SA Rocks

What will you be doing for 67 minutes tomorrow? I’m a little unprepared right now, so I’m not quite sure what I’ll be doing.

But there are options as MR President JZ has proven (he’ll be doing a couple of things apparently).

You could clean up the litter on your neighbourhood streets for 67 minutes.

You could search for you nearest charity and spend 67 minutes helping out wherever they need you.

You could simply buy some food and give it to a street beggar (repeat for 67 minutes).

You could also simply switch the TV off and spend some quality time – outdoors – with the ones you love.

Try to find a Soup Kitchen near you and spend 67 minutes helping out.

Take 67 minutes, drive to all your lazy friends, collect tinned food, a blanket or old clothes from them and donate them to a charity.

Do yourself a favour, become a volunteer.

There is alot that can be done in 67 minutes.

What’s your plan?

Popularity: 7% [?]

Tim and Bruce are cycling from Cairo to Cape Town on the Tour ‘d Afrique, they started on the 10th January and should be coming into Cape Town on the 9th May. They are trying to raise R180,000 to build 2 classrooms for a rural school in the Eastern Cape, you can view their website here – below is their latest adventure:

Lilongwe to Victoria Falls (2 April to 12 April)

Distance: 1216km

Highlights: Victoria Falls Hotel!!!

Greetings from the magnificent Victoria Falls and the bustling tourist town of Livingstone in Zambia. The past 10 days riding in Zambia have been long and tough and the legs and bodies are seriously fatigued… 

Because we were challenged many times over by many long days in this stretch of the Tour, we’ve decided to mix things up a bit and rather than a summary of the different days (they were ALL hard), we’d like to share with you in detail how amazing our 2 rest days have been in Victoria Falls… 

So here are the diary entries for those two days, and for more detail on the other days, click here!

Easter Saturday and Easter Sunday, 11, 12 April 

It all started out simply enough. We had come across from Zambia with fellow South Africans Craig Tingle and Nick Marr for a bit of lunch at the beautiful 5-star Victoria Falls Hotel. The views down the gorge are breathtaking, the food excellent, and the history and quiet opulence of this historic hotel simply envelops you.

With lunch down the hatch and thankfully paid for by Mr Tingle’s surprise work bonus, we all started to wonder what it would cost to stay a night. We guessed it would be in the region of $250 to $500 a night, so in order to settle the debate, we inquired at reception. 

After a bit of smooth talking, and an explanation of why we looked as haggard as we did, the receptionist said we would qualify for a regional rate. With our curiosity tipped, Bruce and I then ventured further with some more bargaining talk and got the lovely Mavis down to $155 a night per person, including breakfast.

Bruce and I exchanged looks, came to the exact same conclusion, and promptly pulled out our Visa Cards and booked two rooms for the night. 

What a sight to behold… These two dirty, hairy South Africans, with absolutely no luggage or change of clothes for the night, being escorted by the porter down the thick-carpeted halls of the Victoria Falls Hotel to rooms 35 and 36. 

Other guests looked at us with a confused air of arrogance. However, the looks would get a little more judging when Bruce took an evening swim in the pool in just his boxers because he didn’t have a costume of course, and we got even dirtier looks the next morning when we pitched up to breakfast in the very same dirty clothes. Needless to say, we couldn’t abide by the smart-casual dress code after 4.30pm, I mean we couldn’t even brush our teeth! 

But for our weary bodies, the $155 splurge was well worth it. I had a hot bath. I put on a dressing gown (because I didn’t have any other clothes), I watched some TV and fell into a deep sleep which didn’t involve getting up in the middle of the night to kill mozzies or other creatures in my tent. 

Room service woke me up with filter coffee at 7.30pm and the breakfast buffet was heavenly and expertly managed by us so that lunch wasn’t even needed later that Easter Sunday. 

And having had either oats or mielie meal for the last three months, we felt we needed to share our breakfast feast with you in detail, so here it is:

• Every fresh fruit imaginable and the best yoghurt we’ve ever tasted
• Chocolate croissants and mini hot cross buns
• English scones and chocolate breadsticks
• Fresh farm butter and crepes
• Pork sausages, honey-glazed ham, boerewors, eggs anyway you wanted them, bacon
• A selection of cold meats and a cheese platter… 
• And to top it all off, we drank the Champagne that was on offer!!!

Breakfast was followed by more sunbathing by the pool and eventually a massage in the spa. With a heavy heart and relaxed body, we checked out at 12.30pm (2.5 hours later than we should have), and headed to the Falls where we got drenched and giggled like schoolgirls.

It was all an epic and extravagant adventure, but exactly what we needed to lift our spirits for the final stretch and long days ahead!

By the time you read this we will be riding through Botswana where some long, flat days await us, as well as the dreaded longest day of the Tour at 207km! 

On the fundraising front for Hebron School in the Eastern Cape we’re getting closer to our target of R180 000 needed to build and equip two new classrooms, but with some R50,000 still needed we really need you all to please spread the word and get a colleague, friend or family member to donate just a R100.

Click here for our daily diary and click here for our photo galley! If you wish to donate, please click here.

Popularity: 10% [?]

Tim and Bruce are busy cycling across Africa to raise funds to build 2 classrooms for a rural school in the Eastern Cape, so far they have raised R106,000 out of their target of R180,000. You can view their website here and make a donation (they are only looking for R100 from each person)

Marsabit to Nairobi

This section has been an education in contradictions.  On one extremely hot day it took us over 3 hours to do a 55km offroad section. On another day we cruised past the snow-capped Mount Kenya with a cool breeze at our backs. We’ve camped in bone-dry bush in the middle of nowhere, and we’ve camped on hotel grounds complete with flushing toilets and even a pool! Please do not underestimate the value a flushing and clean toilet can have on your overall state of mind….

28 February, Day 45

Rest day in Marsabit

Highlight: 1.5kg of braai (barbeque) meat between the two of us

Not sure how the name ‘rest day’ came about for the non riding days as there’s little that rests apart from your bums and legs. Starting with a solid weeks worth of seriously muddy and dirty laundry, thanks to the previous nights thunderstorm then shifting onto bike maintenance, tent repair, email updating and eventually locker clean up we’d passed most of the day. 

In town we restaurant hopped having samoosas, andazi (kind of like a doughnut style bread without the icing or jam) and sweet smoky tea. A fascinating fact is that in Kenya, one of the worlds premier coffee bean producers, you simply get a sachet of Nescafe when you order coffee.  It seems Kenyans don’t like coffee quite unlike the Ethiopians. We found a small stall called ‘The Coffee Bar’ but they had no coffee… the irony wasn’t lost on us. 

What Kenyans do make very well, certainly much better than the Ethiopians, is beer. We had a few on route to the butcher where we purchased our half a cow for the evenings braai along with many more mangos than we could possibly eat. The braai was awesome, the meat great and the mangos to die for. We didn’t manage to dry any of our clothing or tents during the rest day thanks to further rain and the high humidity but we did manage to go sleep happy after all the meat!

1 March, Day 45

97km Marsabit to Bush Camp (on a school’s grounds with many, many kids and ladies selling beaded stuff)

Highlight: Doughnuts!

The road from leaving camp this morning to lunch could easily have been our best days riding yet. We passed some fantastic scenery as we descended down the volcanic mountain on which Marsabit is located back into the lava rock desert. Picturesque African bush filled with wildlife, a wind which occasionally blew as a tail wind as we rode through the mountain passes and of course downhill – an awesome combination. 

At lunch someone spoke of the ease of the day after last night being told it was quite challenging to which Randy, our tour director, replied ’the days not over yet’… a truer word has not been spoken. After lunch we redefined our understanding of a corrugated road. The road was corrugated from side to side for kilometers, they were un avoidable apart from a section of soft sand which was even more challenging. 

