres a river running down the road coming from the roof. We walk around and theres the problem the 3 big tanks on the roof are choker block and over flowing all over the place and down into the room, my room. I relaise somethings got to be done about this it wasnt ideal situation so he gets on the phone and rings the manageress asleep in the front office.

Ive spent 10 minutes looking for a tap and she walks out and walks straight up to a little switch behind a potplant and turns it off. I tell her the damage it has caused in my room and she comes into have a quick look looks at the roof about to collapse and the room full of water and says you can have your money back, I said to her we can discuss that in the morning and back to bed she goes. The water didnt stop for another few hours obvioulsy the tanks had an over flow release so I just put all the towelss I had in the room to stop it coming into thr main room and tried to go back to sleep.

Tried. well for a start the bed was F&^*ed a thin foam mattress, pillws that even I would of thrown out at home, the air conditioner was like a panzer tank running and the thought that the water in amoungst all the electicals in the roof could short the system and start a fire and as all the windows were barred and theres only one exit. I know harden up princess but you had to be there it was so dodgy im telling you. Ive slept in some shotholes in my time but this one took the cake as the worst ever. I tried turning panzer tank air conditioner off but as it was about so bloody hot in thise little sweat box that was just not possible so I fired her back up again.

Well on a positive note if I ever get arrested in Mozambique ill probably feel as safe asI did last night in that dump. To funny really if this joint was in Australia they would be barred from ever owning a lodge or guest house again ahahahah. Im not going to name names as if your lucky enough to get it you will know what I mean. What a f*&^ing dump.

Got a few hours sleep in the end but was up at 5 ish and thiough fuck im aliove im gettign out of here before my luck runs out so up I get andf pack the bike up and im on the road with out getting my money back, I figure at least I can say it was the worst motel ive ever payed to stay in.

So away i went on the road to the border crossing thinking about how fucked up this place is, serioulsy Mozambique is an amazingly beautiful and the local people are all so friendly but whats with the charging like wounded bulls for everything is such and expensive country by far the most expensive in southern Africa but again make sure you have all your contingiency pland in order cause if something goes wrong here your f&*^ed. I guess its expensive theres so many relief orgsnizations here I seen them all world food program or whatever it was unicef bla bla bla and all of them driving around in there nice trucks so its expensive cause of them cashing on on that.
I talked to a bloke who supplies the mines with food last night he was telling me a story of one of the villages that wouldnt let the charity agencies fix their well cause if it was fixed then there would be no need for the agencies to come and give them handouts and there is just so many here to give them.

Its just so sad to see such a beautiful country with so much fertile land totally fucked up like it is. I can see why Magabe kicked them all out and although Zimbabwe has issues and poverty as well, the peole are all so self sufficent it leaves the other countries for dead.
While I was riding along towards the border on the shittiest of roads with potholes the size of a green sized bunker the thought that came into my head was didnt these guys have a war with South Africa not that long ago and if so how didnt the South Africans just walk in here and kick their asses, I guess its all those 7 and 8 kid families they just kept coming ahahaha Seriously though its a an amazing country and its sad to see it so trashed.

Ended up gettign to the border crossing wasnt going to pay anyone this time as it was fairly quiet and I know the drill anyways so told the boys no thanks but got a couple of kids to look after my bike. Stamp stamp stamp had to jsut chase the guy up in customs to sign off on ther carnet right its on my head so you got to make sure its all signed right so thats all done and im off to Malawi.
Get into the border posts pretty modern joint for Malawi wasnt expecting that at all got all, the boys surrounding me hassling me thats cool its part of the deal but there all pretty friendly and after all they are only trying to help you and part you from some of your cash and sell you some dollars and insurance which you got to get anyway and half the time you get a better exchange rate with these guys than you would if you changed your money at the bank.

Im all done I flick a few boys a few bucks to make everyone happy tghey got somethign out of me but they were helpful to a degree even if on a tad and we are only talking enough to buy a can of coke or two after all.

I ride off in the general direction of Blantyre along the M1 took me a little bnit longer than I thought the Gps had me off the road I was supposed to be on but this is the main highway so maybe the other way was a bit of a wiondier road who knows I didnt care it still was only a few hour ride and very nice one at that. The M1 in Malawi is sweet long good tar roads a few sections with potholes it was all pretty smooth sailing. I was in alotof pain shitty nights sleep last night on that shit bed didbnt help whatsover but oh well no use stopping id be there soon.

Arrove in Balntyre jsut after lunc h so really early which was nice did consider going onto Makey Bay in one hot which is another 300 K’s away bit thought stuff it ill spend a day or so in a big city and get me some fast food and anything else I need to buy, I do need to fix that back rack on the bike so I can do that while im here.

Hung out for awhile in my room in this pretty nice joint cooling down under the air conditioner then decided to go into town and have a look around. was really nice and friendly the people are really nice and I wasnt disapointed with that though from all the Malawians Id met and were told it wasnt unexpected for them to be so welcoming, they are jsut a nice people theres no doubt about it.

Rode around and around and walk around and around and found a sticker for the bike which was cool on my first day in Malawi they are rare as hens teeth to find the stickers in all countries so all good. Found a nice fast food joint I hadnt heard of so yep you guessed it in I go to buy two chicken burgers and yeah bloody magic stuff. Talked to the owner who saw me pull up on my bike he was from Pakistan but now a Malawi local. We talked cricket for awhile which was a nice change he had watched the aussies beat Sri Lanka last night or whenever it was.

