Yes I am, cycling to Cape Town

[Fietsertje71]

Hey die Lars, lekker bezig man!!

Thanx for posting

[lars de wit]

Hello !

Livingstone was great but even greater were the falls ...

I first visited the Victoria Falls on the Zambian side, boy what a magnificant sight !
And what a power, the water falling 107 meters down at the highest point, bringing a lot of water in the air, I was so wet ...
Even my camera which was in a plastic bag was wet, so wet it didn't work anymore ...
Thank god later that night it was partly working again, now I cannot review my pictures, I hope they are stored on my memory card

Next day I cycled into Zimbabwe, my fiftieth country where I cycled !

And I visited the falls again, this side of the falls is even better with better overall vieuws, I couldn't get enough from it.
Together with the Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Arches NP and Monument valley ( yes, you have to go to America one of the best wonders of nature I saw sofar

From Victoria Falls I cycled to Kasane in Botswana.
Many people warned me for the elephants on this road and when I was 1 km out of town the first elephant poop was on the road, looking fresh ...
3.8 km later I saw 2 elephants crossing the road, I sped up and had a great sight of them, maybe 50 meters away.
And this was a massive bull, very big !
Playing with my camera ( it didn't work ) I looked up and they were gone into the bushes.
But a couple of km furter I saw another one, I took a picture and went even closer but then the elephant looked at me,
turned around and ran away !
Hahaha, chickenshit
Running away for a white man hahaha.
But great it was !

Tomorrow I will go on a game drive in Chobe NP and then cycle to Nata, 312 km furter.
I think I will see many more wild life, many people warn me for lions but then I show them my wooden stick for protection and we have a great laugh

The road to Nata is a challenge, with 200 km of nothing ...
I have for 20 liters water bottles, it will be a record for me carrying that much water !

From Nata I will go west, to Gweta and Maun, then south to Ghanzi and west again into Namibia.

But first tomorrow morning, a 3 1/2 hour game drive !
Can't wait

Cheers !

[eindgebruiker]

Hee Lars,

Goed om te zien dat je het weer naar je zin hebt!

Gaele

[fietsbob]

Hi Lars,

Over die rit naar Nata zou ik me geen zorgen maken. Even m'n dagboek opgezocht : Pandamatenga-Nata 217 km 13:05 fietstijd. Geen problemen onderweg, 3 olifanten gezien en gefotografeerd, 6 liter water was voldoende. Waarom denk jij 20 l. nodig te hebben ? Onderweg douchen ?

Geniet er van,

Fietsbob.

[fiets-ster]

Als er een olifant op de weg heeft gepiest komen daar heel veel vlinders op af.

Overigens kunnen die olifanten wel gevaarlijk zijn. Ik was een keer te dichtbij en ze begonnen met de oren te klapperen, mijn gids wist niet hoe snel hij weg moest zijn. Er was diezelfde week een man door een olifant vermoord, hij zou een hond bij zich gehad hebben en witte kleding aan waar olifanten niet tegen zouden kunnen...

Leuk dat je naar Namibië gaat een van mijn favorieten landen. Juist de uitgestrektheid en het landschap vond ik mooi, maar ik ben wel liftend erdoor heen gegaan, ik ben benieuwd hoe je dit op de fiets ervaart. Kan je ook bij die zandduinen fietsen? Was ook zeer de moeite waard, anders raad ik je aan daar even een lift te zoeken.

[lars de wit]

Hey fiesbob,

Ik dacht dat ik 200 km geen water zou hebben en ja, dan heb ik liever een litertje meer bij me.
En ik douce me altijd !!!
Met 750 ml water, heerlijk !

Okay, fasten your seatbelt cause here we go ...

Hello hello !

Where did I leave you, ahja, in cold Holland gna gna ( the most of you then ... )
Bute every day way above 30 degrees isn't also that nice but you don't here me complaining

Kasane, that was the place.
Game drive, that was the fun.
We didn't see that much animals, some monkeys, giraffes, buffalo's and hippo's and ofcourse impala's.
No lions or elephants, the latter Iwould see much more coming days

Next day I cycled out of Kasane, on a 300 km, 3 day's game drive on a bicycle, yahooooo !!!!

The first elephant I saw after maybe 40 km, a massive bull, at the side of the road.
I stopped 60 meters before, checking him out.
He kept on grazing and slowly I approached but when I was maybe 40 meters from him he turned around, made himself even bigger then he already was by spreading his ears ...
A warning that I came to close.
I threw my bike down, grabbed my stick and walked to him; ' are you threathening me ? ' I shouted !
Hahaha no just kidding, I quickly turned around and kept some more distance.
A car approached and I pointed out the elephant to them, they also stopped and the elephant made the same treathening towards them.
After a minute orso he walked slowly into the bush and I could sneak behind him, the car was still there in case of ...

