Days 261 to 270 Diary Index
Days 281 to 290 
After the drinking session of the night before I finally dragged my head from the pillow around 09:00. Also the sun had now been beating on the tent for a couple of hours and had made it too hot to stay in there any longer. So once I had pulled myself together, I put my wetsuit on, grabbed my board board and headed down to the beach. The waves were OK but a bit messy in places, but I still managed to amuse myself for a hour or so, catching what I could. Once back at Buccaneers I scoffed some breakfast and had a shower, and then turned my attention to getting the Landy fixed. After chatting to the owner (as he used to have a lot of Landys) he gave me directions too a Land Rover garage in East London. So I set off right away. Once in East London I followed the directions and found myself in the right area, but after circling the block to not find the garage. So I stopped at a nearby hardware store and bought the oils I would need to complete the servicing. On talking to the guys there, they also new of the garage and so I went back for another look. On my second pass I spotted a ware house with old Land Rover and parts everywhere. I stopped and went over to chat to the guy and he explained that they where in the process of moving to new premises. It was not long before the owner had turned up to collect more stuff, and after a brief chat to explain what I needed (new suspension bushes) I followed him to his new place. Once there we had a good chat over a cup of tea about my trip and where I had been. Unfortunately he didn't have any and he could get hold of a bloke who he thought might have some. I finally left the place around lunch time and on the way out of town spotted a suspension garage. So I popped in and arrange with the guy to come back and fit a couple of new bushes, as he assured me he could get the right sizes. So I then continued to drive back to Buccaneers and along the stopped to do some shopping and chat to Mum and Dad briefly on the phone. By the time I arrived at Buccaneers it was late afternoon and I didn't feel like starting any new jobs, so I played some volleyball with the other guests until dinner time, made some dinner, and then relaxed in front of the TV for the evening.
My mission for the day was to finish servicing the Landy by changing all the oils and filters. I moved the Landy down to the bottom of the Buccaneers sit as they had kindly said I could used there newly built garage to do the work in. So I got to work and spent he morning changing the engine oil and filter, fuel filter, differentials oils and transfer box oil. I then drained to the gearbox oil, but when it came to refill it I ran into a problem. The filler/level plug was jammed solid, and so I spent the rest of the day trying every which way I could think of to get it out. It was whilst I was walking back down from the owner garage (borrowing power tools) did I run into Bas coming out of reception. Stunned to see each other unexpectedly and after the greets came to flood of question to one anther about where we had been and what we had been up to. Then came the Land Rover jokes, as Bas and Ellie own a Toyota, and I am stood there in my overalls covered in dirt and oil from head to foot. We should had take a photo and put the caption at the bottom "Guess which one is the Land Rover owner". After spending another hour or so trying to removed the stuck plug, I decided to give up for the day. So after cleaning the garage and myself up I joined Bas and Ellie in the bar for drinks and dinner. Buccaneers served up so nice grub and the evening soon went quickly past. Until tried by the days events I went to sleep in a small room next to the garage to Landy was in.
After getting up I was soon back on the job of getting oil back into the Landys gear box. After a couple of more attempts at getting the plug out the head finally broke clean off. When walking up to the owner garage I found Bas and Ellie getting ready to leave, as they hadn't had a good nights sleep and they wanted to move on else where. So we said our goodbyes and I watched them drive out. So I was time to get serious. I drilled through the plug, tapped a thread into it and cut down a 10mm bolt (kindly donated by Bas and Ellie) to act as the new plug. I then filled the gear box with oil using a small pipe and squeezy bottles, which took quite some time. But the job was done and I was good to move the Landy again. Once I had cleaned up and packed my gear away it was around 14:00. So I spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing and swimming in the pool, before joining in for a couple of games of volleyball. I then went and had a shower, made dinner and relaxing in front of the TV for the evening.
Once up and about I got to grips with another job that I needed to do, getting my website up to date. I made myself comfy on the shaded benches outside the bar and sat there virtually all of the day until I had finished the update. I then showed my website to a few people who where interested before packing away my gear. The evening was spent having a couple of quiet beers in the bar, chatting to Verena on the phone, and then chatting with other people in the bar before bed.
