Day 343 Mozambique/South Africa 11/10/2011, Maputo – Kruger view backpackers, Komatipoort. 66.65miles/107.62km, 6hr18minutes, Av 10.5mph.

Getting out of Maputo this morning would have been easier if extensive roadworks hadn't turned the city into a warren of one-way streets. Eventually we ended up riding the wrong way down one of the streets to get to a large roundabout, that thankfully found us back on the right road out of the city. Fortunately there were no further diversions and we slowly made our way through the suburbs and into some of the most boring countryside we have cycled through.

There is very little else to say about the rest of the day's cycling to the border. We managed to avoid paying tolls at two gates, by first cycling round the side and then secondly being shown round by a kind toll-gate operator. Without the novelty of the toll gates there would have been nothing to write about. It has been a long time since we were on a road with absolutely nothing on it. So it was a good job we had enough water and food with us.

The Mozambican border town turned out to be a right dump, so we quickly headed for the South African side. Crossing the borders was one of the most straightforward we have done and we were soon in South Africa, our 19^th country!

There is an immediate difference as you cross the border; it was quickly clear that we had entered a more western, wealthier country. For the first time in a while the road was lined with fields full of crops and agriculture on a commercial scale. When we stopped at a petrol station, the attached precinct had a supermarket, off license, fast food joint and bank. It seems that we are unlikely to go hungry while we are on the road here.

Having got out some money from the bank, we rode the last few kilometres to the town of Komatipoort where we planned to stop for the night. Finding Kruger View Backpackers wasn't too difficult, aside from the fact that we were nursing tired legs.

We are now happily settled into a very nice hostel which has a view over Kruger National Park. It may be slightly dearer than we have been used to, but the standard of accommodation is considerably higher. Having had enough of dorm beds for a while, we have both been heavily bitten by insects (bed bugs?) over the last few days, we opted for a private room.

We have a nice little wooden cabin to ourselves, where hopefully we will catch up on some missed sleep. A lay in is definitely on the cards, but not tomorrow as we have decided, thanks to some persuasion by Dave the owner, to take a game drive into Kruger National Park.

Day 338 - 342 Mozambique 6/10/2011 – 10/10/2011, The Base backpackers, Maputo. Sightseeing, resting and rugby.

We have been in Maputo for 5 days. While it wouldn't go down as one of the world's great cities, there is still more to see and do here than there is in most of the other African cities we have been to.

Our first morning was spent visiting the South African and Swaziland embassies to clarify a few questions we had about our visa entitlement. We had been concerned that if we left South Africa to go to Swaziland, when we returned to South Africa we would only be given a 7 day visa instead of the remaining balance of our three month one. Fortunately this is not the case, the only time you are issued with 7 days is when you leave South Africa after the 90 days is up and then try to return.

The visit to the Swaziland embassy was to make sure that we didn't need to get a visa. We had met someone along the road who had apparently heard of some problems that had faced people travelling on a British passport. Our concerns once again proved to be unfounded and there is no problem entering Swaziland.

Embassy trips taken care of, a bit of our time has been taken up sightseeing. Some of Maputo's old Portuguese buildings are lovely, especially the train station.

The remainder of our time has been used to rest, do a little bike maintenance, get some supplies and try to decide whether to go to Swaziland or South Africa first.

Having found somewhere to watch the rugby world cup quarter finals, we decided, or at least I made the decision, to stay in Maputo longer to watch them. Rather disappointingly the result wasn't what I hoped. It is not England losing so much that I care about, but who we lost to! Now I have to choose between supporting France or Wales, a choice that I would rather not have to make. It will have to be Wales, but I have yet to meet a Welsh supporter who would cheer England, had the shoe been on the other foot. At least I wasn't as devastated as the South Africans who could well be a nation in mourning!

It looks like we have decided to head to South Africa first, it will be nice get to a country where English is spoken and getting supplies should be a little easier. Mozambique has been nice, but it has been surprisingly expensive. Accommodation is overpriced and for that reason we will be glad to get to South Africa. We are aware that we still have a long way to go, but our final destination suddenly seems a lot closer.

Day 337 Mozambique 5/10/2011, Honey pot – Chissano – The Base backpackers, Maputo. 24.97miles/40.33km, 2hr30minutes, Av 9.4mph.

Despite the anguish of not knowing the SA Idol result, we slept well and as we had a short day ahead of us we had a late start. Yesterday's cold and wet weather was still with us upon waking, but it gradually dried up before we left. If we could have got rid of the strong wind it would have been an ideal cycling day. Fortunately it was only a crosswind otherwise getting along would have been tough.

Riding along a refreshingly flat road we kept up a decent pace and soon found ourselves in Chissano where we stopped for a drink. This is where Hannes found us! He had left early and was then heading back to Maputo complete with a temptingly empty trailer.

With the weather worsening, his offer of a lift was too good to turn down, especially for Debs. One of her knee supports is falling apart and she has been suffering in the hills. Resting now is going to be important because we have some big hills to ride in South Africa and Swaziland. Hannes is a lovely guy and it was very good of him to give us a lift, it has been an absolute pleasure to meet him.

Watching the barren, open, terrain pass by through the car window and listening to the howling wind made us glad that we had accepted his generous offer.

Hannes dropped us off about 20km from the city centre and after waving goodbye we set off into the almost gale force winds. Progress certainly wasn't rapid, but slowly we wended our way towards the city. Grit blowing into our eyes and being constantly cut up by minibus drivers didn't make life any easier, but we couldn't say that riding into Maputo was any tougher than any other city.

Following Hannes' instructions, or so we had thought, we managed to turn off too early towards the city centre. Thinking about it now, when he said turn off before a bridge he probably didn't mean a flyover! With a slightly terrified Debs in tow, I negotiated our way through the dual carriageway traffic. By luck and definitely not judgement we ended up back where we were supposed to be.

Rather conveniently hitting the 10,000km mark as I stopped to check the map. A quick photo later in the middle of a main Maputo street, which elicited a certain amount of funny looks (getting Toad out probably didn't help!), and we were back on track.

A one way system did its best to keep us from our destination, but we soon arrived outside our home for the night 'The Base' backpackers. So far it seems alright, but we may move on as they currently aren't showing the Rugby quarter finals at the weekend. Something to do with the DSTV box not working? We will check out an alternative tomorrow.

Heading into the city we bought some food from the supermarket and then had a decent meal in a restaurant. The hostel is certainly well situated as far as restaurants, bars and shops are concerned. For now though the bars will have to wait, another early night is on the cards.