 | Make sure that you visit your doctor well in advance to go over the
medical issues for your trip. If at all possible at least two months in
advance. Depending on your previous vaccinations you may require four or
five visits, and some vaccinations require a two week spacing. |
| Take thick walled Kevlar belted tyres. There are thorns everywhere.
I took light weight competition tyres and I wish I had taken thicker
tyres. You can waste so much time and energy on punctures. |
| Use puncture proof tubes with Kevlar belt lining inserts. I used
lightweight tubes with Kevlar inserts and it was not enough. Like the
others on the trip, I hardly went any day without a puncture and some
days I had three or four punctures. Others without Kevlar belts had more
punctures. Pete who had puncture proof tubes went for eight days before
his tubes punctured in a gooey mess. Take at least one spare puncture
proof tube plus spare conventional tubes. |
| Make sure that you have a really good fast easy mini pump on your
bike, for all those punctures and repairs. |
| Consider a long sleeve shirt or some arm protection. I thought that
the blackberries in Australia were bad. The thorn bushes in East Africa
are ten times worse. Plenty of 30+ sun cream will protect you from sun
burn but the sun's heat is so intense. A long sleeve shirt will reduce
that burning feeling. But be prepared to have it ripped to threads by
the thorns. |
| Try and organise one chain cleaner device amongst the whole group.
It is so dusty you need to clean the chain every day. A chain cleaner
will be faster and do a better job. You are depending on your bike for
10 hard days, it will pay to look after it. |
| Take at least one really good bike cloth to wipe down components. |
| Take a hat or a cap for when you are not on the bike. Especially
crossing lake Manyara. There is no shade. |
| I took two pairs of bike shorts, but there was limited opportunity
to wash them so three would have been better. On the other hand I only
used my thermal under top once, combined with my cycling wind rain proof
jacket. Otherwise I did not use my thermal underwear. |
| I found my chamois towel invaluable for drying off after the daily
wash. Due to the limited amount of water, it was more a wash down than a
shower. Often it was too late in the day for a normal towel to dry. |
| Do not take any type of inflating mattress. It is certain to
puncture no matter how careful you are. Despite the nuisance of
travelling with a bulky closed cell foam hiking mattress, it is the only
way to go on the African plains. |
| Take plenty of warm clothing when you go into Ngorongoro Crater, it
may turn colder than you expect in the open top jeep. |
| Be sure to fit in at least a couple of days in Zanzibar. Take your
bike over and ride around Old Stone Town. If you are coming from
Australia then you will be flying Emirates as it is the only airline with
good connections to East Africa. Emirates fly into Dar Es Salaam so it
is a short ferry ride from there to Zanzibar. |
| Flying Emirates from Australia, it is worth considering one of their Dubai stopover
packages. They are excellent value. I was surprised how interesting this
city in the middle of the desert was. Both the half day tour and the
morning riding around were worth while. |
| Emirates stop at Nairobi, so it is closer from Arusha to fly out of
Nairobi, although not that much quicker. It would be easy to have a stop
over in Nairobi as well. However from the couple of hours that spent
looking around Nairobi I would not put it high on my list. Taking the bus all the way from Dar Es Salaam through to Nairobi gave me
a good chance to compare how much better the conditions in Kenya seemed
to those in Tanzania. |
| If you are taking the bus from Arusha to Nairobi then this is your
best opportunity to purchase bargain souvenirs. The bus will stop for
twenty minutes or so, after you leave Tanzania and as you enter Kenya.
If you hold your nerve and inquire but not purchase immediately you can
bargain general souvenirs down to half or a third of the best price in
the Mto wa Mbu markets, and a fraction of the price in the large
souvenirs shops. Check with the other passengers as to when is the best
opportunity to buy, and how long you have got. Best to get off the bus and look
at what the street sellers have to offer and get their prices. Do not
offer them a price, just say you are not really interested. After they
have sold to the easy prey they will come to the window of the bus to
try and do a deal. Of course if on your travels you see something very
special and are happy with the price then buy it when you have the
opportunity. But if you are just looking for something to pacify those
family members and workmates who think that you travelled half way round
the world carting a bike with the main objective of lugging souvenirs
then this is the pace to pick up the best bargain at the very end of
your trip. |