Hooked my burgers down my gob and then went did a bit of shopping bought some rechargable batteries for my spot tracker its been sucking them so quick its not funny so thats one little expense I shouldnt have to worry about again. Bumped into a bloke James as I was leaving and had a chat for awhile then he went in to one of the shops and broought out his mate who was german so was nioce to meet to friendly locals well sort of locals bikers anyway. Thomas had a couple fo Ktms and a nice super bike i think it was a suzuki all the stickers were off it and tyhe other dude owned an R1 and some other bike i cant remember now.

So all good got my airtel sim car for malawi so got internet again through the 3gs network and found a great hotspot atthe burger joint so might be a good reason to stay another day and go eat burgers and upload shit loads of pictures. Anyway off to Monkey Bay when I leave here its only 3 hours away so not hard riding ill get there when I get there.
Adios

What an amazing days riding from Chomoio and Tete 350 amazing k’s. i think i waved to about 5000 people today the kids yelling out waving was so funny and cute riding into villages and out of them and basically the whle day was a memorable experience. If your ever looking to get to see the amazing Mozambique countryside I highly recommend that day ride. The people all the way along were so friendly and welcoming even if I struggled with the lingo with most of them but we made do.

The road was obviously new as the gps had me traveling on dirt so im guessing its that couldnt be to old but there was only one section with any type of potholes and very small ones at that and only a few k’s. Almost perfect riding road long straights some nice easy curves and amazing friendly villages all the way along.

The funny thing is the villages only difference’s were that they all sell some different product from grass matts to furniture petrol, fruit and all manner of stuff, just brilliant.

It was so nice to have a day like that after the other days ripp off it really invigorates your faith in humans. They say this is one of the poorest countries in Africa from some of the villages I looked at some of the tree huggers in the hills around Byron Bay back home in Australia would be in heavan here im telling you its absolutely beautiful and green so again if you ever think of going north you through Africa or south you should make this route a must see the people make it as much as the road and the day went very fast as long as it was in the heat.

By the time I was getting closer to Tete it was 35 degrees celcius so was getting a little tired from the heat well actually I was absolutely rooted to tell the truth but still buzzing from the days riding and all the fantastic people I had met.

Arrived into Tete and was looking for accomadation I had read somewhere about a new joint opeing up near the airport so headed over there great photos on the net and the bill boards but the place isnt finished so I wasnt staying there. Headed back into town and the first place I went to was booked out, I was so hot the next place was a little bit run down but it had air conditioning and wasnt that cheap but that’s ok, im in. Staying for the night then head over to Malawi tomorrow where in Malawi im not sure yet ill have a look on the maps and see how far everything is away I think its only a 150 odd k’s to the border from here but the Lake Malawi is a bit further on so see where I end up as theres a border crossing in there as well so that always adds and hour or so.

Once again amazing days riding simply loved today my back and neck paled into the background of what I was surrounded by, just amazing. Just another note as much as this place is amazing make sure your prepared for anything goes wrong with you ot your bike help isnt just around the corner.

Woke up early and headed over to pay my bill and got a nice suprise that it had been increased by 800 meticas a night so that added about 60 bucks to the bill and made it just under a 100 bucks a night, put a bad taste in my mouth as I left there so if you go there DONT stay at the Sumara Lodge. There’s a place the Agiuna Beach Resort down the road a bit fully 5 star chalets and out of season 600 rand per person per night run by some really nice South Africans. It sucks to be ripped off even if it only 60 bucks I probably wouldnt of mind paying it if thats what I was quoted but why would you straight out bullshit someone like that, oh well karma rules hey

The ride started off with me pissed off a little as you can imagine sucks when someone trying to ring every buck out of you leaves you with a bad taste of an area but after awhile I was glad to be on the road and out of there. Look to be honest unless your going there to go diving id which by all reports is amazing id give it a miss as everything is so expensive, like the burger and chips I bought yesterday costs 10 bucks for a roll with a slab of meat on it, one slice of tomato, one little leaf of lettuce and a little bit of onion and some shitty over cooked fries so in Australia id be complaining about that so here in Vilanculos its just down right robbery. If your going to go there seriously fill up your wallet cause they will be taking every last cent of it, and they wonder why theres only tourists in the Christmas holidays and again in mid year and absolutely no one at other times other than strays like me.

Oh well that over and an hour up the road all the waves and smiles I was getting put me in a much better mood. the ride was on probably the worst tar roads ive been on in Africa huge potholes and was a dodge athon not to hit them some of them could of been big trouble if you hit one if not throwing you over the handle bars at the very least bending your rim. Still was lucky that you could spot the red dirt on the other side of them where people had hit them so made it a little easier to avoid them.

