South Africa - The Lions on the Road: Cycling London to Cape Town - page 313

On my way home, I went to say my final good-bye to Jaco and the other residents
for I planned to leave the next morning. When I arrived in Jaco's room, he presented me
a letter which he had typed using a pen in his mouth. This was perhaps the most beautiful
mementoIhaveofSouthAfrica…andperhapsofthewholetour.Igavehimmy'OurFath-
er' pendant and gave him a good-bye hug (to this day, we exchange emails). As I remin-
isced on the friendship I had with Jaco, I returned to the farm with a new profound outlook
on life.
I woke up the next morning and ate breakfast with Esme. I wanted to thank Charles
personally before I left and found him in a field with the veterinarian Dr. David checking
their sheep with an ultra-sound to see if they were pregnant. I thanked Charles and shook
his hand and went over to Esme to give her a hug. She presented me with a packed lunch,
and after placing it in my front pannier, I thanked the Van Wyks one last time and started
cycling by 10:45 a.m.
The day's weather was more welcoming. The temperature was up and the wind
speed was down. On my way I met a disgruntled German hitchhiker who was very anti-
white for no one was picking him up for days. I offered him a lift which brought a smile to
his face and wished him all the best.
The area was quite scenic with long ascents and descents. I felt like I was back in
Cornwall, England. I arrived in Swellendam by 3:00 p.m. and cycled for another 13 kilo-
metresontheN2untiltheR319turnoffforCapeAgulhas-themostsoutherlytipofAfrica.
Perhaps because I was so tired that I didn't notice how quickly it darkened.
Normally, I would have searched for a place to sleep long before the sunset. I was still in
themiddleofnowhereandwithoutanybicycleorstreetlightstonavigatetheroadmyonly
option was to use the light emanating from the full moon. As my eyes adjusted to the pale
light, I lowered my speed and looked for some sort of residence. Off to my right in the
distance, I saw what I thought was a solitary porch light. I hoped for the best and left the
main road and cycled gingerly onto a gravel road. I kept track of any turns just in case I
had to return. Using this solitary light as a beacon, I slowly approached a building. As it