Tofo - Mozambique

The boarder crossing went well. I had to pay for 3rd party insurance, but it only cost $10. Buying a visa took about 30 minutes for Rob, which is much better than the 3 hours I was expecting.

We stayed one night in Maputo then headed up the coast. We spent Christmas in Xai Xai near the beach. Four other people motorcycling through Africa were staying next to our campsite. They are the only ones Ive met so far.

We got to Tofo a couple days ago. Apparently its going to be very busy for New Years. There are a couple festivals happening. We know several people here that we met in Swaziland or earlier in Mozambique. Its nice to already have friends at a place.

The police haven't been too much trouble yet. Yesterday Rob got pulled over because he didn't have a helmet on. I went to go find him and the cop was pretty angry. Rob didn't have his drivers license or the papers for his bike. I didn't have my passport (foreigners are required to carry it), an international drivers license, my bikes papers, or a helmet. Remarkably we got out of the situation without any fines or bribes. We were really lucky.

I start my advance scuba course tomorrow. To get the certification I have to do 5 dives. After that Ill be certified to go 30 meters deep. Im trying to get it done before New Years then we will plan on leaving town on the second.

This is a cool area and I look forward to spending some time here. Its beautiful and most of the people are really nice. Right now I am going to brai (BBQ) prawns that we bought near the beach.

Swaziland - Piggs Peak

We spent the last few days in northern Swaziland near Piggs Peak. We took a back road there from Mbabane which made it a nice ride, but the roads weren't well marked. The people have been really nice and helpful in Swaziland. Its a beautiful country, without too many backpackers. Its been great camping for the last couple weeks and spending time in the mountains.

Yesterday we rode to Siteki. Its a town near the Mozambique boarder. Today we are going to cross into Mozambique and head towards the coast. Eventually we will try to go to Tofo, which is on the coast north of the capital. It may be difficult to find accommodation because of the holidays, but we have tents so it should work out.

It sounds like the police will be a hassle and we will probably need to bribe them along the way. I may have to buy 3rd party insurance for the motorcycle when I get there. Im a little worried about not having a license disk or international drivers license.

Rob doesn't have a visa and that will probably take a few hours to get. Today will be a long day, but from what I hear the beaches in Mozambique will make it worth it.

Swaziland - Mantenga

We did the boat trip in St Lucia. It was a 2 hour boat ride and we saw at least 20 hippos, crocs, flamingos, and tons of birds.

Monday morning we left St Lucia and headed towards Swaziland. The ride went really smooth and we made good time to the boarder. I got through the boarder without too much trouble. I didn't have to  show the affidavit saying I could leave the country with the motorcycle. The only issue I ran into was that I don't have a license disk. I had to pay 60 Rand (about $4) as a fine. I didn't know what a license disk was until the boarder patrol agent pointed one out on a car. I bet this is going to be an ongoing issue at boarder crossings, but I don't think I can get one unless I go back to Durban.

Rob got through the boarder without too much hassle as well. Hes not allowed back in South Africa for 5 years because he overstayed his visa, but he didn't get fined. He didn't have to pay a fine for the license disk because he had the carnet and said license disks are digital in the UK.

Monday night we stayed in a game reserve near the boarder. We stayed in huts made in a traditional Swaziland style. They were dome shaped made of clay and straw. It was way too hot to be comfortable at night. On the ride to the reserve we say wild pigs on the road. I think that was the first time I ever saw them in the wild.

Tuesday we rode to the Mantegna Nature Reserve area. Its in between Manzini and Mbabane, which are big cities for Swaziland. Its a nice place in the mountains. There are caves, hikes, kayaking and other outdoorsy things to do. Yesterday I did a hike and started at 12:30 in the afternoon. Halfway up I regretted started the hike at such a hot part of the day, but made it to the top and saw some incredible views.

We are going to stay in Swaziland for a little while but its a small country so not too long. My plan is to head to Mozambique next. I hear there's really good diving, so I'm going to try to get my advanced open water there. I got opened water certified to 18 meters a few years ago, but the advanced will allow me to dive to 40 meters. Hopefully we will be in the Mozambique coast by Christmas.

St Lucia

The number plate wasn't as difficult to get replaced as I had thought. We just went and had one made. The affidavit was all my friend needed to prove that the plate was stolen.

Now Im in St Lucia, which is famous for having hippos. St Lucia is a few hours north of Durban on the coast. We saw some hippos yesterday and we might do a boat trip today.

We are pretty much all set to head to Swaziland. Hopefully we will head out tomorrow or the day after. Its going to be interesting to cross the boarder with these bikes. Robs bike is from the UK and mine is from South Africa, so all our paperwork is different. He has a carnet and international drivers license. I have a affidavit and a US license. Its going to be a relief to get through the first boarder. I think it'll be fine but will probably be fairly time consuming. 

Northern Drakensberg

We didn't go to St Lucia. Instead we rode to the northern Drakensberg mountains near the Amphitheatre Mountain. The ride took a lot longer than expected. We got here Friday night. It was dark and pouring rain by the time we finally arrived. It wasn't a fun way to end the ride but it taught me a valuable lesson. Any day that we are riding somewhere we need to leave as early as possible.

Two days ago we were hiking in a park and someone stole my license plate. I finally felt like things were moving forward and now this happens. I went to the police office today to get an affidavit to say that it happened.

Tomorrow we have to go back to Durban. The police told me I need to go and cancel the plates. They said that someone may have taken them to commit a crime. I really don't want anything to happen to the friend who let me register it in his name so Im obligated to go back.

