Africa

October 2014

We are now making the final preparations for our journey of exploration to Southern Africa.

We fly to Johannesburg in November where we meet our fellow travellers - many new faces and two old ones.  Sorry Sue and Geoff, that didn't sound right! 

Had all our injections and the anti malaria tablets - the number of people who mention Ebola!

When we arrive in S Africa we will pick up a motorhome and journey north to the Kruger National Park.  We then go into Botswana and on to Zimbabwe (just for a day to see the Victoria Falls). We return to Botswana and then into Namibia before returning to S Africa ending up in Cape Town before flying back to the UK in time for Christmas.

The tour is one of the Camping and Caravanning Club's Escorted Tours.  Details can be found here.

Preparations have included trying to get everything sorted for Christmas as we will have no time when we return.  I think this must be the first year that I have thought the shops were a bit slow in bringing in their Christmas stock!

2014

October 2014

Excitement Builds!

Expecting delivery tomorrow of my new electric bike from 50Cycles in Loughborough.

It is a German make - Kalkhoff - not cheap but has all the bells and whistles like automatic gears, heart monitor, lights, suspension, carrier etc.

The bike has a kind of continuously variable transmission so that, as long as I keep pedaling, it changes gear automatically to suit the terrain - brilliant!

If I connect the heart rate monitor, I can set the heart rate I want and the bike adjusts the gearing so that my heart rate remains at the set rate!!

The lights work off a separate dynamo and remain on for a short period when stationary such as at junctions or traffic lights!!!

Cool or what?

Lynda's getting a bike too but it has not yet arrived from Germany - smaller frame, step-thru version.  It should be here in the next couple of weeks which will give us time to do a few miles before we jet off to Southern Africa for our next adventure.