Welcome to Cape Town, our tourstart for the Africa leg of our Edelweiss Wordltour! The team members: Wolfgang and his son Alex, Steffen, Natali and Marc, Michael and Martin, Jaco and Holger. Some of the names sound familiar? That's correct, Martin, Michael, Natali and Marc had been on the Central and South America leg of the worldtour as well. Well done!

Preparations are ongoing and soon we will start...

...These four bikes arrived from South America and in time! Thanks to all involved, including Domenico (our TG collegue!), Olaf and Wayne here!

New (African fuel for the bikes

Visiting beautiful Bo Kaap, close to our workshop in which we work on our bikes to prepare them for our tour

...in between some vistas from the table mountain...

...and from Lion's head over Cape Town

Wolfgang, Alex and Steffen toured the vineyard Waterford Estate in Stellenbosch...

THE Father & Son picture!

---and enjoyed the sunset at Signal Hill with beautiful views over Cape Town

The crew ready for the start of the Africa leg of our Worldtour! The rain will not stop us, we want to move and Kenya (!) is the target!

Last views of the Atlantic ocean and the Table Mountain covered with its table cloth

---moving foraward at the Taal Monument

And hitting some earth roads above Paarl

The storm pushed the clouds away...

nice pass roads...

..and only topped by the Middleberg pass. What a beautiful start into our tour!

An early start brought us to this beautiful road following the Olifant river...

..and this Bougainvillea!

Coffee break in Clanwilliams

And back at the Atlantic...such a beautiful day

at our lunch stop...

and our dinner in our sweet lodge. Thanks to all of you for a great day and the pictures!

Today we will cross the border to Namibia and our target is the 2nd largest Canyon on this earth, the Fish River Canyon. Please see the amazing landscape which we discover on our motorcycles...

Jaco stopping beside us playing Highway to Hell from AC/DC! But this is the Highway to heaven!

...just amazing..

..and the hotel crew welcoming us in our beautiful lodge. What a place!

And then Alex, Steffen, Martin and Holger enjoyed a 6km speed hike on the mountain..

...and through a small hole in the rockface we reached the other side again with a beautiful view, fantastic!

Good morning! Here we are at the 2nd largest canyon on our earth... just amazing

Marc, our embassador of Edelweiss , explaining our worldtour! You are super Marc! Thank you!

Gas, in the middle of nowhere..

.. and Quivertrees, wherever they like to grow. Another small wonder of nature

Today we will ride to the Kalahari Desert. A cool morning with sunshine embraces us. Some of us will hit the main connecting road direction Mariental in order to enjoy the Kalahari desert, Alex and Steffen decided for a more adventurous approach via the Brukkaros, an 80 Million year old volcano crater.

We ARE alone out here, Namibia is the 3rd less populated country on our earth...

Our target, the Brukkaros crater

Crossing the "Fish River" once more on our way

...and slowly but steadily it got more difficult...did get Holger stuck here?

Definitely...with 3 people no problem

Difficult riding conditions quite a couple of times but here Steffen definitely decided to make a left turn All good, we had lots of fun on our adventure ride today!

In the morning we start via Mariental into the Namib desert. A last stop in Maltahöhe...Michael got a new friend..

Wolfgang having a chat with the owner...

..and now in the wide open

This vastness is just amazing...

..the support team having a short break

Marc and Natali arriving at our nice lodge

views into the desert from our terrace while the sun goes down

At 6 am the group up and running again! We want to explore this world wonder, Sossusvlei has the biggest sand dunes on our earth!

The explorer team getting out of the jeep, from here we will hike the biggest dune in Sossusvlei (of course

Steffen and Jaco...

Looks like peanuts but the hike is strenous. But rewarded with a 360° view

The summit team: Alex, Steffen, Martin and Holger

We ran down the dune and landed in the Deadvlei, a bizarre landscape...

Another highlight today is the Sesriem Canyon..

What a nice day!

A quick stop for a coffee in the morning in order to get ready for the next 300km through the Namib desert...

Wolfgang...

..and the group at the Tropic of the Capricorn

At Kuiseb Canyon..

...and out in the open...

