ExploringRTW
Registered user
3 - 9 September 2006
A day off from our huge repair, tidy-up and admin odyssey. We had been talking for a while, now we are over a year into the trip, of creating a DVD with the picture highlights from each country. Mike had made a few quick calculations and worked out that we can have about 15 pictures per country to generate an hour slide show for our whole trip! So after deciding which ones we want from where we have been so far Mike gets going.
One of our objectives we set ourselves before we left England was to look at our fitness. We thought that traveling we would have plenty of time each day to relax and do some running or other healthy activity most days of the week! Well after the USA, my broken leg with weeks sitting on Sofa's eating biscuits and generally covering a lot more miles on the bikes than originally planned we have achieved a big fat zero on this count, however in the last few months we have come down a bit on the weight front (South American cuisine?
) So now starting in our second year we have decided to be a lot more pro-active on this front. So I sat down and worked out what we could realistically achieve.
These tasks, although enjoyable, took up all of our time until we were due to leave for Chris and Belinda's. We met Chris and Belinda at the Cape Town BMW Club and they kindly invited us to dinner and to talk about our trip to them and their family. We had a great afternoon, with a good barbeque, talking to them about the trip so far and showing them some of the photos from Alaska and Bolivia. We hoped we didn't rattle on for too long! But all too soon it was late and we had too leave.
We were at another ground hog day at Cape Town or was it Royston Vasey... We spent a whole day repacking the bikes with our reduced baggage load. I think I have removed close to 40kg since Bolivia but without scales it is hard to confirm. But now everything can be packed on my bike without any extra luggage bags strapped to the outside and the lids close without sitting on them. Mike is down to one bag holding the tri-pod! This is our forth repack and hopefully last!
So our hopes of leaving we dashed again... and the next day and the next and the next. Days just disappeared trying to buy odds and ends but things we needed to get sorted out before we take on Africa!
We were finally ready to go but we couldn't leave without having the Huey ride. In the past few days we had been trying but there were just not enough people. In the end there was only a trip on an hour tour. We had wanted the 'combat' tour but no one else did!
There was some mist around in the morning but the flight was still OK to go, as this was just located in the bay. We arrived at the take off site that was near the railway station and there were all the Huey's lined up.
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Huey's all ready!..
After a brief safety instruction we were loaded onto the helicopter and Mike and I were able to get a seat by the door...which was left open for the flight so you had the full experience. Once aboard the rotor started and we were off over downtown Cape Town, around Table mountain towards Camps Bay and out to sea. The sound of the rotors is just as in the films.
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Clouds wrapped around Table Mountain..
As we fly along the coast, and at points pretty low, to the sea towards Cape Point the pilot spots some whales, so we complete a couple of fly overs before continuing to the Cape.
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Whales. I think they are the Southern Right Whales...
The coastline is impressive but very much like Cornwall! With the towns dotted on the cost and the rock formations having a very similar shape!
The Cape...
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The hour passes very quickly and we are back at the heliport.
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Coming into Land...
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Safely back on the Ground...
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A famous landmark in Cape Town... The road started a long time ago, but still isn't finished!! Although every new government promises to complete it!
After a short walk back to the hostel we finally pack up the bikes, set up the suspension (the first time we have taken time to do this properly), a quick cup of tea and we head off to see the Cape by road.
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Bronwin, who runs the cafe at the hostel. Kept us watered and fed!
The bikes feel the best they have ever done with the luggage load. The suspension and loss of weight on the bike has vastly improved the handling and the time on service and set up the engines feel good and there is no rattling from panniers and other odd parts.
<IMG SRC="http://pic4.picturetrail.com/VOL784/4062504/12492115/185719827.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosting by PictureTrail.com">
Views of the cape road...
We follow the coast as far as we can all the way to the Cape and get there an hour before sunset. Unfortunately there is too much cloud for any good photos but it is a great feeling to stand at the most southern point of Africa!
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Some of the Baboons seen on route...
Views from the Cape...
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We head off from the Cape before dark and arrive at our lodging in Simon’s Town, an old convent school just a few miles from the point!
John
A day off from our huge repair, tidy-up and admin odyssey. We had been talking for a while, now we are over a year into the trip, of creating a DVD with the picture highlights from each country. Mike had made a few quick calculations and worked out that we can have about 15 pictures per country to generate an hour slide show for our whole trip! So after deciding which ones we want from where we have been so far Mike gets going.
One of our objectives we set ourselves before we left England was to look at our fitness. We thought that traveling we would have plenty of time each day to relax and do some running or other healthy activity most days of the week! Well after the USA, my broken leg with weeks sitting on Sofa's eating biscuits and generally covering a lot more miles on the bikes than originally planned we have achieved a big fat zero on this count, however in the last few months we have come down a bit on the weight front (South American cuisine?
