St Francis - Baviaans - Cape Town Day 21. 854 km FINAL DAY

Well the day could not have started off nicer, as opposed to the end of the day !
Greg and I went for an early morning body surf, the water was utterly divine and surfing where the perfect wave is added to the beauty of the swim. ( Endless Summer  the movie )
I showered up and Greg prepared me a scrumptious breakfast with a real cup of his special brew of coffee which jolted me to my senses. What a way to start the last day. The family were all awake and sadly I had to depart.
Now it was onto Baviaanskloof a 170 km trip through some passes and all on dirt roads and many river crossings.  Took me exactly two hours to go through the park and about a total of five hours to get to Willamore. Arrived at noon and decided to shoot to Cape Town which I could make before sunset . Gunned down Route 62 and then cut through Seweweekspoort Pass  which was beautiful trip through the mountains to Laingsburg. Back on the asphalt highway to Cape Town, 280 km easy peasy.

Coming down on the last turn on the Hex River Pass the bike was hard to turn and I knew something was horribly wrong and the front end was going down and was able to save it, the front wheel was flat. After I gathered myself I  wheeled it down off the side of the highway  and found  a flat spot to park the bike. So once  again had to perform the tyre change , the fourth of the trip and got it done in a reasonable about of time and before the sunset.
Arrived in the dark at about 9pm and then had to go to a dinner party and had a great time. The first and last day I had a a puncture  with another two in between !

Plett - Cape St Francis Day 20 215km

Saturday 13 December

Went for a walk on the beach as the sun rose over the Indian Ocean and except for a few few shark fisherman there was nobody on the beach. Went back to Hennie's house , showered packed up and had some coffee and drove up the coast to Tsitsikamma. Hennie and Gerrard I met when they were racing in this year's Dakar race and they would stop everytime they saw me at the end of the day and they won Rookie of the Year which is a monumental achievement on your first attempt.

I can never bypass Tsitsikamma without stopping in to see the rugged coastline  and reminisce on vacations spent here with my parents. Last year the restaurant burnt down and they still haven't  even started construction on a new one.

I then left for St Francis to visit a lifelong friend and she gave me the wrong phone number but still tracked her down. I have known Debbie since a child and they invited me to stay and we had an incredible evening with her daughter and grandkids and husband Greg. We had a braai and lots of beer and laughter and a delightful room and deluxe bed that I collapsed in at the end of the evening.

Uitspan to Plettenberg Bay Day 19 304 km.

After yesterday's marathon day and a good night's sleep and a lekker kop of koffie, I headed to Plett on the dirt roads over Prince Alfred Pass. Stopped off at the Padstal for a drink and some Carrot cake to fuel the body and then headed over to Knysna.

Stopped in Plett and got hold of Hennie and met him and his family for dinner at Enrico's at Keurbooms Beach which has a spectacular setting on the ocean with great food to boot. We chugged some beer and wine and he invited me to say over at his place on the river which overlooks Plettenberg Bay.  The bed was so comfortable and a hot shower was a real treat, after a whiskey on the deck it was bedtime.

My longest day Day 17 into 18 1078 km 39 hours with no sleep.

 I woke up rather early and had a nice shower and a cup of tea and a risk. Cecille and her daughter came over and chatted and I squared up with her and headed out .Gerrard had arranged for his son to change my oil, so I went over to his house and got it done and only left there at 2pm to go get a new tyre and tube plus a new chain and sprockets. At 4pm I departed feeling good that I got everything serviced and a new rear tyre.
I stopped for some petrol 55 km outside Joburg and as I reached the highway again I felt a wobble, back wheel was flat ! Made a quick u turn and dashed back to the petrol station, and parked in the handicap parking and dilly dallied on what i should do for an hour like an idiot. Not many choices but the inevitable, which i did not want to face. So I began the brutal task of changing a brand new Heidenau tyre with only 55 km on at the entry to the Engen store with hundreds of people walking by, some offering idotic help, some just curious and encouraging.  It actually went quite well I thought, the tube had a huge hole in and the valve was totally separated from the tube and nothing had penetrated the tyre.

