Monday 31 October 2011

"Shenanigans & Fate"

We received this message today from Brian Dawson:

This past weekend (Friday 28th October) I bumped into Andy Norris for the SECOND time, at the Rhino (motorcycle) Rally in Harrismith in South Africa.  Last time I met him on his previous trip to South Africa, at the White Mountain Music Festival at a place called Thabamhlope near Estcourt in SA, in September 2009.



Here is a picture of Andy in the Rhino Rally office.  I will send another couple, of him in the "shenanigans" street in Harrismith on Saturday, where the motorcyclists were doing "wheelies" etc!

Andy was looking well, and really enjoyed himself at the Rally.  He was awarded a special prize by the Rally organizers at their prize-giving on Saturday night.  They have a special category for the person who has travelled the furthest to get to the Rhino Rally.  Although there were two Americans who had travelled further than Andy to get to RSA, they awarded Andy with a "special additional prize" for someone who had made the most effort to get there, recognizing his amazing achievement in cycling from Liverpool across Africa!!  Due to the lack of luggage space on his bike, they gave him a leather bikers skull cap, and a box of wine (for him to drink and enjoy before leaving Harrismith), and in true Andy Norris spirit he proceeded to give the wine away to people he had befriended!! (and I got one of the bottles!).

                                                                                        

                                            Thanks for contacting us Brian!

Saturday 29 October 2011

Start the Countdown!

After a short stay in Johannesburg Andy hit the road again this week! He is well rested and Gunning for Glory as he heads down to Spionkop Lodge. We Received these photos yesterday. Below you can see Bernard Le Cordia helping Andy load Gerty up for the next Journey.








These were taken Near 'Villiers' close to  the N3 road in South Africa.

As the End of the Kop2Kop Journey draws closer by the day, now is the time to look at your mileage guess! How many miles do you think Andrew has clocked up over the last 5 months? If you would like to stand the chance of winning £25.00 - sponsor Andy & contact us by emailing spionkop2kop@gmail.com with your guess! We look forward to hearing from you!

You can also Buy your very own Kop2kop Calendar  for a Minimum donation of £5.00!  Email your order to us and we will post them out to you! All Proceeds from the Calendar will go to support Andrew's chosen Charities!

We've got our Poppies lined up for Remembrance day- Don't forget to wear yours!

Kop2 Kop Calendar 2012

Wednesday 26 October 2011

SONY lending a helping hand


Andy has been very lucky! The photo Above is of Andy with a Lovely Lady called Chantell Weatherill from Sony in Johannesburg. She was Kind enough to Lend Andy a camera for the remainder of his Journey to Spionkop Lodge.
Thank you to Chantell and SONY for the Loan. We are assured great quality in  Andrew's future Photographs as they will be taken with the Cybershot Camera.

Andy also wanted to say Thank you to Cecilia who also works at Sony- She noticed Andy's Jacket was Badly burnt & arranged Andy a new Jacket! Which has also been kindly donated by Sony.

Andy has asked if Anyone has a 2 man tent that they no longer require or a sleeping bag? As he is going to have to replace his kit for the Next planned trip in May 2012! You can click on  'Future events' on the top of this page for more info.

If you have Any photos of Andrew in Zambia, Zimbabwe or South Africa please email them too spionkop2kop@gmail.com
Due to the Fire Andy has no Photographs of that part of his journey.  It would be fantastic to hear from you!

Monday 24 October 2011

No smoke without...

Since our the last Blog entry things have taken a rather wicked turn for Andy. Shortly after leaving Livingstone lodge &  Bulawayo, Andy set up camp one evening. As he was unsure of his surroundings he kept everything close together while cooking his well deserved meal -when suddenly a gust of wind blew from nowhere causing the flames to come alive ..setting alight his tent, sleeping bag, jacket, clothes and just about all of his long travelled and much depended on belongings! Andy managed to fight the flames and save his bike, bag and paperwork but sadly everything else was badly damaged. Thankfully Andy got away with suffering only  minor burns on his hands and feet.

