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the Adventure ends

Tuesday, September 20, 2011 | Thomas Ritt | Africa

The Kilimanjaro Tour came to an adventurous end as the group arrived in Diani Beach, Kenya, yesterday. Rain, mud, a slow, tiring border crossing and ninety minutes of riding in total darkness - Africa threw everything at us during the last day. But we made it to Diani, and the rest day in this tropical paradise is well deserved. Memories of Africa will linger for a long time - you can't just forget a tour like this!

From the Tanzanian side you can hardly ever see Mount Kilimanjaro. We considered ourselves lucky to get a glimpse of the peak, only for a few minutes before it disappeared in the clouds again. Uli marvels at the fantastic view from Irente Cliff lookout. This GS tells of the hardships that the bikes went through on this tour. A tour in Africa is not a walk in the park. It's AFRICA! The Maasai Mara is one of the most popular game parks in Africa. Still, the access road is a rough dirt track. This is Africa... This is Carl from Pennsylvania, enjoying a balloon ride over the Mara. A once-in-a-lifetime experience! To break the long ride from Maasai Mara to Amboseli we spent the night at Lake Naivasha. The sunset was, once again, spectacular.

Lake Naivasha is home to a large hippo population and more than 400 species of birds, like this Kingfisher. At the Giraffe Centre outside of Nairobi you can get up close and personal with these unusual animals. You can pet them as long as you like, or as long as there is food in your hand. This is Laura and her new friends from Canada. In Amboseli National Park you can see hundreds of elephants. There is an electric fence around our lodge in Amboseli to keep the elephants from walking through. Foreigners on big bikes attract a lot of attention. And the questions are always the same: from where, where to, how fast, how much? Ngorongoro Crater is the last game park on our itinerary. At 20 km across it is the world's largest unbroken and unflooded volcanic caldera. This is the sunset as viewed from our crater rim lodge. The crater is full of wildlife and you can get really close. The black rhino is one of the most endangered animals in the world. Around 30 live in the crater, but you still have to be lucky to see them. We were lucky! At 100 km/h, support van driver Benni hit a gazelle. It smashed through the windshield and landed on his lap. Benni put his helmet on and continued. These Africans are hard to impress...

"Big Five" refers to the five most iconic animal species in Africa: lion, elephant, rhino, buffalo and leopard. After Lake Nakuru we could already check rhino and buffalo off the list, and elephants and lions are quite easy to spot in the Maasai Mara Game Reserve. But - would we see a leopard?

YES, we did!!! This is Alex. THE Alex! And here are the elephants. Check, mission "Big Five" is accomplished!

The "Adventure Kilimanjaro Tour" is in full swing. After starting in Nairobi last Sunday we arrived at the shores of Lake Victoria today. Look at the pictures, they say more than words.

This is the only Edelweiss Tour that crosses the equator. As you can see, the group was very happy to be here. Carlos from Costa Rica received a certificate that confirms that he was here, at 0° North. Or 0° South. Or Both. The first riding day wasn't very long, but the Tusker was still well deserved. Brad from Canada samples the local bananas. Verdict: much better than the Canadian ones... Lake Nakuru National Park, the first major highlight of the tour. Lake Nakuru NP is famous for its population of rhinos. We saw eight of them during our first game drive. They are the most amazing animals! This baboon baby had lots of fun climbing on and dangling from a branch, just three feet from our Safari vehicle. But don't get too close, otherwise... ... his Dad will teach you a lesson! Here is Carlos again, all excited about the wonderful wildlife experience. Buffaloes are reputedly the most dangerous animals in Africa. Don't even think about getting out of your car! Lake Victoria is the third largest lake in the world. The sunsets are just amazing!
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Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 12:21

go right to this link for some videos. hopefully more to follow
http://www.youtube.com/user/opconet/videos
I'd recommend the 100km of craziness to Tanzania and the combined Africa clip videos as first choices
Carl P
Tuesday, January 17, 2012 at 01:29

I would also add, the safari experience is unbelievable. Lions just yards away, elephants, giraffe, leopard, hyenas, cheetahs, zebras and wildebeest by the thousands, etc... You will see EVERYTHING and be in the heart of it all. The "hotels" we stayed in were mostly great, and often right in the heart of the nature reserves. Seeing elephants out your window and baboons roaming by your door is quite the experience. But the accommodations were generally luxurious though often a long hard trip to get to.
Calla Jobb & Dave Budd
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 16:27

Thank you Carl for getting back to me..your information was greatly appreciated..my husband Dave just has a few more questions if you don't mind answering..are GPS provided on the bikes and we were thinking about taking little gifts for the children (crayons, scribblers, harmonicas..is this a good idea?)..thank you again for answering..hope to hear from you soon..Calla
Monday, February 20, 2012 at 09:48

Hi Calla,
Really the people are so poor the kids would appreciate anything. We didnt stop too much, but one time we took a random stop in the middle of nowhere and the farmers and shepards kids flocked to us. Word travels fast. Wolfgang had stickers which were a huge hit with the kids, as well as any candy or anything. I imagine crayons and coloring book would go over well but really anything would be appreciated. They arent starving in Kenya/Tanzania, but they have little in the way of amenities. anything outside is unique to them. Only the guide has a GPS on the bike. Generally we stuck together except the last 100km when the road to the Tanz border was closed and under construction and our overage papers (to get the bikes across the border) were back with the support vehicle, which was stuck in mud along with tractor trailers and other vehicles. then we separated from the guide. Again, i would stress you get off road enduro experience or you may get hurt on the trip. the conditions can be punishing at times. but overall it was beyond spectacular, the beauty, majesty and experience of east africa cannot be put in words. the ngorongor crater, masai mara, its all just amazing. and our guide Thomas found a place in Tanzania that is literally in the clouds, a beautiful place called Irente Cliff was literally on a cliff. All accommodations were great, but it is Africa and it can be hard riding to get from one to the next.
you can see some videos of mine and others at
www.youtube.com/opconet then you have to click on "videos"
I am not sure if anyone put pics up on any websites, since no one else has posted on the thread. but you can contact me on facebook via Carl Poerschke if you want more details on the trip. I looked hard to find any details before booking and could find none, so i just took the dive. And it was totally worth it.
Let me know if you have taken any other Edelweiss trips. Im trying to pick my next... The Alps adventure I rode in 2001 was also awesome, though not exotic
Just go for it, but be prepared!
Carl
Carl P
Tuesday, January 17, 2012 at 01:22

I took on this adventure in Sep 2011. It's pretty hot most of the way, so a hot weather body armor jacket and pants are a plus. It rarely gets cool except in the highest mountains of Tanzania. Only rained one day. You MUST have off road experience. It is Africa and conditions are tough... Washboard roads, huge potholes, sand, no bmw parts, clay/rain/construction, totally unpredictable. I've been all over the world, but the road system here is pretty crazy. But definitely an experience of a lifetime. 2000mi can lead to punishing days. Take small bills, US cash is taken everywhere. Thomas our guide was great, though the itinerary is sometimes up in the air and we winged some parts of the trip. Overall, highly recommended!!
Calla Jobb & Dave Budd
Saturday, November 19, 2011 at 18:42

Hello was just looking at your pictures..amazing!! my husband and I are from Vancouver, Canada and are taking this trip in 2012..do you have any suggestions on clothing, equipment/gear that would be helpful on this trip..if you have any advice on anything in regards to this adventure I would greatly appreciate it..this is definitely a BUCKET LIST dream..Hope to hear from you soon..Calla
Karo
Friday, September 23, 2011 at 19:49

Tom, you are great!!

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