In camp and en route to afore mentioned doughnuts Tim mentioned that should he one day be driving his possible future children over a corrugated road and they complained then first he’d lecture them on a time when he was 27 and cycled through Africa and how much worse the road was it was easily the most corrugated road ever! Then he’d find a bicycle and force the complaining child to cycle over the corrugations cause then they’d have something to really complain about.  I laughed at this thinking it was a great plan. The weather got quite warm but at least the air was dry, literally sucking moisture out of our wet laundry and tents – happy, happy times after a fair few days of EVERYTHING being damp.

2 March, Day 46

87km Bush Camp to Bush Camp

Highlight: Getting off the bike!!!

Dear Readers,

Please note that while this diary entry was conceptualised in thought while in pain and on the bike, it was later written with a broad smile on the same tortuous day.

At precisely a quarter of noon, someone somewhere in Kenya flicks a switch. Said switch immediately changes the temperature from a slightly uncomfortable 33 degrees Celsius to a think and heavy 38 degrees Celsius. This happens every day to us without fail in Kenya and you can set your watch by it.

Now, while the temperature jump can easily be handled if you are sipping Margaritas by the pool at the Nairobi Hilton, it is another story altogether if you bouncing around on the Great Northern Kenyan Highway on a triangular-shaped torture device called a bike saddle. If there is one thing we can clear up emphatically right now, it is that there is absolutely nothing “Great” at all about Cecil John Rhodes’ Great Northern Kenyan Highway. In fact, it is actually just a piss of shitty dirt. Sandy like beach, rocky like a mountain, thorn-infested and corrugated to all hell, the today’s stretch was proper kak.

By lunch I was popping pain-killers like tic-tacs to numb the rib-pains that shot through me with each and every single corrugation. You know you’re in for a long day when the first 50km to the lunch stop takes you 3hr 20. There was simply no respite from the ‘road’ at all. It took it all out of everyone. It was so bad that it even sheared the spare tyre loose from the one support truck! 

At 74km I had an official sense of humour failure and started to engage directly back with the road.  It must have been a sight to behold for the locals, as this Mzungu (white person) started shouting obscene profanities at the ‘road’. I tried reasoning with the ‘road’, pleading with it to give me a rideable line, pleading with it to play fair, pleading with it to just stop the corrugations for just a little while. It ignored me, and so I swore back with all the vengeance and foul language in my vocabulary. I was so insanely hot and body-buggered on the ride today that the slight headwind was welcomed, simply because it helped cool me down. I mean when does a cyclist ever welcome a headwind??!!

At 87km I found the support truck and my sense of humour at the finish line. As we watched the other riders slowly come in over the course of the afternoon, it was clear that today was perhaps the hardest day we’ve had so far. But in camp, and in the shade of the support truck, we all swapped our humorous war stories of the day, laughing at ourselves and what we had achieved on this hot and tough day in Africa. And the funny thing is, we do it all over again tomorrow…..

Tim’s liquid intake for the day:

2 x 3 litre fillings of the Camel Bak

3 litres of Energy juice

4 litres of water back in camp

1 litre of soup to relace lost salts

1 litre of seriously sweet tea – because I can

3 March, Day 47

87km Bush Camp to Isiola

Highlight: Reaching tarred road

Today was the last of the ‘seriously tough’ Northern Kenya days. Not nearly as corrugated or sandy as the days before, apart from a few earlier sections, thanks to the road construction. The day started out picturesquely as we passed through bush and mountains to our right but then road construction started so there were many trucks, steam rollers, construction workers, etc which ruined the ambience of being in the Kenyan bush. There was a service road running parallel to the road under construction that we cycled along for many km’s until finally near the town of Isiola the service road ended and we hit the old tarred road. 

It’s with great bitterness that I’m describing just how happy I was to see the beautiful flat black top as I consider myself a mountain biker not a roadie but it was truly, truly a happy sight for my tired ass and weary legs. Tim resorted to wearing two pairs of cycling short this morning due to his painful bum. After just a few more km’s we arrived in town and after numerous teas, chipatis, andazis and a plate of chips the rain started coming down and hard. We took this as an omen and ordered two beers, then two more and then one last one. Bearing in mind that it doesn’t take a lot to get us drunk these days we staggered out of the bar boozed and into the heat to continue cycling the last 7 very long km’s to camp. We can conclusively state that alcohol affects physical ability cause those 7 km’s were easily the toughest of the day despite the tarred surface.

4 March, Day 48

71km Isiola to Nanyuki

Highlight: Ice-cold beer by the POOL!

Looking back it’s not hard to see that we’ve had some great challenges since entering Ethiopia over a month ago. Crap campsites on the side of the road, monster hills, stone-throwing kids and the rigours of riding the Great ‘Shitty’ Northern Kenyan Highway. But ALL of that disappears on a day like today. A day where a tailwind blew us up a beautiful mountain climb. A day where the snow-capped peaks of Mount Kenya kept us company for the whole day. And a day where we got to swim and drink ice-cold beer by the pool.

Welcome to the awesome town of Nanyuki, 2km north of the equator! We have banks here that work. We have supermarkets that have ice-cream and we have a campsite which has a pool, sauna, bar and toilets that actually smell like lavender. The last two weeks were particularly tough and really just focused on riding and staying healthy. Today it feels like we’re back in touring mode, and it feels awesome! Perhaps there’s a mean monsoon waiting for us in Tanzania, but right now, we are living it up! 

5 March, Day 48

110kmkm Nanyuki to Sagana (White Water Adventures Camp)

Highlight: The campsite – simply awesome!

I woke up cold this morning, last night was the first time in a long time that I needed not only my sleeping bag liner, but also my sleeping bag itself. For weeks now it has simply been too hot, but now that we’re at the equator it has gotten cold… crazy weather.

Today’s ride started with photos at the equator about 2km’s from camp. This was also the start of the race. We’d been told previously that there was to be no racing for yesterday and today, but last night it was announced that I was 23 mins ahead of Alan Benn in the Meltdown Madness section. Given that 23 mins is quite close, it was felt that there should be one last race stage. This morning there was a short discussion at the race start and it was decided that the Meltdown Madness section was about the tough southern Ethiopian and Northern Kenyan dirt roads and not the tarred rolling hills of today’s race. 

The groups decision was that I’d be looked after during the race and would end the winner of the section. I felt uncomfortable about this decision as I believe in competition and racing not prearranged of gentleman’s agreements, but at the same time felt a little aggrieved that after such a long and arduous section it would come down to a tarred road with me on a mountain bike and nobbly tyres against a rider on a road bike and thin slick tyres. I was always going to struggle. 

I went with the group’s decision and rode as hard as I could to keep up with the peleton. The pace was extremely fast, but I was looked after by the other racers, particularly the very gentlemanly Mr Benn. I was able to stick with the pace till the end, crossing the line in the second batch of racers about 200m from the winners. This means I’ve won the Meltdown Madness section, most surprising to me, but showing that consistency is the key to success. I never tore the road apart, instead I just road well within myself ensuring that I’d wake up feeling okay for the next day’s ride.

Camp today is unreal. It’s located on the banks of the Tana River and it’s the home base of the local white water rafting crew. There is a pool, beer, lawn and even a few family pooches running around. Dinner was a braai and I got stuck into 2 T-bone steaks before a group of us hit the water for some moonlight white water rafting. Although the guides say the river is at it’s lowest level in a decade, and the rafting is a little tame, we decided a moonlit raft wasn’t to be missed. It was great fun, it was a half moon and a clear, cloudless night. We had a few good rapids, big enough to tip one of the boats, and were able to go behind a smallish waterfall. It was great fun and well worth the effort. Tomorrow we’re going to Nairobi where we’re going to meet up with friends and hopefully paint the town red… looking forward to the rest day!

6 March, Day 49

105km to Nairobi

Highlight: Family Surprise

Fifty kilometres outside of Nairobi stood these two South African flag-waving Mzungus (white people). As I flew past them only then did I realise it was my parents – big smiles stretched across their face. I hit anchors, coming to a screeching halt, bewilderment stretched across MY face as the surprise sunk in. The Gane parental unit was only meant to be meeting us in Tanzania in a few day’s time, so it was one helluva a surprise to see them today! 