At Buccaneers on Sunday morning they serve up a brilliant free breakfast, consisting of a whole array of fruit, toast, boiled eggs, tea or coffee. So everyone enjoyed a massive leisurely breakfast, while looking out over the nice view of the bay and river mouth below. With full bellies, me and another lad decided we would take one of the canoes out for a paddle up the river. The first part was easy going, but as we got further up the river we encountered more and more shallow areas and sand bars so of which we had to carry the canoe over. Along the way though we did spot some small fish and a couple of king fishers. As we returned down the river the water level was slowly rising with the incoming tide. The now oncoming current combined with a head wind, meant we had to paddle hard for the last section back to where we had set off. I then spent the rest of the morning and the first half on the afternoon relaxing and swimming in the pool. We then set off across the beach to the other half on Cintsa, as we had been tipped off that one of the local restaurants served free bar snacks later afternoon. We arrived at the base of the hill on which the restaurant is perched and took the luxury lift up the hill side. Once sat don we order drinks and admired the view until it was time to move to the bar and enjoy the free food. They had some really nice dishes and you just helped your self to each one. As it turns out they where the left overs from the Sunday lunch buffet but they tasted nice all the same. Whilst all this was going on I got chatting to a couple of locals who were also enjoying the food, who were fascinated about my travels. It was early evening by the time we left and headed back to Buccaneers. The evening was spent enjoying a couple of quiet beers and chatting until late.
My mission for the day was to go into East London and back to the suspension garage I had run into on my last visit. I drove the Landy in and put it on the ramp. After the lad had told me that one of my steering ball joints was worn out, which it obviously wasn't, it confirmed my suspicion that he didn't have the first clue about Land Rovers. He then removed the pan yard rod from the front axle and quickly found out that he didn't have the right size of bush to replace the worn ones with. After ringing around he said he would have to order them from Jo-burg. So I told him to put it back on and left the place after wasting most of the morning there. I then went round the the Land Rover dealers, who only had standard parts, the hardware store and a 4x4 outfitters, but he only wanted to sell the whole kit. I then went on the hunt for some where to fill up my gas cylinder, as it had nearly run out and I would need it for the return journey. I ended up trying three differnt places but none of then could help. Frustrated I decided I would spend the rest of the day driving down to Port Elizabeth. It was easy enough to get there, but because the place was so big my map only covered the central area, and so I was driving round the outskirts for a while before I ran into some useful signs. I then found my way down to the water front and onto the backpackers I was looking for. I arranged to stay the night and then set camp. I soon found out that the place was packed with English cricket fans who had come over to watch the test match being played in town. So after dinner I spent the evening chatting and drinking with them until late.
I made an early start to the day and was soon ready to leave Kings Beach backpackers. I Only had to drive a short way down the road to find a shopping center. Where I did a big stock up shopping spree, sent my update from the internet cafe and got some more money out. I the drove out of P.E. at first following the coast before turning in land to reach the N2. I then drove all day following the N2 south west, until around early evening I turned off to go to Hermanus. By the time I rolled into town it was dark, but I easily found my way back to the Hermanus backpackers. I arranged to stay and setcamp outside on the driveway. I then enjoy what little of the evening remained by drinking a beer and playing a couple of games of pool, before failing into bed.