At 10:30pm I was back on my bike ready to leave and noticed the tyre was flat again, you almost want to cry, but you laugh. So take all my gear off again and go through the procedure again, the brand new spare tube I had, had a small hole in it, so put in another tube I had ,luckily enough. At 12:30 am I was done and left the Engen station, slightly deflated but chuffed that I had fixed it and on my way to Kroonstad, two hours away. Driving at night is never good and especially in Africa over the Xmas holidays is not smart. I happened to miss the Kroonstad turn off and so continued on to Bloemfontein. At 4:30 am the sky started to light up and at five the sun popped up and i stopped at the Wimpy for coffee feeling somewhat tired. They had the seating area closed off but i sat there anyway, they didn't understand my stupidness and that i had been awake for 26 hours. I was going to stay over and sleep awhile but decided to push on through Colesburg and Graaf Reinet to Willomore. I stopped in some small drop for a drink and some chips and I stood leaning on my bike and fell asleep standing up, then some Jack ass hooted and startled me awake I didn't know where the hell I was till I came around. Was the weirdest thing and don't know how long I nodded off but was almost in a coma.

Got to Wiilamore and decided to push on to a nice camp site,Uitspan , in the Baviaans which was another 44 km away.The campsite was beautiful  with my own lapa and nice green grass and the ablutions were first class and after a shower I felt almost human again but was really tired. I braaied some boerewors and roosterbrood and two cold beers and I was done. The sun was still up and I didn't even pitch my tent, slept in the lapa for like eleven hours. After being awake for 39 hours and then a good night's sleep I really felt good when I woke up.

Back into South Africa Day 697km

The crappy  campsite was empty but of course a German couple had to camp right on top of me. So I got up at 5am and packed up as quietly as I could of course and didn't rev my bike to much of course,  sure I heard them cursing me as I left. The road down to Gabs was just littered with dead cattle,  every 5 km was a dead animal.

I decided to go to  west to Upington and then snake my way south to Cape Town. Went to the Wimpy in Gabs for my usual  and called Charmain and all is well on the homefront luckily and with a full stomach departed Gabs. However I decided to change my route and go to Pretoria instead where I could work on my bike and have a beer with the Dakr guys,but have to find them.
Due to my route change I hid to do an extra 200km backtrack, crossed the border quickly  and stopped in Zeerust where I was based in the army some 40 years ago. They allowed me in and it's almost the same except a little run down and my Battalion no longer exists and they have the cannon fodder regiment there now, that would be the infantry. Can't believe they allowed me to drive in and check it out.

Got to Pretoria and found Treasury One's office but Hennie had left on holiday but his sister sat and chatted with me for ages and then called Hennie in Plett and he said to stop by.
 I then went and had a few beers with Gerrard and he then he navigated me to the place I found on iOverlander to stay the night. Cecille welcomed me into her home and I was going to camp but she suggested a room , which was heaven, a bed and nice shower and kitchen. She prepared me a tasty meal which I had in the kitchen with her and her daughter who had just returned from the USA where she had been farming. Was a great day and could not have found a nicer place to stay.

Kasane - Palaye Day 15. 658km

My sleeping bag was just slightly damp an was able to sleep in it. Still undecided which route to take to Cape Town.
Made some coffee and a bowl of cereal and got off to a slow start as I hung up some socks and my pillow to dry while I dragged my ass.
Finally at 7:15 I departed for Nata where I planned to camp, but the camp was closed so decided to go to Gaberones, also known as Gabs by the locals. Had some great encounters with a bunch of elephants and a couple of false charges got my chest pumping, got some good video of it.
Then met two Italians riding up to Cairo, they each had a back up vehicle ! I think his bike had five reverse gears and one forward gear, oh no I forgot that was their tanks.

Then outside Francistown I was pulled over for speeding , supposedly I was doing 95 in a 60 zone, 800 Pula ($80). The bummer was I had no Pula in my wallet and they let me go.
I then encountered some rain and got soaked and cold, why would you need rain gear in Africa ? Got to 17 deg C and then slowly got warmer and I dried out only to hit another cloud burst at the end of the day. I was starving and soaked so pulled into Nando's for some lekker spicy chicken and dry out my jacket. It's so weird I am always the only white guy in Nando's and the kids look at me a little strange. Did not make Gabs and called it for the day and found a crappy campsite.

