Africa

South Africa

My Route

I can take no credit for my route as my dad highlighted his thoughts on a map, I mapped it out on Google Maps (see below), and it become my route. Thanks dad!

SA Route Map

My 8 day tour of the Garden Route took me from Cape Town to Kynsa and back. My blog posts of this trip can be found here:

Planning

Planning my South African trip was so relaxed in comparison to my USA/Canada trip. Of course, I now had the experience of my three month USA/Canada trip, this is my home country, the trip was only 8 days, my dad basically planned my route, and I was hiring a bike in Cape Town rather than taking Trinity with me.

My Bike

I hired a BMW 1200 GS (Trinity’s big brother) from a Cape Town based company called Cape Bike Travel. It was not financially viable to take Trinity for such a short trip. This is the only trip I have done without her.

The 1200 is an awesome bike! It is a way more powerful bike than the 800, it’s lower so you feel more in control and the suspension is stiffer which I like. What I didn’t like was the twin engine blocks sticking out just in front of your shins, I’d get myself into way too much trouble on the bike because it is so powerful, and the seat stops short of the petrol tank. The latter was a problem for me as I sit very far forward on my seat so I kept bashing my ‘bits’ against the petrol tank. This wasn’t pleasant!

What I took with me?

The short answer; as little as possible. I took my own gear (helmet, boots, protective clothing) and as little clothes as I could get away with for a two week holiday (incl. 8 day bike ride). My bike gear filled one suitcase and my clothes went into a Krieger 30 bag, which I strapped to the back of the bike while on tour.

Accommodation

Given the very favourable exchange rate at the time (24 Rands to 1 Pound), I opted for a bit of luxury and booked into Guest Houses and Lodges through Bookings.com. This meant staying in four star accommodation for the price of a motel in the USA. Bonus!