Pearls On Wheels

Christmas feast at the Hilton, Durban Many families, santa, and  Taking care of us was Goodness. The first time I have been offered ostrich for Christmas. Gammon and Karoo lamb with a small portion of ostrich for me Plenty of vegetables and a bowl of cherries made me happy. On the road to Southport on Boxing Day. A short ride A visit to the Southport beach. Steve and Mechelle, two bikers, welcomed us to their table. We are now well informed about riding in this region. Most motorcyclists don't venture out because of the traffic. A quiet day sets us up nicely for a long hot day on the road to East London. Lush green of the KwaZule Natal gives way to the drier Transkei,  Where Mveso is the birthplace of Nelson Mandela. Mandiba is his clan. There are many villages scattered on the tops of the barren hill tops, Lots of late model cars on the road, Audis, Mercedes, BMWs and zippy little VW colts that overtake us. Everything seems to be overtaking us on the N2 Even on the no-passing...

A short ride from Richard's Bay to Durban. Grey and overcast, Warm and windy.   Dick can fix most things. This is minor.  The rubber on the left peg has fallen off. He is swapping the rubber from the right peg to the left peg   We are on route N2.  Our first toll plaza for a long time. Motorcycles have to pay here unlike most countries.   Wind bending the eucalypts and slowing us down.   Durban sports arena.   Obed. Such a wonderful welcome. Obed is now a member of Team Kiwi. His kiwi pin is on his left lapel.   Smoked salmon on rye with salad. A light lunch.   I came to Richards Bay for a haircut.   Sitting next to me was Reshnee who was getting special attention because today she is a bride. Later I saw her in the lobby.    Join us for Christmas Eve high tea.

Someone has created a wonderful botannical garden here. Something beautiful. We love walking through the lush tropical domain. Off on our bike... First stop petrol  A chat with a new friend. Wonderful winding roads Through pineapple plantations, farm land, villages in the hills, An antidote to the long straight roads yesterday. The quickest border crossings of them all. No customs formalities, "Take the dirt road, the tar road is very bad" Up and over 15km of forest roads. Huge areas of eucalypt forest. Some areas recently milled and burned and now regenerating, as eucalypts do. Paulpietersburg, a tidy town An iced coffee from KFC for morning tea. Christmas hats at the intersection. Panoramic vistas, Grass so lush, Sugar cane,  maize...  Fortunately the two year drought has broken. The mercury rises to 42.5°C (108.5°F) We were in Iran the last time it was this hot. A tree offers shade for a brief stop. Richard's Bay  Hooray. Our home for the night.     ...

Long straight roads Fenced farm boundaries No roaming animals demanding constant attention from my driver. 120km/hr speed limit on the open road, Dropping to 80km/hr and then to 60km/hr in towns, 40km/hr near road works. A perfect solution for New Zealand roads. No speeding tickets today, No arbitrary stops by traffic police, No road safety education. Great progress along the highways. Friendly waves Lots of road-side stalls Perfect white churches KFC, Wimpys We are not going to be hungry in South Africa. Blue skies Grey skies Lightning dancing along the ridges and among the vehicles Roaring thunder as we arrive at the border post No shelter Warm rain Air temperature drops from 31°C to 16.5°C Heat energy is converted to lightning and thunder. We start to cool down. South African border crossing is straight forward. What's that queue outside the Swaziland border post? Uh, Oh... many people returning home for Christmas... Too late we are committed now. In the midst of a fresh downpou...