I wish I hadn't sent my Winnie-the-Pooh hot-water bottle home - it's freezing here at night, and there were three inches of snow last week.I'm back into serious oeno-research mode again, and find that a perfectly drinkable dry red costs less than a fiver for a 1.5-litre bottle. Which is nice.

As you may have surmised, I'm in South Africa (Johannesburg), which makes it seven continents (so that's all of them) and 38 countries, and now just two hours ahead of GMT. First impressions are of a friendly place, with everyone introducing themselves by name with a sunny smile (like Alfred the taxi driver), mirroring South American courtesy.

The challenges now are paperwork for The Old Dear, who allegedly flew to JFK yesterday and should arrive here on Thursday, and to re-learn riding on the left. I've spent more than two years on the wrong side of the road, and am having difficulty getting to grips with everything being the other way around. By sheer luck I've managed to pick a hotel a mile from a big BMW dealer, which will make it easy to get herself checked over and fit new tyres before I get on the road again. I like to do that after uncrating just in case I've missed something - you can't beat a jaundiced eye to spot nasties.