I have arrived back in Cape Town after a three day road trip. On Monday we set out to reach Outdshoorn and reached there around 5pm after a 7 hour drive in our new love wagon "Gewndyln". There was nothing spectacular about the town itself but it has some good attractions nearby. Monday evening was spent sipping beer and having dinner with Bubs and Steve (Pops and Silverback) in a bar in town. We managed to attract an incredibly annoying man called Bruce whilst propping up the bar who made a kind offer to pay 1,000 rand into my bank account if I just gave him my account details... nice try "Bruce"...

On Tuesday we paid a visit to the Cango Caves and went wandering around in these giant caves, it was pretty impressive stuff. After that we headed to some sort of Wildlife Park where we saw all manor of beasts. Following that we hit the road in the direction of Cape Town with our intention to stop somewhere along the way. We drove the famous Route 62 through the desert, with a brief stop at "Ronnie's Sex Shop" (a delightfully name cafe/bar) and at some sort of holiday resort for a dip in their outdoor pools. The road trip continued, stopping off in Paarl for dinner before heading onto Stellenbosch to spend the night. An early night was had on Tuesday!! Hooray!!

Wednesday we went on our own wine tour in Gwendyln. Tasting wines at 3 places. A small detour took place when I found out that the Withington vineyard was in the local area. Well if that wasn't an opportunity for a photo then I didn't know what was. The round trip in search of the Withington vineyard took around 90 minutes and ultimately ended in failure. Unfortunately the owner was on holiday and didn't quite have the estate that I had anticipated, but I did manage to pick up a business card with the Withington family crest on... some consolation I guess...

Oh and on the way back I saved a tortoises life by swerving in the road when I saw him crossing the road up ahead... ANIMALS ALWAYS!

So to Wednesday ngiht where a big night out in Stellenbosch was planned. Whilst sipping beer at the hostel ("Stumble Inn") bar we noticed that two Swedish girls who we had met in Cape Town were also staying at the hostel and naturally we recruited them to our ranks. After a few hours of thoroughly entertaining chat and a botched dolphin impression by yours truely we headed out on the town. Now I'd love to tell some funny stories about the antics that ensued but quite frankly the night is a blur... I remember texting/calling Nalin (calling Chicago from South Africa on a UK phone - that will hit me in the pocket I am sure!) to get some Swedish phrases to which he gave me Fina Tuttar, I was told by Nalin it meant you have nices eyes, but even better when I repeated it to the girls they told it meant nice breasts - went down a storm! The only other part of the night I can remember is part of the journey home. For some stupid reason in Stellenbosch that have massive gutters at the side of the road (maybe a few feet deep and wide) well you guessed it folks I didn't see one coming and stumbled right in. A real funny moment but one that had left me with cuts and bruises on my shin, thigh and elbow!!

This morning we returned to Cape Town. I had booked myself on a trip to Robben Island for 3pm. Running a little late for the departure I ended up running half way around the harbour to try and make the boat. I arrived sweating and coughing my guts up at 2.58pm only to find that the tours had been cancelled as the winds had got quite high. Brilliant. Although by spirits we raised when on closer inspection of my ticket I found out that the departure gates would have closed at 2.50pm anyway. Result. After quick stroll to look at Green Point (the stadium being built for the World Cup) I find myself back here in the internet cafe.

Not sure what the plan is for tonight but I'd be surprised if it wasn't a big one...

Much love "man",

John