Moto Africa

Moto Africa Moto Africa began in 2010. Planned as Africa then South America, the African leg extended to 10+ years and 75–80,000 km on a Yamaha XT660R.

The South American chapter started in 2025. http://motoafrica.blogspot.com/

27/03/2026

Cape Town is alive again with the 23rd edition of the Cape Town International Jazz Festival in Cape Town – starting today at the iconic Cape Town International Convention Centre.

For me, this moment carries a deeper personal rhythm.

When I first arrived in Cape Town on my birthday, 28 March 2012, I was 42 years old – the famous “answer to life, the universe, and everything” moment from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. At the time, it felt like a joke… but also a reminder: we never really know everything. The more we travel, the more we discover how much there still is to learn.

That journey became the spark behind the Moto Africa initiative – to travel the continent, connect with cultures, and keep learning through movement.

Now, 14 years later, I’m back in Cape Town again, and tomorrow – 28 March 2026 – I celebrate my 56th birthday here, once more surrounded by music, energy, and global creativity.

I’ve been fortunate to experience a few editions of this festival since 2012, and every time it evolves. This year feels especially meaningful. In 2020, we expected Jacob Collier to perform on my birthday, but the world paused on that very day. The music stopped, the festival was cancelled.

Six years later, the rhythm returns – and so does Jacob Collier, alongside an incredible lineup of South African and international artists, celebrating the best of African jazz and global collaboration.

This festival has always been more than music. It is a reminder of connection, resilience, and the beauty of shared experience.

Join us today and tomorrow in Cape Town – let’s celebrate sound, culture, and the journey.

Moto Africa 🌍 27 March 2026

Staying in a tent is a luxury. 🙏🏼😊
28/02/2026

Staying in a tent is a luxury. 🙏🏼😊

Today I stopped at Lagoa dos Barros in southern Rio Grande do Sul, a freshwater coastal lagoon covering roughly 18–20 km...
25/02/2026

Today I stopped at Lagoa dos Barros in southern Rio Grande do Sul, a freshwater coastal lagoon covering roughly 18–20 km² near the Atlantic coast of Brazil. Despite being close to the ocean, it’s fed mainly by rainwater and small rivers, with no strong sea connection — so the water is sweet, not salty (I checked 😉). Formed thousands of years ago by shifting sand barriers, it’s now known for its steady winds, fishing, and peaceful natural beauty.

Arrived back to Brasil 🇧🇷From the Atlantic coast to the Pacific coast, I started in Chile at Valparaíso on 10 December 2...
24/02/2026

Arrived back to Brasil 🇧🇷
From the Atlantic coast to the Pacific coast, I started in Chile at Valparaíso on 10 December 2025, and after the Toto concert in Santiago, I headed north to Coquimbo province and stayed in Vicuña for a while before starting the long ride. After Vicuña, I followed the Chilean coast as closely as possible, making a long ride to Antofagasta and then to San Pedro de Atacama in the north, exploring the stunning Atacama Desert and the remarkable Valle de la Luna (Valley of the Moon). I crossed the Andes at over 4,000 meters above sea level to enter Argentina, explored the mountains of Jujuy and Salta, followed Route 40 partly to Cafayate and later Tafí del Valle, then meandered through Catamarca, Córdoba, and Rosario. Between Córdoba and Rosario, I shared truly memorable times with amazing friends and musicians in Venado Tuerto—moments I will carry with me forever. I reached Miramar, the famous immigration gateway at the Atlantic, and stayed a while in Mar del Plata to change my transmission kit. After a quick stay in Buenos Aires, saying hello to a friend or two and watching one tango, I continued north along the Paraná River into northwest Uruguay. There, I especially enjoyed some amazing gravel roads—ripio—testing my new enduro tires, which I bought in Buenos Aires after my old ones were really done. So far, I’m very happy with the new tires, made in Taiwan.

Yesterday evening, I took the ferry from Rio Grande to São José do Norte, finally riding BR-101—a long-time dream coming true. I rode for more than two hours at night, and now I’m happy and staying in Tapera, in the province of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. It’s raining a lot, and the weather prediction isn’t great for the next two days, but I’m dry and safe, enjoying the moment.

Altogether, I’ve ridden over 10,000 km. My Yamaha, a very reliable motorbike from Japan, was delivered from Hamburg, Europe, in a container via Panama to Valparaíso, Chile, and has been my companion for over a decade, traveling through many countries in Europe before this journey.