Entering big cities means the dreaded convoy ride. Dreaded because they are generally very slow affairs as the police escort us in through crazy traffic. It’s quite something to watch 50-odd cyclists and the big two support trucks weave their way through the busy and jam-packed streets of Nairobi. And while the 30km convoy ride today was made extra slow by the rolling hills in and around Nairobi, the sense of achievement when entering these big cities always outweighs the drawn out time in the saddle. I mean, we’ve come all the way from Cairo to Nairobi under the power of just our own two legs!

We’re staying at the Ndaba Campsite in the suburb of Karen, about 10km from the modern city centre of Nairobi. Quick showers were had, and then we headed to a nearby restaurant where we were treated to a fantastic meal by my parents. Good times indeed!

Popularity: 6% [?]

 Tim and Bruce are cyclying from Cairo to Cape Town in the Tour ‘d Afrique to raise funds to build 2 classrooms for a rural school in the Eastern Cape. So far they have raised R105,000.00 and need a further R75,000. You can view their website here or join their Facebook group here. Here is their account of their travels going into Kenya.

21 February, Day 38

100km Arba Minch to Proper Bush Camp

Just up the dry river bed from our tents linger some rather gaunt-looking cattle. Just down the river bed are some 40 goats in their makeshift kraal, built from impressive and very thorny acacia branches. We’re in proper Africa now, dirt roads, thorny bush and hungry-looking livestock and people. Absent from today’s ride were the angry stone-throwing kids, replaced thankfully by the more tribal herders, machetes and sickles in hand as they pushed on with their day’s arduous labour. As we ticked of the kilometres quickly today, so the sun would match us with increasing intensity, just enough to let us know that the next 6 days will be hot and testing riding conditions. Bring it….

22 February, Day 39

98km Proper Bush Camp to Yalabella Motel

Highlight: Just finishing

Today was proper tough. I haven’t been feeling well for more than five days now and today I felt worst of all. Previously my symptoms were a phlegmy cough, snotty nose and tight wheezy chest that burned whenever there was intense climbing. Nothing really to get too concerned about, only it just wasn’t going away. Well today was different, my chest felt better, but now I had diarrhea, intense stomach cramps, hot flushes, I had the shakes and no appetite – I just felt awful… Stubborn as can be, although also knowing my only limitations, I decided to cycle the day knowing if need be, I could jump in one of the trucks… 

Hang on… another toilet break…

Tim was great, he cycled slowly with me for the first few hours over the fast rolling hills with the whole day on dirt roads, even stopping with me for a pit stop en route. We knew today was a very long 45km climb (1000m elevation gain) so when the climb started I stopped, waved Tim by, plugged in my music and grinded out the very, very long climb. It was a difficult road surface as it wasn’t possible to get into a rhythm due to the stones, soft sand and ruts. The climb seemed to take forever, especially the very steep last section. I was in the granniest of granny gears and I had been slipping up the steep section when suddenly I was plunging down towards the town of Yalabela as I’d summated the hill and started descending. 

Today was simply a head down and graft day (“vas byt” as they say in Afrikaans), only a few people made the end so much so that Tim was the 2nd place rider and I was 3rd in the race.  People were struggling so much that despite me going slowly, helping a friend change her tyres after both went flat at the same time, no lunch as I had no appetite and 3 toilet breaks, I still managed to come 3rd. People here are dropping like flies, almost everyone is either sick or recovering from being sick. In two days time we reach Kenya and the hope of nothing other than better sanitary conditions.

23 February, Day 40

128km Yalabella Motel to Groto Camp

Highlight: Sprice – a mix of tea and coffee in a single cup… a little weird, but quite tasty

I had high hopes of starting my blog with a report back on my first solid number 2 in days, but alas I was a little over optimistic due to my toilet-stop free ride today… oh well, perhaps tomorrow. I apologise if that’s a little vulgar, but that’s what life’s like on tour. After a few months you’ve gotten to know everyone quite well, so there are no more light conversational chats about family, jobs and home life, instead there are detailed descriptions of number 2’s, and whether or not you trust your colon enough to fart.

Tomorrow we leave Ethiopia and enter Kenya… WHOOOOOOO HOOOOOO! 

I have so many mixed emotions about Ethiopia. Without a doubt my worst experiences of the Tour have been here – from the stone-throwing kids, the bouts of illness, the endless steep hills, the shear number of people, etc. However, in the very same breath, my best experiences of the Tour have also happened in Ethiopia, from running into John and meeting Fatima and Mista, to the lady near Addis Ababa performing the traditional coffee ceremony, to a most memorable 27th birthday in Addis Ababa, to the many, many macchiatos, the layered fruit juices (something I want to make after returning as a civilian), to the accomplishment felt after climbing the Blue Nile Gorge and high fiving at the end to the seemingly endless struggle that was the Yalabella hill whilst quite ill.  

The scenery has been pretty, but not amazing Africa, as so much of the land has been cultivated and all wild life killed off for farming and grazing. The people are a nightmare, invading your personal space and endlessly staring at these crazy ‘Forangi’s’ (Ahmeric for foreigner) on shiny bikes, but the individual people we’ve met in coffee shops, bars, restaurants etc have all been unbelievably friendly and hospitable. The people stare, in fact I think we’re the entertainment for the night as the entire village comes down to watch the circus act as these weird looking white gypsies build their homes in minutes from a small bag, but that‘s all, they just stare.  

Rarely thieving (my leather man being an exception) or harassing, etc. It’s frighteningly disappointing to see a place were the people have only ever been given the proverbially fish and have become completely reliant on the handout, rather than being taught how to fish and able to sustain themselves. As a result every Ethiopian that sees us puts out their hands waiting for a handout, it’s just so sad. Our resolve that the only sustainable way to improve ones quality of life is through education has been strengthened by our visit here. Ethiopia has been… well Ethiopia. Challenging, arduous, but rewarding in a way that took 3 weeks to recognise. Ethiopia has left an indelible mark on me, one I’ll never forget. I feel very blessed to have been here.  But I’m certainly ready to leave. 

24 February, Day 41

82km to the border town of Moyale and Kenya

Highlight: Bidding Ethiopia farewell

Warm greetings from Kenya! It’s funny how the slowest and sickest of all the cyclists just seemed to find that extra energy and positivity today to make it to the border in double time! As for us, we took our time, soaking up the last few kilometres of a country which was certainly a challenge in so many tough and wonderful ways. It was fitting that our last moments in Ethiopia were spent drinking coffee at a border hotel and chatting with a wonderfully intelligent young man, who took such a keen interest in us and our journey. 

Daniel was his name and his grasp of the English language was superb because as he told us, he spent many an hour reading English novels and cross-checking them with a big dictionary when he stumbled across words he didn’t understand. His warmness, friendship, and explanation of the uneducated kids was the perfect way to bid Ethiopia farewell. 

Kenya – where we will encounter the toughest ‘roads’ imaginable from tomorrow. Mentally and physically we’re up for the challenge, however there is some trepidation lurking in the wings as we’ve been forewarned that the strongest rider 2 years ago – Kenya was skipped last year due to the political violence – averaged only 12km/h on one of the 90km stages. So, in preparation for the tough day’s ahead, we’re taking extra special care of the bikes and bums which are a bit tender from the past few days. In case you didn‘t know, extra special treatment of the buttocks entails layering on Bepathenen or Fissan paste (normally used for a baby’s nappy rash) each and every night, first thing in the morning, and even during the day while riding!

25 February, Day 42

80km Moyale to Sololo

Highlight: Braaied steak – great big pieces!

Wow, what a 24hrs it’s been. Soon after writing yesterdays blog we were able to get our phone to work (+61403971780 in case you wanted to call or sms) and phoned home. Chatting to friends and family was like food for the soul and it meant the world to us after nearly a month of little to none voice contact. 

Today’s ride was quite easily the ride of the tour! The dirt road was very poor but extremely enjoyable to cycle on – finally our mountain bikes are paying off. There were some ruts, soft sand and lots of corrugations, but the surface remained intact and meant for fun riding as you needed to choose a good line and always stay on the ball. 