Pffieuwww, that was fun !!!

Later that day I saw a group of 7in the bush, no problem passing them.

That night I camped at a lodge, a terrific place.
When I finished dinner and was smoking a cigarette I saw dear, I think impala's at 200 meters, just grazing.
With the sun going down quite a nice african night ...

Next day I saw another group of 7 elephants with two young ones.
I was looking for some minutes and a car came by.
You need help ? they asked
Yeah I said, can you drive next to me so I can pass ?
Are you afraid they asked, well, I said, they can kill people can't they ?
But these elephant don't do anything was the reply.
But, the have two young ones I said, and yesterday this massive bull was quite agressive !
Yeah, when they are alone they are more agressive, this is a group, you ride and we wath you oke ?
Oke I said and slowly moved on ... 60 meters, 50 meters, 30,20,10 and I passed them, no problem !
Wouw, impressive, cool, awesome !!!

Botswana rocks !

Later I had lunch next to a track, when I went back to my bicycle for some water I saw these tracks, lion !
Female lion and not too old ( the track, I am not that good
Mmm, here I sat, under a tree and next to some bushes, sight was 3 meters.
What if the lion returned at the same track ?
He would see me, and I him, ehh, her, at a 3 meters distance, a little too close for me ...
So I made some loud noise, scary screams like Tarzan hahaha, every 5 minutes, hoping that would scare the lion !

I had a great laugh by myself but was glad when I left, not seeing a lion !

Just before making camp there was another huge bull next to the road and when I passed him at 50 or 60 meters he suddenly turned around, spread his ears, made some sound and moved one leg like a bull ( cow ) does ...
He scared the shit out of me, adrenalin rushing through my veins and I hit the pedals.
Thank God he didn't actually charge me

That night I made camp at a roadworkerscamp, more safe than in the bush

A 100 more kilometers to Nata and I saw 4 times elephants, one time actually a bit too late, they were 40 meters away and I quickly turned around.
And waited for a car, a truck came from the opposite way and I calculated the moment I could pass the elephants with the truck between me and the elephants in which I suceeded

From Nata to Gweta was mainly farmland, saw many cows and horses.

Tomorrow will be fun again, riding through this National Park in 2 day's to Maun.

If I may quote Ralp Tuijn on his website www.fairwaterbikechallenge.com

Damn exciting Botswana !

See ya !

[lars de wit]

Hello !

At the road from Gweta to Maun I saw 5 times elephants !
13 in total, 3 of them crossing the road just behind me, what an overwhelming sight
I'm going to miss them back in Holland ...

Back to the bridge backpackers in Maun was / is one of the best.
Located at the river with a lively bar, a good restaurant and many places to lounge, perfect !!!
Nice people as well, especially two guys from south africa, okay, he was from south africa, she was american and lived for two years in Cape Town. We had a couple of drinks and a great evening. When I am in south africa I will surely pay them a visit, they live in Hermanus, not far from cape Town.

Maun, Africa, Okavango delta.
I had to see it so went the next morning with two dutch guys and a south african guy in a plane to see it.
It was absolutely stunning !
Very beautiful all the water and islands in it, the trees and grass.
In between many animals, we saw a lot of elephants, antilopes and some giraffes.
Also amazing how many vomit such a little bag can carry and, thank God, do not burst after 40 minutes of using it ...
Boy I was sick !!!
The first 3 minutes were okay, the next 42 seemed like a whole week ...
In between I looked down for a second, still appreciating the vieuw
When we came back at Back to the bridge I lay down for 2 hours, slept some before I left Maun on my way to Ghanzi, where I am now.

This morning I had a close encounter with a big black animal, wasn't sure it was a buffulo, first I thought so so I was very careful. I stood a hundred meters away, watching him.
And he watching me. After a couple of minutes I wanted to pass so I started waving my arms and started to sing. I guess he didn't like my voice because he ran away, into the bush !

I saw ostrich ( struisvogels ) as well and at night, in front of my tent some antilopes or bushbuck, not sure.

2 more day's in Botswana before I enter Namibia, another country, another highlight !
With a new chain, cogwheel and fresh huboil I am ready for it

All the best,

Greetings

[lars de wit]

Hello, hello !

The first days in Namibia are good, more than good
I like the names here, take the borderpost, Buitepos.
Many farms have dutch ( afrikaans ) names, nice to read !
And in the villages people speak or english or afrikaans, which I can understand a little as well !
The roads have road nrs here, and turnoffs are signposted, how different than in west africa ...