I had hgit a few and been on the and got off for a break about half way as my back and neck were absolutely killing only to look over the bike and realize with the dirt road and potholes the chain was slacker than a ho in a dutch brothel. So here I am in the middle of nowhere tools out tightening the chain up in the midday sun with all my gear on. Oh well that will teach me to stop cause my neck and back are giving me grief. Didnt take long to fix up a few minutes but at 35 degrees celcius in my bike gear it was a tad hot so was good to get going again to get the breeze. They do say every 15 kilometers an hour you go it drops the temperature by 2 degrees so thats my excuse for fanging the shit out of it oh ok 160 is hardly fanging the shit out of it but 35 is hot to ride in 15 to 20 on a sunny day is quite comfortable, well sounds good anyway.

Less of the little towns which meant less slowing down to the regualtion 80 then 60 which made the trip a little quicker. Eventually got in Chamoio and stopped for a drink and ask where I can stay and as I left backing up the bike decided to go over I was so tired I tried but just lifted my leg over and stepped off as it went on its side. Oh well no drams theres a few blokes around one of them comes over and we pick it up we have a laugh at how heavy and big it is and away I go. Head off in the genneral direction of the hotel and find it a few minutes later and pull in to the Castelo Branco a nice place but im paying for it but I couldnt be stuffed looking anywhere else. Will probably head off to Tete tomorrow which is about another 400 K’s away then onto Malawi the next day.

Im making progress north anyway now.

Had a pretty cruisy day today woke up around 7:30 and thought about leaving for about 5 minutes then rolled back over and crashed till 11 ahhh it’s a hard life but someone has to struggle through Africa dont they.
When I did get up walked over to the restaurant to see if they had a charger/ converter so I could charge my stuff up. The boys at the bar werent much help but while I was there met Sofia and American girl working in the north for some Ngo and down here for the weekend and waiting for her friend to come home this afternoon. We hung around and chatted for awhile then decided to go for a walk along the beach which was really nice.

Ended up in one of the swish joints well it looks amazing a place you could get really comfortable in, not that there is anything wrong with the Sumara Lodge but you know your talking 1 star at the Sumara and 5 at the Aguina Beach Resort for the same money.
We left there and headed back to Casa Rex and had a few drinks and lunch and just hung out till about 4 then Sofia’s friend came home so we headed back to Sumara Lodge.

The beaches at low tide were really nice they recced about 150 metres from the shoreline so as the tide came in this afternoon and with the sun out made for nice white sandy beaches and blue seas with a nice breeze blowing which made it a very nice afternoon relaxing in a restaurant bar right on the beach.

I grabbed the charger a charger for all my gear and got all that started and just hung out relaxing for awhile
Went and had dinner still not really hungry so just had some bread and butter for dinner which was nice enough to fill a hole. Ended up chatting to the owner Barlow and his brother in law for a few hours which was nice.
Headed back to my room at 10 ish so just blogging and packing to leave tomorrow lol yeah i think im leaving tomorrow anyway, time will tell.

The internet is basically non existent here and the mcel phone 3g network im using is absolute poop so will have to upload pictures at another time.

Got up at a reasonable hour well actually early about 7ish but was in no hurry to leave so just hung around packing really slowly, I think im still feeling the effects from the other nights bender well which is understandable it was huge.

Ended up all packed and ready to go around 9:30 so said my good byes to Mickey and Gerhard and hit the road. The road out of there was pretty wet from rain last night so that made it a slow start the red clay is slippery as all hell bugt all good im not in any hurry and to Vilanculos its only about 350 k’s which the way I was feeling was going to be a mission. Rained alot of the way the short cut Gerhard had told me to take was a clogmire so turned back and just stayed on the tar look it might be a short cut in the dry but 10 or 15 k’s of that could take me shit loads longer than the tar road.

The ride other than the rain was pretty uneventful changing landscape from Coconut treee lined highway to a little more just general bush. The problem riding along this highway is the amount of 80 and 60 zomes theres one every few k’s its a real pain in the ass not just being abloe to hump along for any great distance and you have to slow down at every one of them cause generally as a rule theres a radar gun pointed in your general direction. Ive been really good so far in Mozambique slowing down to the speed limit as I approach and have just got the wave as I ride on through.
Arrived in Vilanculos yeah ok its not what I was expecting, its a shitty little bay sort of place with the islands a maybe 10 k’s off the coast. Lots and lots of people live here and was really busy riding down the main drag. Ended up just riding into the Sumara Lodge. Well the weather is pretty crappy and windy its probably a blue lagoon on most days ill tell you tomorrow.
The owners are really nice had a bit of a chat over dinner calamari and chips pretty nice too so all good on the food front. The rooms are really nice 2000 meticas a night whatever that works out to be I think about 70 bucks a night right on the beach in your owen self contained little chalets so not to bad. The accomadation in Mozambique ive found to be a litle bit expensive im sure I could of found somewhere a little cheaper if I look a bit harder but oh well I dont have to so im not going too.

Oh might as well blog I had my computer in one of the panniers today and the screen cracked great not to bad hopefully it doesent deteriorate any further but time will tell its not that bad I can still see most of the screen jsut got this big black splotch over the left and side of it now.
Will see how I feel in the morning im pretty sore and sorry for myself spending alot of time standing up on the bike to give my back a break which sucks as its just harder riding other than sitting there chilling out. Heading towards Chamoio either tomorrow or the next day then on to Tete northern inland Mozambique, will have to be careful of the malaria i’d imagine, the sea breeze tends to keep the mozzies away but in there might be as bit different.

