Going to Africa wasn’t on Cris Simpson’s radar. Not until things got more serious in his relationship with Kelly Wilcox and she mentioned she’d booked a motorcycle trip to Africa on Renedian’s Spectacular South West Africa trip. She wasn’t about to go without him and he hadn’t had time to prepare, so deferred her trip to give him time to save.
Cris grew up in Whistler, British Columbia, and on motorcycles. At seven years of age, he began riding friends’ 50cc bike, and was hooked. The first bike he owned was a dirt bike, purchased when he was fourteen out of proceeds from his work in an ice cream shop. Now he’s got a stable that includes an F800GS, CBR1000, an RM25 MX bike, and a Gas Gas trials bike.
Cris’s Breathtaking Adventure in Africa
He didn’t know what to expect in Africa but he didn’t have to wait long to find out. It felt like he was in another world. During the flight from Johannesburg to Windhoek, he stared out the window, mesmerized by endless desert. The whole way was flat, sand and dried up river beds. The only evidence of water was the dried-up water courses that fill up once or twice a year.
If that wasn’t enough, the baboons on the side of the road two minutes outside the airport told him he’d definitely entered a different time and place.
Etosha National Park
He was still saying, “Pinch me,” while he and Kelly went to Etosha National Park prior to joining the motorcycle safari. “The abundance of animals was astounding,” he says. “Elephants, giraffes, lions, zebras, all the kinds of antelopes, and birds. You’d be at a water hole and there’d be 150 animals in your field of view, all mingling, trying to get a drink, while watching the lions.”
Namibia
In Namibia, he was astounded by the wild horses. He learned of the oryx near Sossusvlei who never in their lives drink running water. All their hydration comes from eating cacti.
The sand dunes in Sousslevei were like being on the moon. Situated in the largest conservation area in Africa, some of the dunes reach almost 400 meters. Not ones to stand back from a challenge, Cris and Kelly hiked right to the top and then down. At nearby Deadvlei, he was in awe of the petrified camel thorn trees. Estimated to be 900 years old, they haven’t decomposed because the climate is so arid.
The day he left Stellenbosch for 700 km of riding through the desert, alone, is one he’ll always remember. Wanting to backtrack one of the roads Rene had led the group through, he stopped at a gas station to purchase a map. He went past Agulhas and headed out on the longest road in South Africa between two points, approximately 100 kilometers, and took a turn off from that.
“You can’t make a mistake,” he says. “You know you’re alone, so far from anyone, with no cell service, and even a flat can have you stranded for hours.” He wasn’t scared but he was mindful.
He struggled for words, trying to describe the sensations he felt out there alone in the desert. “It was euphoric. A natural high. Like Christmas morning as a little kid.”
“I was incredibly sad when I had to turn in the motorcycle at the end of the trip,” Cris says. “I asked Kelly if there was any way we could just stay.”
They know they’ll be back. There are other places they’ll see first, but Africa hasn’t seen the last of them.
Photo credits: Cris Simpson
