The trip began as a dangerous dream: one of those lingering ideas that won’t let you go. How about a solo bike-packing journey from Cape Town to Kilimanjaro? I’ve always wanted to explore Africa and as an avid cyclist, a bicycle trip was the obvious choice – the petrol price was quite persuasive as well!
I wanted this adventure to be meaningful beyond simply crossing countries by bike, so I decided to do it as a woman alone in the hopes of making a statement against gender-based violence. The trip would also help to raise funds for the Saartjie Baartman Centre, a safe haven for women and children in Cape Town.
My journey – which I dubbed “Cape2Kili” – began on 21 May 2022 from Rook Cycles in Bree Street, Cape Town. Rook sponsored my bike (aka “Chonky Donkey”), and all the spares that I could possibly need, so it was only fitting to start there. My family and some close friends came to see me off, and my sister and dad cycled with me for the first day.
My plan with Cape2Kili was to cycle to Tanzania via Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Malawi over the course of three months. I had about 6000km to cover by 25 August, when I’d start hiking up Kilimanjaro. After that, I’d fly back to Cape Town.
I followed the roads hugging the West Coast for a while and then cut back to the N7 at Nuwerus. Once in Namibia, I took the scenic back roads (read: sandy and corrugated) to Windhoek. From there, I headed to Botswana, which I entered via the Buitepos/Mamuno border post. By this point I was covering around 100km a day.
My only previous visit to Botswana was when I cycled the Tour de Tuli –