Our brave Natali! Cool in the hot desert!

Alex and Steffen..

Here we can almost smell the closeness of the Atlantic sea..

A beautiful dinner on the quay ended our day

We had to take this foto in our hotel with "80 years back atmosphere". It seems that in Swakopmund the time came to standstill

On the way to Spitzkoppe, the "Matterhorn" of Namibia

..at the stone arch

..a small "dragon" joining us

Rock paintings 2.000 - 4.000 years old...imagine our paints today, they would last for 500 years maybe

On our way termite hills up to 3.5 meters high!

A pretty but rough way brought us here, first with the motorcycle then a hike of approx. 1.5km

Here it walked, a hundred million years ago. Wow!

At our historical Mt Etjo lodge in which 1989 the most important declaration towards the independence of Namibia was sigend

Firstly we were fed...

..and after the lions. Lateron counting the people ...)

400 to 450 km planned for today, depending on the routing, though a relaxing coffee stop at a crocodile farm

making friends with the Koi

Some action for the afternoon with a detour through the Otavi Mountains

In the early morning I searched for the gym on our super beautiful premises and found these footprints just 50m away from our room, definitely not from a housecat )

Our clients went today for a safari in the Etosha National Park and they had luck: Lions, a leopard, rhinos, elephants, gnu, giraffe, zebras and many more showed up!

We stayed in the lodge, sorting papers, fotos, videos, writing the blog and organizing the next days...and saw some smaller animals

our beautiful lodge...

...and some of their amazing pictures hanging at the walls

Alex...

Steffen..

Michael and Wolfgang shaking hands after 200 km of gravel roads...

...and a stop at Namibia's 3rd biggest Baobab tree...

...a punctured tire got a fix

...and a nice stop in a small village on the way North....very friendly people and lovely kids

Steffen showing them their pictures on his phone...

..promoting his plane...

Wolgang trying the sticks..

We made them happy with our stop and we bought some wooden hippos and elephants...and these friendly and relaxed people made us smile and happy

The sun goes down over the Okavango, Angola on the other side

Our way out of our lodge..

..discovering African street life...stopping here and there

.. we take some back roads to see some Kraal settlements

...so nice

buying some food and water in the "Kongola Trading Center"

..and our approach to our lodge in the afternoon...huuih, there were some nasty sand stretches

but worth it! Our view over the Kwando river

A very special day in the Bwabwata National Park! So peaceful and you cannot imagine what is going on in the rest of the world when you are out here...A complete reset

A very early morning start brought us to the border to Zambia, an interesting one

all lined up

Nobody really believed it when I briefed this road the day before...

We start early today as we want to cross a slightly more exciting border, the one to Zambia. We did arrive in Africa Also on the Zambian side the processes are clearly regulated but there are many "helpers" around us who of course want to earn money as well. That means that we have to keep a clear head not losing the overview and we have to take care of our belongings too. The poverty that we face now in Zambia is once again on a different level than we did perceive before. Thus on our first kilometers on Zambian terrain we gather a lot of impressions, but experience as well the friendliness of the people. And now that we are rolling relaxed on the Zambian side the road all of a sudden mutates and we remember the truck driver at the border who said it would take 9 hours from here to Livingstone. Well, it will take you about 4.5 hours for the next 130km on this masterpiece of road engineering. A local saying goes that if you see ears sticking out of a pothole, they could be of a rabbit, but from a giraffe as well. So, let's deal with it, the locals will give you a thumbs-up and the kids are excited about you anyway. This will be fun! Shortly before Kazungula everything will get better: The asphalt is good (but watch out, there are still a few potholes!), a small trucker restaurant is available as well and from here it is only about one hour to Livingstone. The beer tonight we definitely earned today and the rest day tomorrow at the Victoria Falls too!

And while standing there this small tornado developed...Jesus! Later it even took one of the roofs off!

DON'T look back )

...a stop at a small shop, making everyone happy

Alex and Steffen, thank you for the beautiful pictures!

Wolfgang animates the kids to hop on the bike, in the beginning not an easy task because they were so shy...but once the ice was broken...so nice

Steffen showing his fotos taken from them..

the kids freaking out and dancing when Alex and Steffen handed over pencils to them

Target fulfilled: We reached our Resort at the Victoria Falls before darkness. One of the most important goals while travelling Africa by motorcycle.

