Why cycle through Africa?

After a really tough year getting the ‘One World’ expedition ready, only to be faced with a huge setback at the latter stages of the sponsorship process, leading to the project being postponed a year, Tarka and Katie-Jane were desperate to get away from the desk for a while. Cycling Africa takes little preparation, only a small amount of finance and next to no logistics. A pure adventure, just what they needed!

Why on African bicycles?

Primal Journey joined up forces with Raleigh to help promote the British charity Re-Cycle. Re-Cycle ship second hand unwanted bicycles from the UK to Africa were they transform lives (for more information on the charity please see the sidebar). If Tarka and Katie could cover 8000km on a bicycle that many of us would throw in a skip, then maybe they can encourage people who have an old unused bike rusting in the back of the shed, to take it along to Raleigh and make a huge difference to someone’s life.

 

Their 8000 km journey, which took 11 weeks to complete, passed through 8 countries (Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland and South Africa). The journey was incredibly diverse ranging from the desert of Djibouti, with its lunar landscape, parts of which are regarded as some of the most desolate spots on earth, through to the lush green farmlands of Ethiopia, the tropics of Mozambique and in stark contrast the roof of Africa on the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro.

 

Unfortunately only Tarka was able to complete the entire journey. Katie, 1 month in, received a phone call from home forcing her to be on the next available plane back to the UK putting an end to her African adventure.

The highlights:

Buying Herbert - after 2 days of searching in Djibouti for bicycles (It was not apparent until their arrival that Djibouti, unlike nearly all other African countries, doesn’t ‘do’ bicycles!) However when they finally found two, they couldn’t have been more how they had imagined if they had tried, especially Herbert.

Tarka summiting Mt Kilimanjaro - Not so much because it was a great achievement for him, for he has climbed much higher, but because after this journey he has realised he is a cold weather person! At the top of Kili, in the cool thin air with snow under foot, was the only time he felt really content.

 

 Bale Mountains in Ethiopia – After an epic journey to get to the breath taking mountains at 4000m, the magic came when Tarka and Katie had taken a day off from the bikes to hike and free camp in the national park. A park believed to have no large game! They were just blown away, if not a little apprehensive, when at dusk two lioness strolled straight past them.

 

 Huruma Orphanage – After Katie’s sudden departure Tarka had to find a home for her bike ‘Flashdance’ and the Huruma orphanage on the outskirts of Arusha couldn’t have been a more deserving home. Receiving no funding as they are not set up as a charity they were over the moon at Flashdance’s arrival. Not only because it will provide some fun for the children, but more importantly it will really help with the 2 mile journey the kids make everyday to get water.