Anita Yusof African Tour
Africa. Why Africa this time? What makes me want to ride in this part of the world?
For my 6 weeks African Ride (22nd Nov 2018 – 2nd Jan 2019), I made a loop, starting from Cape Town (South Africa), to Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, back to Zimbabwe, back to Botswana, back to South Africa, Lesotho, and back to South Africa for the third time. I finished my ride in Cape Town and the bike was stored here until I return in Nov 2019 to continue exploring this unique continent!
The answer is very easy. My long semester holidays are from Nov – Dec. It’s going to be winter in the northern hemisphere. It left me with only the southern hemisphere to venture into. I had ridden in 5 continents already, minus Africa and Antarctica. So now it’s time to give Africa a go.
For this ride I decided to use my trusty Yamaha FZ150 which I named GD. It’s the same bike I used for my Global Dream Ride. Why did I use this bike when I had other options such as my Honda CB500X or my brand new BMW F700GS? There are a few reasons and the biggest issue is the carnet deposit. I must have a carnet to enable me to take the bike into South Africa, and the more expensive the market value for the bike is, the more expensive the carnet deposit will be. Other reasons for which my Yamaha FZ150 is top my list of preferences are, it is a fuel safe motorbike, the maintenance cost is lower, spare parts will be easier to find, its lighter compared to the other bikes I own and due to the bad road condition and riding solo, a lighter bike will be a much wiser choice.
Givi, the brand I’m representing, equipped my bike and myself with all the things needed for this ride. Most of the stuff came from Givi Italy, and a little bit from Givi Malaysia. GD got a new pair of spotlights, a pair of jerry cans, an airflow adjustable windshield, phone holder, GPS holder, base plate and pannier rack, stopper light, tool case, tool bag, spider netting, tubeless tire repair kit and an exhaust pipe protector. Meanwhile for myself, I got Givi waterproof bags (80L, 40L and 30L), pouch, thermos and locks. Beside this stuff, I also received items from Hevik (Givi’s sister brand) such as a pair of Hevik riding suits, Hevik technical layer, Hevik summer and winter gloves, and a neck warmer. Thank you very much Givi and Hevik for the never ending support.
South Africa
Table Mountain, Cape of Good Hope, the scenic N1 Highway, Hex River Pass and Theewaters Nature Reserve are fantastics
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REPUBLIC OF NAMIBIA
You can find Asia in Europe. You can find Europe in America. But you can’t find Africa elsewhere... Africa can only be found in Africa
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BOTSWANA, ZIMBABWE AND ZAMBIA
For the first time since my African Ride I managed to see wild elephants, behonde some crocs, hippos, African water buffaloes, birds, baboons, deer and lots of antelopes
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