Conclusion

I am 47 years old and have been very lucky to have been able to travel with my fellow riders mainly on  motorcycles , I have been up as far as Kenya and have visited nearly every country South of the Equator had many punctures and slept in some dogy places so this trip was very different but I have learnt a valuable life lesson and that it that there are still really good people out there and you will be surprised at what you as an individual can actually achieve when there is only you to count on! So don’t be afraid of the big unknown its fun getting to know it…    

late again

My last entry was at Calais in France and I was waiting for the 02h30 ferry to Dover, the wind was howling and the rain was falling in sheets. But it was warm in Fritz the heater was on and so were the kettle and some toast (eish you can’t beat Wilkinson’s Strawberry jam on toast). The boarding on the ferry was good, but the pounding of the waves from the force 1 gale against the side of the hull of the ferry didn’t exactly make me want to sleep.

My arrival at Dover was good, and getting out the harbour was uneventful other than the fact it was 03h45 in the morning and I hadn’t slept for almost 18 hrs. Best thing to do was find a road side and have a kip until the morning. I have decided to go back to the Atkinson Vos team as I have been experiencing gearbox problems since Bulgaria and in Austria they really became quite apparent so it was time to take Fritz to the pros… This is a 580km drive from Dover and I get to go through the Dartford Tunnel which I find out don’t take Euros!! But luckily I still have a pound or two to my possession (this will change soon take my word on that, I’ll have no pounds)

The drive up was uneventful and I arrived at Atkinson in the afternoon, with in a day the gear box is out and stripped now for the crunch … but in true style Simone does his best on the price and I am rolling a day or so later funny I also had to get some rear springs and some tyres so I leave with a bill again but my mog is sorted,      Spotty Dog guys!!! Thanks for everything your great.

I leave to go back down to Sheerness as that’s the dock where the truck will be leaving from to go to SA.

12th June 2011

I am sitting at the Ferry terminal in Calais, the ferries leave every hour and mine is at 01h30 but it’s a lot cheaper than the 17h00. I have saved R1000 by taking the later one, or in this case the very early one… this morning I decided to cook myself Bacon and eggs the bacon turned out to be Palma ham and my eggs were frozen , I should wear my glasses when I go shopping but I don’t understand the frozen eggs?? Another on my to do list check fridge!!  

10th June 2011

 I have received the shipping time, and there is a ship sailing to Durban on the 22 June so I have decided I would like to get my mog on that ship. That gives me just 12 days to get to the UK and have the things sorted out at Atkinson that I need done. I also want to try and sort out the DVLA as Rita is the proud owner of frits not me … then I will be on the next plane to SA as I have seen enough and had enough fun and experience’s to last me for a while, Also I have made quite a dent in my finances most of which has been the cost of fuel the average price for a litre of low grade diesel is R14.00 and I can tell you that Fritz has quite the healthy appetite and makes it through a tank in 500km my consumption is around 4.65 km per ltr and I have driven 14000km since the 1^st of March and visited 18 countries admittedly some for a day like Andorra and Switzerland but the rest I have seen and enjoyed the best part was I never got lost, just on a different road!  I have also been lucky to had a beer or two in each country and visited my Uncle Dave and Babs in Cyprus , not bad in 3 months

I am having difficulty downloading my pics again but they will get there when I get a good WiFi connection.

9th June 2011

Again it has rained all night and it still is which makes going to Vienna a no no as I will not be able to take any photos and the thought of catching a taxi then the train …no not to day so I am heading to Salzburg which is 300km towards Germany, it`s still raining and the roads are twisty excellent on a 950 KTM but a bit of a grind in a 7500 ton truck but all`s well and I find a camp next to a lake and it`s got Wi-Fi to send these last few blogs …they are charging R20 an hour okay not to bad but by the time I down loaded the pics and send them to my blog an hour was up and the guy was off home …

8th June2011

I was up very early today as there was a seriously big storm , the lightning struck so close to Fritz that it blew my switches .And two light globes, and also blew the internet modem sky high, I felt for the owner Eva as she isn’t that busy and can`t afford this expense. It was still raining a bit when I left the camp and my route was right through the centre of Budapest across the Danube, But then the fun started first it was road works so I have to detour my route then it started to really rain hard boy did I drive around Budapest or what I think I spent over an hour getting out of this really large city and was quite happy to be heading to Austria and Vienna. Due to my latish start and my getting caught up in Budapest morning rush hour or I should say it seems it always rush hour there!! My arrival in Vienna was late so I decided to see the city the next day…I found my camp site which is lovely but 26 km outside the city what a mission.

7th June 2011

Yesterday’s drive to Hungary was easy, it was quite a way I drove just on 300km and arrived at Arena camp at 16h00. The owner a lady by the name of Eva gave me directions to the city, and so I was off to see Budapest… The Danube River flows down the middle of the city and one side is called Buda and the other is called Pest. I didn’t know that!! From the last three block countries this is by far the most developed and you can see the EU influence. Just the currency is a bit of a mission to many noughts. The upside is that the women are very attractive here but to be fare Europe has just as many nice girls (but SA has the best) as well. I suppose it I am not used to seeing so many white people … the building are amazing and there is still the communist feel to the city. I have clocked over 12000km since I left the UK and have about 2000km still to do so I am off …