Days 231 to 240 Diary Index
Days 251 to 260 
After a slow start to the day I found myself at the Namibia side of the border crossing into South Africa. It took all of 2 minutes for them to stamp my passport and for me to fill in a small form. As I walked back to the Landy, I thought to myself that was too easy. Where is the endless pouring through the passport pretending they know what they are looking at, and asking for every piece of documentation they have every heard the name of. In the vain hope of finding one you don't have. It was only a short drive down the road to the South African side of the border. I pulled up, the customs guy handed me a little form with instructions of which offices to go to and in what order. Again 2 minutes later after answering some simple questions, I had my passport stamped, checked with customs and was driving away from the border post. Welcome to South Africa. I drove off down the road with the relaxed feeling that things where going to be easy for a while. By mid morning I have arrived at the first major town of Springbok. Where I stopped to get some money out and buy a top up card for the mobile. I then sent a text message to many people to let them know my new S. A. mobile number. As I continued to drive down the road in a southern direction, so I received a few responses to my text. One of which was from Gavin, say that he was in Cape Town and how far was I away. I texted back saying I would drive straight down and see him by early evening. So I put my foot down and spent the rest of the day driving the N7 south to Cape Town. Sure enough, it was early evening by the time I reached the edge of Cape Town and texts were going back and forth, giving me more detailed info of where Gavin and Lee where staying. I soon worked my way through the city center and found myself in the Sea Point Suburb. After driving up and down the road I eventually found the Lions Head Lodge, which also house Aardvark Backpackers. I found my way to the bar, and spotted Gavin in the corner, chatting and drinking away. It was great to see him again and after all the greetings and introduction had been done, we sat down and got the beer flowing. That's were we spent the whole evening catching up and telling each other of our adventures. It turned out that Gavin and Lee had decided spontaneously one night in the pub that they were going to go on holiday and had chosen to come to S.A. It was even more of a coincidence that the day I text them, they are also driving to Cape Town. It's a small world some days! Needless to say we left the bar very late and in a bad way.
I came round to the sound of the blood pumping through my ears and my brain reminding me what a silly boy I had been to night before, with the subtlety of a sleg hammer. I queasily wandered down to the restaurant and got stuck into a full English breakfast. The quickest way I have found to get your head straight. After the third cup of tea I was feeling remotely human again, and decided I better come up with a plan for the day, otherwise I would never move. After consulting the Lonely Planet the easiest option to do at the last minute was go explore the Victoria and Albert Water Front complex. When the other guys eventually surface the idea was approved and we drove down. We spent the remainder of the morning wandering round the shops and along the way spotted a guy playing a unique looking guitar. It had a normal guitar neck, pickup etc., but the case was made from a Castrol metal oil can. We ask where he had got it and he explained that there was a stalling selling them in the craft market. We walked straight down there and Gavin had soon fallen in love and decided to buy one. So we arranged with the guy to pick it up later, when we had finished exploring. We then went for some lunch and settled of the famous Quay 4 restaurant. There we enjoyed a really nice sea food lunch, with a great view of the harbor. After lunch we went a book a place on the Robben Island tour for the following day and explored the shops some more, before returning to the guitar stall and buying the guitar. We returned to the Aardvark Backpackers and soon found our selves back in the bar for the evening. Seaming not have learnt from the night before. There we stayed enjoying take away pizza and chatting to the small hours.
I decided I would walk down to the water front complex and do some shopping and meet the other two down there. It was a pleasant walk along the sea front and the sun was shining. Along the way my mobile rang and it was Verena. She had just got to her desk at work and would soon be starting the day. There was me in sunny Cape Town about to enjoy a day of shopping and sight seeing. It a tough life being an overlander some days. I then made a b-line for a outdoor equipment shop I had spotted the day before. There I spent around an hour wandering round and buying a few new toys. I then went to a cafe to have a snack and some tea, while waiting for the guys to turn up. Just as I went to meet them my parents call, and so after a brief chat I arrange to talk to them later. We then took the boat out to Robben Island and joined the tour. The first part is a guided coach tour of the various sights around the island. We had a good guide and so it was really interesting. The second half of the tour is walk around the maximum security prison, given by one of the ex-prisoners. Again it was a very good tour, with lots of horrific explanations of what went on and the treatment they suffered. We then took the boat back to the main land and the V & A Water Front. Once back we still had a lot of the afternoon left and so after a brief lunch we went round to the Aquarium. It was easy to spend a couple of hours wandering around the exhibits. They had many interesting species of sea life, but one of the highlights was watching to drivers in the main tank. They were back to back, one was cleaning the glass and the other was keeping the sharks away with a small stick. Once back at the Aardvark backpackers we followed the routine of a few beers in the bar, dinner and getting to bed late.
