Day 69, and a very civilised border crossing into South Africa. No queues, no jostling, no cold drinks and currency sellers; a markedly different start than the previous eight crossing, perhaps a sign of things to come. What hadn't changed was the long distances we needed to cover, ultimately we were on the one road that lead to Stellenbosch and then to Cape Town, but we broke the trip into two sections. Our first day we drove 800km to a small wine region of klawer For our first taste of South African wine and our final night of camping. The scenery on the way down was very much similar to Namibia but with more moutain ranges and many more towns off the main road, it felt like we were returning to civilisation. Loo breaks were now service stations not bushes, with plentiful shops all air conditioned.

Our first stop was a back packers paradise. A lawn for camping and a wine tasting to start the evening. After setting up the tent for the final night, and convincing Olly that we really should sleep outside to see the stars, we headed for the wine tasting. A simple start to what would be an exceptionally big country for our wine pallets. The wine was from the Highlands winery, not a single vineyard but a collection of small plots all grown by farmers and sold to the one company. We had two whites, a red, a rose and a port type wine. The unanimous opinion was that the rose was a winner. Several bottles of those would be drunk tonight after our final camp fire dinner; steak and vegetables a crowd pleaser for all. After washing up we headed to the bar and soon after ordering we realised how tired we both were. A group of overlanders from another company were also in the bar and their energy levels were high. I wondered whether they could have possibly been traveling for as along as we had, I really couldn't drink much more than a glass before heading to bed for our final night under the stars.

After packing up for one final time and ripping off our duct tape house name from the tent we boarded the bus and headed to Stellenbosh. After a short drive we arrived at our hostel and found that we had a whole house to the group, resembling more of a boarding house with bunk bed rooms and squeaky floor boards. I had to suck it up and share a room with 7 blokes including some of the serial snoring offenders; ear plugs at the ready.

In Stellenbosh we started to get a feel for how much security was around. Our house had a code and security man all night, the town had security personnel on the main streets at night too. The town however seemed very quiet and safe, but I guess without the security I have no idea how things might be different. As soon as sleeping arrangements were made we all headed to the nearest beer and burger joint to relish the end of camp food and canned tuna lunches.

With bellies full of burgers, Olly and I took our chance to escape from the group and wonder the streets to explore. We both felt like we felt had in swakopmund, this didn't feel like the Africa we had travelled through so far but provided us with the creature comforts we welcomed, including cold beers and the opportunity to just sit and watch the world go by in a local bar. Our alone time over, a group of the lads joined us, happy to report that they had found a cinema and the new Star Wars film was playing shortly. Olly had been pinning for the film and with little else to do in town other than sit in the bar, I was happy to tag along. Not sure if anyone else has seen it, but it wasn't as good as the previous one. However neither of minded as we didn't pay the extortionate prices of London for a ticket. African prices, £4 a ticket!

We peeled off for a low key dinner of sushi, again something Olly had been pining for since we left and had an early night ready for the final big day with the group.

Day 71 was the much anticipated win tour.

Our wine tour bus ended up being driven by our guide after a mix up. Poor Nash, he'd spent 71 days with us lot, and now, on a day off, had to drive us around as we got progressively tipsy in a small mini van. Our first stop was tothe Simonsig vineyard where we were too big a group to do wine tasting so instead were poured lots of sparkling wine, given a lancing lesson and then reicived an inaudible vineyard tour. Not a great first stop, but still, the sparkling was nice! After a speedy ride, Nash clearly enjoying being in the drivers seat after circa 10 ,000 km in the passengers seat we arrived at the fabulous Fairview vineyard. Here things got dangerous. Wine tasting with a cheese pairing, and the waitress continually leaving half full bottles of tasting wine on the table, our memories started to get fuzzy here. I do remember retrieving my mascara out to mark off the wines from the lists as no one had brought a damn pen. Our third stop was at Dieu Donne, a stunning setting but not great wine. Still one more to go. Our fourth and final stop was the Franschoek wine cellar. Somehow we managed to blag some plates of food to mop up the copious amounts of wine we had before and during the sitting. I think this was when I decided to FaceTime Our friend Lowry. Lowri, if you're reading this I apologise for the slightly drunken call when you were at work.

Returning home tipsy and very hungry we headed out for our last supper with some of the group and Nash, then to a little cocktail bar for our final drinks with friends. Maybe it was the excitement of seeing family and friends the next day, or the exhaustion of the past two months meant we only managed two before we called it a night.

The final day...at 10am we left the hostel on time and sharpish with only an hours drive to get to Cape Town and meet the Harrod family and Olly's parents. Arriving at the hostel we bid farewell to everyone and within two minutes Ally, Chris And Jilli were in our hostel taking our bags to the car. Thanks to chris for taking the final picture of our tour group.

From hostel life to the stunning Camps bay. Before reaching the house we would be staying in, we had one 'chore' to complete, buy more booze. Normally Olly and I would have headed straight to the 6 pack of Windhoek, but today we were given a taste of the rest of New Years. Chris introduced me to the South African gins, including a new favourite Six Dogs and then the boys headed to the craft beer selection to pick up a huge variety in local craft beers to supplement the festivities. Arriving in camps bay we were both stunned by the huge hill side town surrounded by table mountain on one side and the lions head on the other, how lucky we were to spend time here and be in such a beautiful house with friends and family!

We we shown to our rooms and stunned to find our own bathroom. I thought I was going to hug the porcelain bowl. Our wonderful hosts explained to us the massive drought problem that the area is facing, so new toilet rules apply. If it's yellow leave it mellow, if it's brown flush it down. All shower water to be collected in a bucket and used to fill the swimming pool or flush the toilets. Any perhaps an underlying rule, save water drink wine.

