Day 357 / 122

Date: 4 April 2023
Sleeping location: Renee and Madeleine’s house, 33.5940S, 26.0821E, South Africa
Distance (km today/total/total Part 2): 109 / 22270 / 7433
Estimated climb (today/total/total Part 2): 1600 / 211100 / 93100
Number of the day: 2
Day in three words: Couple to couple

I had discussed the Dagwood sandwich - a triple decker with beef burger, cheese and a fried egg, plus chips on the side - with Piet and Ronel the previous night and I’d said I’d take one for breakfast, but at 7am and after a bowl of granola and milk this seemed like less of a good idea. I went for it anyway out of pride; it was tasty but a full on assault on the senses.

Weighed down by this I headed out into a calm but humid day, a great combination when I had to tackle Ecca Pass first off, a long, medium effort climb that wasn't too hard but was an absolute sweat fest in these (internal and external) conditions. The Bain Monument at the top of the pass, commemorating the guy who first built this road, was an interesting jumble of historical and geological information. Around this area were more private game lodges, some of them offering hunting safaris. Leaving aside the morals of this,* I just cannot understand how you can see these wonderful creatures living life in their natural habitat and think "I want to make them dead". On the way into Grahamstown a random man stopped and asked if he could video me cycling, which was a bit weird but I said ok, then he started doing so whilst asking me rapid fire questions as I went past. He got so into it that he almost trod on a small snake. 

Grahamstown/Makhanda had some big impoverished suburbs but the centre was surprisingly historical with lots of nice 19th century buildings. It was once the second biggest town in what is now South Africa, after Cape Town. The Cathedral of St Michael and St George has the highest church tower in South Africa (54m) and a beautiful interior. The guy who showed me around was so delighted to have a visitor that I got to go everywhere, including up the steep little stairs to the bell tower. There were some fun bellringing notices in there, including the wonderful "CLASH BING GOOD BONG pull a little harder - it's gotta get worse to get better" (with diagrams). When I left he gave me five different postcards of the church, which seemed excessive but was a nice gesture. This being a town in the former British empire there was some slightly dubious history as well: firstly a monument to the British soldiers who died in the Boer War, which must be a bit on the nose for the ancestors of any visiting Boers. I assume a much larger monument to all the Boer civilians who died in concentration camps was around the corner somewhere. Secondly, Rhodes University, one of the most prestigious universities in South Africa, named after (and this is a quote FROM THE UNIVERSITY) “ an arch-imperialist and white supremacist who treated people of this region as sub-human”. There has been recent controversy about the name, and a campaign to change it, but it’s still there. On a lighter note, a sign in town informed me that “Good food tastes real good” and we can all agree on that whether we are white supremacists or not.

After my sightseeing and a stop for coffee and second breakfast/first lunch I spent quite a long time in town and didn’t set off until well after noon. To get back to the main road there was a steep hill out of town, made steeper by my forgetting to use the little ring. I didn't even notice, which shows how fit I am after Lesotho. The land quickly turned back to endless empty rolling savannah again and the only real route choice was the major N2 road, but it was fairly quiet with a big shoulder so I just got my head down and rode. As with the area before Grahamstown, all the land here was being used for private game reserves and I got occasional glimpses of warthogs and antelope through the fences. Then at the top of one climb the land opened out onto a vast plain with countless zebra, antelope large and small and warthogs. There were several zebra right up near the fence and I got within 10m of them, it was a lovely surprise. There were also signs on the fence saying “Beware of lions”; I saw a lion shaped shadow on a descent but that probably doesn’t count. 

Around here I reached 22222km for the trip, then spent a few minutes trying to take a picture of my trip computer also showing a speed of 22.2kph so I had the full complement of twos. This involved speeding up to 23kph then slowing down and hoping it showed the right speed. I got it after a few goes and it was totally worth it. 

After the plains the road headed through a pretty landscape of cacti and blue flowers with occasional monkeys about, but my enjoyment disappeared when the road’s shoulder did and it became narrow and not fun at all. There was still absolutely nothing other than private game reserves - aside from Grahamstown this had been the case for 150km - so I headed for "Nanaga farmstall" thinking it might be a quaint little shack where I could pitch my tent. Instead it was a huge restaurant, and closed, and opposite a big petrol station/service station/KFC complex. It did have lawns so I asked the manager if I could camp, but instead he spoke with, then referred me to, a random guy called Renee who immediately offered me somewhere to stay in his "half finished house". This was a short drive away, but he was driving back to the same spot in the morning so Maggie and I could have a lift in both directions. The universe provides again. 
 
Renee was a fast talking, hyperactive guy who seemed to know everyone and constantly switched between English Afrikaans and Xhosa. After a 15km drive we arrived back at his farm, which had the main family house and a guesthouse that Renee had been doing up himself, to a fairly high standard. He opened the door and said in Afrikaans something like “hi honey I have a random cyclist with me he’s staying here tonight”. His wife Madeleine was already in her dressing gown, but extremely accepting of this and extremely welcoming to me. They set me up with a hot shower and then we ate some homemade Kudu sausages and soup and talked. They were both really lovely, very chatty and sweet and incredibly accommodating. It turned out the “half finished house” was the guesthouse and I got to be the first guest in the very comfy master bedroom. A lovely experience and the best possible way to end the part of the journey where I don't know where I'll be sleeping each day. 

During the evening I received an email from the Mozambique foreign office telling me that my preliminary e-visa had been denied. Bit late for that now. 

*Especially given what I’d just eaten

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