I've been here a few days now, yet I've still not quite found the words to digest the feeling of being here, the hardships, the adventures, the people, animals and landscapes that have passed me by these last few weeks jostle for position in a stew of incredible memories. It hasn't always been easy (certainly not before Namibia anyway), but there have been lessons in every inch of the journey. I can't quite believe I'm here, and I'm sad that the adventure is over (for now...), but Cape Town is the conclusion of a dream. There are many more on the horizon, but this one has been achieved and it's time to celebrate that.

Let's summarise the few days through South Africa getting here first. Two initial days of dull, monotonous tarmac to crunch through the miles and get me south followed by a third that was much more enjoyable. On day three I finally left the tarmac, taking in pristine gravel roads, cruising over the Swartberg pass and tackling the moderately bumpy, but totally over exaggerated Die Hel. Not to say it wasn't beautiful, it was absolutely stunning and the riding was great fun, but the 'extremely dangerous road' sign at the start is quite laughable, the route's in better condition that most of West Africa's main highways.

The mountain gravel roads a welcome excursion from tarmac behemoth pointing straight at Cape Town, I was certainly enjoying the mountains and felt in no compulsion to race to the end. Originally I had planned to head north to the Cedarburg, but it's bloody freezing here at the moment, and winter camping sounded decidedly unpleasant, especially given my lack of any warm gear. Hence I decided to keep my wheels pointing south, and after just one scenic ride via Africa's southern most point and I was rolling towards the finish line!

Arriving in Cape Town I was excited beyond words. I was genuinely buzzing to be here. Unfortunately, any grand plans of partying the days away quickly evaporated and most nights have actually ended up in bed by 9pm watching countdown. Whilst Racheal Riley is very lovely, I had hoped for a little more excitement whilst here. Oh well, still time for fun I'm sure. I've moved hostels four times trying to find the right place so here's hoping I'm finally there. I had spent a few days with a local guy and his family which was nice, but I'm ready to be back in the city again now away from the insipidity of suburbia.

Here's my highlights of RSA so far:

• Climbing Table mountain via India Venster. Doing it in the pouring rain wasn't the best idea, but I didn't die so all's well there.

• Riding the Bain's Kloof pass - I had the pleasure of being escorted up here by a local guy on his Harley. The two bikes were a slightly odd duo, but it's always nice to have company.
• Die Hel - Not quite the road of death I excepted, but beautiful scenery and an interesting route
• Staying in an absolutely fantastic, enormous cottage in the mountains near Ladismith. If you're ever making your way through the western cape, this place is worth a visit

Tomorrow I've booked onto a shark diving tour which was pretty much the top of my list of things to do in CT, so assuming I come back with all my limbs, this should be an amazing experience! There's not long left here but still a lot to cover, I fly out in under a week, so here's hoping I can cram some more excitement in before returning to normality.