For our first evening we ventured into town and to long street for a meal in Mama Africa. It was great to taste some more of the South Africa cuisine and both Olly and I chose the seafood potji to start and the mixed grill (crocodile, springbok, kudu, beef, wilderbeast) for main.

New Year's Eve started active. Rising early we intended to hike table mountain but the weather had turned and the clouds we covering the hills. Instead we headed to lions head and hiked up into the clouds as far as we could go. Enjoying the freshness and the exercise to start the day off. Later on we headed down into Camps Bay to collect the seafood platter and get some time to see the town. Then we headed back to the house to prepare ourselves for the camp themed New Years party. Invites were on our bed clearly stating the need for camp themed fancy dress. Olly and I were ready to get our head torches on and jump into our camping gear but Ally, being the party planning extrodinaire, had flown over props for the evening including a pair of Minnie Mouse ears that I became v attached to that night. To start the evening we had cocktails from the cocktail bar manned by Chris, and then onto my first braii! To start there were langoutstine and shrimpwhich were delishous. Then onto a magnificent beef fillet with beautiful salads and sides. And to top it all off this was the beginning of the now well renowned 'Barry's wine list'. A carefully selected wine list to accompany our meals, both lunch and dinner for the duration of our stay. The selection had been carefully organised on a spreadsheet in advanced with careful calculations for quantities included a 'Harrod contingency' added in for good measure. Chris and Jilli also provided a wonderful selection of wines that accompanied our meals through the week.

New Year's Day nursing some sore heads we all kicked back and enjoyed some bacon sandwiches whilst ensuring we had caught up with the wine schedule. In the evening family friends of the Harrods joined us for drinks and nibbles before we sat down in the evening sun for a lovely braii courtesy of Chris.

The second day of 2018 started with a big hike up table moutain. My step counter logged only 2000 steps but 184 flights of stairs. A killers on the legs but totally worth the views, hot coffee, sandwiches and wifi at the top. To ensure we got the full table mountain experience we opted for the worlds most expensive cable car down to the bottom. Over £15 for a two minute journey down ! Our active day continued and we headed down the coast hugging the coast line this was one of the most spectacular drives we had done. We settled for a beach in the Llandudno Bay Area. A beautiful beach with soft white sand but a roaring Atlantic ocean, I couldn't bring myself to swim, it was bloody freezing!

For our final dinner with the Harrods we headed out to the Hussar grill. The attraction to this place ( apart from being voted the best restaurant in town) was the BYOB aspect. So in we marched proud with 8 bottles of wine to cover us for the evening. Dinner was amazing with a springbok carpaccio to start followed by a beef fillet, and Olly daring (and succeeding) to take on a 700g t bone steak.( most of the weight is in the bone he tells me).

On 3rd January we prepared ourselves to say goodbye to the most amazing hosts in South Africa and head our separate ways. Our departure and lunch point was the babylonstoren vineyard. The gardens here were amazing, and although Olly and I aren't known as keen gardeners they were beautiful to wonder around in. I felt sorry for those who just come here for the wine tours. Coupled with the gardens, there was a scent room, a bakery, and butchers and a cafe too. After a lovely lunch and a fresh plum from the garden we headed to Hermanus for two nights. We were lucky to be met by cathys school friend who manages the hotel on the coast here and said our sad goodbyes before Cathy got to catch up with jo over some tea.

Hermanus was a real haven, on the coast with beautiful little restaurants and little shops. With Ollys parents we took a coastal walk passing many beautiful houses and little inlet beaches in the morning sun, reaching the main beach for a cold beer and a chill in the shade. In the afternoon Olly and I headed up to the national park surrounding the town. Convinced we had got super fit during our trip we beat the recommended time to complete the first trail by an hour; of course realising later that we had only completed half of it. To top off the day we headed for a local restaurant picked by Maureen for some delicious Seafood pasta and steak. You can guess who had what!

From Hermanus we headed to Franshuck, the true heart of wine region. A personal favourite of Cathy's and must for wine buffs. I must say that the drive over was beautiful, the town is nestled in between mountains and the main road brings you down from the top overlooking the whole area. Our first day here was spent wondering the main road popping in and out of galleries and curios shops, before heading back to be pool side for a few hours. In the evening we were treated to an exceptionally special meal at La Calomes. My words won't do justice to the meal but I hope the photos below convey how beautiful the food and overall evening was. A very special evening indeed.

The only way to get around the huge variety of vineyards is the wine tram. So on we boarded for a day on the carefully selected blue line. Our first stop was Richard Bransons vineyard which was exceptionally beautiful in its position by the wine wasn't knock out. But hey that's what tasting is for. Onwards we trammed to La Bri, one of the oldest vineyards in the area dating back to around 1700's. Unique in its offering of a red wine tasting paired with Turkish delight or chocolate. Randomly the single glass of white wine I was given was a unanimous winner amongst the Minton wine tour crew. From la Bri we ventured into the 'rickety bridge' vineyard, travelling the final 1km via tractor and from there we finished at the La Grand Provence where we tasted a red that had hints of aloe Vera and a white wine called Angel tears that was a very palatable desert type wine!

We set off for our final gourmet experience in Africa, this time to a place called Ruebens. The menu had a distinct Asian influence although the head chef is a local. I opted for the 'poke bowl' to start and a open Ravioli with seafood for main. After drinking a lot of wine during the day I was hesitant to drink more, but I was reminded that we are heading into a dry state in India so this was my last chance. We both really enjoyed the evening and the food, but I think that La Colombe will be very hard to beat!

And so that ends our time in Cape Town and Africa. I am currently writing this on the plane as we head back up the African continent passing over the route that took us 2.5 months and we will cover that area in around 7 hours.