Crossing The Limpopo River from Zimbabwe to South Africa

Our return to South Africa was purely for business and to transit to the Mozambique coast.

Having said that we did meet up with Christo and Eloise, fellow V-Strommers we met in Luderitz, Namibia, several months past.

Braii with Christo & Eloise

We had a lovely time and as with all South Africans we have befriended the welcoming hospitality was heartening and generous.

Now thats a big tree!
Grant and Michael at the Boabab Bar

Beer in the Boabab Tree Bar

We spent several days in Louis Trichard, enjoying both Christo & Eloise and Michaels (Moto Friend) company before continuing on to Pretoria with the intention of acquiring new passports. Ours were almost full.

Lekker Brekkie with Eloisie and Christo

Before leaving Louis Trichardt Michael arranged for us to be interviewed by the local newspaper.

Now we have been on Mexican Radio, Colombian and Argentine television and South African news print…. If only all these interviews resulted in cold hard cash… we’d be laughin’.

Interview at the Mirror Offices

Arriving in Pretoria on a hot Wednesday afternoon, finding accommodation and after a pleasant sleep heading out to the internet.

It was here that our trip was to come to a sudden and possible terminal end with the news that our finances were not as sound as we had imagined. Our investment company was going through a stage of unflattering press and with the current world economic climate was causing many investors to pull out, thus putting pressure upon the company.

For a week we sat and waited in somewhat droll and wintery weather, thankfully, in our small timber cabin.

It was depressing and disheartening as we made numerous phone calls organising bike and our transport for the return to Australia, and yet again being thrown into our past lives, unable to continue our dream of riding our Miss Piggy back to Australia.

Yet another roadside picnic, this time near Nelspruit

We discussed our situation at length and in depth, around in circles, always coming to the conclusion that we were not ready to end our travel, even on a temporary basis. It was a shit of a time, but as they say in the classics 'Shit Happens'.

However, on the sixth day, some what sounding like the story of creation, we were to gain further information from home that was more confidence inspiring and gave us the impetus to continue, at least until Nairobi or for a further three months.

We will re-assess the situation at that point.

BORDER CROSSING
South Africa - Mozambique

Leaving South Africa
* Purchase Mozambique Third Party Vehicle Insurance
* Stamp for immigration
* Vehicle Carnet Stamped (People will try and tell you that you need to fill in a Vehicle Exit form, if you have a Carnet you will not need to fill this form in)

Enter Mozambique
* Pre-purchase visa in Pretoria or Nelspruit (you can purchase a visa at the border, however, the lines are very long, they often run out of stickers and often turn people away), prices vary for each country
* At the border Pay ZAR$37 (US$5.00) to immigration entrance fee
* Immigration will put a sticker and a stamp next to your visa
* Pay a further ZAR$47 (US$6.50) for entrance to Customs
* Have Carnet stamped

Touch down, all arrived safe and sound. All being a bit strange to be driving on the left after two and a half years in the Americas, not having to speak Spanish and reading road signs in English.

We were met at the airport by Robin who took us for a 10 cent tour of Cape Town, a beautiful city perched by the sea with a whacking huge mountain smack dab in the middle of it (Table Mountain).

The advantages of having a mountain as the centre piece of a city is the beautiful shady countrified drives to get from one place to the next. The disadvantage is that you cannot go from one place to the next in a nice straight line. We like the mountain with the whispy clouds that roll over the edge, making the famous Table Cloth.

Table Mountain with a lumpy, un-ironed tablecloth!

We stayed a few days with Robin and Rinda at their Hought Bay home, enjoying their company and planning our Southern African journey. Robin's trip planning expertise includes detailed information on the locations of good coffee shops and where to get the best apple pie!

Robin, Rinda, Val and Grant - Hought Bay

One of our favourite tourist attractions,to date, has been the supermarkets! It is here that we have been able to find long missed but not forgotten grocery items such as Baked Beans, Marmite (not quite Vegemite but a passable substitute), Thai cooking ingredients and Ryvita biscuits. It was almost 7th heaven.

Not Quite Vegemite

Visiting Suzuki South, we placed an order with James for some odds and sods for our beloved Piggy and headed out of town along the coast to Hermanus and breakfasted with the whales.

Oddly enough we hooked up with Allan, World Rider whom we had met some 2 years ago at the Creel HU meeting. He is riding a BMW 650 GS Dakar and had travelled a similar route to us through the Americas.

Riding along

World Rider, affectionately known to us as Wine Rider due to his passion for good wine, was keen to visit some of South Africa's famous wine districts and our first point of call was Franschoeck.

Overlooking the Valley of Franschoeck

The picturesque valley was laid out before us from the look out above. Our companions Wesley, Celeste and Shamil had brought us along a scenic drive to this town settled by the French Huegunots (Presbyterian Refugees). Franschoeck is a quaint village thriving on the juice of the grape and the countless visitors who come to wander through the vines and sample the nectar.

