Long Way Down

After several hours of struggling with the muddy river crossing, the bikes and cars are finally across. Riding on, Ewan gets very excited when he sees wild Zebra's for the first time. They ride to Naivasha to meet with Charley's old friends where they are given a plane ride. Ewan and Charley are amazed at the wildlife and end the day picnicking on Lake Naivasha watching hippos. Making it to Uganda, the boys are ecstatic they have made it this far. They visit a coffee factory and are treated to an amazing song and dance by the staff. The team takes some time out and have fun white water rafting in Jinja. They luckily survive after the raft capsizes. Flying up to Northern Uganda, as it is far too dangerous for them to ride, Ewan and Charley have an emotional day. Visiting a UNICEF site which helps look after child soldiers, former abductees of the Lord's Resistance Army. As Charley is feeling settled and confident in his riding, wheelie fever comes back and he entertains the locals with his skills. After arriving at the wrong border there's a dash to get to the right Rwandan border to make it across before it closes. The route is blocked as a lorry has overturned and the cars have to detour. With the clock ticking, the bikes ride ahead and make it through just before nightfall. Now in Rwanda Ewan wants to find out how this country has heeled it's-self since the genocide 12 years ago. Ewan and Charley spend an amazing morning with a family of gorillas and are overwhelmed by opportunity to be so close.

Ewan and Charley conclude their trip to the Okavango Delta where Ewan has an extremely close call with an elephant. The boys have a last 120 Km ride over sand to reach the Namibian border, their last push through the tough terrain. Crossing into Namibia the boys are shocked at how desolate the land is and only just make it to a remote petrol station before their tanks run dry. That evening they stay with the Namibian bush people where they witness a healing ceremony and enjoy the company and culture of the tribe. Pushing on to the Skeleton Coast the boys enjoy the sense of achievement at reaching the West coast of Africa and seeing the wonderful landscapes. They set up camp in a beautiful spot where Ewan says he would love to come back to with a pile of good books, spending a relaxing week there. Meanwhile Russ and David get their 4 x 4's stuck in the sand on the coast line only just getting them out hours later in the pitch black, before the tide comes in. Charley and Ewan cross into South Africa and are on the home stretch. The luck is starting to run out as Claudio, the cameraman, takes a tumble off his bike. Arriving in Gans Bay, Charley is finally reunited with his family after several months apart. An early morning start and a convoy behind them, Ewan and Charley are excited and emotional that this is their last day of the trip. As they lead the way along the winding mountainous coastline, the boys are overjoyed when they finally reach their final destination, Cape Town.

Passing by Khartoum, the boys have been riding for a while and see the aftermath of a car crash and pull over to the roadside. One of the drivers explains he fell asleep at the wheel and crashed his truck into another vehicle. Police arrive and are more interested in the bikes than the accident scene. The head of police takes a fancy to Ewan's bike and decides to take it for a test ride much to Ewan's horror. As the boys head towards the Ethiopian border they get very excited when they see monkeys in the wild for the first time. Reaching the border into Ethiopia, the team is stopped at customs and made to camp over night in the compound so a thorough inspection can be carried out on all vehicles. Overnight an enormous thunderstorm hits and the team has to get to sleep with the sound of rain plummeting against their tents. Eventually making it to the UNICEF project in Ethiopia, Ewan and Charley see the remarkable work done at the landmine awareness project. Ewan picks himself back up after a number of falls. Making it to Addis Ababa for their well earned break, the boys are looking forward to recuperating with a couple of days off. With the mood reaching an all time low the boys do some soul searching and decide this trip of a lifetime is well worth continuing. They head towards Shashemene to meet the Rastafarian's of Ethiopia.