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.

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!

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.

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!

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!

Day 431 South Africa 07/01/2012, Hard Rock Backpackers, Jeffrey's Bay. A stroll round surf city and a none too soon haircut!

A quiet day today, which is just as well as the expected hangover manifested itself this morning. Debs was obviously feeling fine and well rested after her more sensible evening!

Having been given a lift to the main shopping area, we had a look round the surf clothing factory outlet shops. It would be easy to assume that Billabong, Rip Curl and Quicksilver, all get their clothing from the same supplier and then sew their own labels on. There was nothing that took our fancy, plus even reduced the prices were still pretty high, so we hastily left.

Heading for the beach, we thought we would watch the surfers doing their thing. Currently their thing seems to be sitting motionless in the sea or on the beach, as there didn't appear to be any waves. For the supposed top surf spot, this seemed a little disappointing! I do have to confess to not knowing the first thing about surfing, so I am in no position to judge. I am however fairly certain that waves are important!

Seeking further amusement I went and had a haircut in an Afrikaans barber shop. While waiting I happily listened to the conversations, not understanding a word and glanced at the magazines that I couldn't read. As it turned out one of the other customers originally came from North London and George the Barber was very nice. I got to hear all about his exploits in the world of canary breeding and exhibiting. Even finding out that most of the birds are exported from England. Who would have thought it, everyday is indeed a school day!

Rocking my freshly shaved look, we went to have a look at another surf spot 'Super Tubes' and were again thwarted by the lack of waves. We then called in on Garth who we met, along with his wife Yvonne and their children, at George over Christmas. They have a shop in the town, that sells the surf art work painted by Yvonne.

A trip to the supermarket is likely to have rounded off our exploring for the day. We have another 100km+ day tomorrow to the town of Storms River, where we should be going tubing.

Day 430 South Africa 06/01/2012, Sunday's River to Hard Rock Backpackers, Jeffrey's Bay. 69.84miles/112.93km, 6hr31minutes, Av 10.7mph.

With a longer day ahead of us today, we were packed up and on the road at 7:30am. The roadworks along the N2 that we had been concerned about, turned out to be a bit of a non event. Even though we had lost the hard shoulder to ride in, there was still enough space for us at the side of the carriageway.

With a relatively flat road and only a light wind, we were soon outside the city of Port Elizabeth. Instead of trying to negotiate our way through on the smaller roads, we opted to stick to the N2 free-way. Technically we are not supposed to ride on it, but as three police cars passed us without even a glance, we figured we were alright. Riding on the very wide hard shoulder, we safely negotiated the many off ramps without incident. This was mainly due to the very light traffic.

The way South African drivers approach a slip road is still slightly bemusing to us. In the UK we move over to the left, enter the slip road early, normally indicating, and smoothly turn. Here they don't indicate and then wait until the last moment to turn. Sometimes crossing two lanes and the yellow end of slip road paint; almost as if they hadn't noticed that the turning was there. This makes crossing the off ramps a little tricky, as it is impossible to know if an approaching car is going to turn, until it has gone past the turning. This was highlighted later in the day when Debs was beeped at by a driver turning off, when she was already past the turning. Simply because he had left the turn too late and had to cut in sharply. People often ask us where the worst drivers are and we would have to say South Africa. It is definitely a case of their speed far outweighing their skill behind the wheel. There being no real punishment for speeding, erratic driving or even drink driving probably has something to do with it.

Having ridden past the city, we continued to make really good progress and started to consider going further than we had planned. Making it to Jeffrey's Bay, would mean that we would be slightly ahead of our planned schedule. With plenty of day left we decided to go for it and after what turned into a bit of a slog we arrived at the town.

Thankfully the hostel was easy to find and we are now camped in the garden of the, unsurprisingly rock music themed, Hard Rock Backpackers. The music may not exactly be Debs' cup of tea, but the hostel is very nice and the guys running it are all very friendly.

After the long day we ventured out no further than the supermarket and a local restaurant. While Debs made full use of her kip mat, I joined our hosts in the bar for rather longer than planned. The probability of a hangover tomorrow is pretty high!