Sunday 8 January 2012

Day 432 South Africa 08/01/2012, Jeffrey's Bay – Tube 'N Axe Backpackers, Storm's River Village. 66.45miles/107.32km, 6hr01minutes, Av 11.0mph.

We had a good and remarkably restrained last night at Jeffrey's Bay. The Hard Rock Backpackers may not be everyone's cup of tea, but we have had a very enjoyable time. A big thanks to Dick and Norman for making our stay memorable.

Hitting the road early this morning, we set off out of Jeffrey's Bay into a grey and cloudy day. Instead of giving way to bright sunshine as the morning progressed, we were treated to a light rain.

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The conditions were pretty much ideal, considering that we had 45km of gentle climbing to do before the road would level out. With a 100km+ day ahead of us, we once again made really good progress passing the 12,000km mark along the way!

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By the time the sun came out with a vengeance, we had already covered over 70km. A bite to eat at a small roadside café and then a stop to have a look at Storm's River, brought us eventually to Tube 'N Axe Backpackers. It may have been a decent distance, but we had travelled it in very good time.

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Being Sunday the local supermarket was closed which was a little unfortunate as we hadn't thought to get any supplies. The staff at the hostel weren't sure what was on the menu for dinner, so we headed off to a nearby restaurant. Suddenly life became a little surreal again. We certainly didn't expect to find a kitsch American Diner called Marilyn's in this sleepy small South African town. A diner itself isn't that surprising but when it has a garage complete with two Rock 'n' Roll era Cadillacs and a Chevrolet, a wall dedicated to Elvis and photos from the annual Elvis festival; not to mention gaudy pink paintwork and a bright pink tree stump outside, it comes as a bit of a shock!

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For all its strangeness, the food was good, the staff friendly and as it was Elvis' birthday we received a glass of champagne each to celebrate. Oh and the cocktails were pretty good as well, there was certainly no skimping on the alcohol content.

By the time we got back to the tent it was almost time for bed. A brief chat with some of our fellow guests round the camp fire brought a long and enjoyable day to a close. Tubing tomorrow!

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