Nic writes...

We made it! Over 27 days we travelled from Northern Botswana to Cape Town. We (95% Rich) drove 6,498.2km (it wasn't worth the stress of driving around in Cape Town to make it up to 6,500), stayed in 18 campsites and one hostel (it was freezing cold and we thought we deserved a night in a proper bed) and definitely had experiences of a lifetime!

The southern half of Namibia was defined by the crazy landscapes and equally crazy weather. We visited the famous red dunes at Sossusvlei and very appropriately got caught in a sandstorm; went to a ghost town (an old diamond mining town that has been deserted and taken over by sand dunes) where the weather was freezing cold; and saw Fish River Canyon (Africa's Grand Canyon) where we got caught in another sandstorm. Whilst near Sossusvlei we also spent a night debating whether the howling wind around us would rip the tent from the top of the car before it toppled the car over (we got less than 2 hours sleep).

Despite the weather, we really like Namibia. However, I think we will remember the long straight roads with very few other cars the most. Towards the end driving started to get quite boring for Rich and he would cheer when he had a reason to turn the steering wheel!

Entering South Africa was a breeze and we were so impressed with the efficiency of the border staff given experiences to date. Continuing our drive south we passed through the Northern Cape. With green vegetation, rugged mountains, rain and midges, according to Rich, it was just like Scotland.

We finally made our way into Cape Town on the morning of the 9th of October. Rich was very brave and didn't cry as we handed back the 4x4, although we are both still missing the third wheel to our relationship (although, at times, I think I was the third wheel).

Vehicleless, we have now just spent several days exploring Cape Town. It is a beautiful place, and we decided it was a city we could happily live in (for context we consider London, Vancouver and Boston to be liveable cities, but we wouldn't be able to live in New York). Sadly, as a UKpensions actuary, I shall have to stick to London(ish) living for now!

In Cape Town we did the standard tourist things (Table Mountain, Robben Island etc) plus we went diving with Cape Fur Seals (the water was 9 degrees). Robben Island was particularly interesting as when we first arrived in Africa I read Nelson Mandela's 'Long Walk to Freedom', so many of the places I had already imagined. Also on the tour with us was a group of ladies from Pretoria who had experienced apartheid first-hand. This impacted Rich and I more than the actual tour as it is quite easy to forget how recent this history is and how it still obviously affects society.

It has also been in Cape Town that I first really noticed that we were in the southern hemisphere (as silly as that sounds). So far the only difference has been that the sun is in the north, rather than the south, but that doesn't really impact day to day life (sadly I have not noticed the water going down the sink the other way - and I have tested it out whilst on the phone to my sister back in the UK)! However, here I have hayfever in October and we have seen Christmas decorations in shops despite it being spring time (Christmas is only just over 10 weeks away - where has the year gone).

Anyway, later today we pick up a small two wheel drive to take us around South Africa. Rich is not too impressed, but a Hilux would be a little OTT! We don't know exactly where we'll be heading (we don't have accommodation for tonight booked yet), but this is a well-travelled tourist route so I'm sure there will be plenty of options.