Take On Africa

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Well I’m back from another trip and finally have some time to spare. I thought it about time I put together some of the videos I took while biking through Africa. So over the next few weeks I’ll be gradually sorting through and uploading a few. To begin with we go to Guinea and Guinea [...]

I’ve just created a short video of the cycle from Morocco through the Western Sahara and Mauritania. You can check it out on my new website: Helen’s Take On… video of Cycling Across the Sahara

I wrote a review of the bike equipment after a year on the road, from Yaounde in Cameroon, after 17,000km. Now, having completed my ride to Cape Town, after 25,000km in total, it’s time for an update. Since Yaounde there has been little to fix – the wobbling wheel got worse but I lived with [...]

The big question (when you arrive is Cape Town after 20 months cycling nearly 25,000km) is ‘What next?’ Well, here’s the answer…. http://helenstakeon.com/blog/whats-next/ As you can see, I’ve set up a new website for my new adventures. I’ll keep this Take On Africa website live, but most things I post from now on will be [...]

Keen shoes – Targhee II I just love Keen shoes! These lasted the duration of the trip – that’s over 24,000km of cycling and walking when the roads were too bad to ride. Through torrential downpours, river crossings, muddy tracks and sandy paths. Ok, so they’re very worn now and I’ll need a new pair [...]

Tent – MSR Hubba Hubba This tent was a great choice – a two-man tent which is free-standing and can be put up inner only meets all the needs of travelling in Africa. The inner, a mesh material, acts as a mosquito net – I frequently put this up on beds in cheap hotels where [...]

Cape Town!! I made it. After 24,600km and 1000+ beers! It’s a great feeling! Anyway, here are some pics from the last bit of the trip from Namibia into South Africa and along the West Coast. I spent the weekend by the Berg river in Velddrif (Thanks to Rusty, Kim and co who put me [...]

Not much mentioning of the bike recently? Apart from one puncture (the first since Ghana, 8,000km ago) it’s been a smooth ride. Good tarmac roads since I left Lubumbashi – that’s 3,000km of excellent roads – and barely a hill in sight. Easy pedalling. Time to think; time to look around. Time to ponder and [...]

From Sesriem I took a short trip to Sossuvlei to see the dunes there. Pretty stunning but dunes nonetheless. And I’ve seen a lot of dunes now! But with all the rain there was a lake where the river ended and well, that was rather nice. After that, it was a real slog south to [...]

From sleepy Swakopmund on the coast I headed south to Walvis Bay. Then it was a tough ride inland across the desert, up the Gamsberg Pass and down the Spreetshoogte Pass to Solitaire. Another day’s ride and I finally made it to Sesriem from where I went to see the famous dunes at Sossusvlei. Photos [...]