Rieke & Gerald

Hermanus, the "Whale Watching Capital of the World," is the starting point for our last bike tour of this trip. Crashing ocean waves slam against the rocks. At Fick's Cocktail Bar, there's the only place for a swim for miles around, in the "sea pool" of a small lagoon—but at 8 a.m., it's still too chilly

Route 62 takes us out of the Little Karoo, past meerkat territory, shy springboks, and baboons on the road. Endless expanses in this beautiful and sparsely populated land! And over two magnificent mountain passes: the Huisrivierspas and the Tradouwpas with their impressive rock formations and waterfalls

We were already rolling on our bikes by 8 a.m.! March 1st marks the official start of autumn here, and today we experienced a sweltering 33 degrees Celsius at midday. Temperatures of 40 degrees are forecast for next week. Today's ride was another fantastic 50 km tour through the semi-desert of the Little

Onward and west! As we bid farewell to Knysna, a chameleon rejoices in its newfound peace, and in George, we visit a perhaps 600-year-old oak tree that speaks its story without a word. An iron chain is embedded in its mighty trunk, once used to bind slaves in the marketplace.



The Outeniqua Pass leads

In Zuurberg, we reached the easternmost point of our trip. From today, we're heading back west along the Garden Route, and in about 820 km, we plan to be back at Cape Town Airport in a few days.



We're already covering 350 km today by bus. We encountered a few field fires along the way, and at one point

At 5:45 a.m. the alarm rings, and we're off on a second photo safari in Addo Elephant National Park. This time, it's early morning in an open Land Rover pickup truck with local rangers at the wheel. Our tour guide, Jade, calls this excursion a "Ferrari Safari," preparing us early for the driving style

Rain at the Eastern Cape! As early as 6 a.m., it's drumming down on the roofs of our comfortable wooden cabins, waking us from our sleep. Today's bike tour is canceled! But that's not too bad: otherwise, we would have cycled for miles on the nearby motorway... Instead, we're taking the van to Tsitsikamma

First stop in Plettenberg Bay: A modern shopping center, offering the best Western European standards, and our only opportunity to buy pharmaceutical products for the next five days. Two of our fellow cyclists are suffering from mild travel sickness.



We set off again in Heidehof in Nature's Valley. We

We hear the murmur of the Indian Ocean, our room is right on the beautiful Snake River, and we start the day with a wonderful sunrise. From the hotel, we're off on the highlight of our cycling trip: 70 exciting kilometers on a section of the spectacular Seven Passes Route! We manage to climb three mountains

A wonderfully warm summer evening with a good glass of red wine is behind us! We enjoyed it at the long wooden table at the Welderom winery with the whole group, who quickly bonded. The nighttime glow of the small local forest fires in the nearby mountains, called "field fires" here and apparently quite