challenges , wild and remote places , and extraordinary people , I was embraced by all . I was shown ubuntu . But there is a twist to this story and more than one reader has commented : The final pages of the book will leave you numb ( including me - LW ). Staple the pages shut so you aren ' t tempted to read the ending !
After Africa , I found myself in London , where I worked for a year as a motorcycle courier as I needed to top up my travelling funds for the ride home . I ’ d been told by the British motorcycle travellers I ’ d met in Africa that good money could be made from couriering . During the fifteen months in Africa , I ’ d only spent $ 6000 and I still had another $ 5000 remaining in my bank account , which would have been enough to get me home . But London and motorcycle couriering was also part of the journey that kept me and my dear old friend , the TT together .
After twelve months , I was over my fingers and toes suffering early stage frost-bite , and in November 1996 , I packed the TT600 for the ride home stopping off in Austria to work at a ski-resort for the winter . This ride was the second-leg of my world motorcycle journey that took me through Europe and along the Silk Road through Central Asia and by train through China , to Vietnam . This journey is detailed in the sequel to Ubuntu , which will be published late 2018 .
Everything I came to ‘ realise ’ through my motorcycle travels across Africa has
never left me . And that journey continues today . But it was in London where I gained my stripes as a motorcyclist : where I learnt the skills that have carried me so far on the road unscathed . Where I truly became in tune with the ‘ art of motorcycling ’ and which lead me to become an advocate for motorcycle road safety as a member of the Victorian ( Australia ) Government ’ s Motorcycle Expert Advisory Panel . As well as advising the government on road safety measures , our aim is to change public perception of motorcycling from one of temporary Australians to one of legitimate road users that are growing at an enormous rate . We have had many wins including the use of bus lanes , legalising traffic filtering and regular maintenance of popular motorcycling roads in Victoria . I am also a founding member of the IRG ( Independent Riders Group ), a motorcycle
road safety political lobby group . To get involved visit : www . facebook . com / IndependentRidersGroup /
Today , I live in the Yarra Ranges where some of the best motorcycling roads are right on my door step . Tomorrow , ( in about ten years or so when my three boys are grown ), I ’ ll dust off my beloved TT , and our odyssey will continue . We ’ ll ride around Australia first , then New Zealand , a stopover on the voyage across the Pacific to South America and beyond . Just like Africa , we will go where and when the wind blows us . Our journey , once again , will be a slow meander as I search deeper for that greater ‘ unspoken ’ meaning … and always in awe of the kindness of strangers — at how ubuntu is so innately part of us all . HE
Ubuntu : One Woman ’ s Motorcycle Odyssey Across Africa is published by Nero / Black Inc . ( April 2016 ) and is available in all book stores and online . You can also purchase a signed copy at : www . heather-ellis . com
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