South Africa Tour SAT1701 in Cape Town!

South Africa Tour SAT1701 in Cape Town!

04 Feb 2017
/Marko Bauer
We made it! Our group of 12 mtorcycle riders and passenger has finally (and safely) arrived in Cape Town! Two great riding days brought us to the southern tip of Africa! Yesterday we started in Montagu and rode straight down to Africa's southernmost point, Cape Agulhas. From there we continued to Hermanus, and then alongside the False Bay to the magnificent city of Cape Town! Today we headed south one more time - of course we had to visit the Cape of Good Hope. And now we are all back in the hotel, the bikes are returned and we are ready for our final dinner. What a wonderful group, and what a wonderful motorcycle tour in this wonderful country! Today was one of the highlights of the whole tour - riding wise and scenery wise! In the morning we crossed the scenic Swartberg Pass - the ride up to the top took us right into the middle of incredible scenery! Everybody made it across, even though the downhill section was quite wet and slippery in some areas! After a great lunch at Esterer's Restaurant in Oudtshoorn we followed Route 62 to Montagu, where another treat waited for us: wine tasting! The Garden Route, the World's highest bungee-bridge (216m), Knysna and the famous Oysters, George and finally the ostrich town Oudtshoorn - what a day! We started with a bit of sightseeing in Port Elizabeth, had a great coffeestop in Humansdorp and then arrived at the bungee-bridge. Nobody dared to jump, so we decided to enjoy Thabo's picnic lunch instead! in the afternoon we tried Knysna's oysters - yes, they are great! And then we traded the Indian Ocean for the desert - quite a change of landscape after crossing the Outeniqua pass! Everybody requested a rest day at our spectacular beachfront hotel - but of course we had to move on! Ort Elizabeth was waiting for us. But before we reached this beautiful town, we had a few more sightseeing stops: the Large Pineapple, Grahamstown and Kenton-on-Sea! After more than 2000km of riding, we have earned ourselves a shorter riding day. That's why we left the Transkei on the most direct way and headed straight to East London. As we have German's on our tour, a visit to the German Settlers Monument was a "must". We had a quick lunch and then continued along the coastal road to our destination - the Indian Ocean! If our hotel were any nearer to the Ocean, we would get wet feet! We enjoyed the rest of the afternoon with leisurely strolls along the beach - and a couple of us actually dared to take a swim! Blue skies greeted us for our long ride along the Drakensberge mountains and into the Transkei. But first we stopped at the famous Howick Falls. The next highlight was the memorial at the spot where Nelson Mandela was captured in 1962. And then the real riding started: about 400km in spectacular scenery!  The Zulus showed us their traditions, let us taste the Zulu-beer and invited us to a competition of spear throwing and stick fighting. What a great experience! By now the rain was replaced by sunshine and we rode down to the Indian Ocean again. After a German (!) lunch we rode back up into the mountains and into the sugarcane area aroun Durban. After a final stop in Pietermaritzburg and the Gandhi statue we finally reached today's destination, Hilton. After all the riding through the beautiful countryside of Swaziland and the Zulu area, it was time to visit the Indian Ocean! St. Lucia is a great place to see the water - and a few animals. We saw a few crocodiles, fortunately they were not too close for comfort! After lunch we continued to Shakaland, where we arrived just before the rain started! So far, we had about 5 minutes of rain on the whole tour...no complaints! After Kruger Park, we continued our motorcycle tour through South Africa. Swaziland was the next stop on our agenda. What a beautiful country, even though it greeted us with a heavy thunderstorm just south of us. Today we continued the exploration of the beautiful Swazi countyside before returning to South Africa. By now we have reached the region of the famous Zulus! One of the major highlights of this tour has started: Game Drive in Kruger Park! Our guides, Elvis atnd Smiley, waited for us early in the morning to take us into the park. Big Five - here we come! And we actually managed to see four out of the five - only the leopard avoided us...And of course we got to see a lot more: Zebras, Giraffes, Warthogs, Hippos,... Now we are back in the hotel, where cold drinks and the pool are waiting for us! After a cool and quiet night high up in the mountains we were ready for another great day. A couple of highlights waited for us today: Pilgrims Rest, God's Window and the Blyde River Canyon - and eventually the famous Kruger Park! It was a long and pretty warm day - but every kilometer offered new sights and incredible views! A great outdoor buffet was the appropriate finish to this beautiful day!   And now we are on our way! Riders and passenger from Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Switzerland and the US are discovering the beauty of South Africa! Today we rode through the Highveld towards the mountains. The weather was perfect for riding - only the last part of the ride took us up into the clouds on Long Tom Pass! What a great way to start the new year: with a motorcycle tour through South Africa! The bikes are ready, the weather is pleasant and warm: let's go! Tomorrow we will leave Johannesburg and ride east!