6 April 2010 Elands Bay to Lamberts Bay

This morning it was Thys's turn to get on the bike!

We had a cold windy night initially, but the wind dropped somewhere around midnight and it warmed up a bit. The caravan park is fairly close to the Sishen-Saldanha Railway line and I must say, it has to be one of the most active lines in the country! I counted at least 3 trains - and all were as long as I described in yesterday's blog!

I woke up at 00:30 and went to the loo. As I got out of my tent, Scorpio was rising and was indeed a beautiful sight. Since I always went on holiday in winter, I associate Scorpio with holidays. You don't see Scorpio in summer (unless you go outside very early in the morning), Scorpio and Orion chase each other, which means that Orion sets early in the winter.

This morning I walked down to the beach to watch the sun rise over the breaking waves. Very pretty!

After a quick breakfast and breaking camp, Thys and I got going. There is a toll road which runs parallel to the Railway line. Bikes don't pay and the road was not too bad. We did some good bird watching along the way, but once we got off the toll road and onto the normal dirt road, we were shook up badly. Corrugations the size of "gutter stones" and loose gravel.

Thys cycled on bravely and did extremely well for someone who has not been on a bike for decades. We stopped off briefly at "Muisbosskerm" to book a table for this evening. This place does a seafood buffet right on the beach. Can't wait, will have some crayfish this evening!

The ride today was one of the shortest so far, but was very taxing because of the corrugations. Garth, if you are reading this, the road we cycled last year in April at Vlakplaas, was a freeway!

I am very proud of Thys, he completed the 27.3km without a complaint and a big smile on his face.

We have set up camp at the Lamberts Bay caravan park. Thys did some fishing this afternoon while Nerina tried to have a problem with her camera sorted out.

I forgot to mention! Yesterday was a bit of a mile stone: I hit the 4 digits and stood on about 1027km by the afternoon. Lekker! Still feeling fit and strong and enjoying myself.

We are getting ready now for our dinner at the Muisbosskerm. The breeze off the sea is very cold, but I am told that they provide you with blankets.

Cheers for now and God Bless.