To was soon on the road that morning and I drove back out to the N2 and down the the road to Sumerset West, where after a brief search managed to find an internet cafe. I only spent a short time there to check my mail. I then got a call from Mum and Dad to say that they where all set to go and would be catching the first flight from Jersey to London soon. I then drove north to Stellenbosch as I figured I could spend the day having a look around and visiting one of the wineries. As I was driving around I ran into to local Land Rover garage. I fancied stopping to have a look around one of the new defenders they had there. I got chatting to one on the sales rep's who said they had suppied vehicles for a couple of overlanders. One of which lived just the other side of Cape Town. He gave me there phones and insisted I should go have a chat. Unfortunately when I tried to call there was no answer, so I figured I would try later. I then went of to find to local backpackers, but when I did I turned out that there was no where suitable for vehicle camping. I then took a short walk down the road and enjoyed nice lunch at a pub. I then took the Landy for the short drive down the road to the winery I had chosen to visit, Der Bergkelder. Once there I bought a ticket for the tour and patiently wandered round the shop until it started. It started with watching an interesting video on the history of the area and how wine make had progressed. We then sat down to a tasting of four different wines, two whites and 2 reds. We then went on tour of the cellars, wine vats and the bottling factory. All in all and interesting experience if you have never been to a winery before, like my self. I resisted the urge to by some wine from there shop and drove out of Stellenbosch and round to the Cape Penninsula, where I then headed to Chapmans Peak Caravan Park. I and visited it once before as another traveler had tipped me off about the place. I arranged to stay for the night, during which I got chatting to the owner. As it turns out he remembered David and Adele Lawrence who had stayed at his site for a while on there Trans Africa journey, and who I am good friends with back home in Jersey. He even showed me the video "Endless Summer" which David had given him. I then went off and set camp, made some dinner, and then spent the evening continuing to chat to the owner (Chris Bennett) of the site about my travels and what David and Adele where now doing.
Before I left the Chapman Peak Caravan Park I gave Chris my gas cylinder, as he reckoned he new a bloke who might be able to fill it. I then drove along the Chapmans Peak route into Cape Town and to the Aardvark backpackers. Just as I arrived Lizzie who I had arranged to meet sent me a text to say she couldn't make it. So I thought I would give Ian the guy the Stellenbosch Land Rover rep had told me about, another ring. This time he was in and we arrang to met around lunch time at his place. I then checked in and collected my new passport from Dee (manageress of Aarvark backpackers) who had kindly been looking after it for me. I was glad to find that they had also returned my old passport, as with all the stamps in it, it told quite a story. I then set off for the drive to Ian's place, and after getting a little lost managed to find it. I was at first greeted by his wife as he hadn't got home yet, and after explaining who I had got in contact, was invited in. It was not long before Ian turned up and we spent a couple of hours chatting about his and my travels and me picking his brains for information on my proposed route. After going on a couple of errands with him and him kindly letting me drive his new TD5 Defender for a test drive, I finally left his place around 17:00, and made my way back to Aardvark backpacker. I then made some dinner and went down to the bar for a drink and to see who was around. I ran into Mike who I had first met when I stay at the Aardvark, and he had a nasty story to tell about him getting bitten by a spider in his sleep and his ongoing recovery. I then spent the evening in the TV room with most of the others watching a video (Chronicles of Ridic) before toddling off to bed.
I had a leisurely breakfast, read for a while and went off to do a little shopping. Once back I burned at CD for Lizzie with all my trip photo's on and left it with Dee. I then said my goodbyes and drove off to the Airport. I was there a little early but this was just as well as the plane was also early. It was not long before I saw Mum and Dad walk through the arrives gate, and after the round of greetings, was promptly told what a tiresome trip they had had. The result of which had been that there hold luggage had not been loaded onto the plain in time and they had arrived with out it. Thankfully they had enough stuff in there hand luggage to get them by for the next couple of days. We then met the Caravan hire agent and I followed them in his car to the depot. There we sorted out all the papers and checked over the vehicle. We then fuelled up in the garage round the corner and drove out of Cape Town and down to the Cape Peninsula and onto Kommetjie, where Mum had booked us places in a caravan site. We were soon settled in and the kettle was on. We then spent the rest of the afternoon running around in my Landy doing some shopping, and collecting my gas bottle from Chris at Chapmans Peak Caravan site. Who had managed to get it filled, which was another problem solved. We then then had some dinner and got stuck inot the wine, while chatting about all the things we had wanted to say over the phone, but didn't have time.
Days 261 to 270 Diary Index
Days 281 to 290