I looked on the Gps is 470 k’s so another long day on the bike if I leave tomorrow I know thats not far but with the way my back is at the moment its a massive day and ill feel every K of it. Unless the weather improves there want be much here its snorkeling on the islands or not much else the beaches arent really yhay nive to be just hanging out on in the village itself, well compared to where I was the other day anyway.

This blog is for the last two days as I didnt get a chance to do it yesterday as I was so pissed I couldnt understand english lol
If I had to use a few words to describe the Barra-Cuda Lodge it would be WOW and WOW talk about position, ok lets try and find fault with this joint ummmmm give me a sec im looking around but keep getting side tracked by the ocean yeah bloody noisy thing it is, if it wasnt so far away id go jump in but that 50 odd metres might be the end of me ok side tracked aside the faults with this place are the owners Mari-zanne (Mickey) and Gerhard nahh their brilliant ok the locals nahhh their amazing the place where I have to sleep well shit thats comfortable too ummm come on dick head theres got to be something ummm shit give me a break for f$%^ sake ill find something ill blog what happened yesterday and maybe something will come up……………. ok im back dont you hate that getting side tracked by a nap, waking up to that god awful noise the ocean makes, how do you spell that noise any way arrrshoooo shhhhooooo give me peice and quiet its like having a missus ahahahah no nothing is that bad ok at least here you could send her off on some wild adventure the 50 metres to the beach.
Ok back to my blog im trying to find fault with this joint and just walked out on the balcony overlooking the ocean and realized the joint next door is like 5 metres closer to the beach, whats the world coming too then again that would put me 20 metres further from the fridge and bar so im not exactly sure if I should be complaining about that.
Shit there you go I just got off my hump and checked the rest of this hut house what ever you want to call it and it’s a fully self contained place so that few metres to the fridege actually just shortened down to about 3 that will teach me to whinge hey.

Ok back to my blog im over whinging about my digs and im sure your sick of hearing about the struggles I have to go through in life as well not to mention that Ilaoise and Sara are batting for the other side…now we are talking but ill come back to that later in the daily blog, shit i might never get to the end with that bloody noisy ocean carrying on like it is outside that fly screen wall, ok ill give it my best shot.

Got up reasonably early at the Flamingo Bay Water Lodge, yeah nice joint, had a good brekkie wasnt into the bacon and eggs ive had a gutfull of that stuff so just went the cereal and toast which was ok. Look this joint was nice but wheres the friggin flamingos, i was waiting for a thousand pink birds hanging outside my room at least that would of given me something to complain about squark squark squark i can just imagine. At the Flamingo bay your a million miles from anywhwere Ok its likeabout a 500 metre walk along the walkway to the restaurant and im not joking I wouldnt stay there again its likea walkathon, there is golf buggys to drive you but there not on hand all the time so to get my computer and walk back to breakfast was like seriously a k or two walk.
Hang on ill be back in a minute this blogging is hard work im off for a swim in the ocean, friggin hell you realize how far that is away, times are tough.

Back again this time i’ll see if I can finish the blog . Well checked out of the Flamingo Bay and jumped on the bike, the Barra – cuda Lodge is only a few k’s down the road so just strapped my gear to the bike and rode over. Bumped into Mari-zanne (Mickey) and Gerhard on the road they saw my bike and stopped, theres not to many dudes riding around Bmw’s so that was cool.
Was just going into one of the other lodges to look in the shop for a sticker for my bike so they gave me directions and off they went.

Arrived at Barra-cuda Lodge and was greeted by Mari-Zanne and Gerhard and came inside to sit down and have a drink. Seriously this place is amazing right on the beach and only 350 rand per person, if your coming during the South African school holidays make a booking but any other time of the year just lob in, you want be disapointed. This part of the world you can go swim with whale sharks and manta rays deep which I would of loved to do but the best months for that are july August apparently and as they have had some big storms here recently the water visibilty isnt the best. Theres plenty of deep sea fishing and by what I see of the locals carrying up the beach pretty dam good fishing at that.

A few of the local lads came over for a drink in the afternoon and Sara turned up she had left Ilaoise in there restaurant working. We all hung around then went over to the beach for a swim and came back for some more drinks.

The boys all took off for awhile to sort out some stuff so I rode up to ther local bar to get some rum and coke for me and the girls. I ended up about an hour sat and had a drink with the local boys at the bar all really friendly buy better get back to those damsels in distress lol.

Headed back to the Barra-Cuda lodge and eventually joined Mickey and Sara in the spa on the deck and having a few drinks. This trip really does have its drawbacks, the things i have to put myself through.

After awhile i convinced the girls to go for a walk up to the bar I was at earlier the guy running the joint was so cool and spoke good english so off we went. Hung there for a few hours and then eventually headed back to the lodge and all the crew had arrived back there. Hung around for a little while everyone was getting pretty wasted by this time well actually shitfaced so of course as you do we decided to hit the clubs in Tofu. All the boys piled in the 4×4 and off we went along the beach track crazy drive I must say onto the beach winding in and out coconut trees and laughing and having fun the whole way.