The scenery finally looked African with thickish bush and we even saw some game, vulturin guinea fowl, baboons, dik-dik’s and many more. For the first time since before Khartoum we got a tailwind, which meant that the day’s ride flew by, in the end we got to camp at round 11am, arriving even before the trucks. As a result we passed the time outside a local shop drinking warm cokes and smoky tea. Dinner was a massive piece of beef steak with pasta salad – it was simply out of this world and topped off with a sunset not to be forgotten. Kenya… I think I’m going to like this place!

Today we got off lightly though, the road could well have been in worse condition and the wind played a massive role in speeding up the day’s riding, but tomorrow is meant to be a different kettle of fish. Tomorrow we hit the lava rocks… it’s said to be seriously tough, hot and no shade at all… one revolution at a time and we’ll make it.

26 February, Day 43

80km Sololo to Lava Rock Camp

Highlight: Cracked ribs and nothing else

I remember the rushing sound of air and then the dull thump of the boulder as it slammed into my back. Next I remember lying on my side, not being able to breathe, and people scurrying about me, shouting “don’t move!”. It had been a tough day’s ride – so bad were the roads that a few of us had actually beaten the one support truck to the dreaded Lava Rock camp – a desolate wasteland with volcanic rocks and boulders all over the place, and no trees for shade at all in the searing heat. To help with the respite from the heat, a tarpaulin for shade had been erected from the side of the one run-about vehicle, and to secure the tarpaulin to the ground, the tarpaulin had been tied and anchored to a large volcanic boulder. 

As we all sat huddled under the tarpaulin, swapping war-stories about the day’s terrible road conditions, a dust-devil came from nowhere and whipped the tarpaulin from our heads. As the tarpaulin flew, so did it’s heavy anchor, and I just happened to be in it’s path!

It’s hard to describe the force at which it hit me, but needless to say I cried out in pain while I still had some air in my lungs. As I came around, I heard Alex the paramedic asking me where it hurt. I remember wiggling my toes before I motioned that it had hit me on my upper back, luckily on the right hand side and not dead centre on my spine. Slowly but surely I began to move and sit up. My lungs were checked and given the all clear. I was as white as a sheet and faint from the shock of it all, but considering what could have been had I or someone else been sitting at a different angle or level, I was incredibly lucky to get away with just cracked ribs. 

As the day wore on and the painkillers kicked in, I began to feel a bit better. My right side was incredibly sore and breathing deeply was a no-go due to the pain, but I was just thankful it hadn’t been someone’s head in the way of the flying boulder. 

As I lay resting up in the truck, Bruce sorted the tents out among the lava rocks as dark clouds built in the distance – the day wasn’t over yet and we were in for a treat – our very first storm. The rain was a mixed blessing. It washed away the thick, hanging heat of the lava rock dessert as well as the dirt and grime from our bodies as took the opportunity to ‘shower’ in the rain. No sooner were we clean, that we realised the ferocious storm was turning our campsite into a mud-bath. The short-lived joy of being clean and cool was quickly replaced panic mode of securing tents, digging trenches and trying as best we could to keep our bags dry. There was a brief respite as dinner was served, but then it came down again. 

Bruce ducked to his tent to eat while I simply stood in the rain shovelling damp food into my mouth. By this stage of the evening my whole right side was in agony and I simply did not have the energy to move anywhere. By 6.30pm the rain still hadn’t let up and both of us were in our tents, although Bruce’s resembled more of a dam than a tent. I climbed into my rain gear, popped more painkillers and was out like a light. It had been one helluva day!

27 February, Day 44 

86km Lava Rock Camp to Marsabit

Highlight: Just finishing with a rest day tomorrow

What a day! After last night’s torrential downpour we emerged from our soaked tents and waded through the mud for breakfast. There simply was no way to clean the thick clay mud off anything, as a result we simply packed away our tents mud and all, and got on our bikes. Tim was sore from yesterday’s boulder incident, but was still up for the day’s riding, mainly because he knew it would be as painful riding in the trucks as it would on his bike. We’d been told that today was tough and they didn’t lie. 

It’s hard to decide which was tougher, the smallish stones, the soft sand, the severe corrugations, deep gullies or the jagged rocks that seem to stop you dead in you tracks – all of these road surfaces were seriously difficult to negotiate and encountered often in long stretches, but for me the toughest part of the day was the strong cross/head wind which either blew you across the road or brought you to a grinding halt. Finally our bikes shone. The front forks were worth their weight in gold and the thick nobbly tyres outstanding. The two of us went well in the race, so well in fact that I ended up with our first stage win and Tim, despite said boulder incident and cracked ribs came in 3rd. 

I think it’s a telling stat that after the toughest rest day to rest day stretch on what could quite easily be one of the toughest days on Tour the two of us prevailed leaving the other racers in our wake (the 2nd place rider was a sectional rider hence doesn’t have 4500km on his legs so we discount him). It was an emphatic victory even to the sectional rider. 

The path into camp included a steady climb up to the top of a volcanic crater. In the short 86km from our desolate desert lava rock home this morning, we’ve ended up in a lush forest environment with grass and wildlife. The view into the crater was fantastic though not admired with full justice due to the racing and endless need to look at the path in front due to the difficult conditions.

Camp is set between large trees with lawn. We immediately set out our tents wide open without fly sheets in an attempt to dry them after last nights rain. Also drying thermo-rests and various items of clothing. We then proceeded to our bucket shower – simply a bucket of water used to clean yourself. Suddenly the rain arrived before we’d completely setup our tents with fly sheets or removed the items from the line… hence everything is still wet… hopefully tomorrow the sun shines brightly.

Popularity: 10% [?]

Tim and Bruce are cycling from Cairo To Cape Town for charity, their website is Cycle2Learn.org and they are doing it to build 2 classrooms for a rural school in the Eastern Cape. They have currently raised R85,000 out of their target of R180,000. They started on the 10th January 2009.

 15 February, Day 33

Rest day in Addis Ababa

We had no idea what to expect out of Addis Ababa, but have been pleasantly surprised. It seems backward to me, as in all my travels I’ve found the people in the rural areas to be the nicest and those in the cities to be hardened, less open and less friendly. However, the opposite seems true for Addis, a friendly city set within a valley with steep slopes, lots of trees and wide, clean streets. Walking around town is the first time in weeks that we’ve been able to walk amongst locals and not feel like a celebrities hounded by the locals asking for money, food and my new favourite – pens. 

People here are relaxed, friendly and open. We’ve just returned from a shopping/lunch excursion through downtown. Our shopping list was comprehensive and included our usual: bog roll, chocolate chip cookies, mocha cookies, hot chocolate, peanuts and of course snickers (two each) – at least we’re eating a well rounded diet on our rest day! 

We went from café to café sampling the amazing coffees and cakes they have here. The day got even better as we found doughnuts, ice cream, Super 14 Rugby Highlights, and of course our very favourite – the layered fruit juices! Aside from trying to explore our rest stops as much as possible, our rest days are also quite intensive in terms of laundry, continual bike maintenance, and our email updates back to you all – which can sometimes be quite a trying experience with the dismal connection speeds we’ve come across in some towns! 

16 February, Day 34

108km Addis Ababa to Bush Camp

Another 108km of rolling, beautiful Ethiopian hills in the legs, and we’re feeling strong! However, about 12 riders and staff members, are not in great shape, having succumbed to the fever-diarrhea bug which has raised its ugly head again. It’s one thing feeling completely awful with all the creature comforts of home, it’s an entirely different story when you’re trying to ride through Africa. 

Some have been hit so badly that riding wasn’t even an option today, and they simply had to ride in the support trucks, others, who were slightly stronger, stuck it out on the bike to maintain their EFI (Every Fucking Inch) status. Sickness aside, life on the Tour is magical. I’ve seen countless sunrises as I roll my tent up in the morning. I’ve met, ate and drank with the friendliest people who had no reason to be friendly to me whatsoever. 

