Mark Wallace travels the world on his BMW R1200 GS Adventure
This morning Bike arrived at the cargo terminal at Cape Town International Airport. I took a cab to the airport, eager to be reunited with my trusty steed. When I arrived I was greeted very warmly, it seems that the workers at the cargo terminal don’t see a big bike roll off a plane every day. I was told that I’d first need to clear everything with customs and then I could see Bike.
Yesterday I told you that Bike had been misplaced and I wasn’t sure when Bike would arrive in Africa. Some people misinterpreted my post and thought I was stressed out, angry, or worried. The truth is, I was none of those things. After I learned that Bike was missing I sent some emails, made a few phone calls, and then took a nice long nap. Then I decided to relax and enjoy the warm weather of Cape Town. As it turns out, Bike was never really missing.
I survived 28 hours in a plane, but finally made it to South Africa. I took what may be the longest possible route from Buenos Airs to Cape Town; first I flew to Doha, Qatar (18 hours) and then from Doha down to Cape Town (10 hours). I had a four hour layover in Doha to stretch my legs and get some coffee, so I was able to fight off the deep vein thrombosis.
My flight from Buenos Aires to Cape Town, South Africa leaves in just a few hours. After months of planning, weeks of working out the logistics and permits, I’m now just hours from being in the air. I can’t wait to see Africa! This will be first time to Africa, but hopefully not my last. I’ll be riding from South Africa to Kenya, passing through Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Malawi, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Uganda along the way.