Catharine Meade always planned to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. But when she hiked Machu Picchu in 2010, she realized her body didn’t handle the altitude very well. So she looked for another meaningful way to connect with the land. She ruled out a bus tour and cycling trip, but the Victoria Falls to Cape Town motorcycle safari was an ideal solution.
“The desire to go to Africa was in me long before I went there. Honestly, it started with seeing Roots in 1977. Finally, I saw something that connected us to this ancestral place we’d only heard about. It marked the beginning of my added layer of interest in Africa, blossoming into a desire to get there.”
After a lifetime of waiting, Catherine got her first chance in 2001 when she attended the United Nations World Conference against Racism in Durban, South Africa. During that summer between her second and third year of Law School, she was selected to go to the preparatory meetings in Geneva, then was chosen to be part of the Canadian NGO delegation in Durban.
“That trip was life-altering. I could have sworn I’d return to Africa within five years. Suddenly 16 years later, I still hadn’t returned.
“I wouldn’t minimize the impact of this trip with Renedian. We visited more countries and there was more cultural variety than I got the first time I went to Africa.
Catherine and Claudia
“Everyone in our group had a nickname, and mine was Ambassador because of my ease of connection with locals.
“I felt connected in Africa. We were already quite a spectacle as we drove through towns in Botswana, Namibia, and into South Africa. It’s hot when you slow down, and I made sure I raised my visor so people coming out to look at us could see there’s a Black rider.
“Sometimes kids would jump up and down, pointing at me. I believe it was important for them to see that. And, quite frankly, it was important to me to experience that.
“The first time I went to Africa, the connection was from music. It seemed like everyone could sing so well. When you’re hearing the music of your people, it’s pretty amazing.
“The experience of ‘I am a Black woman riding a motorcycle in Africa’ was very meaningful to me.
“We’d be riding on a brutal dirt road where I really had to focus, and I’d wonder what made me think I could do this?! Then I’d realize I could be missing all manner of beauty because I’m focused on the challenges. The majority of the time it was so clear that I was right where I was meant to be. I was so fortunate and blessed.
“Traveling singly as a woman, I wondered if there’d be other women on the trip. In the end, there were a number of male-female couples. All the adult women were on their own bikes, so that spoke to a certain common ground. The stunning scenery and amazing animals would have been enough, but it was a special bonus to have that kind of group.
“I was doing the financial math before committing to the trip, wondering whether the investment was worth it. My partner encouraged me to go, saying “we know you’re healthy this year and you can afford it right now. We don’t know if you’ll be able to do it next year.” She was right. I have a number of fit, former varsity athlete friends who were active and ate a healthy diet, and yet, they’re not with us today. There are no guarantees in life, so, I decided to do it in 2017.
“I assumed it would be a good trip, but I was limited by my imagination, based on my life experiences. I could never have dreamt that I would have such an incredible and profound experience.
“I’m so glad I decided to go. Doing a cost-benefit analysis is almost laughable since I got back so much more than what I paid.”
Photo Credits: Catherine Meade