I’ve hit 72km/h and I’ve grinded in granny gear at 5km/h. I’ve smiled at complete strangers and they’ve smiled back, and I’ve seen the sun set each and every day. These are the things that wash away the grime, sweat, stink, pain and sickness that I’ve also experienced, and which I will no doubt experience again before we finish in Cape Town on the 9th of May. 

17 February, Day 34

128km Bush Camp 1 to Bush Camp 2

Today started somewhat controversially… As a bit of back ground, Tim and I never came here to race down Africa, we signed up for the race solely on the grounds that you can always pull out later so you might as well start racing if there was even a remote chance of you being competitive. Many people have pulled out since Cairo, half at least. Our attitude has been that we’re timed participants not racers, we’re here to see and experience Africa not stare at someone’s rear wheel as you push yourself beyond your comfort zone. 

So far our strategy has worked well and we haven’t succumbed to the tempt of pulling out of the race. To me there’s no rule that says you have to win or even be competitive in order to be a racer, just someone that enjoys the competitive spirit of the event. We’ve had our good days with a number of 3rd places, but they’ve been entirely dependent on the day’s conditions and health of the other racers.

Today’s race was from camp to lunch and due to start as always at 7:30, slightly later than we prefer to leave on non race days as we like to ride in the cooler weather. One person had a flat before the race start, the start was delayed a little under 15 minutes then eventually started without the rider with the flat and his girl friend (she had been helping with the tyre change). 

At camp the two were a little upset that the race was started without them, they felt hard done by and hadn’t raced hard as they felt that the situation was unfair – it’s far easier to ride as a group in a Peloton as you can get pulled along by the front riders, who rotate about every 5 minutes. I write this solely as we’ve never mentioned the race apart from the occasional result. 

The issue with the two racers with the flat tyre hasn’t been resolved yet – another meeting is required tomorrow morning. I find it a little amusing how seriously people are taking the race and fascinating watching the group dynamics as allegiances are forged, arguments had, and peoples’ attitudes change all while we’re meant to be here enjoying ourselves in Africa.

A short word on the day’s ride, it was a tough day with lots of climbs mostly after lunch though most happily the 138km days distance was in fact shorter (only 128km) due to the rider, whose GPS data is used, taking a few excursions on the day last year to find a crater lake. Both Tim and I are in high spirits though we’ve both got a scratchy throat, tomorrow is meant to be a true diamond in the rough – an easier day as we’re starting to descend down to Kenya… whooooooo hoooooo!

18 February, Day 35

118km Bush Camp 2 to Bush Camp 3

First half of the day was as easy as pie, thanks to a wicked downhill out of the mountains. The second half of the day, however, was a little more trying, thanks to a persistent headwind and one monster of a climb which was lined with irritating kids. At the top of the monster we found the busy town of Sodo, and pulled into a local café for a much-needed Coke, a local donut and or course, a Macchiato coffee. 

From Sodo the road literally fell apart and we had 30km of dodging axel-breaking potholes – it was a fantastic bit of biking which suited our Scott hardtails beautifully! Once in camp we went through the usual motions of rehydrating, tent set-up, bike cleaning, stretching and of course the favourite part of the day, inhaling dinner! As we ate, the clouds steadily built around us and looked rather ominous for sometime, and as I write this from the comfort of my tent, the first drops of rain have begun to fall…. With a bit of luck, our Cape Union Mart tents will do all the things they are supposed to do and keep the rain at bay… if not, tonight could be an interesting one….

19 February, Day 36

108km Bush Camp 3 to Arba Minch

Another race day (camp to lunch), and we continued on the extremely poor road going downhill – it was awesome. We hit a snag, however, at about 5km out of camp as Tim realised he’d forgotten his Camel Back. He decided to return back to camp whilst I continued on slowly (which was no problem given that I was still feeling ill). The road was poor all the way to lunch and the kids were on top form. The best word to describe the effect we have on the kids as we pass by is “hysteria“. 

The first few riders through cause the hysteria, the kids are so excited, sprinting to the road shouting, screaming, and generally just going insane. By the time the last few riders come past, the kids have been setup at the road for a while and are starting to get frustrated – I assume due to the lack of attention from tired riders or the lack of a hand-out. As a result, and as the day progresses, the hysteria quickly turns to madness. 

To get your attention/stand out from the crowd they resort to things like throwing stones, trying to shove sticks into your spokes, pulling silly faces, stupid comments, slapping (or just trying to touch you), trying to open your Camel Back or saddle bag, and even using hand-catties to catapult stones into you! Today’s kids were made worse for us as we were amongst the last few riders for the day and by now they were seriously aggressive – which gets a little worrying when the machetes start making an appearance with threatening glares in tow! 

Certainly the kids have a negative effect on your day, but we always try to keep in mind they are only children and acting the only way they know. Apart from the kids the day went okay, the road improved closer to Arba Minch and we were able to get into camp early and find a shady camp spot, though riddled with thorns… Showers were had, it had been a solid 4 days since our last access to any sort of excess water, and the shower can only be described as heavenly. Tyres were then changed in preparation for the next few week’s of riding – described as the toughest on tour… by far… bugger!

Popularity: 8% [?]

Tim and Bruce are cycling for charity in the Tour ‘d Afrique from Cairo to Cape Town, 12 000km’s in 120 days.  The money is all going towards the building of 2 classrooms for a rural school in the Eastern Cape. So far they have raised R84,000 and their target is R180,000 so please go donate on their website www.cycle2learn.org

10 February, Day 29

165km Bahir Dar to Bush Camp

What a day!  Today was the day of the tour for me.  It started poorly, I woke up feeling average despite the 2nd consecutive day of 11 hours of sleep and antibiotics.  Once on the bike I felt worse, there wasn’t one thing in particular that was sore. My tummy was fine, I didn’t have diarrhoea and I wasn’t nauseas – I just felt lousy and couldn’t keep up with Tim.  After 20km I was struggling, and then, as if a switch was flipped, I started feeling better and made it to lunch without too many concerns.  I also had an appetite for a change and ate plenty.  The race was from lunch (70km) to the refresh stop (125km).  I rode alone and in my own world cruising happily with an incident free morning.  As I approached the town at 120km (can’t remember it’s name – sorry), I was climbing a steep hill and school had just come out… there were hundreds of kids lining the road and by the time I had got there everyone of them had a stone… with little to do I simply put my head down and grinded away taking the hits – mostly small stones not thrown too hard. 

Bruce taking a quick break...

Next a seemingly local rider came up behind me and passed me up the hill – a little embarrassing given he was in long pants with a bike that creaked loudly with each crank and a wheel that wasn’t completely round.  I quickly realised that the kids calmed down considerably with him nearby, so I stuck to his wheel like flies to dung.  After a number of kilometres and many screaming kids/locals, I eventually decided to unleash my frustration on my knight in shining armour by asking why these #$%&^&* kids kept harassing me and pelting me with stones – I hadn’t done anything to upset them!  I expected the rider to not understand me at all so when he replied ’stick close to me and you be fine’ I was a little shocked to say the least…  The two of us rode on together for some time chatting.  

My knight’s name was John (Johen in Amharic) and he was from Dongola (my favourite town in Sudan), he moved to Ethiopia a number of years ago to seek a better future for himself, something I found very surprising.  John had studied history and teaching in both Gondar and Barhir Dar – our previous two rest day towns, and John was one switched on cookie.  I asked him if I could buy him a coffee and he said he knew a place.  We pulled over and shared two coffees, taking in the town and watching the occasional harassed TDA rider pass by.  The clouds were looking ominous so I asked John if it was going to rain – he assured me it wouldn’t.  After coffee, John asked me if I’d like some ‘makoni’ – not entirely sure what this was and given that my stomach was feeling better and ready for another assault from Ethiopian food, I agreed, thinking you got to give everything a go.  We headed deep into town to John’s place – it was a modest single room house but clearly his pride and joy.  By now I had realised that John was cut from a different cloth to everyone else I’d met in Ethiopia, this guy was an entrepreneur feeding himself with his local produce and selling the extra at the market, as well as filling in at the school when a teacher was sick and he had his own regular extra curricular class he taught and was in the process of publishing his very own English/Ahmeric phrase book/dictionary for grades 4 to 12.  