Andy continued his journey South in search for a new blanket and basic items to keep him going till he crossed the  final border into South Africa.

Once again Andy came across some wonderful people who helped him along his journey by feeding him, supplying him with blankets, a roof over his head and friendship. He is so bewildered by the kindness of the people he has come across!

He is currently travelling down  through South Africa now! Thank you to Pricilla Noeth, who wrote to us this morning to let us know that Andy was seen in  Riverside Lodge in Mpumalanga .






These are photos of the damage the fire has caused.(Thank you Alex Riddell & Family for sending these to us this evening!) Take note of Andrew's camera..Think of all those photos that were lost! If you have seen Andrew on his Travels and you have any photos that you could forward us to complete the story of his journey-please send them to spionkop2kop@gmail.com .

Andy is set to reach Spionkop Lodge in 2 weeks time. Will he make it on time?

Thursday 13 October 2011

Hi From The Caribbean!

We have received another wonderful email this evening from Lies -l this is what she had to say:

'I am Liesl from Guyana & Barbados. I was in Zambia as a Commonwealth Observer for the Elections. I stayed on an extra day and went to Victoria Falls on September 27th and I am glad I did! I bumped into Andrew at the Falls and it was one of the highlights of my trip. We hiked to the Boiling Pot, we talked, shared stories and jokes - we spent a wonderful afternoon at the Falls. If I didn't have a bus and a plane to catch I would have joined him for dinner that night as he was treating himself to a steak :)

I am now back in Barbados as I left Zambia and spent the next 2 weeks in Kenya but I promised him that as soon as I got home I would check his blog out and track his progress! When I met him he was in such great spirits! When you hear from him tell him "Hi from the Caribbean" and let him know how he is impacting people that he meets, without even realising it!

Here are some pics of our afternoon together!








Have you seen Andy? spionkop2kop@gmail.com

Wednesday 12 October 2011

'News From Out There!'

Since Andrew has been without his phone, The kop2kop team have received several messages from passing travellers that Andrew has met on his journey.

Yvonne  from Johannesburg sent some lovely photos of when Andrew was in Livingstone. This is what Yvonne had to say about Andy:

'I  spent 3 days at the Livingstone Safari Lodge with my kids (Thomas and Alexandra) from 26 to 29th September 2011. There we met Andrew, an exceptionally kind, humorous, sociable and gregarious character who had the courage to cycle through Africa, encountering pleasant and not so pleasant human inhabitants. We spent a day together visiting the Livingstone Museum, looking at a  steam train that served as a 5 star restaurant in the evenings, and we had a  beer at the exquisite Livingstone Royal Hotel.'





Thanks to Yvonne, Thomas & Alexandra! We are sure Andy will meet up with you again when he arrives in South Africa!

Since then We have also received the following messages:

My name is Michael, from Costa Rica...
I met Andrew at the campsite here in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, and he asked me to let you know he was all right.
Yesterday he had three flat tires, though when he suddenly saw a 10$ bill on the street he cheered up and wondered about God's message to him...
This morning he looked ready and fit to make his way to South Africa!


Just let you know that I passed Andy on my way up to Vic Falls on Saturday and then I met up with him this morning in Bulawayo after returning from Vic Falls yesterday. He's in good spirits but seems a little knackered.
Regards Shaun.


Thank you to all of you that have emailed in to let us know how Andy is doing! If you see him on your Journey please contact us on spionkop2kop@gmail.com
We would love to see and share your photos and stories!

Monday 10 October 2011

Mufulria - A Visit for Julie

If you have been keeping up to date with Andy's news via the kop2kop facebook page you will already know that Andrew had his mobile and Ipod stolen last week. Since then it has been very quiet on the African front. However we do know that Andrew is on the road again heading for South Africa.

We were lucky enough to have received Andrew's pictures from his camera. Francis from Kitwe in Zambia posted them home for us to see. There are over a thousand pictures, so keep checking the blog daily for updates. To see the photographs & film clips please click on the links above.

Andrew visited a place called Mufulria for his friend Julie who used to live there. He sends his regards to Julie and hopes these pictures will jog her memory.