We turned off the Interstate just inside the state line to follow a very winding road, again along the Colorado River. This one was just a two-lane road though, with rises and falls, lefts and rights, with spectacular views around every corner. Red cliffs, green trees, blue skies. I actually slowed the pace just to be able to soak in the scenery, and it's a very fun road to ride. At Moab, "corner" #1, where the temperature was now 80 degrees, we filled up at Texaco and headed south. Along US-191 we got to see Wilson Arch (just like the ones at Arches National Park) and at one point were surprised to ride through an area with tall Ponderosa pine trees.

"You need petrol?" he asks. We tell him we do. "There is no petrol in Mali now, the country is at war," he says. Our jaws drop. We make up a story to explain to him why we must get to Dakar. We tell him that with his help we will be the winners of the Paris-Dakar race.

After we build up his already inflated ego a bit more, he produces petrol in glass liter jars. Each one is inspected and OK'd before being poured ever-so-carefully into the tank, with never a drop spilled. The whole process takes close to an hour, which is very good in African terms...

You can find here some stories, pictures and facts of my trip from The Netherlands to South Africa. This trip took me 1.5 year, I spent 50.000 km's on an old motor-cycle and used some luck.

This was the best thing I ever did and I like to share it with you.

This site isn't made for winning the "most fanciful home page price". The purpose of this site is only that you'll get an idea of how I experienced that beautiful continent. That very different continent. Unknown by a lot of people. With all her troubles and all her beauty. There is not a single day that I don't think of Africa and the African people.

Don't tell my boss, but I'm thinking of another trip. From here to Australia? Or maybe from North America to the most Southern point of South America?

Here's a tip for ferrying motorcycles just in case the ferry ride is less than smooth. Use wheel chocks on the rear wheel to keep the [Honda] from rolling. On this ferry we backed up to the built-in "curb", so only one chock was needed in front of the wheel. Fit another wheel chock under the right side of the frame opposite the sidestand. You can see that one under Gordon's Goldwing in the picture. That one helps prevent the [motorcycle] from tipping sideways away from the sidestand in case the ferry bumps the landing a little hard. It was smooth sailing on all the ferries we rode.

It happened so quickly, one day we were having a chat with Bruno (my new best mate in Bali, and our host), just talking about going to Flores seeing the three Kelimutu craters and talking about time frames. Doug was there too, we were all adding our thoughts when Bruno suddenly announces:”To hell with it, tomorrow we leave at 5 am and I take a holiday!” He also very kindly offered Doug the use of his R80 Basic for the trip as he was taking his R80GS. Suddenly we are a gang, and boy do we feel cool

24/1/04 We awoke to find an emu just outside our tent eating grass seeds, skittish but not too concerned by our presence at his breakfast. A short ride to Thredbo, one of the premier ski areas in winter and rapidly becoming a mountain bike mecca in summer. Using the same chairlifts to the top and a long track down, the armour clad cyclists punish their bikes. We undertook the more sedate, probably no less strenuous, option of walking the 13 km track to the top of Australia's highest mountain, Mt Kosciuszko, a mere hill in world terms at 2228m, and back to the chairlift.

Now I hate to say it, but the Alaskan Highway got real crowded. I mean all the traffic gets bunched up at the construction zones, then (bikes in front) we go like gangbusters when released on the far side. I may mention that, even though the rest of Canada is very conservative on the speed limit enforcement, on this run it is more or less do what you can. However, I don’t want to be the fastest on the road. I can terrorize myself on the way to work if I want. I’m here to be here, traveling and smiling and making video tapes in my head. I may take a picture for you guys, but the full motion stereo high definition stuff is in my head.

The road I'm traveling is as twisting and beautiful as you'll ever encounter in a lifelong search. In fact, I've traveled two days to place the tires of a streetbike upon this twisting pavement. But I'm in search of dirt, dirt leading away from the pavement while transporting me along the cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean. As I begin to focus on the road and enjoy the KLR on blacktop, I notice a visual break in the lush greenery to my left. Thinking it's probably nothing, I turn around and go back to take a look. To my surprise I see a dirt road leading up a hill marked "Road not maintained ... 4 miles ahead."