Perhaps more annoying than having to wake up at 5am after hitting the sac at 4.30am is having to plee with your scooter to start so that you don’t miss the much awaited ferry you have been dreaming of for the past few days! A quick spray of some standard AXE deodorant in the air intake and Roxy rumbled to life (for future reference this was the standard procedure to starting her every morning). At least the deo wasn’t going to waste!
Our schedule was already a tough one. We had 270km to ride (with a border crossing) to catch the Sea Lion in Mlibizi by 11am. Our well tested formula was ETA = km x 2. That is 270km would take us just more than 5 hours to complete. We rolled through the border at 8am (260km to ride in 3hrs). This surely was an impossible feet. Slightly anxious all the other crews who were catching the Kariba ferry pushed on ahead. That morning, riding through the Zimbabwe escarpment, was possibly the best stretch of road we were fortunate to ride. We took on valleys, mountain passes, cruised around hairpins, and through chicanes, all with Kariba Dam approaching on the horizon. Perhaps one of the most beautiful sites we saw! At 12pm, with only one pee/refuel break, the two scooters boarded the Sea Lion last. Or were we? As we left the docking area we heard the cries of Team Risk Africa running along the shoreline. In the 30 years of operation the Sea Lion has never felt remorse and fetched late comers, however it was her first roundabout turn and we picked up the lads to add to our Pirate party on deck. Now three or four G&T’s down, we left the shores for Kariba Town (in memory of our counter-parts in the Inaugural rally, Pirates of Kariba Dam!)
With soft cushions under our bums, cold beverages in our hands, and 15 odd Put Foot teams on board, the 24 hour Ferry trip was destined for greatness. We ate like kings (i.e capenta), watched both the sunset and sunrise, drank the ferry dry, and for the first time on the rally were able to plainly relax.
Panic on deck. “Is no one concerned?” were the cries on board. The Silly Buggers were last seen wearing life vests and heading to the captains chambers! Our attempt at pillaging the Sea Lion failed miserably as Fish tried to steer us into an island. Apparently his ferry manoeuvrability is as good as his scooter control (perhaps the thought of the odd “seekoi” ahead got him nervous).
Around lunchtime we docked in Kariba Town and disembarked first off deck. This gave us a great opportunity to sit up perched and water spray all other teams leaving the ferry. Fish found a lucky lass to ride shotgun on Frances and James picked up a few bewilded kids as we explored the sites in and around the beautiful town. We found an awesome little local pub up in the hills whose hospitality was nothing short of incredible. A couple of km’s later, at dusk, we were at checkpoint 4! Ay Kariba Kariba!!!
Kitted in our Mexicano ponchos and moustaches (Fish has an issue with facial hair) we partied the night away knowing that we had made it to Kariba, a mammoth 4800km from our JHB startline! Our ferry captain and host, Rob, joined us for the night and in true Zimbo style would not let us buy a beverage. I’m sure we will be seeing Rob and his Sea Lion in the near future!
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| Border control didn't let us take our friends |
The following morning we rose with the resident hippos and elephants and contemplated the next stage of our tour. Three days, three countries and 1050 km to Lake Malawi. With renewed vigour in our scooters, and refreshed spirits, we made our way back north towards Zambia. Thank you Zimbabwe for your hospitality, your roads, your wildlife, and your beer!
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| James' stache growth thanks to the tequila |
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