I Do Africa: Moving along

After a ‘long’ and actually quite boring drive from Kongola, we’ve moved 200km west along the Caprivi and reached Divundu. The road here consisted of 3 hours of driving on a straight, tarred road and I almost fell asleep along the way while Guillaume was driving. Despite many warning signs we didn’t even see any elephants!

The most exciting part was when we came across a rather crazy dog on the highway, perhaps infected with rabies, which decided it was a good idea to take on the bike as we were driving by. Had a bit of a fright there but the bike proved to be the faster wild thing on the road and luckily the scary canine didn’t get hold of our ankles!

Above: Having lunch next to the road between Kongola and Divundi. On the menu, Romany Creams.

The best 4×4 by far!

In Divundu we shopped around for camping, which made up for dull drive here. Again we put our Big Boy to the test and send it through some rough, wet and sandy roads. We are taking this bike where no 150cc has ever been before and regardless of the lack of power, speed and comfort we love our trusty steed more and more with each “punishment” it takes.

Our Big Boy has become our best friend and despite the fact that it can’t do what most bikes and 4×4’s can do, it hasn’t let us down yet. I think we have a relationship built on mutual respect.

The sandy-adventures paid off when we found a cheap camping spot with great facilities which is south from Divundu on the way to the border with Botswana.

Change of plan

Almost immediately after we left home we changed the planned route and as you can see we have taken the long way around. Still, nothing about this trip has ever been set in stone and we see it as a new path of discovery rather than a detour.

We came here with hopes of reentering Botswana and seeing the top of the delta, however we might change our plans yet again. For the past four days we’ve had light, and at times pouring, rain with no sunshine which means no dry clothes. It’s getting to the point where we, the tent and our smelly, wet clothes needs some TLC so we might spend a couple of days here before heading back towards Livingstone.

The bike can also use the rest after all the sand and mud we’ve driven through!

Above: We set up camp next to the Okavango River and are quite comfortable. Maybe we will stay longer than two nights – that would be a record!

Despite the fact that I am eager to get to Zambia and then move into Tanzania, but we have to take our time and have a lot of ‘admin’ to take care of. So, here we are; wet clothes, smelly tent, a couple of kilo’s extra due to a diet of Romany Creams, chips, and bread, with a slow bike and a couple of insect bites – but it all makes this an even more exhilarating adventure and we really have no complaints.

After 2000 km under our belt and a collection of astonished faces, we are looking at the sunset under the clouds over the Okavango River with hippos grunting close by, and we are thinking; “man we really don’t miss our office jobs!”