) So now starting in our second year we have decided to be a lot more pro-active on this front. So I sat down and worked out what we could realistically achieve. These tasks, although enjoyable, took up all of our time until we were due to leave for Chris and Belinda's. We met Chris and Belinda at the Cape Town BMW Club and they kindly invited us to dinner and to talk about our trip to them and their family. We had a great afternoon, with a good barbeque, talking to them about the trip so far and showing them some of the photos from Alaska and Bolivia. We hoped we didn't rattle on for too long! But all too soon it was late and we had too leave.
We were at another ground hog day at Cape Town or was it Royston Vasey... We spent a whole day repacking the bikes with our reduced baggage load. I think I have removed close to 40kg since Bolivia but without scales it is hard to confirm. But now everything can be packed on my bike without any extra luggage bags strapped to the outside and the lids close without sitting on them. Mike is down to one bag holding the tri-pod! This is our forth repack and hopefully last!
So our hopes of leaving we dashed again... and the next day and the next and the next. Days just disappeared trying to buy odds and ends but things we needed to get sorted out before we take on Africa!
We were finally ready to go but we couldn't leave without having the Huey ride. In the past few days we had been trying but there were just not enough people. In the end there was only a trip on an hour tour. We had wanted the 'combat' tour but no one else did!
There was some mist around in the morning but the flight was still OK to go, as this was just located in the bay. We arrived at the take off site that was near the railway station and there were all the Huey's lined up.
<IMG SRC="http://pic4.picturetrail.com/VOL784/4062504/12492115/185719514.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosting by PictureTrail.com">
Huey's all ready!..
After a brief safety instruction we were loaded onto the helicopter and Mike and I were able to get a seat by the door...which was left open for the flight so you had the full experience. Once aboard the rotor started and we were off over downtown Cape Town, around Table mountain towards Camps Bay and out to sea. The sound of the rotors is just as in the films.
<IMG SRC="http://pic4.picturetrail.com/VOL784/4062504/12492115/185719511.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosting by PictureTrail.com">
Clouds wrapped around Table Mountain..
As we fly along the coast, and at points pretty low, to the sea towards Cape Point the pilot spots some whales, so we complete a couple of fly overs before continuing to the Cape.
<IMG SRC="http://pic4.picturetrail.com/VOL784/4062504/12492115/185719509.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosting by PictureTrail.com">
Whales. I think they are the Southern Right Whales...
The coastline is impressive but very much like Cornwall! With the towns dotted on the cost and the rock formations having a very similar shape!
The Cape...
<IMG SRC="http://pic4.picturetrail.com/VOL784/4062504/12492115/185719518.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosting by PictureTrail.com">
<IMG SRC="http://pic4.picturetrail.com/VOL784/4062504/12492115/185719516.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosting by PictureTrail.com">
<IMG SRC="http://pic4.picturetrail.com/VOL784/4062504/12492115/185719812.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosting by PictureTrail.com">
The hour passes very quickly and we are back at the heliport.
<IMG SRC="http://pic4.picturetrail.com/VOL784/4062504/12492115/185719811.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosting by PictureTrail.com">
Coming into Land...
<IMG SRC="http://pic4.picturetrail.com/VOL784/4062504/12492115/185719818.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosting by PictureTrail.com">
Safely back on the Ground...
<IMG SRC="http://pic4.picturetrail.com/VOL784/4062504/12492115/185719816.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosting by PictureTrail.com">
A famous landmark in Cape Town... The road started a long time ago, but still isn't finished!! Although every new government promises to complete it!
After a short walk back to the hostel we finally pack up the bikes, set up the suspension (the first time we have taken time to do this properly), a quick cup of tea and we head off to see the Cape by road.
<IMG SRC="http://pic4.picturetrail.com/VOL784/4062504/12492115/185719831.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosting by PictureTrail.com">
Bronwin, who runs the cafe at the hostel. Kept us watered and fed!
The bikes feel the best they have ever done with the luggage load. The suspension and loss of weight on the bike has vastly improved the handling and the time on service and set up the engines feel good and there is no rattling from panniers and other odd parts.
<IMG SRC="http://pic4.picturetrail.com/VOL784/4062504/12492115/185719827.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosting by PictureTrail.com">
Views of the cape road...
We follow the coast as far as we can all the way to the Cape and get there an hour before sunset. Unfortunately there is too much cloud for any good photos but it is a great feeling to stand at the most southern point of Africa!
<IMG SRC="http://pic4.picturetrail.com/VOL784/4062504/12492115/185719821.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosting by PictureTrail.com">
Some of the Baboons seen on route...
Views from the Cape...
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<IMG SRC="http://pic4.picturetrail.com/VOL784/4062504/12492115/185719813.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosting by PictureTrail.com">
We head off from the Cape before dark and arrive at our lodging in Simon’s Town, an old convent school just a few miles from the point!
John