Eventually got to Tofu, by tar road its about 20 minutes this back track took probably close to an hour but totally safe cause there was a top speed of about 15 kilometers an hour and pretty much the only danger was getting bogged. Did the pub crawl through Tofu was a lot of fun jibbering crap as you do with anyone that would listen. The owner of the first bar Natalie came over for a chat probably wanted to see who this mad Australian dude was running around wild in her club. The boys came found me and gave me the we’re going to the next place so off we went. Gets a bit foggy after that the tequila shots were starting to take their toll on all of us. Ended up doing three clubs in Tofu so im sure thats probably a good wack of the dingy nightspots of Tofu and they were all alot of fun.
Got home safely eventually we lost one of the boys when we stopped for a piss stop and we drove off without him, fortunatly for him it was on the home stretch and he only had to walk a k or two home.

Gerhard turned up this morning with grazes and scratches all over him no one seems to know much about what happened and he cant shed light on it either hes obviously fallen over somewhere through the night lol
So went to bed and hit the fart sack and slept like a baby and woke to the view of the ocean through the mesh wall, amazing great first thing to see in the morning bloody beautiful.

So today been trying to blog in between swims in the ocean and a ride around the local area this afternoon back into Inhambane and down to Tofu which is pretty nice as well and more of a township where as this is just all lodges with no real village centre.

The boys came back over this afternoon one of them cooked dinner, chicken and chips was really nice actually and im sure its nice to have a chef in the crew always.

Tomorrow im leaving for Vilanculos which by all reports is beautiful too. Its such a shame i have to rush through these spots I could certainly get comfortable here but its a spot I would definately come back to without a doubt. Times a ticking to get to Ethiopia so as much as I’d love to stay move on I will, but whatever you do if your thinking of coming to this part of the plant do yourself a big favour and come to the Barra-Cuda Lodge its great.

Left Xia Xia and headed north not exactly sure where I was going but had been told about Inhambane on more than a few occassions so thats where ill look first its only 270 K’s away so big drama and should be an easy enough ride since im leaving at 9ish.

Didnt get to say good bye to the lady who ran the place already the ol rush through joints to get to Ethiopia has made a difference, from memory other than last night at the Royal Kruger Lodge its actually the first place since I arrived in Africa last June that ive only spent one night. Ok not having more than one channel of tv didnt help their cause in keeping me there lol. The place was nice enough right on the beach alot like Lennox Head actually with the reef just off the beach so im sure great snorkeling and would be fantastic for kids as well and I guess not to bad for right on the beach accomadation at 550 rand a night or 65 bucks Aussie or thereabouts.

The ride north was nice its so green around here oh derrr I wonder why its near the coast and have just had cyclone Iggy rip through with shitloads of rain. Coconut trees line the highway along with little villages and small towns every 5 or 10 K’s which is a bit of a pain cause everyone has a radar trap in it but ive learnt my lesson now and didnt get done today just make sure im down to the speed linmit by the time I hit the sign.

While crusing along the road came across a couple on KTM and you guesssed it broken down ahahaha ok it was only a flat tyre but still a KTM on the side of the road lol Stopped and said gday they had tried the tyre gue stuff with no luck and I think in the middle of contemplating taking ther tyre off and taking it back to the next village so I was just in time as once you use that gue you cant patch the tyre and by the looks of things they may of had an issue with finding a 21 inch tube. Fortunately I carry a few of those Gas cannister’s with me that fill the tyre with crap which generally as a rule work fine if the tube isnt totally destroyed. We could see the leak around the valve and it was pissing out as we put the compressor on it to fill it up some more after putting the gas crap in it. As the stuff started to harden to the leak slowed then stopped so hopefully that might get them a bit further on down the road once you put the gue they had uised int the tube you cant use it again so hopefully when I hear from them again they tell me my little intervention worked fingers crossed anyway as theres not much help for 21 inch tyres around here I would imagine.

Took a photo of the family that had sheltered them while it was raining and let the girl give it to them as a present for letting them sit under their shade so that was nice that they were able to give them something other than cash. Said my goodbyes and hit the road to let them sort and pack and get back on the road themselves.
Continued along in and out of some nice little villages towns whatever you want to call them then got to Inhambane. There was plenty of accomadation on the GPs and they all looked grouped together so thought id just ride down to the area and see what I came up with.

By the time I arrived here I was actually getting pretty exhauseted although it was only 2:30 the heat and the fact my back was friggin killing me just made it a long ride today, I actually spent a lot of time standing up today my back for some reason was pretty bad though I have covered a few K’s in the last few days maybe thats got something to do with it.

Rode right through Inhambane and then found all the resorts about another 20 K’s down the road on the beach and ended up in the most expensive one apparently at the Flamingo Bay Water Lodge oh well im not to fussed its only 125 bucks a night with dinner and breakfeast included and in the end the dinner was worth it was bloody lush I tell you. Its fully 5 star the rooms are all wooden chalets over the water with your own balcony and views of Flamingo Bay and looking over to Inhambane. Obviously at that price I want be staying for to many more nights so went for a walk over to the beach where all the other lodges are and try and find some more suitable accomodation worthy of my lowly status as a scumbag. The walk to the rooms here at the Flamingo Bay are a fair distance from my bike and the reception probably a k and 2 to my bike but thats the price you pay for living over the water hopefully with global warming they can move them closer to the car park for my next visit.