My friend Rob, the guy Im riding with from the UK, is going to go back to Durban with me. Hes already overstayed his visa. I heard that you have to pay for everyday past your visa expiration. I hope thats not the case. I feel bad because we have to loop back and also because I have to inconvenience my other friend to cancel the plates. This entire trip has been an uphill battle. I feel like it will be great in the end, but right now its really frustrating.

Durban 2

It took a lot more effort than I expected to get the license plates for the bike. I went to the South African consulate and found out that it was impossible to register the bike in my name without a different type of visa. In order to get the visa I would have had to fly back to the US and apply for it, then I would have had to prove South African residency. If I hadn't already paid for the bike I probably would have said screw it at that point.

Instead of registering it in my name I registered it under a friend's name who works at the hostel. I finally got the bike with plates yesterday. Today we went to the police station and got an affidavit that said I could take the bike out of the country.

Tomorrow we are heading up the coast of South Africa to St Lucia. After that we plan on going to Swaziland.

I think we are just about ready to get this trip started.

Durban

Ive been in Durban for a few days. Its been a nice time. I went surfing a few days ago. Its the third biggest city in SA so it has a lot going on.

I bought a motorcycle on Friday. Tomorrow I need to get the license plates sorted out. Its a small Honda 125. Its a brand new bike so it should work well as long as it doesn't get stolen. I met an English guy who is planning on driving from here back to the UK. I don't know how far Ill go but it seems like a good opportunity to get things rolling. We are planning on driving up the coast through Mozambique. No real plans, but were heading north soon.

Sani Pass

We were in Lesotho for a few days. Most of the traveling we did was via 15 passenger vans. What that really means is they fit in 17-19 people and then load bags and food everywhere they can. Its difficult to move or stretch at all, Im usually completely covered other peoples stuff. We went to Katse for a night. It wasn't too exciting but there was a local village that was nice. From what I saw, Lesotho full of people living in the rural mountains riding horses everywhere and farming.

Next we took vans through the mountains to Mokholong. We travel by van from 530 am to around 8 pm through mountain passes, including a 6 hours wait at a bus station (empty gravel parking lot). We transferred vans twice, once we got out of the second van we were in the middle of the mountains and fortunately there happened to be a truck there. If there wasn't we would have had to asked the locals to sleep in their huts.

Yesterday we went over Sani Pass and found a nice hostel on the South African side. Its beautiful here and the hiking is really nice. We are paying around $11 a night (150 Rand) for a bed. Tomorrow I think Ill head to Durban and make my way down the coast to Cape Town.

Lesotho - Maseru

My bag arrived after a few days. It was a little bit of a pain because I wore the same clothes for 4 or 5 days, but in the end it worked out. I visited the apatheid museum. It had a ton of information and helped me get a better understanding of the history of SA. I also went on a long bike ride and visited a lot of the sites in Soweto like Soccer City (where the World Cup finals were held) and some huge murals on the side of an old coal power plant.

I took the local metro from Soweto to the center with a Dutch guy yesterday. He was on his way to Lesotho and I was planning on heading to Cape Town. At the last minute I decided to go with him instead and we caught a mini bus to Lestho. The bus broke down 5 minutes from the boarder but we werent delayed for too long. I wont lie, prior to 3 days ago I didnt even know Lesotho was a country. Its completely surronded by SA so I will be back in SA in a few days.

Last night we got in and tried to go to a hostel but it was fully booked. Most of the hotels in the area were also completely booked. Luckily we ran into a girl from South Korea who has been living here for a few years and she offered us a place to stay for the night. It was really nice of her and she even cooked us breakfast in the morning. Today we will try to catch a bus to Leribe. So far Ive met some great people and the locals have been really nice. Im excited to check out more of SA, but this has been a nice detour.

Johannesburg - Soweto

I arrived in Johannesburg this morning. The trip took about 37 hours going from Montreal to Toronto to Abu Dhabi to Johannesburg. I was planning on checking out Abu Dhabi, I had a 13 hour layover, but I was exhausted so I didn't make it.

There was a fire at the Montreal airport and everyone was evacuated. I made my flight to Abu Dhabi with no time to spare. My checked bag did not make the transfer. It never arrived in South Africa. Hopefully they will find it but at this point I don't even know what continent its on. I need to buy clothes tomorrow.

Im staying in a suburb of Johannesburg. I walked around a bit today. Tomorrow Ill probably do a bike tour of the area. Nelson Mandela's house is in this neighborhood. Its an interesting area but it wouldn't be hard to get into trouble, so I cant be reckless. Most of the people in the community have been really nice. My taxi driver even offered me a place to stay if I run into trouble. Im going to stick around this area for a few days with the hope of finding my bag.  

Yesterday I flew into Manila in the Philippines. I have about a month here until I fly back to the states. I'm staying at a hostel near the airport for the next two nights. I'm meeting up with a friend and his girlfriend on the 11th. They've been working on Vietnam for the last few months. I don't have any firm plans yet, but I'd like to get out of Manila after they arrive. I'd like to scuba, surf and do some hiking while I'm here. Not sure where the best places to go are but I'll start figuring that out shortly. It feels great to be on the road again even if it's for such a short time. It's funny how easy it is to get back into the traveler scene. On the way here I was sleeping in the Tokyo airport when a random Canadian guy woke me up. He insisted that I go hang out with him during the layover. I was reluctant but he was persistent. He ended up buying me breakfast and a beer. Pretty nice guy but a little strange. I can't wait to see what this trip has in store. I've already made friends and the first night was a lot of fun drinking and playing cards on the roof top. Traveling feels natural for me now, it's like I never stopped. This is going to be a great break from the 'normal' life I've gotten used to.