Travel Through South Africa on a Harley-Davidson

By Peter & Kay Forwood

South Africa on a Harley (29/5/00 - 5/6/00)
Distance 843 km (197840 km to 198683 km)

This is part of the Sixth section of our around the world trip.
Complete Trip Overview & Map

Coming from  Botswana or read our previous visit to South Africa
 

29/5/00 Out of Botswana and into South Africa (again). Nothing spectacular in the scenery, just farm land and a few towns. Our destination Pilanesberg National Park. Still no motorcycles allowed and with an organized game drive twice the price of Namibia we settled to see the more sedate animals wandering the campground.

30/5/00 Sun City (Las Vegas of South Africa) with its Palace Hotel, massive reticulated pools and golf courses occupied us for a few hours. Under apartheid this was the only casino complex allowed inside South Africa and it prospered. Today this over the top place is suffering competition. Coincidences continue to amaze us like the Australian missionary couple who we met while wandering the national park, who are working with the local community, invited us to dinner. Over where are you from conversation it turns out that he and my sister both worked at the same school and know each other and he taught my nephew in Sydney. People you may never meet in Australia are brought together by common culture (western) or nationality (Australian) or interests.

31/5/00 Tried our hand at clay pigeon shooting. An over under shotgun with two clay target throwers and after a couple of single shot successes we upgraded to double shots. Twenty five shots each and sore shouldered we headed back to Johannesburg and theSouth Africas Sun City, Casinos at the Palace Hotel in-house bar at the H-D shop.

1/6/00 Winding down washing the bike and getting ready for home.

2/6/00 With the bike at almost 200,000 km and in need of some serious repairs we started drawing up lists of what is necessary for trouble free travel on the next trip. Between that and meeting people in Craig's H-D bar time passed.

3/6/00 Last minute souvenirs for the family, and more partying. These South Africans know how to drink. A Reggae band for the evening at Tempos.

4/6/00 H-D's HOG club here rides every Sunday for a breakfast ride. Usually around town to finish at some great breakfast destination like today's. Set somewhere in Johannesburg, (we only followed the bike in front of us so who knows where we ended up), alongside a small river, apart from the cold,Trying our hand at clay pigeon shooting the veranda breakfast was wonderful. But it extended into a drink at this bar then a look at the Monte Carlo formula one race at another bar and onto another live band venue for the evening. They even knew how to make us feel at home singing "I Come From A Land Down Under".

5/6/00 The worst part of the trip the 24+ hour flight home.
 

You can either move onto planning the seventh six month trip or return to South Africa for the beginning of the next trip.
 


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