Tour d' Afrique - Cycling Cairo to Cape Town

I enter the last quarter of the trip with mixed feelings.  Suddenly time is just flying and I am still having too much fun for it to be over, and yet there are days I so long for my own bed and luxuries.  But when I look at my little tent with all my things inside it I have to wonder about how excessive we are with our possessions when we actually need so little.  I have managed perfectly well to live out of this small locker, and when I go home to a big house I don't seem to have enough space for everything I have. 

Livingstone

It has been pretty smooth sailing since Lilongwe, though the distances have been very long.  The riders are tired and sick and many are really worn out.  Mostly we have stayed in campsites with water and often a shower, and on occasion they are even warm. The biggest challenge to the staff is managing expectations.  In Sudan we had so few luxuries.  We had dusty desert camps night after night, and the biggest treat was when someone brought out a bottle of Nutello.  Now everyone has become used to the luxuries and expectations have shifted, and it is now much harder to keep the riders happy than it initially was, though they are getting so much more. We now have two days of rest in Livingstone where everyone can have some fun and get a good rest.  I am sure it will be a happy group that sets off again on Sunday morning (18^th) to Botswana with rested legs.  Botswana is going to be tough as the distances are huge every day.  Next week we have our first over 200km day. (207km). I have my sister and parents driving to meet us in Botswana  and spending a few days with us, so I am looking forward to that. James our chef, is going on vacation this week, and Alison will be taking over the cooking duties.  Quite a challenge.

Zambia has been a pleasant surprise.  The roads are really good, and where they are bad, construction is taking place.  Lusaka felt like any South African town.  All the shops are South African and it was quite a surprise not to be paying in rand when you arrive at the counter.  The downside to the development is that things are rather expensive. Getting in to see the falls costs US$ 20¸and most of the excursions are over US$100.

 One strange phenomenon here is that the local cyclists cycle on both sides of the road, mostly into the oncoming traffic.  We are constantly having to dodge cyclists coming on our side of the road in the opposite direction and their behaviour is somewhat unpredictable.

We have quite a few sectional riders joining us in Vic Falls, and the group will be the biggest it has ever been.  This puts a lot of strain on the other riders and staff as our resources are stretched to the limit.

Botswana

Crossing over into Botswana on the pont felt like a big step closer to home.  The distances here are going to be long, but the roads are so good and so straight. A few people have seen some elephants along the way, but not huge numbers.  I had an amazing experience.  I was cycling up a slight hill and saw some animals at the top of the hill in silhouette.  I was not sure what they were at first.  A local car came passed and slowed down and stopped next to them, so I realised it must be something special.

As I got closer I saw it was a troop of wild dog, milling around the front of the car.  The driver called me over, and told me to stay next to the car as they were showing too much interest in me.  Another cyclist approached, and the two of us then stayed with the car.  He said they may go for us if we are isolated from the car, so we were very glad to have him 'escort' us away from them. 

The next day I came across a lone elephant, but he did not seem particularly interested in me.  Today we arrive in Maun, and I sure some of the riders will go and explore the delta on the rest day. We only have one bush camp left, and then its all formal campsites with water from here.  Too good to be true.