I spent a while paging through John’s photo album, filled with pics of his family, graduations and his girl friend.  John set about preparing the ‘makoni’ (which I realised by now was actually macaroni), he boiled the pasta, fried the onions, garlic, peppers (all from his garden) and served up a treat.  Now it started to rain, John felt like a bit of an idiot after assuring me it wouldn’t, and he suggested we have one of those layered fruit drinks I like so much.  Back on the bike in the rain, we headed to the juice stand – no juice except avocado… so we had a beer glass full of avo juice with a strawberry squeeze sauce – it was great!  

John and his family with Fatima

Still raining, John asked me if I wanted to meet his girlfriend, her house was round the corner.  I was a little hesitant as the macaroni had taken a while to make, serve and eat and with the juice I was starting to run a little late.  John assured me that his girl friend’s friend was worth the trip and that I should definitely come meet her – I quickly agreedJ  Mista’s place was also a single room house, inside was a bed and a set of small Ethiopian coffee cups and small portable charcoal fire for the kettle.  I met Fatima – soon to be my wife I was told – and she was stunning, so I wasn’t backing away from the idea in too much of a hurry.  

At a TDA rider meeting we’d been told that the traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony is quite long… I can now vouch for this.  First Mista had to get the charcoal, light it, wait for the coals to form by fanning the fire, then fill the pot, boil the water, serve the coffee and sugar into the many cups, and serve.  This is repeated a further 2 more times – apparently the Ethiopians have three coffees in one of these sittings.  The coffee, though from a sachet, was lovely and I had a fantastic time chatting with John, Mista, Mista’s sister, Mista’s land lord, some random and Fatima.  Not sure Fatima was keen on the idea of our pending  marriage and I was still out with the jury, but John and Mista were convinced they’d found the perfect match!  

After coffee I told John I seriously needed to leave, the girls were sad.  Digits/email addressed and of course the cycle2learn website address was exchanged (Fatima if you’re reading this hiJ), hugs given and I said goodbye to the girls.  John cycled with me out of the town and on for a fair amount further ensuring there were no more little brats sporting freshly picked up stones.  We said goodbye, shook hands and made our separate ways…  I looked at the time, past 5 and I still had 35kms left… thoughts of not making it to camp in daylight filtered through my head, so I pulled finger and rode like the wind.  To my seemingly endless luck of the day, it turned out the last 35km were pretty much all downhill.  I passed a frantic TDA van coming towards me with the medic, Alex, Miles the chef and oracle of the TDA, and Tim – all very concerned for me.  I felt terrible, I was due in camp at least three hours before and no one knew where I was.  I said I was fine and cycled the rest of the way, as I entered camp I received a loud applause and told my story to everyone at dinner. The story went down and a treat, and guess what…. Unbelievably it was none other than macaroni for dinner!

11 February, Day 30

118km Bush Camp to Forest Camp

Hell’s bells there are lots of people in the country. Wherever we are, they  just seem to appear from nowhere to watch the circus roll-on through. There are hardly any passenger cars at all on the roads, just people trekking from village to village with donkeys, cattle, goats and chickens. Needless to say, we cause quite a stir in our cycling kit as we whiz through. But if you’re wise – like we naturally are – you leave early in the morning and aim to be amongst the first riders to be seen for the day, this ensures you are just gawked at, rather than stoned and harassed for money, which is what happens if you’re at the back of the pack. 

Aside from the teeming population here, we can also confidently confirm that Ethiopia has mountains, and lots of them. Today we gained about 1800m in elevation, descending 1320m, and we’re camping tonight in a pine plantation at an altitude of 2500m above sea level – the high altitude alone caught us sucking on a bit of gas this morning, I mean we’re beach bums back home! 

Like yesterday, today was a beautiful but challenging ride with some big climbs, with the legs now just a little tired and right on time for tomorrow’s Blue Nile Gorge challenge – the nasty bit being a 22km climb with an elevation gain of 1600m – let’s just hope we’re ahead of the pack and the stone-throwing masses. 

12 February, Day 30

89km Forest Camp to CPAR Camp – Blue Nile Gorge Day

(CPAR – Canadian Physicians for Aid and Relief) 

A little over 20kph on the rolling hills in the morning, 45kph plus down the gorge and about 10kph up

Because today was such an epic day – we’ve both described it from our own personal view points – ENJOY!

Bruce’s account:

Blue Nile Gorge… KLAPPED IT!  What a great day.  I’ve been dreading this day for sometime now, camp site rumours of a 1.5km ascent over some 20km spread like wild fire and when the worst was confirmed true I experienced shear panic.  South Western Australia (where I did all my pre-tour training) just about has it all – beautiful beaches, warm weather, vineyards, breweries, etc just about all except hills.  In saying that hills may not of helped cause today I climbed a mountain.

Going down the gorge was scary due to the steep descent and of course, given this is Ethiopia, countless people on the narrow steep roads with screaming kids and the occasional dog chasing our rear tyres.  I had a great time climbing, I paced myself beautifully sitting in granny gear ticking along checking out the breath taking view.  Switch back after  switch back we climbed.  Towards the top I read messages of encouragement from the TDA staff written in chalk on the road surface which kept me going.  With a few hundred meters to go, but still a steep climb, I saw Erin the medic – she shouted support and gave me a quick push up the last switch back – an awesome moment.  I cross the line feeling great and most importantly like I could do it again if I needed to.  It took a while but it’s finally dawned on me that this is a very, very long journey and the name of the game is pacing yourself…  At camp we had a really treat – a game of table tennis!  Also two of the best cups of coffee and finally a shower.  Ending the day with a braai of sheep shoulder blades, knuckles, necks and ribs and one of our last hot chocolate mixes (we treated ourselves on a big day – thanks once again Collin and VivJ).  Tomorrow is another big day with a 500m climb in 10km, we reach the highest point on tour, a little over 3100m before descending back below 2700m… looking forward to it!

Tim’s account:

Below and to my left is the Blue Nile, and just up ahead is another steep 180-degree switchback. As I look down at my tanned chicken legs spinning, sweat falls off my face and cools  my knees. 

The happiest I am on a bike is directly proportional to the size of the mountain I’m climbing. The bigger the climb, the broader the smile, and today was a perfect ride! A fun and challenging 18km descent into the gorge, followed by a 22km time trial climb out of it. Pacing is the key for a climb like this, and my goal was to get to the top and NOT be tired. Mission accomplished! I  had so much energy left at the top that I even put in a sprint finish just for fun for the timekeepers. It was a tremendous feeling for all who rode the day. Everyone had a different story to tell, everyone went at a different pace, and everyone shared the euphoric feeling at the top of having climbed a beautiful bit of mountainside. Afterwards an ice-cold Pepsi was had at the local village, followed by amazing coffees, and even a braai for dinner. Good times!

13 February, Day 31

90 CPAR Camp to CPAR Camp

(CPAR – Canadian Physicians for Aid and Relief)

We climbed to 3200 metres above sea level today, the highest point of the Tour, and yes, the lungs were most certainly burning for most of the day! With lungs longing for air, we just took it easy and rolled along pretty leisurely for most of the day, even stopping in at a local village for a seriously strong cup of coffee! It’s been great staying in the CPAR camps as they afford you a little bit of space from all the inquisitive eyes. The added benefit of today’s CPAR location is that it is just around the corner from a ‘hotel’ which is perched on the edge of a beautiful ravine. Needless to say we hit the place up for a beer, sat right by the edge, and just enjoyed the serenity of the view and the many birds soaring on the thermals. 

