We have cycled, roughly 10 000kms in and around South Africa, and hiked, canoed, and hitch hiked roughly 3 515kms. It has taken us 1 year and 7 months on the road, and a year in between, to get this far. We have visited 250 towns in our country that is excluding all the small villages, and townships.
The story begins somewhere around August 2004. I guess we were both at a time in our lives, when change was inevitable. I was dissatisfied, and felt like my life didn't make much of a difference, that it needed substance. So, one night out with friends, we started talking nonsense, and I mentioned my state of mind, and said that I was thinking of taking my backpack and go walkabout around South Africa . Maria was just about the only one who thought that it sounded like a good idea, and so we dreamed up the most fantastical epic journey of a lifetime. Of course everyone else started laughing, and it soon became a challenge. Before we knew it, we had everything we thought we might need for our trek, including a bicycle, because walking just didn't seem so appealing anymore. Against all warnings of the dangers that await us, we headed for St Lucia, because we figured cycling along the coastline might be great for sightseeing, and that Cape Town would be sufficient distance to find substance, purpose, and meet the challenge. Oh, and lest I forget! We each had a puppy which was coming with us!
My parents took us to St Lucia, and all the while, my dad was saying, that there was no way that we'd get all that gear on a bicycle. We haven't even tried to pack the bikes yet, as we were making our own carriers, and they weren't completely finished yet. So it was questionable whether the carriers would carry half our stuff, let alone the whole lot. It being the first time that we've set out to do something like this, we packed everything, from extra pairs of shoes, jewellery, a whole lot of luxuries, cd's, way too much clothes, and I won't even go further, because it's hilarious.
Anyway, the day after my parents left to go back home, we've finished building the carriers, and loaded (or at least we tried) the bikes. Everything did not fit onto the bikes, not by a long shot. We each had to send an entire backpack home. It was one of the saddest things ever, but unless we wanted to be able to move, we had to. Show's you, sometimes parents do have an idea, and so to listen wouldn't be so bad.
It took us 5 days, before we could muster up enough courage to actually leave St Lucia. We were terrified, because it's one thing talking about it, and a completely different thing actually doing it. We thought of all the worst things that could happen to us, and the fact that there were hippopotamuses in an unfenced area near the road, didn't help much either. Eventually, we had no choice, thus, 2 Girls and 2 Jack Russel puppies left St Lucia on the 23 rd of October 2004, en-route to Cape Town. We were traveling alone, with no backup vehicle or support team. I suppose the challenge lay in making something work that originated from a last minute decision, a calling, or destiny if you will. We had no time to prepare and no previous training or experience. Not knowing was part of the excitement, I guess!
