Ubuntu: A Solo Female Motorcyclist's Epic Journey Through Africa

Janet Flint: I loved this book a really enjoyable adventure

Australia on Sep 27, 2023

john: Certainly a dicey way to travel especially for a woman. Interesting story although I don't understand the thrill of racing from one place to another in a mad dash.

Canada on Feb 27, 2023

sophia: I've read several books on Kindle written by women who have travelled alone through Africa on motorcycles. Each of the books covered different periods of the 20th century.
I especially liked Ubuntu because the author gave a very intimate perspective of the People she met as she travelled through the African continent.

She overcame tremendous obstacles by sheer determination and with the help from many strangers who reached out to help her.

The book was well written. Its really sad to know of the poverty that exists among the tribal people,yet they reached out to offer help to the author even though they had very little themselves.

The author was determined to see Africa as one of the African people and chose not to see it the way outsiders viewed it.

United States on Aug 14, 2021

Grannysebooks: Wow, what an adventure.
Heather Ellis is one crazy lady! She travelled alone and on a motorcycle though Africa between 1993 and 1997.
Outrageously brave and foolhardy but so captivating.
Loved the "all people are intrinsically good" experience of a country often war torn and violent.
Could say so much about so many of her experiences but my advice is JUST READ IT and find out for yourself.
Well written and really enjoyable.

Australia on Jan 03, 2021

Ferro: This is a memoir of one womans motorbike ride through Africa. The fact that she followed her dream is inspiring, let alone that she did so as a lone female.

However, I find her approach somewhat off-putting.

Firstly, she is something of a cheapskate, staying in villages for free and getting away with giving as little as humanly possible to the poor, while hoarding her thousands of dollars. Much of the time she relies on, or exploits the generosity of people who have nothing. She refuses to do even one afternoons volunteer work in the hospital because it might upset her, yet she expects “ubuntu” to be extended to her at every turn. She reminds me of the archetypal parsimonious backpacker, whose only interest is their own sensation and experience.

She recycles only the most politically correct western viewpoints. For example she pontificates about white racism in South Africa, of course while making no mention of the oppression of native aboriginals in her native Australia. It also seems to escape her that white-governed south Africa has the highest standard of living of any country in Africa that she travels through, yet she still welcomes its fall. In this...

United States on Oct 31, 2020

Kindle Customer: Ellis took a risk on her amazing trip through Africa. She ignored warnings and followed her dreams, and grew from the experience. I wish she had recognized her help as from God, as it is obvious to other believers. I wish her ubuntu as she follows her life path.

United States on Oct 26, 2020

J. Salvatore Domino: Let me start by saying that this is an amazing story. The author Heather Ellis has pieced together excerpts from her travel across Africa, via motorcycle, mostly unaccompanied. What started as a travel adventure turned into her search for Ubuntu - "the belief in a universal bond of sharing that connects all humanity."

It is daring, at times scary, but enlightening and uplifting as well.

Her account of riding the backroads though wilderness, encountering hostile natives, dealing with corrupt immigration officials, and finding help in some of the most unexpected places is nothing short of incredible. As someone that feels uncomfortable when landing at a strange airport, I am in awe over what she accomplished.

While the story is compelling, the book is not without its flaws. The pace sometimes moves along too briskly and at other times it drags. Like Heather, I often found myself lost, not sure where she was at or where she was going. But if you are willing to hang in there and follow Heather’s lead you will be rewarded with wonderful experience.

It may even change the way you think about the world.

United States on May 29, 2020

Brent Boyd: This is an amazing, thoughtful, exciting story about one persons physical and mental journey through the heart and soul of Africa. She is also a passable biker.

Canada on Sep 11, 2019

Karsten: The best stories are definitely written by life itself. This is the best book I've read in years, maybe decades. What the author had planned as a simple motorcycle adventure became a triple level journey, physically, mentally and spiritually. She writes with brutal honesty about her experiences, hardships and spiritual awakening with unmatched openness that gives unobstructed views into the depths of her bare soul.
Thanks for sharing your story, Heather. It's definitely one that needed to be told. I'm looking forward to start reading your next book tomorrow.

United States on Jun 03, 2019

GVM: Heather's book is much more than a travel yarn about an Africa which most tourists don't see, and indeed usually avoid. It is a story of a personal journey of self discovery, a spiritual pilgrimage of one courageous woman who is convinced that humans are intrinsically good, and that there is a Universal Energy working to ensure that all will be well. Despite encountering difficulties, illness, and sometimes evil, Heather was embraced by the people of Africa who showed her unlimited generosity and taught her the importance of Ubuntu, the connectness between us all. You won't read this book without being inspired to nurture the Spirit of Ubuntu in your own small corner of the world.

Australia on May 13, 2016