We were both exhausted when the time came to board the plane in Dubai.  Neither could barely talk.  The best that could be managed were grunts and heavy sighs.  Boarding and take-off were delayed and the nano-second the Captain said “have a good flight”, we were both in the land of nod…  

Nostrils flared at the first whiff of breakfast.  Don’t the trolley dollies take forever to arrive when you’re hungry? Following our delightful meal we thought it a good idea to chase with glasses of South Africa’s own Amarula; a cream liqueur made from sugar, cream and the fruit of the African Marula tree, locally called the elephant tree or the marriage tree.  We are married, we are retired and we figured getting into the swing of things early, quite acceptable!

Dave, of Dave and Kirstin, long term mates who we first met in Oman, met us at the Cape Town airport and gave us a whistle stop tour en route to drop us at their fabulous little one bedroom flat in St James.  From the mid 1800’s this coastal strip became popular with society’s elite who built holiday retreats by the sea.  The greatest building boom resulted from the arrival of the railway and the mining magnates who made their fortunes from diamonds and gold.  Natural tidal pools were transformed to provide safe swimming and coloured bathing huts provided privacy.  We slept that night to the sounds of crashing waves and realised “WE HAD ARRIVED”!

Neil Bhandari of Skyline Freight & Logistics (www.skylinefreight.ae) arranged the crating and transport of the Guzzi out of Dubai.  Adrian Schultz of Econo Trans in Cape Town (www.econotrans.co.za) arranged Customs Clearance with our Carnet (bike passport), so that she was all ready for us to ride off into the sunset, aka Cape Town traffic, two days after we arrived.  For anyone wanting to fly a bike between these two cities, we can highly recommend the services of both these companies.

Capetonians have been so very friendly and this region actually feels a lot like home (Australia).  People are out in force walking, running, cycling and swimming in 13.7 degree water!  I’ve been invited to join a swimming group which I have secretly named the Icebergers – we’ll see!  We have begun a routine of early morning walks taking in Flat White coffees along the Kalk Bay foreshore.  These little places lie between the ocean and sharply rising mountains comprising crags of grey Table Mountain sandstone.  It is certainly refreshing when you can eat bacon and pork sausages in full view and see wine on every menu.  There is colour everywhere which lifts your spirit.  Not everything is perfect.  The universal problems of waste and rubbish are here, and there are the haves and have-nots.  They say you fall in love with Cape Town, and already we feel like settling in, but know we need to “get on our bike” soon.

Cape Town is experiencing its worst drought in recorded history.  There is lots of conjecture as to the reasons, but it seems simply due to a lack of rain in the water catchment areas, most probably a consequence of climate change.  We’ve just had a couple of days of very welcome rain and we can safely say that we didn’t bring it in from Dubai. 
 
The Southern Peninsula has some of the best riding roads we have been on in a long time.  St James towards Cape Point, then across to Misty Cliffs, to Kommetjie and home again was a fabulous shakedown.  Table Mountain to Camps Bay, over to Hout Bay, then along the Chapmans Peak Drive was stunning.  Riding pillion gives me the best opportunity of capturing what I call “Pillion Postcards”, so enjoy riding pillion with me through my photographs…

It was lekker catching up with some Doha mates, Ruth and John.  Found some biltong, Bush Baby potjies and rusks in the local supermarket.  Felt some black velvet petunias in the garden centre, drank Rooibos tea, ate the most amazing Cape Malay chicken and coconut soup, walked across the top of Table Mountain, and had snoek and chips at the local fish harbour.  And this is just Week 2…