ANNETTE BAYNE

Guitar on lap and unfazed by the morning’s stream of journalists, five-time Grammy Award winner Ziggy Marley, doesn’t immediately strike one as an adventure biker, taking in South Africa on a Ducati Multistrada 1200 motorcycle.

But perceptions often belie reality, something Ziggy and brothers Robbie and Rohan are discovering on their World Cup road trip.

The Marley brothers are in South Africa, along with director/producer David Alexanian (who filmed Ewan McGregor’s motorcycle trips across the world in the series Long Way Round and Long Way Down) to work on a documentary entitled Marley Africa Roadtrip.

It is Robbie Marley who is the real star on the bike, working as a stunt rider on several major productions, but both Ziggy and entrepreneur and philanthropist Rohan have discovered the joy of the open road and the wind in their hair – or dreadlocks in this case.

The show promises to “provide viewers with an intriguing look into a legendary musical family”, although the brothers see it more as an opportunity to shine a different light on the world’s view of Africa.

“It is all about South Africa, because South Africa is a leader in Africa and we want to high-light that,” says Ziggy.

Although Africa’s first World Cup provided an ideal backdrop for the documentary, it is not going to be the entire focus of the documentary.

“The World Cup is only the plate on which we are going to serve the dish; it is not the dish,” says Ziggy.

“We have to prepare the dish that we want to serve. We want to use the opportunity that Africa has now to continue moving Africa forward,” he continues.

The trip also marks 30 years since Bob Marley travelled to Southern Africa to perform a landmark concert celebrating unity and freedom.

Ziggy was with him on that trip and it is something that he reflects on regularly.

“That was my introduction into Africa and the culture and the struggle that Africa went through and continues to go through, and that plays a big part in why I am here today and why we want to continue playing our part in the upliftment of Africa,” he says.

Since arriving in South Africa, the brothers have found themselves warmly welcomed whether they were recognised or not and, besides the sudden drop in temperature, their journey has been a positive, eye-opening experience, with all three siblings commenting on the country’s beauty, modernity, de-velopment and friendliness.

“I wouldn’t say we have had any challenges yet. It has just been lovely for us, just to see Africa, how advanced SA is compared to a lot of places in the world, and wonderful to see development,” says Rohan.

The only real challenge they have faced this far hasn’t come from being in the country itself, but from the negative hype back home.

“For us it was more the stories we had heard before we came to SA, ‘the violence’ this and that, so the challenge was not to get caught up or overcome by the negative hype that some people were trying to put across,” says Robbie.