Clarens the jewel of the Eastern Free State

Andrew spent the last weekend in a place called Clarens, which can be found in the Eastern side of the Orange Free State in South Africa. Andy is now on the Approach to Spionkop Lodge! Keep checking for more details as He Nears the end of his Epic Journey to Salute the Hero's on Remembrance day!

The village of Clarens is situated in the foothills of the Maluti Mountains in close proximity to the Golden Gate National Park and the mountain kingdom of Lesotho.
It is known as the Jewel of the eastern Free State because it is Rich in Beauty while offering sheer Peace & Tranquillity!
While Andrew was there He was introduced to the Well Known & Loved Artist 'Enslin Voster' .
Enslin Vorster paints in the traditional manner revealing the South African landscape in a way that people immediately respond to. This would explain why he Chose Clarens as his Home.

After hearing about the wolf sanctuary Enslin has offered to do a painting to raise money for Romi, which is incredibly generous! Andrew is in complete awe & was stunned for words at Enslin Fosters Gesture. If you would like to learn more about Enslin Voster, you can at
http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=478001875239
If you ever get the chance to visit Clarens, Please visit The Enslin Voster Gallery!

Andrew at Romi

Andy has spent the last couple of days visiting  The Husky Romi Rescue & Wolf Sanctuary, Thanks to Larry & Thea , Andrew is having the time of his life helping out with the dog's!

Husky Romi is a non-profit organization providing a safe haven for abandoned and abused huskies and wolves in South Africa. They provide a home to huskies and wolves that can't be kept as pets, because of their complicated nature. Many of the animals arrive in poor condition, some not even knowing what grass is, and are rehabilitated with loving care by Larry Paul and his team of helpers and volunteers. This group was started to provide support to the Husky Romi project and to promote the protection of wolves and other wildlife. The sanctuary is open for the public to come and learn about wolves, entry is free, but they appreciate donations for the buying of food and for veterinary bills. All the huskies are spayed and neutered when they arrive at Husky Romi.  They currently provide a home for twenty Huskies and one hundred and four Timber wolves.

Husky Romi encourages people to come to the sanctuary in Reitz, South Africa for a visit.  The wolves range in age from puppies to eighteen years old.  Under the watchful eye of Larry, visitors can view the camps to meet and pet the ancestor to all breeds of dogs. The Huskies on the farm love visitors and start “calling” at the moment of arrival at wolf camp.  Husky Romi also offers camping facilities giving visitors the opportunity to lie back and listen to the howling that continues throughout the night. ( Now we know why Andy feels so at home!)

You follow them on Facebook :
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=35310247568

To donate to HuskiRomi securely online:
http://www.payfast.co.za/donate/go/huskyromirescueandwolfsanctuary

Strike

After a couple of brief messages from Andy we can tell you his last couple of days have been full of adventure out in the wilderness! He asked us to extend his Gratitude to Villom's wife who gave Andy a brand new tent. The one he had didn't stand up to the stormy weather over the weekend. Andrew sends a great big Thank you to you!

Yesterday Andy had a close call with a 'Rinkhals' (Snake) for those of you who aren't familiar with the name-
The Rinkhals look fairly similar to the Cobras but has keeled scales and only has a single species in the Genus.
 The hole in the fangs are  not at the tip of the teeth as with the Cobras but has a canal that ends in an elbow that projects the poison up and forward. Venom in the eyes can be very painful and cause blurred vision and the eyes should be washed with water or milk

Fortunately The snake struck and MISSED!  Andy did hurt his back a little dodging the strike! He said it would be another story he would take with him and share with others .

Kenn Slater also met Andrew over the weekend at the Rhino Bike Rally and was kind enough to send this picture to us!

"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!

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

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!

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?