Trip Complete!

So yesterday we arrived in Capetown for lunch, followed by a very scenic ride around the coast to the Cape Point, also known as the cape of good hope. The trip is all but over. Around about 13,000 miles in total. The old Honda has been a trusty companion, especially given its age and mileage (it began the trip with just under 60,000 miles on the clock). With the exception of a new battery in Tanzania, and the odd bit of altitude sickness, it hasn’t missed a beat. Just shows that you don’t need to spend the earth to do this trip. It can be achieved on a very modest machine and budget.



In the last two weeks we have passed through Namibia, visiting the sand dunes at Sosusvei, then heading south to the Fish river canyon, before hitting the South African border. The roads have been a mixture of tar and smooth gravel, the later taking a bit of time to master, but certainly great fun. The roads in Namibia are some of the best we have encountered on the trip, including the loose gravel sections.

The border crossing into south Africa was smooth and efficient, proving that we really are back in a developed civilised country. We followed the coast road down to Cape town, camping for an extra couple of nights along the way. The ride was quite boring to begin with, just hot dry deserted land, and long straight sections of tarmac road. Then we rode into wine country, and the temperatures fell as we neared the coast. With all the campsites booked out, we were offered a backyard to camp on by a local Afrikaans man who noticed we were in trouble. Turns out he was another keen over Lander himself. He also worked in the wine industry, so we had a constant supply of South African Sauvignon Blanc ‘forced’ upon us! So thanks to Stavi for making our first night in SA an accommodating and enjoyable one.

So now we are going through the process of sorting shipping and flights back to England. Actually its proving to be easier than we anticipated, due to us accumulating a few contacts along the way. Our flight back to England is booked for the 29th of Dec. Back to the cold dark damp England. I think we will make the most of our last few days in the sun, by organising a vineyard tour! Not a bad way to celebrate