An Africa Overland trip wouldn’t be right without a statistics page…..
Distance travelled : Approximately 14,000km, 11,000 of which was cycled.
Days on the road : 380
Number of times felt like throwing the towel in the ring : 4
Number of times almost hit by car/truck/bus : 55
Number of times not almost hit by car/truck/bus : ∞
Number of times slept in a bed : 180 (high number due to cheap hotels in east Africa)
Number of times slept in my tent : 200 ( 80 wild/bush camping)
Most expensive campsite : SAR200 (€20) Anysberg reserve
Most expensive accommodation : SAR380 (€38) Doh there goes the budget.
Cheapest paid accommodation : €3 ( Southern Tanzania)
Cheapest paid campsite : $1 (Zambia)
Number of times told I look like Wayne Rooney : 5
Number of days cycled longer than an hour in the rain : 0
Number of punctures : 11 (punctures happen deal with it!!), 4 in the first month before I put the XR’s on.
Number of shitty Schwalbe light weight inner tubes that exploded for no reason : 2
Number of different beers tried : 17
Number of days written off by alcohol abuse : 0
Number of days off due to being sick for other reasons : 25
Most rest days in a row : 21
Most days without a rest day : 7
Number of times cycled 80km on an empty stomach : 1 (mozambique)
Number of times ran out of water in the desert : 1
Number of times drivers have given me the middle finger : 3
Number of times I have given drivers the middle finger : 1
Number of pairs of shoes worn out : 2
Number of pairs of flip flops worn out : 5
Country with the worst drivers for cyclists : South Africa
Country with the best drivers for cyclists : Zimbabwe
Favorite country : Impossible to say, they all have something special and special memories.
Top 3 for scenery :
- Namibia
- South Africa
- Lesotho
- Zimbabwe
- Mozambique
- Zambia
Number of smiles or waves received : ∞
Number of bribes paid : 0 ( did pay 1 tip that was almost a bribe)
Number of fines received for not wearing a helmet : 1 (keetmanshoop Namibia, 10 euro)
Most cups of fresh ground coffee drank in one day : 10 (Munali coffee farm)
Number of times asked for money/sweats/pen (begging) : 1723
Number of photos taken : 3000+
Number of tourists that took my photo : 85
Number of tourists that took my photo without asking or stopping for a chat : 75
Amount of money spent :
- South Africa : R27,000 3 months (Incl. Lesotho)
- Namibia : N$ 10,000 5 weeks (excluding mini holiday)
- Botswana : Pula 1000 (7 days)
- Zambia : Kwatcha 6,000,000 (incl microlight flight and too much booze and eating out with Ken McCallum)
- Zimbabwe : $1200 (7 weeks)
- Mozambique : $570 (17 days)
- Malawi : 248,000 Kwatcha (5 weeks)
- Tanzania: 2,900,000 Kwatcha (7 weeks incl 2 luxury weeks on Zanzibar)
- Kenya : 60,000 shilling (3 weeks)
Countries traveled through during this trip : 10 ( South Africa, Lesotho, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Malawi, Tanzania, Kenya)
Longest day cycled : 135km (Kafue National Park, with a nasty headwind and lots of Tse-Tse fly)
Shortest day cycled : 5km
Highest pass : 3255m (Tlaeeng pass)
Hottest day : 45C
Coldest night : 5C
Most beautiful rides:
- SA: Seseweekspoort, Zwartebergpass (PA side)
- Lesotho : Maleng pass going down towards Butha Buthe
- Namibia : Noukluft park, and the dunes.
- Mozambique: The sand road to Caia
- Tanzania : Cycling around Kilimanjaro
Worst ride : Port Elizabeth to Port Albert on the N2 and coast road.
Most challenging ride : Sani Pass
Number of teeth chipped while eating pie : 1
Number of times asked if I’m the guy on tv : 2
Number of times asked if I’m the guy in the newspaper : 1
Number of newspaper interviews done : 1
Number of goats nipples eaten : 1
Number of times goats lungs eaten : 2
Number of fresh coconuts eaten in Tanzania : 35
Other transport used :
- Lift in 4×4 through Baviaanskloof to near PE (200km)
- Bus from Prince Albert to Kokstad to avoid the N2 (900KM)
- Hitch-hiked during the “heat stroke day”,
- Took a lift 70KM to town during the food poisoning incident.
- Bus from Swakopmunt to Windhoek (400km)
- Truck lift with Silver in Botswana (160km)
- Boat journey from Kalongola to Sananga in Zambia (3 hours)
- A truck and a bus between Mongu and Lusaka (300km)
- Bus to Bulawayo thanks to Bore water not agreeing with my guts (140km)
- Short bus ride to Nkhata bay in Malawi when I started loosing my mind (120km)
- Ferry across Lake Malawi
- Bus to Dar es Salaam from Lindi (500km)
Number of snakes seen withing 5 meters : 14 (a puff adder also did a nice dance for me, oops)
Number of marriage proposals received : 35
Number of broken hearts left behind : No Comment
Number of times I’ve had a broken heart : Also No Comment
Most days without a shower : 5
Number of other cyclists met on the road : 3 in the first 7 months then 12 in one weekend at Nkhata bay, 3 near Kilimanjaro
Number of cyclists traveled with for a few days : 3
Number of chapters already written for a book should I ever get round to writing one : 5
lekker: Number of smiles or waves received : ∞
Wat een grappige lijst met uiteraard ook een aantal serieuze onderwerpen (bijna aanrijdingen:-(
2 Months in, wondering how the gear is holding up? Whats the thank God i brought that item so far ?
Great reading.
You beat me to the punch, I’m hoping at some point soon to write a little article about my gear, time and internet permitting….
Very interesting stats. Informative and funny. My husband wonders WHY on earth you would eat goat nipples and lungs? Regarding the five people who said you looked like Wayne Rooney, I had to check this out so looked him up on the Internet and, frankly, I just don’t see it. However, I do think you resemble Michael Buble! (swoon).
Looking forward to your book…keep writing.
Tell Bruce, Goats soup (including offal) is the standard breakfast in Tanzania. The nipple was a little (a very tasty) bonus when I ordered some rice and beans at a small village, also in southern Tanzania.