May 10 - CAPETOWN

Saturday May 10th - end of the journey

0530 - wake up and crawl out of the tent in the dark for the last time. Luckily there was a dry breeze overnight so the inside of the fly is dry and we can roll up the tent and not open it until we get it back to Canada.

Breakfast in the dark and as soon as it's light, start the final leg. 65 km to Kleeft Bay where we assemble for photos and then a police-escorted 25-km convoy along the coast to Cape Town, through the town centre, finally arriving at the waterfront for the arrival ceremonies.

We rode with Henk and Louisa...

...and had one last tea/coffee/coke stop about 5 km short of lunch in a cafe that is worlds different from the roadside stops at the beginning of the journey.

Then the photos... the entire group...

...Canadians...

...Tour d'Afrique and African Routes staff.

Hero shot of the two of us...

...Ursula...


...Rae...


...then a bit of a cold wait - it was cool and windy - for the convoy into town. Nice tailwind when we got going, and soon we passed beneath the finish banner at the waterfront.



A bit later the closing ceremony took place at the amphitheatre.


Dinner that night seemed rather anti-climactic. We all knew the adventure itself was over. We all had thoughts that were beginning to return to whatever 'real' world was relevant to us. I suspect that many of us had barely begun what will likely be an extended process of consolidating and digesting all that we'd experienced in the last four months. Some goodbyes were said that night, others the following morning at the hotel.

So, faithful blog-watchers, this amazing journey is over. Thanks for sharing our adventure with us. You can still support Rae's fundraising for the Canadian Arthritis Society at www.arthritis.ca/joints/ontario/raesimpson

or Ursula's - the Tour d'Afrique foundation: http://www.tourdafrique.com/foundation/ .

We will spend almost two weeks in Cape Town being tourists before returning to Canada, but his is the end of the blog story except that when we get back to Canada, we will add some more reflections, 'lessons-learned' and thoughts that might be useful for someone contemplating taking part in a future Tour d'Afrique. If that is you, then check back periodically and see if we've posted something new. Alternatively, leave a comment with your email address and we'll get back to you when we're back in Canada in June.

The Final Week

Monday May 4 to Friday May 9 - The final week.


Sunrise over the Orange River on Monday May 4th, South Africa on the other side.



We load the 'permanent bags' onto the support trucks for the last time - these are the bags to which we do not have access on a daily basis.

Ten kilometres down the road and we see signs for the first time to our destination of Cape Town.

Across the Orange River...

...and into South Africa.

Here Rae rides with Tony who earlier single-handedly defied the Kenyan political situation by riding through on his own without any of the normal support provided by Tour d'Afrique.

Monday morning was beautiful weather but steadily uphill and against the wind, so slow discouraging progress.

A wind shift and a change to down hill made the afternoon a lot more fun than the morning.

The next day was miserable, scotch mist, wind, cold, and a lot of uphill. Wednesday was a return to better weather...

...and more downhill to help us along.



This was the final week for us to face the dangers of the African continent - a scorpion found by somebody's tent...



...the wind, especially when it was on the nose as it so often was...



...bicycles!... my goodness... they found us out... the enemy is us!



...and this one must have been made just for me.


With only three days to go, my rear tire decided to come apart on the sidewall, but it held on for the balance of the day and I changed it before we went back on dirt roads.




Thursday we headed for the coast, passing some very European-looking scenery...

...before getting onto our final bout of dirt roads.

The shore was shrouded in fog, so we didn't get to see the Atlantic until we were there.

Second last night - campsite is at the shore - ideal for getting sand in all the zippers of the tent for one last time...

...and an ocean sunset.

Friday the shoreline remains misty...

...and the first few kilometres were again on dirt.

The final night dinner was a good one - the last we'd eat from the travelling kitchen, and in fact the last one that African Routes would serve to anyone as this trip is the company's final one before closing its doors - not a business failure, but a conscious decision by the owner that it was time to retire rather than refurbish the fleet.

Tomorrow is the end of the journey. It's fair to say the mood tonight is different.

One Week to go

Monday April 28 to Saturday May 3 - Windhoek Namibia south to the border with the Republic of South Africa - second last week of the journey to Cape Town.

Departing Windhoek on Monday, just outside town, we pass near "Heroes Acre", a memorial to those who gave their lives in the struggle for independence. I wish I'd taken the time to detour to the memorial although when you ride near the back of the pack like I do, you run the risk of getting detached from the organized group unless the sweep rider knows what you're doing, and we have 155 km to ride today.



We continue south, after lunch crossing the Tropic of Capricorn. The Kenyan political situation robbed us of the chance for photos crossing the equator, so this is the next best thing.


Despite now no longer being in the tropics, the sky remains clear and the day hot. Another colourful sunset, then we eat in the dark and crawl into our tents and are asleep by 8 p.m.


Tuesday night sees us camped by the Gibeon railway station after a 175-km day. The train still runs and it even stops there, but the station is now abandoned.



Across the tracks is a cemetary, a section of which is a well-kept Commonwealth War Graves section from a 1916 battle.



German soldiers who died in the same battle are buried right beside them, but sadly this section seems not to be maintained.


Wednesday is another 150 km to just north of Keetmanshoop to a very pretty campsite with the distinctive Quiver trees...



...and another glorious sunset...



...and equally rich early morning hues just after dawn.



Thursday was 'only' 120 km. When it's that short, it's because you're on rough dirt roads or have steep climbs. Today was both. I was 7 hours and 58 minutes in the saddle - and that doesn't count stops for lunch or picture taking. That's a long shadow and still 20 minutes from camp.



Sun set just before I got in.


Friday was even shorter - 85 km - it was mostly dirt road, few hills, the toughest thing being a headwind for the last 40 km. Along the way was this enormous nest belonging to 'sociable weaver birds'.



Mid-morning we were treated to dark skies and thunder and lightning but no more than a few drops of rain on us as a front went by.




The reason for the short day was to allow us to overnight near the Fish River Canyon.

They bussed us down to a lookout over the canyon and brought part of our mobile kitchen with them and fed us dinner there.





Saturday we paid for the short day on Friday - 180 km to the camp on the Orange River near Noordoewer on the Namibian side of the border with South Africa. We started with a fairly steep climb out of the camp and away from the canyon.

Then through some lovely desert scenery on dirt roads.

Ursula once again was strong and rode the entire distance. Rae rode the lunch truck from lunch at 60 km to a refreshment stop at 120 km. Not a wise choice. The last 40 km was paved road but against a strong headwind. Eventually we descended into the Orange River Valley, passing this school on the way...

...and eventually reaching the Felix Unite campsite where we got one of these nice cabanas for our two nights and rest day. The Orange River and South Africa are in the background.

This is the last rest day of the journey. Next week we ride six days, arriving in Cape Town on Saturday.