14 February, Day 32

105km CPAR Camp to Addis Ababa

Rolling hills for most of the day then a fast convoy down the hill into Addis

Tim and Bruce with their 'beards'

I had an awesome birthday today!  I’m not a cycling purest, I chose to come along on TDA because I wanted to see Africa, have unique experiences and meet some interesting people, but yesterday I understood why some people, the cycling purists, love nothing other than to cycle.  It was a great morning’s ride through the rolling hills with spectacular scenery and a festive mood for the rest day ahead.  We made our final climb then had to wait for the all the other cyclists to arrive for the convoy into Addis.  There were a few shops selling soft drinks and cookies, but despite asking everywhere there was no coffee available for sale.  Next minute one of the ladies Tim had been speaking to motioned us into her shop for coffee.  We sat there for well over an hour enjoying the authentic Ethiopian coffee ceremony – the lady roasted the beans, crushed them in a mortar, and then brewed the coffee with incense burning – all in her tiny little stall on the side of the road.  It was simply the best coffee I’ve had and a fantastic experience.  After arriving in camp and setting up tents we headed out for birthday drinks. Amongst the many beers a samoosa, doughnut, pizza and even a piece of cake was had!  The rest of the evening was spent bar-hopping playing drinking games and ending at a local night club dancing the night away.  What a great way to bring in your 27th birthday.

Popularity: 7% [?]

So, as you are reading this 2 South Africans are busy riding on sore and numb asses in the middle of Ethiopa after having already cylced through Egypt and Sudan. You see on the 10th January these 2 guys, Tim and Bruce, started to partake in the Tour ‘d Afrique a cycle race from Cairo to Cape Town.  

They have support vehicles carrying their luggage etc, there are a couple other South Africans also riding and a mix bunch of people doing it to see Africa, do something  different or just to have a  nice 6 month break from everything.

So now WHY are these 2 guys cycling almost 12,000 kilometers over 120 days?

The answer id be to build 2 classrooms for a rural school in the Eastern Cape, just outside East London near Kidds Beach. And to do this they need R180,000 so far they have raised R72,000 jusy by asking people to donate R100 which would cost you 2 pizzas and a coke. 

To follow their trip SA Rocks has kindly agreed to publish weekly updates sent it in by Tim and Bruce and hopefully together and with the online community of SA we can reach their target and make a difference to at least 50 disadvanted kids.

Their Facebook group currently has just over 550 people, we need a further 1000 to push the numbers to 1,800 people who all donated R100 and the target is met.

Their website has a weekly blog update (which will also be posted here) and daily diary entries together with photo’s of their trip. Below is their last couple of days on the Tour, enjoy.

7 February, Day 29
118km Gondar to Farm Camp

Today started poorly for both of us, Tim still had his bout of diarrhoea and I woke up with a sore tummy and no appetite.  But once on the bikes, we got back into the swing of things and not only survived the day, but enjoyed it too. 

The day’s ride route had an elevation loss for a change, so apart from two steepish switchback climbs, we mostly headed downhill.  We were able to see some quite impressive views of the countryside as we twisted and turned round the mountains. The kids were dead on aim today pelting the both of us numerous times, in particular me on the helmet from front on – luckily I ducked my head or else I’d have collect the stone on the face..
It’s so difficult not to loose your cool with the kids as they scream aggressively ‘You, You, You, GIVE, GIVE ME MONEY!’ or my personal favourite ‘Whereareyougo… whereareyougo’ to which the answer, ‘Addis Ababa’ is met with confusion as they don’t actually know what they’re asking but simply repeating a learnt phrase.  Ethiopia certainly has
it’s challenges – starkly different challenges than those overcome in Sudan, but we’re taking each day at a time and enjoying the experience - diarrhoea and all.  Tomorrow is a half days ride then the first of the TDA organised parties followed by another rest day, this one on the banks of Lake Tana… whoo! 

6 February, Day 28
Rest Day in Gondar

I’m shattered. At about 2am last night, diarrhoea and fever assaulted my body. It’s been a long and trying day for me, spent trying to rehydrate and keep anything down. This left to do all the admin that we normally do together on rest days – bike maintenance, laundry and internet updates. With a bit of luck, and of course some drugs, I’ll hopefully be up for the ride tomorrow…

5 February, Day 27 
105km from Mountain Camp to Gondar

Nothing bonds people like hardship, we experienced this on the quite trying ferry ride from Egypt to Sudan and even more so after today’s extremely tough days ride.  We knew from past riders and camp site rumours that day 2 of Ethiopia is arguably the toughest day of the tour and we can confirm this.  The day started with rolling hills till a small village in a valley then the hill began… and what a hill. 800m ascent over 12km on a dirt road with screaming kids and people everywhere.  At the top of the hill was another village where we stopped for a Mirinda (much like Fanta orange) and the first taste of Ethiopian coffee – it’s fantastic. 

Following this we descended rapidly to lunch on thankfully a tarred road.  We’d been told after lunch is tougher than the morning climb due to the slow overall elevation gain over many short steep hills, this might have been the case but luckily the sun disappeared behind the clouds cooling the day nicely. 

The race ended at 95km and we knew it was a tarred road from then on however the steepest climb of the day was left to the hill upon which our hotel grounds we’re camping are situated.  It’s was almost surreal climbing and switch back private hotel road – stopping at the top and knowing our proximity to beer was a fantastic feeling.

After setting up camp, showering (it was cold but oh so good) we grabbed a few beers and went out to the hotel driveway to welcome the other riders in.  It’s was a specially moment in the tour to have those of us that had finish clap the riders in, day was tough and having the group encourage each other was great.  The highlight was waiting for Lloyd to arrive.  Lloyd is a Canadian in his mid fifties, he cruises along at his own pace and always has a kind word, never one to complain.  He’d turned down the option of getting in both the truck and the Ethiopian runabout vehicle we have here instead he just carried on cycling.  It was getting dark with the whole group gather Lloyd came cycling in after almost 12 hours on the bike smiling to a standing ovation – it brought goose bumps to your skin. 

Tomorrow is a rest day and most needed after six very challenging days of cycling – I think we’re all going to take tomorrow very easy firstly to rest and secondly to nurse our hang over’s!

Popularity: 6% [?]

I am a firm believer in turn the other cheek with a dash of eye for an eye (to be biblical). To explain that what I believe aids in change is the education to know when to stand up and fight, when to walk away, when to hold em or when to fold em – with respect to Kenny Rogers.

Without education all you have is emotion. Emotion can only get you so far.

Browsing through The Trust website I found an organisation that I can finally relate to. The Adopt a School Foundation. This is something that I think I could get behind, give money and time to and afterwards really feel as if I had made a difference.

Those that truly suffer in many if not most unfortunate national situations, wars, screw ups and historical misfortunes are the children of nations. It’s time that in SA we gave the children our country a fighting chance.

For a years I’ve said to people who ask me when things will get better, things will get better when my 1 year old cousin (who is now nearly 5) grows to be a 40 year old man and is colour-blind and has been taught from a schooling level what is right, what is wrong and what is moral we will be on the mend.

So why not kick that process off now? Any charity that is aiding the healing process, giving the citizens of our country a chance to make it in this life deserves a meager R3000.

My point is, R3000 might be used up quickly by the Adopt a School Foundation but in the long run their efforts will eventually start to pay. So R3000 now will mean paying it forward down the line and if every student, ±50 000 since the start of the foundation, end up giving back to their community then a difference will be made.

Let’s be more realistic. If 10% of the 50 000 children all grow up to be successful and decide to give away R30 per month to a charity of their choice then that will total R150 000 per month in charitable donations. THAT is a difference, it’s a long term plan but it is, in my opinion, one of the only ways we are truly going to heal this country, think long term, plan ahead and protect our youth.

Popularity: 6% [?]

This is a bold headline. It is intentionally so. I am a young South African and I feel as if I have no hands-on, real-life charitable outlet. I am not saying that I am right, I am saying that I don’t know of them and if I don’t there are lots of young South Africans who don’t.

Many of the charities that I can think of are not relevant to me, don’t appeal to my personal goals for charitable time I spend on my community or simply don’t need me.

Many of you will say that every organisation always needs people but that is untrue. The Nelson Mandela Children’s fund has money, they have volunteers and they could always use more, but I believe my time can be used more effectively at charities and organisations that don’t have all the money and support that they need. I want to make a difference in my hours of work. I don’t want to palm off money to an organisation. I want to get involved in my community and my country and I want to help to rebuild things that need rebuilding and fix things that need fixing.

