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Medication
Infections.
Take a general purpose antibiotic in powder or tablet form. Keep
it cool. Your friendly pharmacist will oblige without prescription
when you tell him your plans to leave the beaten track. If you take
it in powder form you will need to add distilled or boiled water
when needed. An antibacterial disinfectant soap should also be used
to keep infections at bay.
Diarrhoea is always a problem when changing environments.
A large supply of an anti diarrhea drug - at least four doses per
person in your party. Also take natural charcoal tablets. They are
great as they absorb toxins in your system but are not drugs as
they do not enter the bloodstream.
Bee stings.
Included in the first aid kit should be an anti-histamine lotion
and/or tablets. The African bee is not a fellow to be taken lightly
and a few stings around the vulnerable neck area can be very serious.
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Treatment
is simple i.e. stop, take the tablets, scrape off the stings with a
blade, apply the cream, drink lots of water, and try not to ride for
at least an hour to allow your heart to get over the trauma of the poison.
First Aid Kits. The travel clinic has a very nice general purpose
first aid kit (with a general purpose antibiotic) for R300-00 ($40).
They also have a sterile equipment kit (needles, syringes, drip etc)
for R200-00 ($27) This type of equipment can be scarce in remote parts
of Africa and having your own is a good idea!! Both are small, light
and come in a nifty, waterproof plastic boxes. You can arrange to have
these kits waiting for you at one of the international airports if you
fly into South Africa.
Storage
on a Motorbike
1) Secure Storage.
This is a major issue when touring on a motorcycle, particularly in
Africa. You need at least one hard lock up pannier. Also a moon bag
and a money belt are important. Money, travellers cheques and credit
cards should be broken into groups and hidden in more than one place.
A cable lock (approx. 2 meter in length) is also useful for items like
your helmet and jacket. By threading the cable through the arms and
helmet visor you can lock them to your bike and take a walk or do some
shopping. Note that in Africa it is customary to appoint a ’car guard’
(an eager local volunteer) to look after your stuff while you shopping
etc. I determine the value of the tip to be the cost of a loaf of bread
in that particular country for services rendered under one hour.
Experienced bike tourers suggest a dummy wallet while the bulk of your
valuables are somewhere else. The dummy wallet has expired credit cards
and a few bank notes.
At African border posts your passport need not be readily available!
- rather secure than convenient. Keep your bike documents and licence
in the same place. If you are stopped on the road, take your helmet
off and strike up a friendly chat with the officers while you get out
your documents. Even if communication is scantly, this goes a long way
to smoothing your travels through remote Africa
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2)
Convenient Storage.
Money for that day, maps, compass, GPS, camera, liquids and rain
gear must be readily available in a waterproof bag or container
like a tank bag. Ensure that any magnets in the tank bag will
not damage the stuff you in it e.g. keep your credit card well
away!
3) Cool Storage.
You should also have a special ’cool’ section for items like medication,
batteries, camera film and or spare camera memory cards
4) Protective Storage.
Motorcycles vibrate even on excellent roads - now add a poor surface
like gravel, add dust, add rain and viola! You have a killer environment
for your camera, video camera etc Too much dust and/or vibration
and you may just find your equipment jamming/failing in the middle
of a once in a lifetime tour. Special protective equipment bags
are available that offer moisture, vibration and dust protection.
If your tour requires a laptop computer, the "Pelican 1490" laptop
computer case is waterproof, dust proof and dent proof.
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5) Bulk
Storage.
Your solution here will probably be a soft bag with items like clothing,
mattress, bike spares and a mosquito proof tent. Whatever you choose,
find something that is waterproof. Useful are those models that come
with various compression techniques e.g. straps, air valves etc. Note
that a soft bag must be attached to a hard, anchored rack of some sort
on the back of the bike else it will move around no matter how well
you secure it. The bag will also sag on the sides and obscure your flicker
(indicator) lights without the support of a rack. Do not use elastic
cords to secure your bag but nylon tie-downs or ropes.
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