Stage 8 - From Windhoek to Cape Town

Leaving Windhoek, the Tour route broke new ground, crossing the dirt tracks of the mountains along the Namibian coast. Two hard and hot days brought us to Sesriem, and a unique chance to enjoy the sun rise on the worlds most famous sand dunes at Sossousvlei. I climbed Dune 45, balanced precariously on its narrow ridge, and then enjoyed the thrill of sliding 90 meters through the fine sand to the bottom.

My right knee was feeling swollen and sore - a result of the huge recent mileage, and so I took a3-day break, and the fantastic opportunity to stay one night in the luxury of the Sossousvlei Lodge, where Springbok, Eland, warthog and Ostrich were amongst the exotic meats available on the evening meal menu. Nothing this good can last forever, and my next night was spent on a hard bench in a compartment of the overnight sleeper train to Keepmanshoot, in order to catch up with the group once again.

From then on, there was really only one sight that the weary cyclists wanted to see - the flat top of the Table Mountain, guarding the city of Cape Town. On the final cycling day, the tour held a special lunch for the riders on the beach outside of the city, with the mountain providing the perfect backdrop for a final group photograph. The final celebrations were saved for a few hours later,when a police escort and a band of playing minstrels led the riders into the V & A Waterfront, to the cheering families, friends and onlookers.

I drank champagne, posed under the United Kingdom flag, and reflected on a magical adventure that had taken me through ten diverse African countries on a six thousand mile cycling odyssey.