Trans Africa Cycle / Gallery

00. Trans Africa Cycle. Preparation

: 000. The most obvious route to cross Africa taking while trying to keep quite rural and avoiding areas of political instability

: 001. The first section is the 1300 km across northern Namibia

: 002. The second section is the 1300 km across northern Botswana

: 003. The third section is the 1500 km across southern Zambia

: 004. The fourth section is the 800 km up the west side of Lake Malawi

: 005. The fifth section is the 1100 km across central Tanzania

: 008. The prototype wooden cart on its first outing in the soft sand of the beach with a 50kg payload. However the wheels were to thin and the pulling bars too low on the cart so the angle was excessively steep.

: 010. The actual cart I will be using at the end of the first day of welding. The wheels will be fitted on a bracket yet to be welded onto the horizontal bars.

: 011. The very talented engineer, Thomas Boileau, who helped me design the cart and did all the welding on in to put it together.

: 012. The finished cart with the collapsible plywood insert. In all the cart is about 120 ltres but can off course take lighter materials, like foam sleeping pads on top. The length of the pulling bars can be extended slightly

: 014. In the bottom of the cart is space for 20 litres of water which should last me 4 days or so. It will help keep the centre of gravity low

: 015. My fist aid kit alone weighd 2.5 kg and is quite comprehensive with 14 tablet types, insect erepellant and sun protection and a sterile needle kit. A full list is on the blog.

: 016. The short overnight trip with full paniers in the Highlands to see if I was happy cycling. Here at the old Reservoir between Dall and Innerwick

: 017. Andy and Rory with the finished bike which they put together with the help of Dylan. As I was quite ignorant about bike construction I left them to choose the components and put it together which they did in less than 2 weeks from scratch.

: 018. The bike out on it maiden voyage round Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh. The 14 gears were in the rear Rohloff hub were perfectly matched to the front crankset and would give me plently of lower gears for carrying weight up hill. The bike with with all the added accessories is 21 kilos.

: 019. The bike with all the loaded paniers. In all the 6 containers weighed 29 kilos with all the equipment with about 33% on the front and 66% on the back. I addition to that I have to carry 3-4 litres of water, a litre of kerosene, a thermos flask for cooking beans during the days cycle and perhaps 3-4 kilos of food for a few days. So nearly 40 kg in all.

: 020. The repair and maintainence kit should have enough to keep abreast of simple reapirs on the bike, stove, tent and sleeping matteress

: 020. The Christuskirche is the historical German church from 1910 built as a peace monument to mark the end of the war between the Germans and the indiginous Herero and Nama. It is Evangelical Lutheran.

: 021. The Tinten Palast was the original German colonian administration built in 1913 with Herero and Nama slaves. It is now the seat of both houses of the Namibian government

: 023. One of the typically old German colonial buildings in Swakopmund. This charming town is popular with Namibian and foreign tourists.

: 024. The historical Hotel Prinzessin Rupprecht is quirky but full of charm. The profits from the hotel go into the attached old folks home

: 025. Swakopmund had a large landscaped area along the beach front, which added to its charm.

Section 01. North West Namibia

: 026. At the beach by the old jetty at 0900 in the morning. The bike was very heavy and loaded with 5 days of food and 2 days of water. In all the panniers were perhaps around 45 kg.

: 027. On the northside of Swakopmund were large evaporation ponds where salt was produced and stored in huge piles.

: 028. As I cycled north on a perfect road I have the desert to the east with distant hills simmering in the haze.

: 029. On the road north I had the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Here cold currents enabled it to be very productive. There were huge flocks of cormorants, Cape Cormorants I think, here with over 100,000 birds.

: 030. Just south of Henties Bay was one of the many ship wrecks along this Skeleton Coast. This particular ship, The Zelia, was wrecked in 2008 and is still intact despite the pounding Atlantic Ocean.

