1,500 Kilometers of Kenyan Roads and Counting…
Our team has successfully completed its first week road tripping with Mobius Two. We’ve encountered everything from the non-stop rains in Kericho to the beautiful wildlife and epic gorges in Hell’s Gate along with handling daily chaos from the crowds that flock to the vehicle as we settle into a nearby town. To recap our first week, I can definitively say our time on the road has been nothing short of an exciting and unforgettable adventure filled with unexpected weather and long rides thru diverse landscapes ranging from smokey hills, extreme escarpments and much needed road side stops to down tasty chai.
Along the journey, we’ve visited over 10 main towns meeting with dozens of local entrepreneurs and community leaders as they cruise in the back of the Mobius Two. Our road trip journey has taken us to Ganze, Voi, Mai Mahiu Escarpment, Hell’s Gate, Narok, Bomet, Kericho, Kisumu, and Bungoma. And Mobius Two seems to be holding up remarkable well.
Dave and the Mobius mechanics have been making slight vehicle modifications as we enter into our 2nd week on the bumpy and unpredictable Kenyan roads. Surprisingly we’ve still seem to encounter more mechanical problems with our 4×4 vs. the Mobius Two prototype.
Sebastian, Alicia and the rest of the What Took You So Long film crew has been busy behind the lens capturing magnificent sunrises above the mountains, and landscape shots along the roadside. In true guerrilla filmmaking style, the crew has been mounting Go-Pro cameras to the cars, and hanging out of the windows and trunk of our 4×4 strapped with film cameras to capture content for the production of two short films and an advert for the Mobius Two.
It’s all been a part of a grand adventure that’s taken from villages to valleys along and YMCA campgrounds to upscale estates. At night we’ve been gratuitously hosted by NGOs such as One Acre Fund, Peace Corps volunteers and local crop farmers offering us space to setup camp in our tents, and cook up Ugali, Maize and local flavours on our kerosene stove.
Today the weather is on our side, as we head off to Kakamanga and launch into our 2nd week on the roadius with Mobius Two. Stay tuned for more road adventures as we continue to explore the wild beauty of Kenya.
September 20, 2011 at 5:27 pm | Uncategorized | No Comments »
On the Road with Mobius
On Tuesday, our road team joined forces in Mombasa to officially launch the Mobius Road Trip, an epic travel adventure that will take us to 20 distinct spots thru Kenya over the next 2-weeks to showcase Mobius Two to potential buyers.
Our first day of journeying drove us to the beautiful town of Ganze, located in the coastal region of Kenya. As we made our way into town, crowds of villagers ran towards Mobius Two to gain a closer look at the road warrior in motion. As we made our way through the rough terrain and dust filled roads we were warmly welcomed by the ever enthusiastic Village Chief.
As we settled in, crowds began to come down from the dirt filled road to glare at the Mobius Two. About two men, and two women gathered around the vehicle, eagerly inspecting under the hood, and checking around the tires until they met us with a look of true approval. After bit of chatting over the vehicle spec questions, it was time to give everyone a feel for how the vehicle handled on the road. The next few hours were filled with groups of villagers young and old waiting for a chance to ride in the back of Mobius with Joel, and Dave switching off behind the wheel. It was quite enjoyable to watch their reactions when we first rolled up into the village, but their appreciation for the vehicle seemed to intensify after the test drives commenced.
From there we were off to do a bit of filming as the sun was setting for the evening. We pitched tents in the town of Voi where we spent the evening with Ibrahim (the lead Mobius welder) and his affectionate family and rested up for Day 2 on the road.
Day 2 we set off through a breathtaking mountain view across a stretch of highway en route to Mtito Andei, and stopped for a quick rest and to enjoy the heards of Zebras grazing nearby. We were eagerly greeted by the Highway Police, who were curious and impressed with this new vehicle for Africa on the road. We literally had to pull ourselves away from the police to hit the road to arrive in town for the night and prepare tomorrow’s adventure with Mobius to Hell’s Gate. So join us as we journey thru the next two weeks of Kenya road adventures.
September 15, 2011 at 3:24 am | Mobius Two | No Comments »
The Importance of Being Earnest
It’s taken us one year but finally our first prototype vehicle is complete. As you might expect our journey hasn’t been easy, but taking this chance to reflect on what we have accomplished with only a few men using basic equipment in a small workshop that we built from scratch brings into focus why I founded Mobius. It’s about the importance of being earnest, keeping moving with unwavering focus when times are tough because the light of future potential is just too bright to ignore. Africa is rich with undeveloped human potential but unfortunately only a fraction of this opportunity is ever unlocked effectively. Over the past two years, my experience working in Kenya and founding Mobius has fortified a belief that with the right support and direction, real and lasting socio-economic change across Africa is achievable in my lifetime.
July 20, 2010 at 11:54 pm | Transport in Africa | 5 Comments »