For camping in the bush I have to carry my bicycle and all my bags over a fence, which is of course no problem
I saw monkey's, impala's, thompson gazelle, 2 foxes and a buffalo or gnoe, not quite sure.
And endless road I am enjoying so much !
So much that I decided to go all the way west, where this great road meets the ocean at Swakopmund, according to some people a ' must ' see. Just before Swakopmund is a scenic drive ( Welwitschia Drive ) which I look forward to, a moonlike landscape ...
According to the map it is more than 300 km, with no villages in between so I did some shopping today, 3 breads, 1 1/2 liter of milk, 2 packages of cornflakes, 3 beers, a liter of wine, macaroni, cans of tuna, onions, tomatoes and much more.

Tonight I will go to Joe's beer house again, had a more than great schnitzel here yesterday !

All the best, I am going for a beer

Cheers

Lars

Ps weet iemand wanneer het voorjaarsweekend en de voorjaarstrektocht zijn ???

[Fokko]

ja...ergens in december.....Have fun man!

[fiets-ster]

Ik hoorde ook dat het december wordt....
Je zit in een van de mooiste landen van de wereld, neem de tijd, geniet.

And in the villages people speak or english or afrikaans...

And endless road I am enjoying so much !

Just before Swakopmund is a scenic drive ( Welwitschia Drive )

Straks komt er ook Duits bij, met konfitereien, of hoe heten die Duitse bakkers, echt absurd.

Wat heerlijk om te lezen dat jij die eindeloze wegen ook mooi vind. Ik wil terug..., ook fietsen daar.

Het landschap heeft ook iets surrealistisch. Die Welwitschia ook al zoiets..heel apart. En vergeet die zandduinen niet!!! Schitterend.

Waar vandaan vlieg je uit Z Afrika, Cape town/Jo'burg?
Ik zou voor het laatste gaan maar wel over Capetown vandaar naar beneden, stranden met zeehonden, en dan lekker lang langs de hele kust.
Drakensberg, even van de fiets af, slapen in grotten is ook heel erg mooi!

Echt daar kan geen voorjaarsweekend tegenop, blijf nog even, al willen wij je verhalen graag life horen.
Het is hier grijs en grauw en alle bomen zijn nog kaal. De winter is nog lang niet voorbij.

[jahwalla]

[lars de wit]

Ja ik fiets idd eerst naar Cape Town, daarna zie ik wel.
Misschien een stuk(je) met Yvette fietsen, zou wel cool zijn !
Naar Johannesburg of Durban ...

Jahwalla, pigs genoeg hier, ze noemen ze warthogs ...
Lijken een beetje op onze everzwijnen maar met grotere tanden.
Een fotootje van ze maken is moeilijk, ze zijn nogal schuw ...

Maar serieus, is er geen traditionele voorjaarstrektocht en / of weekend ???

Greetz

[eindgebruiker]

Hier Lars: http://www.wereldfietser.nl/index.php?o ... &Itemid=69

Er is vanalles gepland maar nog niks bekend.

[VoorheenRJ]

Bedankt voor de hint, ik zal Spanje even aanpassen...
Niet zo warm als Namibië, maar voor de "gewone" wereldfietser wellicht genoeg..

[fiets-ster]

Heb je interesse in een adres van een ecodorp in Z Afr? Eerst was dit een boedistische gemeenschap. Er wonen geloof ik niet zoveel mensen, stuk of 30 dacht ik. Yan een van de oprichters heeft ook een tijdje in NL gewoond er wonen meerdere buitenlanders. Ze mogen daar net zo bouwen als ze willen, denk dat het leuk is om te zien, te bezoeken. Laat het weten dan leg ik contact.

De Carnavalstocht is 4-6 maart.

[Fokko]

tsja,...en dan hoef je niet eens een kostuum aan....je bent dan de wilde BUsh-man met zijn knuppel en mooie hoed!

GET REAL, jij fietst daar in een ongelovelijk mooi gebied zo te horen....foto's moeten wij ontberen (c.q. ontleeuwen), terwijl men hier de gekste dingen verzint om maar te kunnen fietsen.... en andere culturen te ervaren

en ja...het is hier grauw en grijs......maar het zonnetje schijnt zo nu en dan....en het schaatsseizoen loopt ten einde...en Ireen Wurst was afgelopen weekend Wereldkampioen...

Dus blijf daar nog lekker even en laat ons alsjeblieft genieten van je mooie verhalen. En natuurlijk de groeten aan Yvette!

[Frank]

Ja, Namibië is prachtig om te fietsen, tenminste als je van zand en woeste natuur houdt. Gelukkig hebben ze van de Duitsers geleerd hoe een goed biertje te brouwen, dus Lars geniet er van.

