Well I am about 450km into Mozambique and I really don’t know what to make of it yet. I crossed the border at Vila de Nova through the most spectacular forest path. After stocking up in Nsanje in Malawi, I was redirected to a tiny little path through the forest and banana trees for about 40km before reaching the Mozambique border.

Crossing the border was a spectacularly enjoyable experience, no cues, no touts, nobody desperately trying to change money, no bargaining, no heated debates when they try to fleece you, no spending hours waiting for officials to clear you. I just arrived, had my passport stamped, cycled the 6km through no mans land, had my passport stamped again, changed my money with a guy who gave me the exchange rate I asked for first time and then proceeded to cycle the 50km along the sand track down to Vila de Sena. Most of the journey was spent with the local fisherman, who were all on their way down to the river to do a good days fishing. When I finally reached the mighty Zambezi River I found that the bridge for vehicles was closed for repairs and the only way of crossing was along the railway line. So following the line of locals I hauled my bike up onto the railway track and crossed the 2km bridge into Vila de Sena.

From there life became considerably less interesting as I tried to get to grips with Portuguese and the new currency (The Meticais). At first glance their currency confused me as they operate 2 separate decimal values for the same currency!!! 1000m is 25 cents (US) and $40!!! Its not so bad when you get the hang of it and you know what all the coins and notes are, but it is confusing when you start. Amazingly Portuguese is a relatively simple language to understand, I can understand quite a lot of what people are saying but I am really struggling to answer.

Once I reached Caia the dirt track ended and I was thankfully back on tarmac. Mozambique must have an incredibly low population density, as 99% of the country is simply forest! All the way through my journey, I have cycled through small villages, towns or even just stalls on the side of the roads selling food, every couple of kilometers. However, since coming into Mozambique I have pretty much just seen forest! I can cycle for a whole day and only come across 2 tiny little villages, neither of them equipped to sell anything at all. This complete absence of all contact is one of the reasons I can’t quite make my mind up about this country. The other reason is something more subtle. Although on the surface this is definitely an African country with many of the same trends, it also has a very peculiar lack of African intensity. Firstly the customary negotiation that is normally so heated and intense is almost non existent. They give one price, you give another and they usually settle for that… Life is still painfully slow but not even nearly on the same scale as any of the other countries. The people are all friendly but there is a distinct reduction in the ‘Mzungu’ shrieks that normally echo in the air long after you have cycled past people.

Anyway, I am sorry this is a short post but tiredness has overwhelmed me and I have to be up early in the morning. Will right again as soon as I can.

I have included below a set of observations and tips, things that I have discovered along my journey that might be of use to others wanting to undertake a similar adventure. In part 1 I am covering the practical side of the equipment whilst in part 2, I will actually give you a run down of each country. However seeing as I haven’t been through all the countries yet the second part will have to wait a few more weeks. Incidentally in a bid to be home with Katie for Christmas I have seriously increased my daily mileage and I am almost out of Malawi.

So what would I consider to be indispensable equipment when cycling through Africa? Well the truth is I would only say that you actually need 4 things: A bike (and I think that Herbert has proved that it can be pretty much any old bike), a set of cloths (as much to protect you from the sun as for common decency), your passport (with any relevant visas etc.) and money. Thats pretty much it. Of course there are a number of other items you can bring that will aid you on your journey but that is actually all you NEED.

The items that will make your life more comfortable and considerably easier are actually pretty limited as well. A map is a huge help and I would recommend getting a waterproof one even if its going inside a waterproof pouch. A waterproof bag that fits onto your handlebars to put everything in that you can take off easily and carry around with you. A first aid kit is an excellent idea but you can buy most basic drugs in towns and cities so don’t go OTT with a medi kit that will allow you to perform open heart surgery on the side of the road!!!! Most importantly make sure you have what you need to clean cuts and cover them up. Malaria tablets are a good idea and although they are considerably cheaper out in Africa they have a huge problem with counterfeits so be careful. A tool kit, the reason this isn’t on the essential list is because no matter where you go, no matter how small the village, somebody will have enough tools and knowhow to fix your bike. That said I give you about 5 days before they drive you completely crazy with their ‘African Way’ of fixing things so I would probably recommend taking a good multi tool with you, a few spare parts such as an extra inner tube and a pump. Incidentally something that we never found written anywhere in any of the ‘Cycling Africa guides’ before we left, was that African pumps are designed exclusively to fit to their special African valves and they wont fit on standard European valves!!! Depending on the countries your planning on cycling through, a helmet is also not a bad idea. I was torn between putting the next item in the essential list but decided that it was in fact just a very useful item and not critical for success… a bell (make it as loud as possible). Something that I never really used until reaching Malawi were water purification drops (iodine). Up until Malawi you could buy drinking water on the side of the road every few kilometers (its relatively expensive but worth it) but its a real rarity in Malawi so I would just check with somebody that has been to your destination before deciding whether to take any. A cycling computer can be both your best friend and your worst enemy but in the long run is probably a good thing. Not so you can gloat over how far you have cycled but so you can get an idea of distances between towns and villages. Unfortunately on a bad day you stare at it every 2 minuets and painfully watch the kilometers creep by.