Walked along the beach and there was no one else around other than two girls in the Neptune bar just off the beach so thought id cruise over and say hi and see if I can get some more info off them on better digs to stay. Ilaoise was from Cape Town and and Sara was Canadian and they had come here and stayed 7 months ago. I have to say they were both gorgeous just my luck sara had the most amazing eyes just saying, the bad news i think they may of been a couple the way they were talking oh such a waste ahahahahaha ill let you know I’m going to go to the lodge they suggested and hook up in their bakery later so ill ask them and let you know lol (yep definatly batting for the otherside but Sara assures me she can cross back from the dark side lol)
Its 8:30 no tv no computer the phones dieing and looks like im going to have a really early night which will be good its very comfortable here and a good nights sleep want do me any harm.

Tomorrow I’ll go and suss out the Barra-Cuda Lodge the girls put me onto, apparently its right on the beach and where the surf is better so that should be nice to hopefully and not break the bank anyway.
Over and out

Woke up around 8ish ok it was more like 8:45 but whose counting but i did want to go today theres not much happening around here other than sitting on my ass doing SFA. It was a shame the guests that had booked didnt turn up it would of been nice to go for a game drive again while I was here but oh well you seen one leopard you seen them all.

I cruised around and packed up I had left all my gear on the bike so all I had to do was get dressed and hit the road that wasnt going to take to long well that was the oplan anyway. Ended up having a chat with Julia the local girl that cooks at the lodge. She had made me dinner last night Vern had rung her and told her to cook me a nice dinner apparently and I didnt know and had gone to the pub with Gavin so missed out on what is usually a great 4 course feed and the best dessert you’ve ever tasted so that was a shame oh well scotch and coke and a hamburger at the local rubbity dub (pub) would have to suffice and it was actually pretty nice, did I mention that in yesterdays blog stuffed if I know.

So in the end was all packed and went and said cya later to gavin and hit the road about 10:30 so not to bad. Gavin had given me some tips on getting 3rd party insurance for the Mozambiquan side of the border so that came in handy and while I was there in the servo on the South African side I changed some money too so was ready to go.

Drove into the border crossing and was greeted by one of the fixers Alex so I said to him heres a hundred rand (10 bucks Aussie) ill give you another one when we get through. He walked me in had one of his mates watched the bike and went through all the leaving South africa process, well that usually fairly painless anyway, exit stamp for the vechile, immigration and then the exit stamp on the carnet so all good, it certainly does help to have some one walk you up to the exact windows and not have to even think about it knowing my bike was well looked after. He then left me and went on over to the Mozambiquan side of the border as I was waiting on the Carnet to be finished and waited for me over there.

Cruised over to the Mozambique side of the border was surprised how modern it was I was expecting some run down old shanty shed which you usually find but this was as modern as the South African side. Alex had saved me a parking spot right near the office but one of the other dudes had come over and was trying to hassle me for cash so I said to him you look after my bike and make sure its all safe and i’ll give you a few bucks to which he seem more than happy with.

Alex walked me in got me my visa application form and had my shit all organised in 5 minutes so that was a bonus. The visa was 85 bucks US so pretty expensive and they take your photo and your finger prints which I hadn’t come across before but it was no big deal at all very painless process. While we were waiting for that to be processes he showed me the customs window so we got the carnet stamped and while I was doing that he had gone over to declare my cameras and laptops etc which you have to do. Walked back over to my bike gave the dude looking after my bike 50 Rand which he was stoked at (5 bucks) all my gear was still on it so everyone is happy. Bought a sim card off another dude see how that goes i’ll probably have to go into a shop to register it anyway but oh well i’ve got a sim card now so ill give it a go you never know sometimes you just put it in and can do it over the phone.

Jumped on my bike and headed up to where Alex was near the customs dudes and by the time I got there he had it all sorted the guy walked over had one look at my bike and said something in Portuguese to which Alex replied to him and he said ok and that was it. Gave Alex another 100 Rand he was all smiles 20 bucks for about 45 minutes work im happy I’m through the border all my gear and all the fear mungering by the South African’s about the border crossings just didnt eventuate again which was no surprise really.

So here I am in Mozambique the usually shitty little markets just across the border so stopped and talked to a couple of kids on their way from school, well tried we couldnt understand each other but in the end raced them down the road revving the bike up with all of them smiling and giggling as they ran along the side of the road.
So hit the road for the 120 odd K’s into Maputo. The countryside in Mozambique is really green lot of little corn fields everywhere with no fences just patches of corn every couple of hundred metres.

Was lots of little towns where the speed limit dropped to 80 then 60 and as I didnt want to have to jibber with cops today made a point of slowing down to the speed limit when I came to them which worked out good as there was quite a few radar speed traps which I had no issues with at all today, so the old adage if your not speeding you want get pulled over seemed to work this time, my old philosphy of slowing to just over a 100 K’s in a 60 zone just wasnt cutting the mustard.

Eventually got into Maputo its a pretty busy city well friggin busy the traffic was pretty full on buit it was the centre of the city I was running around in. Stopped at the Bmw dealer well they had one Bmw in the window and it was just in a service station that was guarded by a guy carrying a shotgun. I asked him if he could watch my bike and headed back down the road and went to the bank.