[lars de wit]

Hello !

The last evening in Winhoek my pedal broke down, thank God I was still in Windhoek !
So the next morning I was at 8 at the bicycle shop to buy 2 new ones, 100 namibian $
That's 10 euro, the best they had. I hope they will bring me to south africa

Decided to take the gravelroad to Swakomund, the first 2 day's were so hard ...
Endless hills, 30 meter up, 15 down, 25 meter up, 20 down, 10 up and so on, and so on ...
The second hardest route of this trip, I cycled only 70 km a day and was deadly tired.

The third day was better, leaving these hills and riding in this more than great valley. To the left and the right rocky mountains, in between me and my bike and maybe 5 cars a day. A more than perfect gravel road, slightly going down and the wind in the back. Blue skies and the clouds getting bigger and bigger, turning from white to gray to dark grey. And later some lighting as well, most of the time here in the afternoon so I try to make a camp before the rain comes. I know I cannot write about it, it brings bad luck but, well, how can I say something ...
Think, think, think ...
You hear me thinking hahaha
Okay, the thunderstorms were behind me, in front of me or to the left.

Sofar lars pelleboer

I saw giraffes !
Three times, 14 in total, amazing !
Especially when they ' run ' , it's such an elegant sight, I really love them ...

I was thinking I would really like to see some zebra's as well and the next day I saw 4 of them, great !
Now only a leopard or a cheetah, that would be someting

The last night before Swakopmund ( it took 4 day's in stead of 3 as I hoped ) I was camping in the middle of the desert. The last trees maybe 20 km behind me so no shadow...
51 degrees in the sun ...
No clouds ...
I camped next to the road, no need to walk a couple of 100 meters away from the road, they would still see me in this endless desert.
42 degrees celcius inside my tent, piping hot !
piep piep, piep piep !
Hey, an sms !
A textmessage from a friend in Holland, hai lars, I hope you are doing good bla bla bla. Greetings from a nice sunny Holland.
Nice sunny? NICE SUNNY ???
I was getting cooked alive in my tent !
Ha ha but it was a sweet sms

The last day to Swakopmund I cycled the Welwitschia drive, a ride through moonlike landscape.
Pretty amazing !
Too bad all the welwitschia's ( a sort of plant ) were dead ...
No rangers showed up whom I could ask why and how they were all dead.

I like Swakopmund, it's very proper, maybe the most proper town I ever saw !
Nice buildings, a very nice place to stay and great restaurants.
Banks were the ATM machine decide to NOT give your card back after 2 tries to get some money.
Saturday, 12.48 hours, the bank closed ...
Opening on monday, my plan was to leave on sunday.
S...t, s...t, s...t !
A nice security guard tried to help me, together we saw some lights in the bank and later some people who were still there. I was waving with my arms, trying to ge their attention and they came to the door.
After long talking, begging and so on, and so on ( they wanted me to come back monday, the people were run the ATM were already gone, bla bla bla ) the women finally got my card, pffff, happy that I was !
But I had to have some more cash ...
I didn't want to use the ATM again, not even at another bank, afraid the machines were linked and the other machine would keep my card as well.
So I decide to use my last 200 USD, change in for namibian dollar.

I think I will not see another ATM machine for 2 weeks, cycling these small gravel roads to Sesriem and Fish River NP and then ....

South Africa !!!

Springbok is maybe the first place were I can internet again so I made this one quite large, and didn't forget to write something I mentioned in the title.
Like the mail from Maun, Aeroplanes & pushbikes.
I forgot to tell about this other worldcyclist who was cycling the world, did australia, america and I think europe too. In Africa he was going down to Cape Town ( like all cyclists I think ) but he never made it further south than Maun. He liked the place too much !!!
8 years he is there now but if he reads this, which is quite unlikely because we didn't exchange email adresses, in fact we didn't meet hahaha. but if he reads this, please cycle on my friend.
Namibia is more than great !
South Africa to end your, my, journey.
It could be worse, much more ...

Meaning : I am having the time of my life !

Hope you are fine too

Cheers

[mario]

Veel succes Lars.

Hope to see you again, when you are back in the Netherlands.

Mario

[Frank]

Giraffen zijn inderdaad gaaf om te zien in het wild, vooral als ze gaan drinken. Ik ben met iemand (met een auto) naar Etosha geweest. Onderweg naar Sesriem heb ik tijdens het fietsen een spiesbok (oryx) gezien, zoiets vergeet je nooit meer. Ik zie dat je ook langs de Fish River Canyon gaat, dat is zeker de moeite waard.