1,200 miles on the open road to come!

Zak at the wheel

We three from the Centrepoint crew joined four Oxford graduates on the first leg of their 5000 miles Cycle of Life trans-African fundraising and research expedition for the wildlife conservation charity Tusk. Being 21 days into our expedition we are nearly two thirds of the way into our trip and what a journey it is shaping up to be.

We arrived in Nambia to find the desert in bloom. I was expecting expanses of sand but the rainy season was just finishing (we got caught in a humungous hail storm in the desert) and the land was covered in green. We have managed to see some truly amazing and often completely untame wildlife. And it should only get better from here on out! Our first stop was a large cat conservation project called Africat and we had some breathtaking large cat experiences. When tracking some cheetahs, luck at it’s most magnanimous would have it that we found two of them feeding on a fresh kill! We were standing only a matter of feet away without any fences, vehicles or barriers as the cats ripped, crunched and chewed on the lifeless wilderbeast. Interestingly the whole experience made Damian hungry for a kebab. Hhhmm....... We also witnessed some lions at feeding time and a leopard being reintroduced into the wild. Since Africat we have passed fighting fighting baboons, wild elephants, poisonous snakes and all sorts of large game and a technicolour spectrum of exotic birds. You certainly don't get these sights in London.

Crossing boarders, bruised bottoms and 400 miles to go!

The days are hot, the nights are cold and we have cycled, pushed and carried our bikes across almost every surface known to man, but needless to say we've nailed it all. It's a discipline thing. You've just got to let these roads know who’s boss!

On a mission of this magnitude there are always going to be problems and we have had our fair share of technical hitches, illness and injuries. However we have all worked together as a team to iron out the creases and realise our shared goals. Xavier and Damien have both in their own ways contributed massively to the team and our struggle together. Whilst the lads are in many ways chalk and cheese they both have a great sense of humour and bring good jest and a light mood to the camp.

Damian has proven a bit of a practical whiz kid and has been indispensable when it comes to fixing bikes, and other bits of kit (he practically rebuilt a clapped up old Toyota jeep at the Klein Dobe wild dog project). I think having a chance to use these skills has helped him realise what natural talents he has and the sense it makes to take them home and get trained up to make full use of them.

Xavier on the other hand has got a natural entrepeneurial flare and is ‘team haggler numero uno’. He's also got an insatiably inquisitive mind. There's never a shortage of questions about the projects we visit, the work we are doing, people's motives and so on. Subsequently, there's always good chat when he is around. He really strives to understand all that we are witnessing and experiencing here and in doing so he helps us all do the same.

Due to the fact that we are all carrying all of our kit including our tents, food, water, and clothes, we have managed to reach some wildly diverse and isolated places to camp. I know for all of us meeting the people of Africa and experiencing how they live was really important and the trip has given us the chance to do just that. We have camped at bushmen villages, hunters' farmhouses, army barracks, border posts and in the middle of absolutely nowhere with nothing but the night owls and the milky way for company. Being able to get short insights into these different African realities has been a massive eye opener for us all.

The final leg of an awesome journey 

Today the wheels stopped turning and we peddled our final kilometers on The Cycle of Life.  And what a journey it has been.

Once we left Maun we put in a fast paced and tough day on our way towards Francis Town.  We really tested ourselves and pushed our barriers with some tough cycling in scorching heat.  By the end of the day it was evident that Damian’s injury had not properly healed.  True to his tough Geordie spirit he pushed on through and managed to get back on the saddle the next day.  However knee injuries are not something to be treated lightly and it was decided that it would make sense to hitch a lift and meet the rest of the team at the hostel a further 70kms down the road.  We were booked into an amazing little lodge surrounded by magnificent Baobab trees and the relaxation time was well needed.  It has been tough for Damian battling with a recurring knee injury but I believe that test in itself has been good for him.  He has missed some cycling but he has always managed to pick himself up and keep on giving to the expedition.  I hope having surmounted the challenges he has faced out here will stand him in good stead when he takes on life’s challenges back home.

After this break the rest of the team set off on a mission no one had ever done before; to cycle across 100km of barren salt pan where there is no water or shade, the land is caked in salt and midday temperatures soar well over 100F.  It would have been reckless to send Damian into the pans so we got a lift to the far side and spent our time in a little lodge sharing the evening with the local miners.  An interesting mix of people to say the least!  Xavier was one of the four who completed the mission across the pans.  Hats off to them, this quest was a phenomenal physical feat and quite some story to tell the grandkids. 

Parts of the pans are flooded after the rainy season and provide one of the few breeding grounds in Africa for Flamingos.  We were shown around by a really nice and interesting conservationist called Graham McCulloch who works with the Flamingos.  During our tour Xavier loved playing the hero and rescued one with a broken leg.  Watching the burning sun set over this deadly flat inland sea dotted with thousands of flamingos is a sight I will never forget. We waded out into the water for sunset and once I realised our plans to get close to the flamingos were a no goer I put the cat amongst the pigeons and got a massive mud fight going.  No prisoners were taken!

Alas we had to leave the pans and head off on our final two days of cycling.  I have the utmost respect for Damian for once again showing grit and resilience and getting back on his bike.  He battled on for around 80kms clearly suffering from his knee injury.  We hitched on another 20km and found an amazing campsite in a Mapani forest.  Today Damian hitched on another 80km but it was decided that we would all do the final 20km together even if we had to crawl it.  Those of us which hadn't hitched put in a storming morning and pushed out over 80km.  We all reunited in Francis Town and sure enough met our destination together. 

When I crossed our finish line I felt a great sense of personal achievement but more so I was (and still am) buzzing off the camaraderie and shared joy of what we have all done together.  I will leave with only happy memories and a great feeling of pride and thankfulness for these past few weeks.    

See Xavier's blog 

See Damian's blog