A very long way down from London, via Iceland and NordKapp, Norway to CapeTown, South Africa

We began our ride at the Meridian in Greenwich on Sunday 29 May 2016

Our first farewell from Hamish and Melba.

Across the Tower Bridge

To the Ace Cafe in North London

To meet our friend and fellow round the world motorcyclist Fern Hume

Our second farewell...

To Folkestone our first riding day,

And to Calais on the Eurochunnel train.

First stop Belgium.

North to Hirtshals in Denmark

Ferry to Iceland

And return

 North through the fjords of Norway

To our first milestone 

NordKapp, as far north as you can ride in Europe

South through Finland

Ferry to Estonia, then Latvia, Lithuania

Poland, Czech, Austria, Switzerland, Italy...

Slovenia and Croatia.

Aaah... a rest with family

A trip home to NZ.

Back on the road eastward through the Balkans

Then Romania, Serbia and Turkey

East to Georgia, Armenia and Iran

Sharjah, Dubai...

A trip to NZ and back.

Egypt

A long wait for Orlanda to arrive

A long wait for customs clearance

A long wait for Sudanese visas...

... but wonderful  places to visit, 

People to meet

History to walk through.

Our fathers had been here before us in WW11.

Leon Reader, 2nd  NZEF  23rd Battalion

Arthur Colin Hubbard

South through Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya

Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia

Zimbabwe, Botswana, Swaziland 

And South Africa 

Our grandfathers had been in South Africa in 1899

The Anglo-Boer War

James Catto 1st Aberdeenshire Volunteers, Royal Engineers

Walter Hubbard and Percy Richard (Dick) Hubbard, NZ Mounted Rifles Contingent.

They brought their own horses, too...

They all went home but their  horses did not return...

We rode to Cape Agulhas

Southernmost point of Africa on New Year's Eve 2016

And CapeTown on. New Year's Day 2017

36,279km 

120 riding days 

Average distance per day 302km/day

42 countries

Numerous border crossings. 

Schengen in Europe is wonderful.

We rode in Four continents

Europe

America (Iceland straddles the European

And America continents)

Asia

Africa

We rode from 24° 10" W in Iceland to 56°26" E in Iran

From 71°10" N at NordKapp to 34°27" S at Cape Agulhas

Rest days - 

Egypt 28 days

Croatia 7 days

Return to NZ twice for Diana and three times for Dick

Safari on the Serengeti

We had wonderful weather. 

You can see the blue skies throughout the blog posts.

We only struck rain on the road a few times 

in central Austria, Near Artvin in Turkey, Near Marsabit in Kenya,  in Zambia and as we were riding into Swaziland.

We arrived to sleet in Iceland but it cleared.

The highlands in Ethiopia were a cool 11°C in places.

Everyone we encountered was friendly.

We ride with this in mind...

'Do unto others as you would have them do unto you'  Matthew 7:12

Friendly smiles and waves are always reciprocated...

In every country.

We have been truly blessed on this journey

Me - because I have an amazing husband who rides  me around the world...

So that I can meet new, and old, friends...

Both of us because we have been kept safe by the grace of God

We have not been alone...

We treasure those who we met each day...

That moment of instant and deep heart-melting friendship...

Those who have prayed for us...

Those who encouraged us... 

the people who said to me 'You are strong' Mama, when they heard where we had been...

And where we were going.

We know we can't be human all by ourselves.

A ride like this involves a great deal of trust, caring, sharing, respect, helpfulness, unselfishness

And awareness that we are part of a community

A global community

We are all God's children.

We all want the same things...

To Love...

and to be loved.

 

We departed from the Meridian at Greenwich on a sparkling clean motorcycle.

 

 

 

NordKapp, Norway.

 

It's a long way down to the sea...

 

 

Happy arrival at Cape Agulhas, southernmost point of Africa.

 

 Ceremonial dropping of the pebble from NordKapp into the ocean.

 

Arriving in CapeTown...