Deane's 2009 Motorcycle Trip
South Africa
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Deane's 2009 Motorcycle Trip South Africa |
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Wrap-up of South Africa Tour |
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Every one of us felt we had a wonderful tour. The weather was absolutely fantastic, with virtually no rain, and riding temperatures of mostly high 60's to 75 or so (Fahrenheit). The only time we put on our rain suits was only for about 15 miles, and then it quit. We had very sunny or overcast days, but not cold, and only two days that got too hot. We did have windy days, though, and they were difficult to ride in. Darryl and Jonathon did a splendid job of planning, guiding, furnishing great food, stopping at areas of particular interest, and all aspects of putting on a first class tour. In the actual riding area, Darryl and Jonathon introduced us into many, many great roads to ride. The mileages per day that I show seem low in comparison with United States roads in the western states, but the curvy aspects of the roads and the traffic through one has to thread the needle, these were very challenging days. We had wonderful sightings of African wild animals, and a really great diversity of these animals. Through the four national animal preserves, we saw more than anyone could have imagined. Here is a partial listing of the wild animals we saw, very close up. Elephants, Lions, Rinosersous, Buffalo (4 of the Big 5 - it is rare to see number 5, the Leopard), Cheetahs, Wildebeest, Crocodiles, Hippos, Impala, Wart Hogs, Wild Dogs, Spring Boks, Roans, Tigers, Giraffe, Monkeys, Baboons, Whales, Penguins, at least - There are more that we saw on the first "Rino and Lion Reserve, but I can't remember them all. That is a tremendous number of wild animals for one trip. Wonderful!!!! (And that doesn't count the ones in cages, as their protectors strive to keep the population of such animals from going low enough to approach extinction.) On the actual riding statistics, the complete tour took about 4,050 Kilometers, or about 2,570 Miles. Gasoline cost was about $4.00 per gallon, and the motorcycles got more than 45 miles per gallon.
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