Reflections of Africa: Then and now - Racpat RTW 2015-2017 - CycleBlaze

December 17, 2015

Reflections of Africa: Then and now

Collection of pictures from our 1994 ride and paired with 2015 pictures. The routes were different with a very few sections repeated. Somethings have not changed much. There are 3 parts to this page....lots of pictures.

Our route in 1994 from Capetown to Nairobi:

We rode along the coast to Hermanus to Swellendam to Oudtshoom to Bloemfontein and onto Johannesburg. There we met people who took us to their cabin just outside Kruger Park. This is where Rachel exclaimed "A zebra! I can't believe I've seen a zebra in the wild!" To which Patrick teases her to this day.

We cycled from there into Zimbabwe and up to Bulawayo, taking the train to Victoria Falls (2015,Train from Vic Falls to Bulawayo). Cycling back to Hwange and then to Binga whee we caught the ferry on Lake Kariba to Kariba.

Into Zambia, we cycled from Lusaka to Lilongwe then around to Monkey Bay, then back cycling up the western side of Lake Malawi. Here we heard about the genocide happening in Rwanda, so our plans to go and see the gorillas were changed. (2015 we cycled from Mbeya, Tanzania to Lilongwe, a safari from Lilongwe, to South Luwange NP, then bus to Lusaka, cycling Lusaka to Liviningstone).

In 1994, around Livingstonia, and touring the Nyka plateau, Patrick caught Malaria, and we had an opportunity to catch a ride on an empty Overland Truck. Patrick was still too weak to cycle, and our Kenya Visas were about to expire and there was a long way to go.

We hitched the ride on the Overland Truck to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and took a ferry to Zanzibar and then back to Tanga. From Tanga, we cycled to Arusha and arranged to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro. Patrick negotiated with Gaspar, our guide, to have a second guide come along. This was in case one of us had altitude sickness the other would be able to continue on to the summit. We had two guides, a porter and a cook for 5 days to take us up the mountain. Memory fades but we think this was all for $300USD per person.

Also from Arusha, we arranged a safari into the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater. The last stretch was to Nairobi and then a 3 week ride around Mt. Kenya including a day trip from Nakuru to see the flamingos on Lake Nakuru. (2015, we cycled to Lake Nakuru, and it was disappointing, the alkalinity of the lake has changed and flamingos have left and the rhino are dying from disease or being relocated)

From Nairobi we flew to Madrid Spain and cycled back to Ossendrecht Holland, Patrick's home village. This ended Patrick's 2 year around the world trip and Rachel's one year solo ride in NZ and Australia and 9 months cycling with Patrick, then returned to USA. (2015, we flew from Capetown to Kochi, India)

1994, water collection at the well
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2015, Uganda, Water collected in yellow plastic containers
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1994 Capetown to Nairobi
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2015 Malawi, Nairobi to Capetown
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1994, Malawi, Belgium couple cycling 5 years
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2015, South Africa, Swiss couple cycling 11 years
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1994, Zambia. Children are curious watch from a distance. We become their TV.
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2015, Congo Nile Trail, Rwanda
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1994, Victoria Falls Zimbabwe
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2015, Victoria Falls
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1994, Zimbabwe, women with babies carried on their backs
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2015, Kenya, women still carry babies on their backs
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1994 Malawi. Bikes are used to transport just about everything.
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2015, Uganda, amazing what a bike can carry
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1994, South Africa, cycling the Karoo looking for shade
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2015 Botswana. It's Hot Hot Hot, and a bus stall is a refuge.
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1994, Bulawayo Zimbabwe
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2015 Leaving Bulawayo Zimbabwe
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1994, Baobab tree on the way to Lake Kariba
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2015, Planet Baobab Botswana
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1994 Zambia long roads
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2015 Luska to Livingstone Zambia
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1994 Serengeti Elephants
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2015 Maasi mara Kenya
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1994 Serengeti Hippo
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2015 South Luwanga NP Zambia
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1994 Kurger National Park, South Africa
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2015 Etosha National Park, Namibia
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1994 South Africa. Kruger National Park South Africa, Kudu
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2015 Etosha National Park, Namibia, Male and Female Kudu
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1994, Tanzania Zebra in the Serengeti
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2015 Etosha NP Namibia
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1994 Serengeti Wildebeest migration
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2015 Maasi Mara Wildebeest migration
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1994, South Africa, Kruger National Park
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2015 Maasi Mara Kenyan
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1994, Tanzania Ngorongoro Crater
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2015 Matopos NP Zimbabwe, cycling by Rhino
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2015 Etosha NP Namibia
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1994 Kruger NP South Africa
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2015 Maasi Mara Kenya
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1994 South Africa
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2015 South African desert flower
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1994 Zambia side of Victoria Falls
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2015 Botswana
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2015, no 1994 sign, but had to include the warthog!
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1994 South Africa
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1994 South Africa
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1994 South Africa Ostrich riding
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2015 Namibia. On a farm, the ostrich chicks are caught and raised then released back onto the farm.
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1994 Zimbabwe
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2015 Rwanda
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1994 Malawi Border bike shop
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2015 Kenya
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2015 Uganda
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1994 Nelson Mandela Election Poster
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2015 Nairobi Kenya
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1994 South Africa windmill made from recycled wire
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2015, we also saw this toy from wire in 1994
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1994, wire bus made out of recycled materials.
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1994 Zimbabwe,African Sunset
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2015 Rwanda Congo Nile Trail
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1994, Zimbabwe-Malawi border
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2015 Tanzania-Malawi Border
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1994 Market in Kenya
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1994, Zanzibar
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2015 Uganda
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2015 Roadside Market Zambia
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1994 Equator crossing in Kenya
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2015 Equator crossing Kenya
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1994, Mt. Kilimanjaro
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1994 Malawi Mission
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2015, Zimbabwe Mission School
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1994, Looking back to Africa from Gibraltar
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1994
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1994
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2015 Cape of Good Hope
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