FROM THE CAPE TO CAIRO ON A CYCLE.—IS IT POSSIBLE ?

Otago Witness, Issue 2368, 20 July 1899, Page 42

FROM THE CAPE TO CAIRO ON A CYCLE.— IS IT POSSIBLE ?

The, following is an account of an interview that a, representative of the Cycle recently had with Rev. C. K." Temple, who has , travelled'considerably in Africa, on the question of the possibility of cycling through Africa. "Do you think that a cyclist could ride from the Cape to Cairo?" "No !" said Mr Temple unhesitatingly ; " I do not think that such a ride would be possible or prudent." . " For what reason?" " Well, you see there would be all sorts of difficulties in the way. There is no road over half the distance." " Where do the roads finish, and what are .they, like?" - "The itinerary would be from Capetown -to Bulawayo, a distance of nearly 1500 miles ; then to Tete on the River Zambesi, via Salisbury and Umtali, another 700 miles. Sc far the road is good, comparatively, although there are bad stretches of thick sand on the way. At Tete you would have to take a boat •to Chinde or Blantyre^ This passed, you begin to lose touch with' civilisation, and soon the road ends in a veritable cul de sac. Still, you might get up tc Fort Abercorn, th<- nor-thern-most Trans-Continental telegraph station, or to Ujiji, on Lake Tanganika, and itYSg struggle to Uaanda on the footbaths;.

but not beyond this. So far, you would have come a little over half the journey, but ■ the worst would be etill in front, for you would be face to face with the Mahdi country, and to get a bicycle through that would be a miracle indeed. "You ask me wliat the roads are like. Let me illustrate. I once thought of cycling from Bulawayo to the Victoria Falls, but after making inquiries from one who had attempted it, I gave up in despair. There was a stretch of thirst country, 70 (seventy) miles in extent, and a bicycle had to be wheeled through heavy sand this distance, with absolutely no water to be got, and besides, the gro\md was studded with sun cracks about Ift wide and 3ft deep, caused by the excessive heat of the sun. This sort of thing would be encountered further north in a worse degree." ",Would the road be the worst difficulty?" '•'.By no means! How' is a man to arrange his commissariat? The average' cyclist has a fairly long drink and a hearty meal wherever he is. But after leaving Blantyre you would have tc say good-bye to all this. Even if you could manage to subsist on Kaffir food, it would be necessary to take a great deal of calico and beads for trading with the native?." "What else would be required?" " A rifle would be indispensable for selfprotection* and shooting fresh meat.- You would want at least three new sets of tyres. I knew a man who, in riding from Bulawayo to Mafeking, not 600- miles, wore out a set because of the stone-- and thorns. Then you would need a good si 'Ca of medicines, for any hour you might get knocked over by malarial fever. All thi? would make cycling on a heavy road rather unpleasant, eh? " But there are other facts to face. Every 100 miles or 'so you' wouTd run into n, fresh dialect. Then if you succeeded in getting through the country of the warlike Augoni j and past the Waganda, there -would be left the Bag'garns and Dervishes of the Soudan to negotiate. " Altogether, you see, the chances of success are very weak. Indeed, it would be re- , markable for a man to do it on foot, if furnished with a proper escort and carriers." — • j The Cycle. '