Day 357 South Africa 25/10/2011, Sheri's Lodge, Graskop – Big 5 backpackers, Hazyview. 27.81miles/44.49km, 2hr46minutes, Av 10mph.

With the prospect of a short and more importantly downhill day ahead of us we set off for a return to the town of Hazyview. Having stopped in the town on our way north, we had decided to take a different route back. As we were once again travelling along the scenic panorama route we were expecting another day of beautiful scenery. For the main part we weren't disappointed, but it wasn't quite as spectacular as some of the other roads we had taken. We understand that the trees have been planted to be farmed, but large areas of deforestation doesn't make for the prettiest of environments.

Fortunately despite some notable ups, the route was largely downhill, a good thing as we are both still nursing upset stomachs. It has been a while now and we just don't seem to be able to shake them, it is making the cycling tougher than perhaps it should be. It may be time to take a course of antibiotics and hope that it clears up the problem.

Arriving in Hazyview quite early, we rode into town and stopped at a tourist centre to look for a better map of South Africa. The maps weren't suitable but we did find somewhere to have brunch. With our stomachs fuller and having imbibed my body weight in free refill cokes, we set off for 'Big 5' backpackers.

Having stayed in 'Bushpackers' last time we thought we would try somewhere different. While heading up the hill towards the hostel, uphill is a given, we encountered another cyclist coming the other way. He quickly introduced himself as Nigel and said that he was also staying at 'Big 5'. In the meantime we were also approached by a parks guy who had met some cyclists about a year ago and wanted to offer us somewhere to stay. We thanked him for his kind offer, but thought that it would be nice to stay in the same place as Nigel and find out what his plans are. Saying goodbye to both of them, we continued up the hill and shorty arrived at the hostel.

Big 5 is the cheapest place we have stayed for a while so we have taken a double room with shared bathroom, which is bizarrely less expensive than camping. It seems pretty basic, but the staff are friendly enough and we only plan to be here for one night before moving on. There is also a very nice view over the hills from our room.

While getting sorted, Nigel came back and we found out that he had just come from Johannesburg where his trip had begun. He has six months to explore Southern/Eastern Africa. He is potentially on a similar route to us, so we may meet along the way as we head south. He is likely to be moving much quicker than us though.

Dinner was followed by an early night. Debs started to feel a lot worse last night, so we will have to play our plans for tomorrow by ear. There is no point in moving on if she is going to feel rubbish all day. We certainly haven't cleared the mountains yet.

Day 354 - 356 South Africa 22/10/2011 – 24/10/2011, Sheri's Lodge, Graskop. Choppers, rugby, waterfalls and an ice cold swim!

The main reason to come and stay at Sheri's Lodge was to take a tour on his three-wheeled choppers. What we didn't know was that the whole tour wasn't actually up and running yet. Fortunately, despite the trikes not having number plates yet, Sheri was happy to take us and two fellow guests on a shortened tour. Riding the choppers is easy, they have 150cc automatic engines so it is simply a case of twist and go.

Having had a quick practise on the driveway, we were issued with helmets and embossed 'live to ride, ride to live' leather jackets and we then hit the highway. Drawing a certain amount of attention along the way, we headed up to 'Wonder view' where we stopped to have a look at, yes you guessed it, the view! It was pretty spectacular although it was quite hazy and the sun wasn't in the ideal position for photographs.

On the return route we made a stop at an area of very clear pools, where Sheri hopes to take guests for a swim and BBQ when he is properly up and running. The trikes are a lot of fun and we would heartily recommend it to anyone visiting the area.

Having taken some cool photos back at the lodge, we thanked Sheri and then went to get some shopping. It had been suggested that we could try again with Sheri's car in the afternoon, but we couldn't find him later on and by then Debs was sadly feeling unwell. She seems to have caught what I had a few days ago. It is all a bit mysterious, but hopefully she will be fighting fit by the morning.

Sunday was rugby world cup final day and after a cooked breakfast I was happily settled in front of the television with a beer in hand. It wasn't a classic final, but in the end the result went the right way.

Slightly annoyingly we probably could have borrowed the car in the afternoon, but I had had too many beers. Originally Sheri had told us that he was going to Johannesburg on Sunday, so we had not even considered the possibility of driving. There was only one thing for it, and that was to go to the pub. Beer pretty much dictated the rest of my day. I watched a football match with some locals and a traffic police officer called Famous.

We then joined Sheri and his son for a beer and some food back at the pub. By the time we returned to the room I had drank considerably more than was good for me. Debs meanwhile had been very restrained as she was still nursing an upset stomach.

Instead of leaving Graskop the next morning, we decided to head off on our bikes and see a couple of local waterfalls and then go for a swim at the pools. This had the added bonus that I didn't have to cycle too far with a raging hangover. The waterfalls may not be at their best, the rainy season is only just beginning, but they are still quite nice. We rode first to Lisbon falls and then headed to Berlin falls.