Matej Rancigaj, 24 February 2026

I bought the Yamaha Ténéré in the spring of 2013, after returning from Africa to Slovenia—restless, grounded, and withou...
02/02/2026

I bought the Yamaha Ténéré in the spring of 2013, after returning from Africa to Slovenia—restless, grounded, and without a motorcycle. Not long after, a truck carried both of us to Barcelona, where the real journey began.

From there, we went everywhere. I turned north first—through Pamplona, then along the green edge of Spain to Santander and Gijón, where the Atlantic feels cold and serious. From the north, I rode west and then south, crossing the country down to Tarifa, where Europe looks at Africa and hesitates. I cut inland through Madrid and Granada, crossed into Portugal, rode deep into the south, then up to Lisbon, circling it again and again. When life interrupted, I left the bike there, waiting.

The following years were never straight lines—more Spain, more Portugal, loops rather than routes. In 2017, the Ténéré carried me north through France and into Italy. One night in Torino, I slept on the bike itself—too tired to care, trusting it like something alive. Eventually, we rolled back into Slovenia, then out again—Croatia, Albania, Greece, maybe. The details fade; the movement doesn’t.

For a while, the bike rested more than it rode. Patient. Unbothered.

Then, in October 2025, after nearly thirteen years together, I sent it across the ocean.

Now we’re in South America. Same Yamaha. Same scars. Another 7–8,000 kilometers added on a new continent.

Today, I have four motorcycles. Three of them are in use: two in South Africa and one here in South America. They are two Yamaha 660s and a Honda 800cc. The fourth is a 650cc Aprilia—unreliable, charming, and perfectly suited to Greece—waiting patiently in Europe.

Different machines. Different continents.
But this Yamaha has been with me since 2013, quietly proving that the best bikes aren’t the fastest or the newest—they’re the ones that endure.

24/12/2025

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2026 to Everyone!

🇿🇦 South Africa 2025 - humble opinionBorn in 1970, the same year as the Lusaka Non-Aligned Summit, when Tito, president ...
13/10/2025

🇿🇦 South Africa 2025 - humble opinion

Born in 1970, the same year as the Lusaka Non-Aligned Summit, when Tito, president of my birth country Yugoslavia, attended, I’ve watched South Africa’s journey from afar. No South African leaders attended then, as apartheid ruled the country.

The ANC carried the legacy of freedom, ending apartheid in 1994 and bringing many plusses — democracy, expanded education, improved healthcare, and opportunities for millions.

Today, 31 years later, the ANC must become strong again: clean its ranks, fight corruption, and deliver real results — schools, jobs, safety, water 💧, electricity ⚡, and services across cities and provinces (Johannesburg, Eastern Cape, and beyond).

Yes, the DA can deliver better efficiency in some areas, but if it gains too much unchecked power, the country risks drifting back to old inequalities.

Just my humble opinion as observer, but also a long-year visitor of South Africa.

We must work together towards integrity, not ideology.

P.S. Slovenia became independent from Yugoslavia in 1991, 3 years before South Africa, for different reasons though.

Keep on travelling in Africa. 🙏🏼💚🎶
29/04/2023

Keep on travelling in Africa. 🙏🏼💚🎶

Oloitokitok or simply Loitoktok in Kenya. Next to Kilimanjaro. One of my luckiest accidents. Back in 2011.
04/02/2022

Oloitokitok or simply Loitoktok in Kenya. Next to Kilimanjaro. One of my luckiest accidents. Back in 2011.

01/01/2022

Happy 2022!

This is how I parked my motorbike at the local airport in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and I flew to Zanzibar island for a fe...
01/11/2021

This is how I parked my motorbike at the local airport in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and I flew to Zanzibar island for a few days, back in 2011. When I returned, the bike was still there, untouched. I trusted locals.

When in Zanzibar (island), I have rented a Honda 250 XL and drove all the way to the north. My pockets were 'touched and emptied' when I fell to sleep on a too comfortable chair after I spoke to some suspicious-looking women that claimed they are from Mtwapa Kenya. Mtwapa was the place that I knew quite well and where I just drove my motorbike from, just a few days earlier, so the ladies got some of my attention. Until I fell to sleep, exhausted from the previous day (my eyes were dropping) and the whole day riding. And it was a full moon party besides. My eyelids were as heavy as concrete.

Me, giving a talk and photo presentation in men’s prison. Sharing experience from travelling with my motorbike in subsah...
27/02/2021

Me, giving a talk and photo presentation in men’s prison. Sharing experience from travelling with my motorbike in subsaharan Africa with prisoners.

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