Katima to Botswana and Vic Falls Day 13 155 km

8 December 2018

The guard explained to me how crazy the Zambian's are and how he will shambock them when he catches them stealing , real nice fellow who just smiled all the time, quite a character. Staying on the grounds of the Protea Hotel , a real nice find and they have a fabulous swimming pool you can use.

I left soon after the call girl left the hotel when I was with the guard and he saw her and was astounded how somebody could sell their body, he really was disgusted.
Anyhow I headed over to Caprivi River Lodge where I had stayed six Christmases ago and thought I would stop in for a visit. Had an amazing breakfast on the deck overlooking the Zambezi. I saw Keith and Mary and had  good chat and then headed out feeling like a bloated Hippo for the short ride to the border. Crossed into Bots, quick and easy and with no costs at all. Arrived in Kasane around noon and went to Thebe Lodge where they have a nice camp spot on grass and  shelter by the river for R125.

Did the river cruise for three hours and still never saw any ellies. Was most enjoyable and seeing plenty of wildlife as opposed to yesterday made me real dehydrated,  so got me a little of Windhoek Lager and went and chugged it at camp. Then visited Nando's and was dik gevriet again. I haven't cooked once yet which is not good as this little trip is a dry run for my big trip next year and trying to work out all the bugs, but he not cooked once yet which as not the plan. After riding all day dehydrated the last thing you felt like doing is cooking but really need to focus on that for next years trip.

9th December 2018   Day 14   Victoria Falls

Got a mini van over to the Falls , crossing  the borders were quick and easy and never had to pay anything. Was raining as we arrived and I did the walk, the weather sucked but then it stopped raining for awhile and I walked up to the Victotia Falls Hotel and had lunch and a beer, was great to be back at this iconic hotel.
On the way back we were real lucky as we saw one elephant, three painted dogs just lying alongside the road and then a herd of Cape Buffalo.
Went through the borders again and back to camp where it was raining cats and dogs and I did not put my fly over the tent and everything inside was soaked, what a bonehead. Am hoping it dries out enough to use or it's going to be a looong night. Wi Fi is wishy washy so posting stuff does not always happen but hasn't been to bad.

Rundu - Katima Mulilo Day 12 533km

Gert was awoken by me as I walked into the bar area and the alarm went off and woke up the camp. He then made coffee and I had some of my muesli and was off to a good start with some food in me.
It's a long stretch of asphalt along the Caprivi with plenty of cattle and goats galore. Stopped at Nambwata Gme Reserve and got a guide and drove for four hours but was a little disappointed,  didn't see one elephant and last time I was here it was elephants everywhere. Managed see some buffalo, giraffe, sable, impala and two tortoises, oh and a Black Mamba.

I had another 110km to go and an hour left of sunlight but made it to a splendid campsite at dusk. A nice grassy knoll on the Zambezi river with real nice ablutions.
Had a good lamb curry and then hit the the tent, had to move it as the night guard told me to come to another spot as the Zambians row across at night and steal stuff. He helped me move just three spots down and he slept just outside near my tent. The music blasted all night from Zambia was unbelievable,  all night long !

Angola back to Namibia Day 10 540 km

This was one of the more difficult days, was long and hot and slow going. Once again tar road stopped and then just over 200km of dirt, gravel and sand track all the way to Namibia. The sand got the better of me me a couple of times but it was a fun outing with changing road surfaces constantly. Did not pass any tourists thus far in Angola,  just thousands of cattle alongside the road and grass huts. Poverty is bad and the Chinese are here aswell, every country  I have been to in Africa so far has a huge Chinese presence.

Got back into Namibia and then had 160km on tar to Rundu where I found Hogo Camp on the river with cold beer and good food.

Day 11  Hogo Camp.

Repacked and cleaned all my gear, as a bottle of milk ruptured in my pannier. Went into town and had my bike washed and the gear lever straightened. Did all my laundry and just relaxing alongside the ri er looking into Angola. Don't quite know what route to take to head back south, but thinking of going to Katima Mulilo, Kasane in Bots then south to Nata and then onwards ?