No trip is complete without it’s luxury items. My luxury items constitute about 70% of all my equipment amazingly. This is predominantly cameras, batteries and chargers. When ever I look in other peoples equipment they have the most obscene amount of adapters to convert plugs for one country to another, which take up vast amounts of space. If space and weight is a premium, as it is on a bike, then cut out the middle men. At almost all borders you can buy plugs for that country (just the plastic housing with the relevant contacts), if you take your one off and give it to them, they will usually exchange it for the next one you need. Aside from all my electronic equipment that I use for filming, taking photos and writing posts my most useful luxury item is my ‘Panga Knife’ (It’s basically a 50cm machete). On top of acting as a generally very useful tool (for opening coconuts or cutting pineapples etc.) it is a good deterrent and protection against animals. You can pick them up pretty much anywhere for about $3 to $5.

One of the things that I have deliberated over quite considerably is my tent… To take a tent or not to take a tent? In conclusion I would have to say that there is no real need for camping equipment (tent, mattress or sleeping bag). Almost every single village and town has rest and guest houses that cost between $3 and $7. In your room you usually get a towel, a shower, a bed and a toilet. They are designed for truckers to stop at and so some are slightly on the noisy side and prostitutes are no rare sight but they are perfect for a traveler needing a rest and a wash. The reason I have started to prefer these to camping is that the room is more spacious than a tent, cooler, they have plugs and all your kit is together and out of sight. On top of this tents are usually soaking in the morning from dew, condensation or rain and if they are designed to be animal proof then they will probably weigh in excess of 10kg.

Of course it is going to depend on the purpose of your journey as to what equipment you will take and you will have to make the decision to balance up what you are going to take versus the amount of effort you will need to peddle it along. However I hope that you will see from what I have put in the indispensable list that actually you really don’t need much kit at all. Africa is pretty much designed to accommodate its own people and by extension if you can live like them it will also accommodate you.

I am hopefully (if I can find the time) going to sum up each country I have cycled through when I get a little closer to the end and therefore don’t want to say too much about Tanzania at this point (BUT…I am really glad to be over the boarder and into Malawi!) I am incredibly thankful to be past what I would consider the country with the worst drivers in the world!!! It certainly wasn’t all bad though and I would just like to say thanks again to Sebastien and Sam for all your hospitality and help.

Which brings me on nicely to why this post is called ‘2 Months and 2 Days’. Yesterday, after cycling through 4 countries for 2 months and 2 days something happened that has rekindled my dwindling faith in the Africans. Speaking exclusively from the experience of this trip I can say that the huge majority of Africans are indeed very kind, but their generosity on the other hand only extends as far as your wallet does! However after cycling a slightly longer day than I had expected, an elderly gentleman started to cycle along side me. I am joined for a few kilometers at a time by other cyclists all day long, as they go to and from neighboring villages, so that in itself was no big deal but what came next was a huge deal (to me in any case). After a lengthy discussion about the usual topics he asked me if I wanted to come and spend the night at his house. He was very quick to add that it would be his pleasure and there would be no charge. I was so taken back by the gesture of this ‘poor’ (for want of a better word) Malawian fisherman that I almost crashed Hebert right off the road.

His house was an extra 10km from were I had planned to stop for the night and so I grit my teeth and peddled on. His house was a modest, earth walled and grass roofed, traditional hut overlooking lake Malawi. The 2 dug out canoes and his fishing net lay out on the sand in front of the house as his friend prepared the gear for that nights fishing. As I understand it they only fish at night and use a lantern to attract the fish. His house had one main room about 2m by 3m (just tall enough to stand in) and 3 curtained doorways, which gave way to other rooms. The kitchen was in a separate outhouse as were the toilets and washing area. Still slightly shocked I was introduced to the family before going off to wash and get ready for dinner. During dinner we discussed a real mix of topics, I discovered that in his village it was traditional for men to have more than one wife and that he had another wife that lived the other side of the village. I was curious to hear how the two wives felt towards each other and how the whole social ladder worked. I also discovered a huge amount about fishing on the lake and how the fisherman are positive that a motorboat is the answer to making them all very wealthy!

We talked until about 21:00 before I could no longer keep my eyes open. I had really wanted to go out and film them fishing but the wind had picked up and the waves meant that they would not go out fishing until the following evening so I payed my respects and retired for the evening. My room was just long enough for my to lye down in and they had put down a blanket for me to sleep on. There was no window so without the light of my head torch it was completely black. Just before I switched the torch off, it flashed across the grass sealing and I counted 27 largish spiders getting busy for a nights hunting. Probably not everybody’s cup of tea but as long as they were eating mosquitoes then they were friends of mine.

After a slightly hot night we washed and sat down to an enormous breakfast, they didn’t want me to go hungry on my journey so they cooked enough rice to feed an army with some eggs, tomatoes and bread. We discussed a whole load more about Europe and the rest of the world before I the time came for me to pack up the bike and bid each other farewell. Despite his remarkable gesture he was in no position to feed me the amount of food he did and so I left him a contribution towards his weeks grocery bill and parted on the road side.

I am still somewhat overwhelmed that on a continent that is obsessed with money, one of the poorest of them all should break the mould and offer such a gesture of good will and generosity. To Levi, Dorothy and the whole family, I know you cannot use a computer but I was truly touched by your kindness and friendship.