Riding with no luggage is considerably easier, but it was still very hot. This combined with a hangover and Debs still not feeling 100% meant that we were very glad to get to the swimming area. Acting bravely/foolishly, you choose, I decided to jump straight into the clear water from the rocks. The water was shockingly cold and it was all I could do to swim straight back to the side. Still it cleared my head, at least when the ice melted it did!

Taking a more sensible route of sliding back into the water, having got over the initial shock, we had an enjoyable swim. By the time we had had a couple of hours sun bathing on the rocks and laying in the waterfalls we were ready to face the journey back to Graskop.

Returning to the lodge it was rest time and that has pretty much taken up the rest of the day. Tomorrow we return to the town of Hazyview, this time along a different route which should be almost entirely downhill. For now though, it is time for a early night.

Day 353 South Africa 21/10/2011, Sabie Backpackers, Sabie – Sheri's Lodge, Graskop. 17.80miles/28.46km, 2hr50minutes, Av 6.2mph.

I may still have been feeling weak, but I woke feeling much better than I did yesterday. It looked like we were good to move on. This may have been slightly influenced by the fact that we didn't really like Sabie Backpackers that much.

Packing our gear, we set off up the road towards Graskop, with the emphasis on the word up! It certainly wasn't going to be a flat day.

The scenery was once again beautiful and was only enhanced by a stop to see the Mac Mac Falls along the way.

Fortunately, the altitude and cloud cover kept the temperature and humidity within the boundaries of bearable. It may have been a bit of a struggle, cycling whilst feeling ill is not the easiest of pastimes, but eventually we made it to the town of Graskop.

Finding Sheri's Lodge was very easy, thanks mainly to the large signposts, and we were soon checked into a dorm room. We had planned on camping, but it seems that despite advertising to suggest that we could, there is no camping available. Instead we have been given a dorm room to ourselves. Clearly this is the bonus of travelling in the low season.

Having settled in, we met Rod 'Sheri' Sheridan (the mildly eccentric owner) and were immediately offered the keys to his car so that we could go and have a look at the Blyde River Canyon. Obviously this seemed like a pretty good offer and it was, until I tried to drive the car! We had already been warned that it had a few problems, but being a Mercedes you have to wonder how many it could actually have. As it turned out quite a few! Firstly it wouldn't idle, which in an automatic car is a bit of a problem.

Also the ignition had been rigged so that you could just twist it with a screwdriver/flat key. The ignition issue became of great significance when the car stalled outside the 'Three Rondavels' and I couldn't restart it. To make matters worse we didn't have our phone with us either. Borrowing a phone from one of the really helpful park staff, we phoned Rod who suggested that the battery lead had come loose. This proved to be not the case, although it wasn't what you would call securely attached. Apparently because of the security problems with having a hot-wired car, Rod often removes the battery lead to stop it being stolen!

At certain times of your life you have to question whether a generous offer, such as the lending of a car, is actually that generous. After we had attempted a jump start, had the car looked at by several bystanders, who all shook their heads, we called Rod again. This time he said that he would have to come out to us, which obviously would have been better if we weren't 50km away.

While we waited, the gate staff flagged down a couple of tourists and asked them to give us a lift to see the Three Rondavels. Consequently, two slightly bemused elderly Germans ended up with a pair of hitch hikers! In truth they took it in good spirits and happily drove us to the view point, which turned out to be pretty spectacular.

The Blyde River Canyon is the world's third largest and the only green canyon. Considering the fact that it is the only canyon that is still actively growing, potentially it could end up as the largest. Hopefully not in the time it took us to get the car started!

Eventually Rod turned up with mechanics in tow and yes, you guessed it, it started first go! It seems that with no key, you have to make sure that you turn it all the way to off and then when you turn the starter, it sticks a bit so you have to give it an extra twist. With hindsight it seems obvious that I wasn't turning the starter far enough, but in my defence I have never driven a car with the ignition switch broken off!

Feeling slightly embarrassed, we left the Rondavels behind, with three extra passengers. The staff at the gate had been so good to us, that we could hardly refuse them a lift. Sadly a combination of the afternoon wearing on, me still feeling a bit under the weather and a total lack of confidence in the car, meant that we headed straight back to the lodge. Any plans to see more of the canyon would have to wait.

Sheri (Rod) got back to the lodge after us and seemed a little upset that we hadn't got to see anything. I explained that we had had enough for the day and gave him some money for the diesel that he had used to come out and rescue us. In the end we just had to put it down to one of those days. The lone of the car had been a bonus, even if it didn't turn out that way.

Dinner and a few glasses of wine helped to ease the disappointment of the day, as did chatting to a few of our fellow guests. Tomorrow we will be trying our luck with a tour on a couple of Sheri's very cool three-wheeled choppers!