A Grahamstown businessman and his wife have sold their business, rented out their house, hopped onto their motorbikes and set off on a trip of a lifetime.
Larry McGillewie and his wife Sharon left last weekend on their motorbikes for an epic journey through Africa and Europe. Their odyssey, which Larry says could take two years, will end in Sweden.
A Grahamstown businessman and his wife have sold their business, rented out their house, hopped onto their motorbikes and set off on a trip of a lifetime.
Larry McGillewie and his wife Sharon left last weekend on their motorbikes for an epic journey through Africa and Europe. Their odyssey, which Larry says could take two years, will end in Sweden.
The adventurous couple have travelled extensively, mainly in Southern Africa, by motorbike, microlight, and 4×4. Larry was a professional hunter for 15 years, which afforded them the time and opportunity to see many places, including Europe and America. Larry and Sharon both pilot microlights and light aircraft.
They have flown nearly 3 000 hours between them and are both instructors. Their son, Ralph, and family friend Johan Dreyer will join Larry and Sharon for the first part, up to Malawi, before heading back to Grahamstown and work.
Speaking at a small get-together at the airfield on Friday (7 January), where all four bikes were parked and packed, Larry said the first week of the trip would see them riding against time to Malawi. Once there the four would spend time together.
Because of heavy traffic through Umtata, their first day was via Queenstown, Maclear and Matatiele, ending in Underberg at 6.30pm – a total distance of 725km on what Sharon described in their blog as “a very hot and very long day”.
Their biggest challenge was a short section of gravel between Matatiele and Swartberg. “It was in a shocking state because of all the recent rains and going through a small unexpected driffie I broke the back shock on my bike and seem to have bent the pannier brackets because of the heavy load,” said Larry.
On Monday the group took a slow ride from Underberg to Camperdown to family at Emoyeni, where they planned to spend the night and get a new shock for the bike. “The traffic was heavier but not bad. Roads once again in good condition and the scenery next to the Drakensberg mountains made the slow riding really worth it”.
Larry and Sharon have also used their days in South Africa as a “test for our equipment and to see if we can cull any further luggage again”.
Rough itinerary of the McGillewies' trip through Africa and Europe: South Africa, Mozambique, Malawi, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Sudan, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Turkey, Greece, Albania, Montenegro, Bosnia, Croatia, Slovinia, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden.
To keep up-to-date with the McGillewies' trip, visit their blog at www.larrysharon.blogspot.com
