Tour D'Afrique- some of my best memories & moments were off the bike

"Africa is raw adventure- , You just have to release your 'safety net', put yourself out there, and you are guaranteed to begin to really experience Africa, to interact with the people. You almost can't go wrong, where ever you go. Just get out there and experience it!"

Perhaps the most important statement I heard while traveling across Africa.......

The above statement was made by Henry Gold, president & director of Tour Dafrique ltd. Henry has extensive,deep connections & experiences in Africa, having started, directed,and operated CANPAR, a Canadian NGO aid organization Africa, some 20 years ago.

The Tour D'Afrique is primarily a cycling trip across Africa. While the cycling has been challenging & great, some of my best moments & memories are of experiences that happened off the bike........

For me, it was when the riding is done for the day, & there is a mountain or hill near the campsite that many of the amazing experiences occurred. It may be a brief exchange between a startled cattle or sheep herder, way up in the hills that does it. It may be the awesome, amazing vistas one is rewarded with for making the ascent. It may be the cool, refreshing breeze at the summit on a very hot day. On the other hand, it could be the kids that ran beside you in the Kilimanjaro Marathon, Kilimanjaro suddenly looming majesticaly way abvove you, as you run past the 9 kilometer mark on Marathon day. The sweet sounds of singing from the churches along the marathon route in Moshi. Looking back down at Moshi and the surounding Tanzanian countryside from the Summit of Kilimanjaro, a few days after the marathon. Crunching through fresh snow in bitterly cold temperatures near the summit. Marvelling at the magnificent glacierfields on the summit crater.

The kids looking up from tending their goats, waving at you. The mothers and young children waving from the doorway of their modest dwelling. Bargaining for bananas at the corner fruit stand,where the locals buy their fruit. Asking some kids, in the middle of no where, which way back to the main road. You can bet they have never seen, nor will likely ever see again, a white guy running by, clad in a white dry fit top and black lycra running shorts!

Then there were the 2 guys we met , way up in the Ethiopian Hills> A fellow cyclist and I were returning to our campsite, following a failed summit bid (it was getting late and we ran out of time). In broken English, they insisted we follow them, and kept mentioning something about some letters on something. We were getting very late for dinner. Although we tried to leave them, they strongly insisted we follow them. Our thoughts turned to the possibility of us becoming a human sacrifice, but curiosity got the better of us and we followed them. Down the mountainside, across dried up corn fields, towards a large concentration of grass huts. Shortly thereafter, they pointed to a large chunk of stone sitting, partially exposed in the bank of a dry riverbed. Sure enough, there were the letters, carved into the stone tablet, perhaps hundreds or thousands of years ago. It was amazing! We took pictures and made a diagram of the symbols carved into the stone block. We were both amazed and dumbfounded by what we had just experienced. We felt a bit like Indiana Jones, except we could not read the hieroglyphic like text..

Another amazing find off the beaten track was the ancient stepped agriculture sites way up in the Ethiopian hills, and a 'lost city' type collection of over 200 grass huts-resembling a 'lost city', at the crest of a very remote and hidden ridge top, way up in the Choke mountains.

Waking across the simmering desert to a tiny "town' in Sudan, to try and buy a warm coke, and look at a heard of Camels ready to go to auction. Making a soccer ball out of old discarded inner tubes and duct tape, and watching the anticipation and delight at the crowd of kids eagerly awaiting the new creation. Visiting an ancient monastery in Ethiopia, where the monks still carry on the traditional ways, some even living in cliff side caves. Seeing the large cooking buildings where big round loaves of rich dark brown bread is made over traditional wood fired ovens, the bread being one of the staples in the monks diet.

Visiting the riverside of the famous Nile river and going in for a refreshing dip.
Walking to the famous Victoria falls, and getting absolutely drenched. At 1.7 kilometers long, a truly amazing sight, and one of the 7 natural wonders of the world.
Walking along a beach on the Red sea, or, on the other side of the continent, along the Atlantic Ocean in South Africa. Walking to the edge of the Blue Nile Gorge, or the Fish river Canyon, and peering down into the depths as the sun sets.


Often adventure and beauty were 'just across the road', as was found in the deserts of Egypt. Beautiful, golden sand and gravel hills, as far as the eye could see, dramatically changing in appearance as the sun set in the distance. To those that made the effort to take a walk away from our daily campsites were richly rewarded. Their African experience was greatly enhanced. All they had to do was step outside the the perceived safety of camp. Unfortunately, the vast majority of TDA tour cyclists rarely ventured out of camp, and missed out on a great many awesome sights and experiences.