Trip Report: The Ultimate African Experience Tour
An interview with Darryl Berman- Director and Lead Tour Guide

Q:  So, you just got back from The Ultimate African Experience Tour, a 12 day
      tour that covers the North eastern parts of South Africa. Everyone on the
      tour had a  great time. Can you give a summary of the route you covered?
A:  As you say- everybody had a great time on this tour. We covered 3200km in
     total, drove  through 3 African countries (South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland)
    and explored 4 South African Provinces including Gauteng, Mpumalanga,
    Kwazulu Natal and the Free State

Q: Mpumalanga, is known to bikers all over South Africa as bikers paradise?
     What is it like to ride there?
A: Mpumalanga is great! We did a total of 15 Mountain passes that consisted of
    never ending twisities- you come out one corner and into the next. This combined
    with beautiful view sites and waterfalls makes Mpumalanga a “Must” for all tours.
    The whole area has a warm African feel, the African villages are beautiful and it is
    amazing to drive through them and see young ladies fetching water from the
    rivers and carrying wood home on their heads to cook the evenings meal on open
    fire. There were many school children walking home in their school uniforms, all
   smiles after a long day in the class room. Life in Mpumalanga beats at a different
   rhythm!

School Girls, still smiling after walking miles to school!

Q: On Most of your tours, The group goes on a Day Safari into the Kruger
     National Park. What is that like, and what can future bikers expect to see
     on a similar safari?
A: We use an independent tour company to do our day Safari into the Kruger
     National Park. Motorcycles are not allowed into this protected wild life area that is
     home to Africa’s big 5. Our group had an amazing day in the park, and spotted
     many exciting animals from their open Safari Vehicle. They actually saw a group
     of approximately 70 Elephants crossing the road- including mothers with their
     young. They also saw a Lion stalking a Zebra, as well as an array of other wildlife
     including: giraffes, warthogs, hyenas, kudu's and much much more!

 
Footage of the Elephants spotted in Kruger, Courtesy of Linda Crill.

Q:From all the exciting story’s we heard, it sounds like the gang had quite an
     exciting deep sea fishing trip in St. Lucia. What went down?
A: Adam-(one of the tourists) convinced the rest of the group to go deep sea
    fishing.  In st. Lucia the boats have to do a wave launch, and on that particular
    day, the sea was pretty choppy. The guys all had to push the boat in a couple of
    meters into the surf and then jump into the boat, they had great fun slipping and
    sliding around, getting completely wet. They returned home in the late afternoon,
    telling  stories of “the one that got away”, but they did bring home something to
    show for themselves- a good few silver fish that were promptly spiced and put on
    to the Barbeque. It was mouth-watering good; nothing beats fresh fish straight
   from the sea! In South Africa we say “it was LEKKER!” -meaning it was really good!

 
The Wave Launch: Exciting stuff! The days Catch: very lekker!

Q: Lesotho, is a mountain Kingdom, over 80% of the country lies above
     1800m (5900 feet), and it is the only country in the world that lies entirely
     over 1000m (3300 feet). On the Ultimate African Experience Tour, you did a
     day trip into this fascinating country, can you tell us a little bit more about
     what its like to ride Lesotho’s mountain roads?
A: On this day trip we rode to Katze Dam in the Lesotho highlands and back- there
     were over a thousand corners in total. The scenery from the mountain roads is
     Amazing- it was a beautiful clear day and we could see miles and miles of rolling
    hills fading into the distance. We stopped on the side of the road and gave
    lollipops to the small African children. There smiling faces were heart warming!
    We did however learn one very important lesson that day- Goat droppings can be
    extremely slippery! We came round one corner to find goat droppings in the road,
   and went for a nice slide....

 
Riding the twistie's of Lesotho is Amazing! Later we parked our bikes
overlooking Katse Dam

Q: On the Ultimate African experience Tour you visit the battlefield of the
     Anglo- zulu war, can you tell us a little bit more about that?
A: We stopped at Rorkes drift, the spot were 6000 zulu fighters invaded a makeshift
     british hospital. There were only  110 men and 34 wounded soldiers being
     nursed in the hospital; yet despite their dwindling numbers they managed to
     stand their ground against the 6000 Zulu Warriors, driving them away after an
     entire night of fighting. The British only lost 17 men, while the Zulus lost at least
     400. Eleven Victorian crosses were awarded for gallantry in this battle. This
     battlefield is especially interesting as you get to see the battle through the eyes
     of the Zulu Site Guide.

The Zulu Battlefields, beautiful and rich in history

Q: In 2009 there are no tour dates for the Ultimate African Experience Tour, so
      if someone would like to do this tour, what options are available to them?
A: This tour is great as a "Self Guided" Tour. It is so user friendly. The sama team
      will pre-book all accommodation for you and supply you with route maps,
      accommodation vouchers and detailed guides to places of interest and off you
     go into the sunset, just you the bike and the open road! You can also book this
     tour with a tour guide for your own club or group with your own tour dates.

Some members of the group with the Shangana chief- the little guy on the right is "Chief in training"

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