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Weather has been consistenly cool – low 60′s and brisk ocean breezes at night. Perfect weather for .. say … a drive across South Africa? We rented a car from the Cape Town Airport and (thanks to one of the other guys in the group) made it safely to the hotel. No problems driving on the other side of the road, excepting one “close encounter” in a driveway of a Ford dealer’s parking lot in East London. No harm done, but I sure thought I was getting out of the way. Turned out I was getting “right” in the path of a very determined service driver. A honk and and a facepalm fixed everything and by the time we made it to Durban, I was an expert.

What to say about the drive itself? A combination of immense beauty along the coast of South Africa and imense poverty as one headed inland. Oddly enough, I suppose, there were regions in which they overlapped. Continue reading

I was born near the Atlantic Ocean and I grep up along the Pacific-washed beaches of California. I’ve been to the very top of the planet on the north coast of Alaska and stuck my feet into the chilly Arctic Ocean. I’ve seen where the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans meet in Tierra del Fuego. And, as part of the drive between Cape Town and Durban, we stopped at the southernmost point of Africa where I promptly ditched my shoes and stuck my feet into the Indian Ocean for the first time.
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Wow! What a match! Started the day with a quick jaunt to the airport to pick-up our car for the trip to Durban. First time driving on the left – Phil did a great job. Ask me about backing up 300 yards in front of the main terminal and getting blocked by Merkel’s motorcade.

But that evening, after working through the road closures that (not so) conveniently put out hotel inside the security zone, we emerged from the hotel into chaos.
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Hey, we made it! Internet is kinda sketchy what with all the tourists and all. But we’ve made it! We’re staying in a hotel about a 10 minute walk from the stadium. The scene is electric and we’re all having a good time. We’re planning a trip around the Cape, all the way to the very tip. Should be a great time.

Enjoy the pictures.