: 032. Setting off on the good firm section of the D1918 from Henties Bay to Spitzkop

: 033. Continuing east across the Namib desert on the road D1918 towards Spitzkop through the barren Dorop National Park

: 034. An immensely hardy Pencil Bush some how manages to survive in the arid Namib Desert extracting moisture from fog.

: 035. My beautiful first camp in the Namib Desert just as the grasses started to cover the bare gravel further west.

: 036. Sunset in Africa is short and sweet with a blaze of colour in the dry season, which is always is in the Namib Desert.

: 037. Looking west from my first campsite with the moon rising over some outcrops on the D1918 road

: 038. One of millions of the Armoured Ground Crickets which started to litter the road and adjacent grassland as I approached Spitzkop.

: 039. The long straight road from Henties Bay to Spitzkop was mostly graded gravel but towards the end had some frustrating sandy sections where I had to push.

: 040. The Armoured Ground Crickets often spent the day on tussucks of grass. They were everywhere and it was difficult not to squash them on the road while cycling

: 041. The granite batholith of Spitzkop the most spectacular granite outcrops in the area.

: 042. Approaching Spitzkop with tired legs in the early evening on a better section of the smaller road

: 043. Sunset behind Spitzkop from my camp in the cafe courtyard.

: 044. Spitzkop in the midday haze rises steeply from the surrounding desert/savannah.

: 045. One of the local homesteads making a living by herding sheep or goats between Spitzkop and Usakos

: 046. The must have attire for cycling across the Namib Desert. Sun gloves to protect the back of your hands. Long light coloured trousers, a sun hoodie, cap, sunglasses and 100% sunblock for lips and nose.

: 047. Pushing the bike across some of the sandier sections of road between Spitzkop and the tarmac B2 road i was heading for.

: 048. This section of track between Spitzkop and the tarmac B2 had recently been graded with a road grader, which smoothed the bumps but left the ground softer.

: 049. The oasis of the Bahnhof hotel with its delightful courtyard, shade and pool where I spent 2 days writing the blog and shedding equipment.

: 050. The small mine with the Tourmaline bearing seam of Pegmatites (light beige) which, when molten, forced its way into the cracks of the granite rust brown) and cooled and solidified

: 051. The Tourmaline bearing seam of Pegmatites below amd the granite above. The Tourmaline forms in rare pockets in the Pegmatite where the cooling speed and mineral composition allow crystals to form.

: 052. Looking north from the mine over the Khan River valley where Usakos lay and beyond towards the Eringi Plateau.

: 053. Looking north west from the mine over the Khan River valley towards the plateau on the other side where Spitzkop and the other granite outcrops rose steeply at sunset.

: 054. The Rohloff Hub contains 14 gears in a sealed chamber. Unfortunately the seal behind the sprocket leaked most of the oil out

: 055. The mountain just south of Usakos which Cornelius and his descendents owned and mined

: 056. Jaco said it should be possible to cycle the 32 km to Karibib on the nearly constructed road and it was for virtually the whole way. By doing this I was totally unstressed by the traffic.

: 057. Karibib was quite spread out and a bit more industrial that Usakos and did not have Usakos’s charm.

: 058. My lodgings in Karibib were the Halfway Overnight Guesthouse. The room was lovely and the courtyard cool and quiet.

Section 02. North East Namibia

: Section 02. Typical Landscape Photo

Section 03. North West Botswana

: Section 03. Typical Landscape Photo

Section 04. North East Botswana

: Section 04. Typical Landscape Photo

Section 05. South Zambia

: Section 05. Typical Landscape Photo

Section 06. South East Zambia

: Section 06. Typical Landscape Photo

Section 07. Central Malawi

: Section 07. Typical Landscape Photo

Section 08. North Malawi

: Section 08. Typical Landscape Photo

Section 09. West Central Tanzania

: Section 09. Typical Landscape Photo

Section 10. East Central Tanzania

: Section 10. Typical Landscape Photo