So where do I go? Who do I talk to? What cause deserves my time and is relevant to me and my needs to (because there are no altruistic actions in this world).

Tell me, I mean it, give me an answer, show me a charity that is relevant to my generation that is doing this that I think are important and helping people that I think need help. I want to find one and think that there are many people my age who also want to make a difference but have no outlet.

I recently discussed this issue with returning expats who said that they felt as if they have returned to SA but have no way to feel out their community and make a decision on how to make a difference.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to change the nation in a day, I am not trying to be ridiculous here. I simply want an outlet. Are there any?

photo: Mysterious Photographer

Popularity: 7% [?]

Q&A with Karde Buys – Senior HR Manager: CSI & Wellness of The Foschini Group

1. The Foschini Group has historically supported the 16 Days of Activism campaign. What makes this year’s campaign different?

In previous year’s, we selected one NPO to support. This year, we have aligned our support of the 16 Days of Activism campaign with The Foundation for Human Rights mandate, which is to focus on the empowerment of the non-profit organisations in South Africa that are typically out of public view and to highlight their work and funding requirements.

We joined forces with SAfm (104-107fm) with our 16 Charities, 16 Days concept that not only empowers organisations through donations, but guarantees them the vital media exposure to highlight their services and detail their needs to the South African public and business community.

We also aligned ourselves with Greater Good SA (www.greatergoodsa.co.za), who have provided links to their site from ours with an individual page for each NPO. We want to ensure that individuals that hear about the campaign have an opportunity to engage directly with the organisations.

2. When does it kick off?

25 November.

3. Why choose SAfm as a media partner?

The 16 Days of Activism against women and children is an initiative that the station takes seriously and SAfm commits to support and effect change in behaviour and attitude around this debilitating situation. This campaign allows the station to continue to empower women and South African citizens and we hope to take this association to even greater heights next year.

4. How did you go about selecting the non-profit organisations that are participating?

They all had to meet our corporate funding criteria, but we looked for organisations that we hadn’t worked with before, that were less mainstream and where the need was most urgent.

5. Which organisations have been selected?

6. There is evidently an awareness campaign underpinning the campaign. What does this involve?

A lot! For internal communication to staff, we’ve produced A3 and A5 posters, door decals, updated the intranet, designed emailers and attached A5 leaflets to payslips educating staff about their right to live a non-violent life, how to spot signs of abuse and what to do.

We’ve also placed two ads in Club Magazine and taken the back page of two issues of The Big Issue. The website has been upgraded (www.foschinigroup.co.za/csi) and we’ve included information on the campaign on all statements to The Foschini Group account holders.

The rationale behind this all is to direct interested parties to the website, where they can interact directly with the NPO’s.

7 . What type of feedback have you received from the organisations?

Incredible. Some of the comments are below. It’s so gratifying to know that we’re on the right track, that we’re providing a communication platform for them. Another of the important comments that we’ve received is that most donations are project specific and as our donation is not, the majority of them are using the cash for running expenses – an ongoing battle for most of them.

AFRICA CARES FOR LIFE-AMANZIMTOTI

Says Gail Schreiner, National Director of Amanzimtoti based Africa Cares for Life, whose vision is to impact the destiny of pregnant women and their children: “The ever increasing statistics are a grim reminder that much more needs to be done to make a difference in our nation against violence against women and children. Rape and incest is continuing at an alarming rate whilst children fear to express the anguish of the brutality they suffered to the very people they should trust. We at Africa Cares for Life welcome the drive of 16 days of activism against abuse on women and children and are committed to do whatever in our power to bring about positive changes for a better society.”

OPERATION BOBBI BEAR-AMANZIMTOTI

Says Eureka Olivier, Administrative Director of Amanzimtoti based Operation Bobbi Bear, dedicated to rescuing, representing and reintegrating sexually abused children: “I really would like to thank The Foschini Group for getting involved in NPO’s and helping children who are abused and raped. Very few corporates are willing to go to such lengths to get actively involved.”

ALPHA TRAUMA CENTRE-VEREENIGING

Says Vivien Thomas, Centre Manager of Vereeniging based Alpha Trauma Centre, who deals with children who are victims of rape, the average age of which is under the age of 12: “We’re all very excited to be a part of this initiative. We’ve been trying to get our name out there for years to let people know that our service exists. There is such a need for a campaign of this nature.”

CHUBBY CHUMS-GERMISTON

Says Martin Barnard, Founder/Director of Germiston based NGO Chubby Chums, whose main goals are to place children in Safe Havens, Places Of Safety, and Hospices, and to protect, feed and clothe them up to the ages of 18 years: “Why should our children suffer? They deserve to be taken care of, they should be loved, respected and never turned away, it is not the child’s fault. They are, after all, our future.”

BEE COURTWISE-BRAAMFONTEIN

Says Carol Johnson, Director of Braamfontein based Bee Courtwise, who offer services in the field of victim empowerment, crime prevention and diversion of youth in conflict with the law: “It’s a really incredible initiative that they’ve taken. Particularly being a small NPO, we’re very proud to be associated with the campaign and we believe that it shall have a great impact against the fight against domestic violence.”

TSENANG HOMES OF SAFETY-PRETORIA

Says Rev. Zillah Ketcher of Muckleneuk (Pretoria) based Tsenang Homes of Safety, whoprovide care to abused, abandoned and neglected children regardless of their health and HIV status: “We are proud and extremely grateful to be selected as one of the non-profit organisations in this active stand against women and child abuse. At Tsenang Homes of Safety we feel privileged to be of service to our wonderful country by offering loving homes and statutory assistance/intervention to those many children in crises. It is essential that we, the mothers of our nation speak out on behalf of South African women and children in crisis. As Tsenang homes of safety, we will use our voice!”

THE HELPNET-FUND-PRETORIA

Says Jaco Meintjies, Chairman of Lynnwood (Pretoria) based The Helpnet fund – Safehouse, whose focus is to apply their resources around the care, love and rehabilitation of physically and emotionally abused children: “The opportunity granted to us to be part of this countrywide stand against woman and child abuse is amazing, this campaign will open the eyes of thousands of the general public to abused children/women and their daily plight. It gives us as an organisation the opportunity to interact with the public on these issues. At Safehouse we strive to be so much more than just another roof over their heads, providing these children with the dignity and support they so richly deserve in a safe and secure environment.”

PATCH-SOMERSET WEST

Says Claire Binneman, Fundraiser for the Somerset West based organisation PATCH who aim to support all child victims of sexual abuse in the Helderberg and prevent the incidence of this horrific crime committed against innocent children: “We are so pleased to be recognised by a company such as The Foschini Group. We are so concerned about the high numbers of child sexual abuse, but we are also celebrating the children and teenagers who decided not to keep the secret of sexual abuse anymore. Though painful, letting go of the secret enables the children to start the healing process. I salute the boys and girls who have spoken out about abuse in their lives and I also salute the boys and girls that are on the brink of speaking out. We are proud that Foschini is helping the children to create and opportunity to speak out.”

ST ANNE’S HOME-WOODSTOCK

Says Dorothy Du Plooy, Director of the Woodstock based organisation St Anne’s Home, whose mandate is to provide shelter and support for pregnant, abused, and homeless women with young children: “We are grateful to The Foschini Group for acknowledging the plight of women in shelters. At St. Anne’s we restore the dignity of the women who come through our doors while also empowering them to be self sustaining. The 16 days of Activism is a platform for all roleplayers to collectively take a stand against this basic human rights violation ”.

8 . How do you anticipate that individuals shall engage with the organisations?

We think that it will start with curiousity once the radio interviews with each NPO kick off, then a bit of research online and eventually, a personal contact. We’re trying to make it as easy as possible for individuals to find information about the NPO’s that interest them.

9. Is there a way that the community can get involved aside from via giving donations?

Yes, many of the NPO’s also require goods, furniture, food and time! They’ve each stated their priorities on their web pages on www.greatergoodsa.co.za.

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