Our beautiful lodge at the Zambesi

What a nice and wet experience! Everyone was totally soaked after a couple of minutes

Today our 490 km ride to Lusaka, that's a target!

Our coffee stop closed..it is a Sunday.. Fruit booths instead

And an unbelievable sophisticated coffee stop in the afternoon.

In between many, many kilometers, a lunchstop, many kilometers again and a lot of impressions!

Today another task: 570km to Chipata, close to the border to Malawi. On the Great East Highway through remote eastern Zambia. This is different from yesterday, hardly any infrastructure on the way...

But even though we found something on the way..

..and Marc as well

With Michael in between the banana sellers...

Alex took some fotos at the restaurant, Jaco ordered some food and shared..

Posing in front of her stove..

Poorness along the way...

Shoveling some sand into the potholes, the only way to earn a little, littel bit of money from the truck or car drivers beside selling some charcoal along the road..

Another short rest before hitting the road again...

All arrived safely in Chipata with a lot of memories which will stay in our heads forever..

Today we will cross the border to Malawi, one of the poorest countries on our earth

Wolfgang at the amazing immigration hall between two poor countries; Africa surprises in all senses

We made it over the border and discover Malawi, " The warm heart of Africa".

Well yes, true!

Along the road waving kids and grown ups with open mouths when we pass with our big motorcycles

What an experience and we are thankful being here..

A couple of options today...relaxing at our resort

Cartography...thumbs up, the team is in to this tour!

...a hike to a small fisher village...

And Martin found a job immediatly! )

Very good team work

On the way North today...fuel stop, also for the locals

Natali,,,

Steffen with some gifts for the kids..

our beloved Malawi Lake in the background

arrived at the nice resort

In the morning at our place and after an adventurous way out...

..a chat with the teachers from the village

Shortly before the sudden end of "our highway" in the mountains...

...I asked again if they really want to proceed...absolutely I heard.

...and the rough adventure starts...

...looks all peanuts, I know...we took the fotos where we were able to stand..

..a glimpse thru the forest on the Malawi Lake

Martin..

Steffen..

Alex in action...

Well done Wolfgang, Martin, Alex and Steffen! More than one hour on the bike for hard 18 kilometers!

Today we will leave Malawi and cross the border to Tansania...passing rice fields in the morning

well seen Martin!

Firstly everything went fast, then processes took its time ...but all okay. The upfront preparation of this border crossing was worth it!

In Tansania! We pass tea and banana plantations and climb up on more than 2.200 meters...

A last break before we start our landing into Mbeya..

Alex and Steffen...

and amazing light after a little bit drizzle

First a morning ride on the mountain to the Rift Valley lookout point. In that sense impressive that one day maybe someone will look down from here into the sea!

Since we reached the Malawi Lake a few days ago we follow the East African Rift System.

Also without the sea , just beautiful up here...

farming in the altitude

These women cooked some food for us and were so happy about some tip. And their happiness made me happy.

Good luck to you!

Before breakfast a short hike on the Ligangalyehlonga rock, the rock that speaks. Weather it were the Hehe speaking to their ancestors or chief Mkwawa observing the German troops and coordinating the tribes next moves...it is nice up here overlooking Iringa and the surounding landscape

Leaving our hotel towards the capital of Tansania, Dodoma

something to think about on the way...

..and some action on the connecting mountain road

 Steffen and Alex engaging with Maasai, nice...

a relaaxed coffee stop...

One of the many Baobabs now...

After relaxed cruising with some potholes in between all of a sudden action again; similar to bulldust in Australia...tricky terrain!

end time mood or Mad Max II impressions...

Michael in the gas pump

Today more about covering the distance...and when you think nothing really happens...just a road side stop in the middle of nowhere...and people come from anywhere

..first some curios children..

...then some truck drivers which firstly passed by and made a u-turn

...some women with their kids from the next village..

...and everybody has fun! Colorful Africa

Leaving our Singida Lake...

