South Africa - The Lions on the Road: Cycling London to Cape Town - page 317

Imetandkissedthebride,attacked thedesserttableasplannedanddancedtoburn
off the calories. What a great time I had at my second Afrikaner wedding. I watched but
didn't participate in the 'sokkie', a traditional Afrikaner ballroom dance. I would have em-
barrassed my dance partner, myself, and Canada so I just sat and watched. By 9:00 p.m.,
wereturned toMJ'sfarmforcoffeeandendedtheevening with amovie called Blame it on
Rio .
The next morning I woke up early and lazed around the farm. After breakfast, we
were given a tour of the high-tech farm and MJ explained how his degree in mechanical
engineering helped him to increase the farm's dairy production. By late afternoon, we re-
turned to Cape Agulhas and I was set to leave the next morning.
Before I left, the family gave me a gift. It was a t-shirt to commemorate by stay in
the village. Thys Odendaal (Pa) thanked me for “bringing my smile into his house”…what
a beautiful way of putting it. I gave them all a hug and then headed out of the village. The
familystoodattheroadsideandwavedgood-byeasIcycledoutofview.IwassureIheard
their final comment carried by the wind, “Hooray, the dessert pig is gone!”
Ittookme2hourstoreturntoBredasdorpwhereIstoppedatthetouristinformation
booth and telephoned Rudy Visser. He told me that the earliest we could meet was at 4:00
p.m. So, with time to spare I ventured off in the town. I left my bike at the information
booth and went to see the Shipwreck Museum. A professor gave me a tour inside where
he explained an interesting historical fact. The protocol of 'women and children first' dur-
ing an emergency evacuation was first derived when 'The Birkenhead' sank in 1845 off
of Danger Point. It was a troop ship with only two lifeboats. The women, children, and
the weak were placed in them and cut loose. The rest of the passengers were soldiers who
drowned with the captain.
I returned to the information booth and waited until Rudy arrived. I placed my bike
in his buckie and went with him to visit his company that dried wild flowers and exported
them around the world. Then we went to his farm where I met his wife Marikie and we
chatted until Istarted to nodoff.Before Iwent to bed, Iasked Rudy if he would mind driv-