Came back and there was a few dudes hanging around my bike and one of them spoke good English so had a chat to him and his son. His son jumped on the bike and I asked if I could take his picture and he said yes and that it was a shame that they didnt have an email so I could send it to them, I said give me a second and I dragged the printer out and connected the camera up and started printing it out. By this time there was about 15 people hanging around watching so had become a bit of a sideshow in the centre of town. You know how it is a few poeple stop to look then everyone stops to see what the hell is going on. As I was fully kitted up in all my gear I hot the road not long after printing the picture out for the guys and hot the road out of town.

I was going to just ride north and find somewhere to stay but decided to go past the airport to see if there was a sticker for my bike while I was in town. The Maputo Airport is only a few K’s out of town on the north side so not far out of the way. Went into the airport parked right outside the front door basically so all good, theres no tourist shops at all there so no luck on the sticker. Had one of the pilots come out and have a chat to me while I walkign back to my bike he gave me some tips on where to stay and the the B1 heading north is a bit of a nightmare so it did cross my mind to just stay in town for the night but I had wanted to cover a few more K’s today so I hit the road to the north.

He was right about the road out of town it was bumper to bumper took me about an hour to get bugger all but it was all good the people are all very friendly sittign in the traffic jam it’s surprising how many conversations you can have sitting in traffic.

Eventually got out onto the open road but there was still alot of traffic but it was all good I want in a hurry to go anywhere well actually I didnt even know where I was heading so I was just riding for the sake of riding. Alot of the lodges are on the beach so most are up sand roads and I wasnt to keen on one that was coming up on the gps was only saying it was 40 K’s away but estimated time to get there was 20:30 about 4 hours to cover the 40 K’s what the hell it’s either not where they say it is or the sandy road its up must be absolutely poop so ok I’m not going to that one.

I kept riding north and saw a few lodges that were in Xia Xia and it was only another 100 odd K’s so thought i’d head up there. It was a town Gavin had said to give a miss for some reason but oh well looks like thats where i’m heading.

Eventually arrived in Xia Xia and its a nice town by the looks of it and I must admit there was one really nice town on the way there where I stopped for petrol i’ll have to look up the name later but I I had stopped there for longer as there looked like there was some really nice little cafes and restaurants there I was actually thinking to myself in my 6 months traveling through southern Africa this town was the nicest one i’d come across.

It was starting to get late so I needed to push on and find somewhere to stay the night theres no guest houses at all along the highway well I saw one or two way back but if your crusiing up the highway here dont expect to just pull over and sleep the night all the lodges are off the highway and down on the beach.

Arrived in Xia Xia I dont know why Gavin said dont go there it looks quite nice and as I was heading to the lodge on the gps I saw a sign to the Reef resort 10k’s and thought stuff it im going to go down there and have a look. Rode the 10 K’s and as I approached the reef resort I saw a little guest house right one the beach and thought stuff it this looks nice so pulled straight in and checked in.

So here I am in a guest house right one the beach in Mozambique after a great days riding covered about 350 K’s through Maputo a border crossing, meeting some nice people along the way. Dont know if i’ll hang around for to long I want to kill some distance apparently the beaches are really nice further up north so that will be nice.
So far so good on my return to the trip so all good, I’ll wake up in the morning and see what im feeling like and if I feel like riding, I did have a pretty long day in the heat today and it does look pretty nice around here.

Woke up early around 6 and couldnt get back to sleep so thought stuff it im out a here so dragged my hump out of the bed and started to get organised. Went over to have breakfast and Jessica and the guys were in there having breakfast two guesses who I joined for breakfast which was nice.

She was off to Jolly boys today unfortunatly the devils pool is closed so that is one thing she want be able to do and im not even sure but the rafting might be out too sionce its the wet season. Hung out for awhile then paid my bill to Arthur and went to top finish packing so by 8 I was ready to go. Said my good byes to Arthur and Ina and of course Jessica and the obligatory chat to another nice couple that had wandered over the bike is such a draw card when its sitting there all packed ready to go but then again it could be just my good looks too cough cough someone slap me on the back im choking.
I set my gps and it had me going straight past Marloth Park near Kruger so i cant go past there without stopping in and seeing Gavin at the Royal Kruger Lodge so thought oh well that cuts a hundred k’s off the day so all good.

Off onto the highway the gps had me heading in the opposite direction that I thought I had to go so though oh well it knows best i was expecting to head to Pretoria and out from there but in the end the gps knew best. The ride was great good roads all the way so was a pretty easy ride through some nice countryside more the rural farming type stuff so lots of long green hills which was very nice.

Just cruising along for about 5 hours and then took a wrong exit on the highway so did a uturn and you guessed it waa waa wass two little piggies pull me over. Oh well the old standard line your going to be fined, yeah no probs ok where do I pay it at the police station caise ive got no money with me other than a few bucks for the tolls that are up ahead so if you fine me ill just head back into the nearest town town its only 25 minutes away and pay it ahahah well that puts paid to their on the spot deal. The dude cop is a little pissed off but the girl piglet is pretty nice and we share a laugh so things are looking good. They say no problem and walk back to the car so im off a fine. All good im on the road again and only another hour ro so to Marloth Park and Royal Kruger Lodge.

Arrive at the lodge around 2 and Gavin turns up about 10 minutes after I get there and we sit down have a chat and then ring Vern and Alexa in Durban to have a chat on his phone as I have lost there numbers since I changed phones.