When I woke I found it to be a beautiful day, perfect for sight seeing. So we were soon driving our way up to the cable car station of Table mountain. After parking the car, a brief walk and sorting tickets, we were speedily being taken to the top in a cable car. The cool thing about one of the cable cars is that as you ascend the carriage rotates so you get to see all the surrounding view. Once at the top the view just took your breath away, as we could see all the way along the 12 Apostles and many areas of Cape Town below. After taking a few photo's we went to the restaurant and the lads got a English breakfast to sort there heads out, as they were still felling a bit delicate from the night before. We then walked around the paths circling the top of the mountain. Along the way we ran into a couple of the true inhabitants, many small lizards and a very large gofer like creature. The views from all around were great and we even got to see the final section of the path up you can walk up. The view from the cable car on the way down was even better, as some of the mist along the coast had cleared. We then drove back to the Aardvark to pick up this old guy I was sharing a dorm with and had got to how over the past couple of days. Once Ozzie was in the car we drove out to Cape Point, taking the scenic route over Chapmans peak. Once at the final car park on the point I found it to be more built up than I was expecting. As there was a restaurant, cafe and tramway to the end. I was just expecting a dirt car park and foot paths. We walked to the light house at the end and then onto the final view point. It was strange to think that if you sailed straight away from that headland the next time you hit land it would be the south pole. We walked back to the car and then drove round the corner to Cape of Good Hope, and posed for the customary photo. It felt strange to finally be standing in a place I had spent the last 8 months traveling toward, with 3 years of planning and preparation behind it. We then drove back to Cape Town and again spent the evening in the Aard bar drinking and chatting and enjoying a BBQ for dinner.
After Gavin and Lee had packed their gear and checked out, we drove into Cape Towns center and went for a wander around. We soon came cross the main surf shop which I was keeping a eye out for. Where I stopped in to buy a body board and wetsuit, as well as to get some info on good surf spots. We drop the stuff back at the car and then went back in and after stopping for lunch, onto Cape Town Castle. There we went on the guided tour which was interesting and wandered around the exhibits. We then walked back through the town center and to Green Square. Which was filled by a craft market, and Lee bought a gift for a friend. We then drove out to Camps bay and walked along the beach admiring the view, before go to one of the many bars for a sundown drink and dinner. It was dark by the time we left and the guys dropped me back at the backpackers, where we said our goodbyes and they drove out to the airport. I then went to the bar for a quiet beer and then off to bed.
I started the day by getting a few odd jobs done and working on my website for the rest of the morning. I then drove down the V & A Water Front, were I had finally manage to arrange to meet Sam. Just to refresh your memory, she was the Australian woman I was trying to meet in Ghana. As she had driven from England to Ghana, worked for Raleigh International for a few months and had shipped her Landy to S.A. to continue her journey around Africa. We met by the Clock Tower and soon found some where for lunch. Where we had a great sea food lunch and chatted for a couple of hours. We then went for a wander round the shops to kill time before the Ruby (England V Springboks) started. We took up position in a oldy worldy pub to watch the game and enjoy a couple of beers. The Springboks got thrashed by England, much to the dismay of the South Africans. We then ran into Paul and ozzie stay at the backpackers and his friends. So we stayed chatting to them for a while and had a snack for dinner. It was late by the time we left the water front and Sam followed me back in her Landy to the Aardvark. Where she checked in and we said goodnight.
After a slow start to the day, many cups of tea and a lot of chatting, I finally decide I would go get my new body board wet. So I drove out to Clifton bay and went surfing for an hour or so. The waves were relentless and I got a few good kicking's, but enjoyed myself none the less. Knackered, I drove back to the backpackers and spent the rest of the day getting on with website stuff. After making myself some dinner I spent the evening chatting to some Brazilian girls who had moved into the dorm, picking their brains on South America and listening to there plans.
After starting the day me and Sam checked out of Aardvark and drove out to South Field to get some gear for her and some Landy parts for me. We then drove down to Muizenberg and had fish and chips on the beach for lunch, before saying our goodbyes. I then went round the corner to the internet cafe and then searched around for a campsite. But a lot of the ones in the area were asking too much money for the facilities they had and so I ended up at one of the surf spots by the beach. There I watched the surfers for a while and even got a short glimpse of a couple of hump back whales. I then made some dinner and once it had gone dark curled up in the Landy with a book for the evening.
I drove back into Cape Town via checking one last campsite out at Chapmans peak. I arrived at the Aardvark Backpackers around 10:00 and got to work changing the universal joints it the rear prop shaft. This is a lot easier said than done and after many hours on banging and playing around I had finally changed them and fixed my sticky hand brake problem. I had a shower and popped across the road to get a pizza for dinner before going to the bar for a quiet drink and going to bed.
I spent the first part of the morning e-mailing and phoning around to gather information on my options with the Carnet and renewing my passport. I then got to work fixing and changing over the rear brake shoes. The leak I had seen turned out to be one of the hub seals again. So I changed that first and then fitted the new brake shoes. Then on opening up the other side it turned out that the brake cylinder was leaking, so I changed the seals. But when I tried to bleed the brakes the bleed nipple stripped the tread in the brake cylinder and I had to replace the whole unit. On the second attempt at bleeding the brakes, with the new shoes fitted, everything went OK. By this time it was late afternoon and to late to start the front brakes. So I made dinner and enjoyed an evening in the Bar talking to an English girl called Clair who was on a round the world ticket and after playing some pool I didn't get to bed until 04:00.
Days 231 to 240 Diary Index
Days 251 to 260