Tuesday 19 May 2015

May 9, 2015 - Cape Town - Finished!

After 4 long (and fantastic) months, we arrived in Cape Town.  The trip was incredible and I would recommend it to anyone who thinks that biking12,000km through foriegn lands and cultures is a good idea.  


Some of the good/great things were:
 - we saw different cultures, lands and people up close - religious and tribal effects (clothing and ways); - we mainly travelled through rural Africa and the scenery was incredibly beautiful;
- every country was different from the deserts in Egypt, Sudan and Namibia, to the lakes and tropical vegetation and weather in Tanzania, Malawi and Zambia, to the mountains in Ethiopia and parts of Kenya and South Africa, to the plains in Botswana and the ranches, farmlands,vineyards and orchards in South Africa; 
- some days the cycling was incredible with tail winds, good roads, little traffic, perfect temperatures and we could speed along without too much effort;
- most of the time there was lots to see, people to interact with, places to stop for refreshments, great companionship with other riders or the bliss of riding alone and listening to music;  
- I went on a three day safari in the Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Crater.  It was amazing!
- I did white water rafting in the Zambezi River (and fell out of the boat after being told that there were crocodiles in the river), a zip line accross the river to Victoria Falls bridge and a helicopter ride along the gorge for the Zambezi River.  All were very thrilling!
- I met some life long friends, who will be dear to me always!

Some of the challenges included: 
- the mileage was gruelling;  sometimes +150km days in a row, one day >200km after several days of about 150km per day; 
- the heat (at times) was oppressive (the thermoter on my bike read 49.4C at one point), the cold (at times) hand and toe numbing;
- the tropical rains, the high mountains, the desert...biking through sand or if there was a track then corrugated (like riding over railway ties); 
- the kids in Ethiopia yelled at you constantly and entertained themselves by throwing rocks at us all day long;
- we all got sick, some got robbed, I'm sure we all cried at some point; 
- we missed our families and friends.

Am I happy that I did it...DEFINATELY!
Would I do it again? ...NEVER!
Some where else? ...maybe...give me some time to think about it.


The Canadians!  me from Halifax, Savanah from the northwest, Caroline from Ottawa, Marak and Paige from southern Ontario and Dave from the Okanagan Valley.


4 comments:

  1. Well done Karen, what an achievement ! So proud of you :)
    So many great memories!

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  2. You are just and amazing warmhearted individual with inexhaustible determination and courage. I envy the people who shared these 4 months with you. Hope our paths will cross very very soon. Congratulations!

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  3. Congratulations Karen! You are amazing! Can't wait to see you. :)

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  4. Life-changing...congratulations! Hope to see you when you get settled.

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