JO Morgan’s latest motorbike adventure around South America wasn’t enough so she’s going back.
“It’s a bit like university on the road – you learn so much. I’m very fortunate to be able to do this. I love having adrenaline moments. You get more tolerant of close calls the more miles you do. I need things to be closer now to break out in a cold sweat.”
This week Jo and husband Gareth Morgan pick up their BMW 800 motorbikes from Bogotá, Colombia and head to Ecuador, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Belize, Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico and finally America. They return to NZ in May.
“On our last trip in Colombia a wheel bearing collapsed 100kms out of Bogotá so we had to truck the bike there to be fixed. Now, it’s fixed we are picking it up.”
If it’s anything like their last trip they will encounter deadly snakes, tarantulas that look like furry road crabs, and dodgy accommodation, but they always manage to find a roof over their head.
“Motorbikes are a great way to get into places that you normally wouldn’t be able to get into,’ she says. “You end up travelling along little dirt tracks and places that haven’t had many people there before,” she says.
Last year, they travelled around the Amazon, near where Sir Peter Blake was killed.
“We travelled through French Guiana. Their mannerisms were so French so it was quite weird. It was incredibly edgy as we were warned there was illegal logging and gold mining around this area. It borders the Amazon and Brazil.
“We would zap through the jungle with monkeys but we don’t talk to each other much. We’re quite spread out when we ride, but we always keep an eye on each other.”
Morgan has had a motorbike since she was 15 and taught herself how to maintain and repair her own bikes.
“It’s a bit of trial and error. I guess it’s not a good form of femininity,’ she says laughing.
Despite the risks, the couple love it and working with UNICEF along the road makes it worthwhile.
“The poverty leaves you despairing. Once you get to that level of poverty the problem is that you get drug lords who produce drug problems.”
Their latest project teaches children how to play soccer.
“It sounds light, but we are teaching them about rules, teamwork and civil society and it involves rules that they choose. No sexual harassment, no violence and fairplay rules. The winner is the team that keeps the chosen rules best.”
While she’s in NZ, Morgan has beengiving mountaineering a go. In January, Morgan climbed Turner peak in the South Island on a beginner’s mountaineering course.
“I didn’t think motor biking had enough adrenaline so I’ve started climbing mountains. I got addicted. It was amazing.”
You can follow Jo and Gareth Morgan at www.worldbybike.com.