Travel Story : heather ellis - africa
That snap decision came out of nowhere at a backyard barbeque in northern Australia . But as soon as I blurted out : ‘ Wouldn ’ t it be great to ride a motorcycle across Africa ’, I knew I ’ d do it . The year was 1992 , I was working as a radiation safety technician at the Ranger uranium mine on the fringe of Kakadu National Park . This was before the internet . Before the plethora of websites , blogs , magazines and books filled with every detail one needs to embark on a motorcycle adventure . But even so , once the planning began ( a process of 12 months ), everything fell into place . And this philosophy of ‘ everything happens for a reason and everything will always work out ’, became a central theme to my journey from that very moment I said I ’ d to it . A friend gave me a dog-eared copy of Ted Simon ’ s classic motorcycle travel memoir Jupiter ’ s Travels ; a German motorcycle traveller who ’ d just ridden through Africa turned up on my doorstep . His advice was invaluable . And when I bought my new Yamaha TT600 , right there on the shop floor at Yamaha Pitmans in Darwin , was a second-hand frame and set of heavy-duty leather panniers for $ 500 . It was custom made for a Swiss guy who ’ d just finished his ride around Australia . With a few minor adjustments the frame and panniers fitted the TT600 perfectly .
My TT600 was the very last of the pure enduro models and before KTM , the TT600 was the bike of choice for the Paris Dakar . With its deep , almost primeval sound that says power and strength , this bike became my companion , my loyal friend , my protector ( yes , we made the ‘ bond ’).
While I ’ d ridden motorcycles since I was eight years old . First growing up on a sheep station in outback Australia , then on a farm on the east coast , and later exploring the hidden gorges of Kakadu , I ’ d never travelled on a motorcycle . I had no mechanical skills having always had my dad , my brother and later , mechanically-minded boyfriends , maintain and fix my bikes . It was this lack of knowledge that caused me the most fear about my trip in those early days of planning . But the idea to travel Africa by motorcycle , was one that gripped my very soul and nothing would deter me , not even the barrage of doubts from friends and work mates ( I ’ d like to add here , that from my travels through Africa and later through Central Asia , I soon learnt the basics of motorcycle mechanics ).
The Yamaha TT600 was completely unsuitable for me as I couldn ’ t touch the ground and I had to cut a good amount of foam from the seat . I solved the problem of ‘ numb bum ’ by placing an inflated wine cask bladder under the sheep skin I ’ d tied to the seat . I ’ d simply de-inflate it when I needed to . This was before the gel seat pads that we have today ! Realistically , I should have chosen a smaller , lighter bike . The TT350 had nearly the same power as the 600 but would have been much easier to ride . But I didn ’ t question my choice , because the TT600 felt right just as the idea to ride a motorcycle across Africa felt right . My TT was also kick start , but with automatic decompression I soon mastered the art of starting this beast . And it proved to be the perfect motorcycle for Africa as its single cylinder big bore engine had more than enough grunt to carry me and my gear up over mountain roads , through mud and sand and over rocks on roads that resembled goat tracks . With a dry weight of 120kg , it was also light enough , once I ’ d off-loaded my luggage , to cross rivers in a canoe or be hoisted up on top of a truck or train . I also fitted a 21 litre Acerbis petrol tank which , depending on fuel quality , gave me a range of 450 kilometres .