Have a nice chat to Vern and Alexa for 10 minutes which was really nice and sit down to finish my drink and chat with Gavin. A few minutes later Gavings phone rings and its Vern saying everyting is on the house for Sheldon thats so nice of him so here I am lobbing my gear into a nice lush pad for the night. I wish I had more time other than the 7 weeks to get through to Ethiopia as I would of loved to go down to Durban and see the crew but I really have to start making tracks.
Had a grandpa nap for an hour or so then Gavin came back and after going out for awhile ands said he and Lianne and local girl are going to the pub up the road in awhile for dinner and beers want to come so off we go to the pub for drinks.
Of course everyone in there was very friendly Netta the pretty hot owner of the bar was telling me about some rides in Switzerland and that she will be up there in the summer so gave her my card to hook up at another time.
Ended as you do in ther pool room playing pool in the back room of the pub and met some of the local crew in Andre and Simon and there girls hooked into a few games of pool and after a shakey start I wooped both Andre and Simon which was a little surprising as when I was watchign them playing I thought about sitting out as they were pretty good with some of the shots they were making, Ok i did the right thing I waited till they had a few more drinks then put the challenge on lol

Played and drank till around midnight all really nice fun Simon and his wide were a really nice couple that had travelled the world to 57 countries and had worked in the casino industry dealing crupiering or however it is spelt. I was Andre’s girls birthday so she was shitfaced which was good to see a good looking woman off her head ive always been a fan of that lol

After a few hours of cracking aussie jokes at my expense and me Bryce lawrence jokes at their expense, for theose that dont know Bryce Lawerence was a rugby match referee in the world cup that disaalowed a South African try which led to Australia winning the match and and knocking the Springboks out of the World Cup and as the South Africans take there rugby so erioulsdy it was devasting to them ha ha ha boo hooo friggin hoo ahahah I said come to Ausrtralia one day you can meet Bryce Lawerence hes got free accomadation at my place for ever ahahah

We played on at the pub till midnight then headed back to the lodge and had a few more drinks and jobbered on for awhile longer then it was time to hit the fart sack was about 1:30.

I had about, well Im not actually sure how many I had obviouldsy a few to drink but I was only drinking single and a shot or two, was being sensible as i knew I had to ride today which is one of my unwritten rules dont ride the next day when ive had a big night so was purposely being a little slow.

Just blogging this now soon off to fairly land and tomorrow if im feeling ok will get up around 9 or 10 and hit the road the hour and half to Maputo then head north of there to find somewhere to stay for the night so all good.
was so nice to catch up with Gavin again and meet some of the local crew here in Marloth Park as usuall everyone was fantastic and so welcoming.

Not really looking forward to the border crossing Ive heard so many things about them and not all good but knowing the south africans and anythign to do with crossing gthe border into a neighbouring country and the people im hoping its not as bad as they make out, time will tell

Arrivaderchi over and out

Well had a few days to get my gear organised and tomorrow im off to Mozambique which will be one more country off the list. Will get to Maputo hopefully its only 530 K’s away so a good ride if I get up early enough, so the plan is to be out of here by 8ish lol yeah yeah whatever oh well the bikes all packed all I have to do is get dressed, pay my bill and start riding which im really looking forward too and knocking back the K’s. There is a border crossing in that so that will add to the day and possibly and hour or two so that soething I’ll have to take into consideration. I have mozambique gps maps so that will make it easier to find accomadation when I get ther even if it is a little late.

Today went over and met the guys from Touratech here in Brentwood Park here in Johannesburg picked myself up a side stand bracket which should I hope stop any little side stand incidents not that I have had any in the last few months I’ve jsut become aware of it more so but it certainly will make it easier there’so doubt. I got a few good straps while I was there as well which will come in handy im getting sick of using the shitty hockey straps ive had as they break so easily and these should be much more suitable for me and what I need them for. They have a lot of stuff in stock so if your on your bike and need anything they should be able to help you out the addy is 45 Surprises road Brentwood Park. Thanks for your help today guys.

Its been nice to just chill out here at Sunrock Guest house with Arthur and Ina and take my time to get organized and not be rushed. Had a nice chicken Snitzel for dinner tonight then had a chat with a few of the crew a few South african guys from the mones and a few American’s one Jessica a girl from New York travelling by herself and heading to Jollyboys in Livingstone tomorrow so she will have some fun there and then there was Tony who seems to have had a whirlwind trip around Europe and now off to Swaziland for a month. Nice to meet you guys and safe travels.

Other than going for a ride to Touratech today ive only been working on getting all my helmet blue tooth set up working and repacking and washing all my gear working on basic maintenance on the bike so I almost feel like im starting my trip again for the first time.

I did go over to the airport to the Mtn shop there to get my South African sim card going which had taken 2 days to get up and running and now im going it was sort of a waste of money but im sure ill find someone that is coming here that can use it. When I got to the airport I wasnt to keen to park all the way up in the parking area so stopped right in front of the airport entrance talked to the cops and said can I just park here for a few minutes and they just said yeah so that made it easy try doing that in an Australian airport.

Anyway off to bed really looking forward to hitting the open road again tomorrow and the adventure really begins again, Mozambique here I come.