Mt. Hanang in the background after riding on an elevation about 1.700-1.800m since we left Singida..and pretty chilly up here..

and a warm coffee welcome

After Babati we decided for the todays challenge on backcountry roads.

Views on Manyara lake..

up, up, up on hardpac/ earth roads..

Our Rooikappie following...

a stop on the mountain pass road and the kids having fun with our drone..

..amazing views

..and getting more busy up here

Wolfgang and Steffen passing

stopping in a village...

always means excitement on either side )

What a great day, super riding on remote roads!

Tomorrow will be another big day, we will visit the Ngorongoro Crater!

An amazing experience at one of the seven wonders of the world...

...seeking the shade of the car!

Thank you for the beautiful pictures!

...we had a hike instead through the beautiful landscape around us

I heard it already during the night, pouring rain. Actually the first time since we left Cape Town!

And the way out of our lodge at the Ngorongoro was a small challenge...these roads just mutate when it rains

Views on Manyara Lake..

Later we stopped at a Maasai village and what started a bit of a negotiation developed so nicely and we had the feeling like leaving as friends...

Just another nice and fulfilling day on our journey!

Aaah ja...later in the afternoon and we had this nice hike around Lake Duluti, fleeing the authorities firstly, later negotiating with them... great fun! )

Again a change of the landscape..the Usambara mountains North of us and Sisal Agave plantations around us. The fiber is used in various products such as ropes and yarns, fillings, polishing materials...1/5 of the worlds fiber procucts are based on this plant which most likely has its origin in Chiapas, Mexico...haaaa, we had been there just 6 months ago! It feels like ages in between since we saw and experienced so many things on our worldtour!

And now our mountain ride starts on this wild road into the Usambara mountains...

Martin looking for the most elevated point..

Steffen...

Martin..

...what took their attention?

Jaco flying the drone, fascination pure for the kids!

At home we have to sort our video material...such a beautiful ride on rough eucalyptus lined roads and the last kilometers on an earth track to our Hotel at the drop off to the valley

Marc...

..and Natali arriving

Well done everyone!!

The cliff view just behind our hotel...Just wow!

The crew at the drop off...

..enjoing amazing views while the sun settles slowly at the horizon

All of us cannot believe that this is our last riding day on this Africa Worldtour leg!

A cool morning breeze sweetens our start...and a last picture from our lodge..

Also this can happen...a government convoy holding us back from continuation to the border to Kenia which we want to cross today

waiting with the locals..

...making her happy with buying a coke at her jail like shop

along the road, the kids freaking out seeing us

And finally our arrival at our resort after approx. 9.000 km depending on which exact routing has been taken!

What an adventure through six (very) different African countries, cultures, amazing landscapes from the desert into the tropics, from the sea into the mountains and to the Indian ocean on the other side of Africa, meeting very friendly people everywhere...and last but not least our team riding together, helping each other whenever necessary!

Thank you very much Wolfgang, Alex and Steffen, Michael and Martin, Natali and Marc and my colleague Jaco for a great experience we will never forget!

Holger

...last but not least.. the loading starts during the next days in our nice resort

...still on the easy part...

and getting more complex looks chaotic but making sure that no scratches or damages will occur during the transportation to Mombasa and over the sea back to Germany and Austria 

in between some fun with the kids, Marc letting her sitting on his motorcycle and every time she passed by with her mother she wanted to get on the motorcycle again. Firmly she said "I like motorcycles!" Maybe another motorcycle rider is born here

As we inpired so many people throughout the journey...

and here a "this doesn't work picture" of Marc when we saw the first trial of transporting our motorcycles...actually an interesting process started from here

...enjoying our resort

after storage of our support van in Mombasa we took a tuktuk to the chaotic ferry connection....thousands of people per ferry crossing the 500m of water to the main land, you cannot even see the ground while walking in single file side by side through this African super chaos

Saying good bye, Michael hopped on a chair , not knowing that they would meet a couple of hours later again because the loading started finally

..at 11 pm all of a sudden full action..

crazy stuff..

hard labor and sweat running into your eyes..

Yeahhh, we did it!! At 1:30 in the morning: Six motorcycles in the truck!

That's Africa! )