Day 448 South Africa 25/01/2012, Struisbaai – Gansbaai Backpackers. 54.64miles/88.49km, 4hr59minutes, Av10.9mph.

Choosing to sleep in a dorm hasn't turned out to be the best option. For both nights it has been very warm at night, mosquitoes have taken a liking to us and last night our dorm mates managed to make as much noise as possible when they arrived back at midnight.

Slightly down on sleep, we set off early this morning heading for 45km of gravel road. We had been told that the road was in very good condition and thankfully that is what we found. For the first 24km section it was better than some tarmac roads we have been on. It was also very scenic and even better we were pushed along by a strong tailwind. In fact the wind was so good that even a badly corrugated second section of road didn't harm our progress.

Getting to the end of the gravel road early meant that our original plan to stay at Die Dam, 35km shy of Gansbaai seemed a bit foolish. Instead of stopping early, we decided to press on and thanks to the wind and a flat, straight road we soon arrived in the town. Having made a quick stop at the supermarket we went in search of the backpackers, which by a bit of trial and error we found. We have a nice room and it seems, the whole place pretty much to ourselves!

Despite Gansbaai being a small fishing town, it is the South African capital of white shark dives. Ordinarily this would be the only reason to come and stay here, but for us it was at a convenient distance on the map. I have been considering doing a shark dive for the last few weeks, but have been struggling with the fact that it is the wrong season. There are still sharks about, but the water visibility is poor this time of year. Eventually I have made the decision not to bother. I would rather come back at the right time of year, with my underwater camera and my scuba card. For now I will save the money for something else, we still have quite a few days ahead of us.

Discovering that there isn't much to see in the town, we returned to the hostel where we plan to have an early night. We have short days ahead of us from now on, starting with what should be a pretty easy ride to Hermanus.

Day 447 South Africa 24/01/2012, Cape Agulhas Backpackers, Struisbaai. 11.92miles/19.29km, 1hr16minutes, Av 9.3mph.

Sightseeing today and to start with we rode the 9km down to Cape Agulhas, the most southerly point in Africa. The wind didn't seem quite as strong as it was yesterday, which is typical. It may have been that we had no luggage on the bikes that made all the difference though. The panniers do tend to work as a sail, which is most definitely not always a good thing!

It may have been a struggle to get there and there isn't actually much to see other than the lighthouse and a small monument, but it was somewhere that we really had to visit. Standing at the point where the Indian and Atlantic ocean meet, brings home just how far we have come on our journey.

Having taken some photos we headed to the lighthouse, South Africa's second oldest, and climbed to the top for a panoramic view. Once at the top we were glad that it wasn't as windy today as yesterday! A quick look round the museum and a coffee in the restaurant concluded our tour of the area and we headed back to Struisbaai.

Struisbaai harbour is home to some resident sting rays and it was these that we next went to try and spot. This time we had no joy, but plan to go back later and hopefully we will see some. Apparently the best time is when the fishing boats come in, as they know that there will be food available when the fishermen gut their catch. The high winds have probably stopped a lot of the fishing boats going out though, so we will keep our fingers crossed.

Hooray, a stingray has been spotted! It may have not been the close up encounter that we had hoped for, but we don't have to go away without having seen one. Later that evening we are fairly certain we spotted a seal as well. What looked like flippers kept appearing out to sea while we were eating dinner. This made up for what was a pretty poor meal. Two for one pasta night at Bella Luna, although cheap, wasn't a triumph of Italian cuisine. We have heard that the pizzas are alright though and our garlic and four cheeses starter was pretty good.

Having had a good day we headed back to the hostel to watch a bit of television and then have an early night. Back on the road tomorrow, hopefully the wind will be kinder this time!

Day 446 South Africa 23/01/2012, Swellendam – Cape Agulhas Backpackers. 46.23miles/74.90km, 6hr10minutes, Av 7.4mph.

The good thing was that we woke early to bright skies and none of the forecast storms. The bad thing was that, the forecast strong south-south-westerly wind that I had been dreading, was here and was blowing with a vengeance. This obviously would have been alright had we have been heading north-east, but alas we would be heading in a south-south-westerly direction all day.

For the first 15km the wind was manageable, but as soon as we turned off towards Cape Agulhas it almost halted us completely. During the short descents that we encountered, the wind stopped any attempt to free wheel and on the climbs it was just painful. Having a lorry coming towards on the opposite carriageway, was enough to practically blow us backwards.

With a very distressed Debs in tow and no shelter from the continual wind we limped our way, eventually, to the town of Bredasdorp. Poor Debs is now nursing injured knees, a very sore knotted back and a painful hip. A case of damage limitation led us to make a phone call to George, who yesterday, having known today's forecast, had offered to come and pick us up if we were in difficulty. The wind had sadly beaten us, we could have made it the last 30km to the backpackers, but at what cost to Debs? Being so close to our ultimate goal it would be terrible to have to call it a day now.

Things certainly looked up when we arrived at the very nice backpackers. Having checked out all the options, we have opted for a dorm room. A couple of nights in a proper bed will hopefully work wonders.

Once settled, we wandered across the road to the camp-site, where George and Alice are staying in their caravan. Despite it still blowing a gale and the occasional rain shower, we were treated to a lovely evening of wine, Thai food and of course, good conversation.

It has been lovely to see them both and we should catch up with them again when we get to Cape Town. A difficult day ended considerably better than it started and for that we are very grateful!