Talking Africa perceptions vs reality with the first woman to bike around the continent
South African Jolandie Rust shares some of her insight into, and experiences of, travelling in Africa.
In November last year, South African Jolandie Rust, at age 29, became the first woman to travel around Africa on a motorbike solo. Over 40,000km across 25 African countries on a BMW 650 GS Dakar, her adventure started in the southern tip of Cape Agulhas in April 2012, headed along the continent’s western perimeter, to its most northern point in Tunisia. From there she made her way through Libya, Egypt and Sudan during a period of heightened civil unrest, and back down across the continent’s eastern rim, arriving at her starting point 20 months later. Her experience left her with insight into travelling African borders, some strong thoughts on foreign media coverage, and an archive of beautiful and wacky stories to last her a life time. Conflict states: perception vs reality Between 2011 and 2013, a number of African countries were embroiled in conflict and civil wars that deemed them unstable and unsafe for foreigners. But according to Rust, the images that might appear on foreign media do not always represent the reality on the ground. Mali was the first “conflict” African country she hit, with 2012 seeing the rise of militant rebels in the north and Malian President Amadou Toumani Touré being ousted in a coup d'état. She admits she was nervous about entering the country, especially since a South African had recently been taken hostage in Timbuktu. However, she decided to try and travel through southern Mali as quickly as possible. “So I went from Ivory Coast to Mali and ended up loving it so much that I stayed there for a month.” While northern Mali and Timbuktu were in conflict, she could see no real impact in the south, with the general public “just going about their normal lives”. Sudan was another country deemed as “dangerous” but according to Rust it was the country she actually felt the safest. “It was the one country I knew I could leave my bike in the street, with all my belongings on it and the keys in the ignition, and no one would touch it,” she highlighted. “And people treated me with the greatest of respect, and every now and then I was offered food or a place to stay.” However, some media reports she had seen about Sudan did not seem to depict what she saw on the ground. “I remember seeing on the news that the situation is bad in Khartoum. And when I arrived there, nothing was happening. There is an impression you get from the news, but when you actually get there you [realise that] is not what is going on.” Strangest moments One of Rust's most surreal moments was arriving in Libya to a greeting of gunfire. “A bunch of bikers from Tripoli had come to surprise me at the border and welcome me into the country which was awesome. But as we left the border towards Tripoli, there was a guy on the back of a truck wearing an AK-47 and he started shooting rounds off into the air as a way of welcoming me into the country. Everyone’s eyes just focused on me to see how I would react. And I remember thinking, ‘as long as he is not aiming at me, it’s fine’.” Egypt was also undergoing civil unrest, regime changes and protests when Rust entered the country in 2013, and the effect was far more apparent. For starters, there was a 7pm curfew and she was told that she could only travel through Egypt with an armed escort, which she managed to ditch after learning the police where targets for attacks. While the presence of tanks and barbed wire barricades revealed turmoil in Cairo, Rust explained that people seemed to be trying to go about their normal lives. “I felt pretty fine walking around. I even rode around on my own in Cairo. People were freaking out back home saying: ‘You are insane, you can’t do that, get out!’.” She felt like the only tourist in the country, and it wasn’t long before the government caught on that she was travelling through Egypt. “They kind of started using me to almost market the country and show people that Egypt is fine to visit. Just see this girl riding through it alone.” As she made her way through towns towards Sudan, she met government officials to attend press conferences and was even presented with medals. “It was insane. It’s like something that happens in movies... I was being treated like some kind of royal.” The best and worst borders According to Rust, the West African borders were some of the most difficult to cross. In comparison, the East African borders were “like a piece of cake”. Her longest border stay, however, was entering Egypt through Libya, which took nine hours – mainly due to the conflict in both countries. And the shortest? Entering Swaziland from Mozambique. “There was almost no one at that border, so it took me just five minutes to cross.” Cheapest and most expensive countries to backpack While Angola is said to be one of the most expensive countries in the world for tourists and expats, Rust said it depends on how one travels. While cycling through it in 2011, she avoided high accommodation costs by camping in the bush and buying food from local markets, considerably less expensive than supermarkets. North African countries were also cheaper to travel across because of the low cost of fuel, noted Rust. However, of all the regions she visited, East Africa proved the most affordable in general. Bribes and 'playing the game' “I was only asked for a bribe once and that was in Ghana. I was stopped at a check point and the officer asked if I have dollars for him. I said I didn’t. He then asked if I had any cedi for him, their currency. I said: ‘No I don’t have any money for you my friend’. And he just kind of laughed and gave me my papers back.” Other than that, Rust found that she was never directly asked for bribes. However, she advises travellers to be aware of requirements to cross borders so that they are not scammed. For example, while trying to cross from Nigeria into Benin, a couple of officers said she had to pay a fee, which she knew to be false. “I just refused. And then they would play this game of saying that I then had to stay there. And I would say, ‘Well, let’s see who has more time. I have all the time in the world',” recalled Rust. “You have to read the situation, and just play the game.”
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Why the Angolan government sponsored her trip Rust was just 28 when she embarked on her journey around Africa, a decision met with mixed views. “People were obviously very sceptical, saying ‘you’ll probably get yourself killed’ or ‘there’s no way a girl can travel on her own around Africa’. You know, these pictures some people have in their mind of deep dark Africa being so dangerous.” However, Rust was not naive, and understood the “possible risks and dangers”. The previous year she had attempted the same trip on her bicycle, and made it from Cape Town, through Namibia, and to Angola before she was attacked by a group of armed men on route to the Congolese border. “Four guys with a Ford Pickup stopped next to me and got out, which wasn’t unusual – a lot of people stopped and chatted to me during my travels... but it wasn’t until they pulled out machetes and knives that I realised that they didn’t really want to chit-chat.” The group stole her bicycle with her belongings, while Rust escaped into the bush with her mobile phone and passport. She called a friend in Luanda, who called the chief of police, who contacted the province’s governor. “And the next thing the governor phoned me and told me to stay where I was and a police vehicle was on its way to fetch me.” In just over 20 minutes, Rust was picked up, taken to the nearest town, placed in a hotel and two helicopters were dispatched to search for the perpetrators. The governor also insisted she stay with him at his home over the weekend while the police searched for her belongings. “It was insane. I mean it was like the whole country was just up in arms about this incident and I just felt totally overwhelmed. I received so many Facebook messages and emails from the general public of Angola apologising for what happened. And I just felt like, it’s only a bicycle. We are so desensitised in South Africa about stuff like this.” Rust wasn’t deterred by the experience, and once she returned to South Africa, decided she wanted to re-attempt her journey around the continent, this time by motorbike. And the Angolan government decided to provide her with the bike and become her sole sponsor.