A delightful afternoon of Wine and Cheese tasting at Mt Rochelle Winery

Cape Agulhas is the southern most tip of Africa and where the Indian and Atlantic Oceans meet.

The Bottom of Africa

Light House, Cape Aghulas, Africas only working Lighthouse/Museum

The town of Struisbaii greeted us with two days of heavy rain. In between showers and downpours we were able to explore the ruggedly beautiful coast, eat fish and chips by the sea and visit the lighthouse come museum come coffee shop and sample their delicious chocolate cake.

Piggy's Blanket in shreds.... not keeping the rain off anymore

Grant took the opportunity, once again, between showers to service Miss Piggy by changing her oil, spark plugs and clean the clogged up air filter.

Allan, Grant and Karen
Thanksgiving Dinner

A tour of Route 62 (the famous Klein Karoo) is not complete without visiting more wineries, sampling their fare and a lunch stop at the iconic Ronnie's Sex Shop.

Ronnies Sex Shop

Legend has it that Ronnie set up a general store aptly named Ronnie's Shop, however, nobody every shopped there. Ronnie's mates decided to help him out by changing the name and spray painting the word Sex onto his sign and thus attracting more trade.

Farm House - Near Ronnies

Ronnie painted it over, they painted it back. This back and fourth continued for some time until Ronnie decided the sex could stay, he turned the shop into a bar, as they say in the classics, the rest is history.

Overberg Wheat Fields

Switching between the coast and the Klein Karoo we were attempting to avoid the havock caused by the recent storms. Many roads, including the N2 (a main national highway) had been cut by flash flooding in the arid desert.

Road Closed - Montagu

Klein Karoo Saloon

Mist on the Klein Karoo

Skirting around the damaged and closed roads we eventually end up in the hamlet of Addo. Here lies the Addo Elephant National Park and the Orange Elephant Backpackers. We put up tent and waited for Allan's arrival with a glass of wine under the stars.

Pay Day in Addo

The Olange Erephant (as it has been known by many an inebriated patron) is run by John and Cheryl. It is a locals watering hole and offers camping, dorms and cottage accommodation to weary travellers as well as pub, restaurant and fantastic company. What more could you ask for?

John kindly lent us his vehicle for a Game Drive in the Elephant National Park as they do no allow motorcyles in the park(something to do with dangerous animals in the park and eating people not in cars!!).

We sure is in Africa Now! Near Addo

All aboard the mighty Toyota we headed off on our first African Safari.

Z is for Zebra (Burchills Zebra to be exact)

Addo Elephant National Park was proclaimed in 1931 to protect the last 11 remaining Eastern Cape Elephants. In 1954 Graham Armstrong invented an elephant proof fence (to stop those little blighters getting out and poachers from getting in). Some of this orginal fence is still in use today.

W is for Water Buffalo

1970 saw the first offical tourists drive through the park and today the park is 164,000 hecares in size, the elephant numbers reach over 450 and other animals have been introduced, such as hyena and lion, to balance the ecology.

R is for Red Heartbeast

The park also is undertaking protection work of the almost extinct Black Rhino.

We had the most amazing day, one that will be truely treasured for the rest of our lives. From the outset we were treated to a fantastic display of wild animal life in thier natural habitat.

Within minutes of entering the park gates we saw a plethora of Warthogs and even a Black Backed Jackal eating a hare.

T is for Tortoise (Leopard Tortoise)

But what we came for was the Elephants. We had been driving around for most of the day, and had seen a group of Elephants in the distance, however now we were stopped at a watering hole. Coming down the hill was a family of Elephants walking towards the dam. We sat in silence and awe as the approached and walked in front of our car to the water. At the waters edge the family drank deep from the cool, refreshing waters, before turning around and walking straight past the bonnet of the Toyota. We sat there as the big Bull looked in to see what we were up to before following his family back off into the bush.

E is for Elephant

Not five minutes down the road, again we stopped to marvel at these huge creatures. Another family of Elephants were feeding on some scrubby bushes. We sat so close to one large male who made a feast of the foilage and soft branches of a particularly thorny bush. Elephants eat for up to 18hours per day, their body mass is so great that they rarely lie down to sleep, lying down for too long could result in thier body weight crushing thier internal organs so generally they nap standing up.

F is for Flippin' Huge Elephant
Notice our cars mirror in the left hand corner of the picture

It was also decided to stay on for the night game drive run by the park. Here we were treated to seeing some of the noctornal animals such as Hyena with their cubs and a female Bat Eared Fox (an insect eating fox) fighting with a Black Backed Jackle to protect her litter. Unfortunately we did not see any Lion (there are five in the park) on this safari, but Africa is a big continent and we have long journey ahead of us and we are sure more opportunity.

Jules, John, Cheryl, Grant
Orange Elephant Backpackers

Our first impressions of South Africa is that once again we are travelling in a country where the peoples friendliness and hospitality is generous and inspiring.

Comfortable public transport - near Addo