I read the last few words of the chapter. I take a deep breath and sigh wistfully. The story has finished. I didn’t want it to end. It was so well written, set out so perfectly and as I read each chapter I grew to love the characters more and more. I know them so well and don’t want to say goodbye to them. Yet I must and so as my plane approaches London Heathrow I stare out of the window revealing it’s wispy cloud and tiny houses. I am not seeing it though. I don’t see the cloud. I don’t see the land beneath it. I don’t see the houses and roads and cars below...............

I am on safari, looking at elephants, watching the elephant pick up grass with his trunk and lift it to his mouth. I can see his eyes, the rough, grey, textured skin on his thick, solid legs. I am watching him lift his legs and amble slowly towards me.

I am hearing a lion roar.

I see a cheetah climbing a tree.

I feel the wind in my hair as we’re driving through the bush.

I hear the excited voices of my friends as we discover zebras and giraffes.

I am bungee jumping. I feel my heart quicken. There is a vast expanse in front of me, a void which I am about to enter. I dive forward and the distant gorge below charges at me and the sky spins and twists.

I am riding a quad bike, the red dust like a veil in front of me, the sun is setting on the mountains as I race over the bumpy track. I grin at the others as we each press the throttle a little more.

The sea is choppy and the light is perfect. A jet of water shoots vertically on my left and I put my paddle in the water to turn my kayak towards the giant whale in the water. It is magnificent.

I look up at Table Mountain above me, Cape Town below and the sea in the distance. Ben and Yann whizz past me on mountain bikes and I start pedalling hard to catch them, my tyres crunching on the red dirt and gravel. I pass Gennaro, Vanessa, and Racheal and give them a grin. Maaike is ahead of me now and I skid round the corner past her.

We’re a tribe of adventurers from different countries, with different characters, different cultures and different languages yet South Africa has made us laugh, scream, stare open mouthed and jump for joy together so many times over the last few days.

We are different people from those who arrived in South Africa 10 days ago.

South Africa has changed us.

I look at the cloud and put down my book. I run my hand over the cover. The story has finished, it is over now. But, it lives on. It lives on inside me. It lives on in my thoughts and my feelings. It lives on in the people I talk to and in who I am. I am grateful for having been able to read it.

I will tell other people about it now so they can read it too.

Surf's up!

A Cape Town inspired adaptation of a Beach Boys Classic (please sing along to yourself!!!)

Let's go adventure now,
The adventure tribe will show you how,
Come on down to Cape Town with me.

Early in the morning we'll be startin out,
Some horses will be comin' along,
We're getting in the saddle,
with our reins in hand,
and heading out singing our song.

In Blouberg down at Big Bay,
We’ll be riding the waves,
On Table Mountain we’ll be cycling hard,
We're going to the mountain and we’re abseiling too,
There’s so much to do we can’t keep still.


Let's go adventure now,
The adventure tribe will show you how,
Come on down to Cape Town with me.

Kayaking in Hermanus.
Photo by Steve Weaver.

Shark Diving in Gaans Baai. Photo by Steve Weaver

Instructions for a delicious South African coastal experience.

1. Start with a rocky coastline, a handful of delightful coves and a sprinkling of rocky beaches.
2. Blend with a bowl of stunning mountains rising out of the sea (not unlike the NW Scottish highlands).
3. Toss into the mix the chance to view whales from the cliffs or, alternatively, the opportunity to jump in a kayak and get close enough to see these huge creatures from the water. Allow this to sit for a while.
4. Add a fantastic seafood restaurant (where I ate ‘Rich Man’s Fish and Chips’ served in a copy of the Hermanus Times from 19th march 1955) and delicious South African wines.
5. Leave the dish to marinade overnight.
6. Take a freshly prepared boat and a slightly chopped up sea. Cover yourself in a wetsuit and mask.
7. Reduce yourself to being in a state of awe by jumping in the water and watching Great White Sharks from the safety of a cage. Gaze at these powerful and imposing animals as they come within 2 feet of you. See the mouth open and close and see the teeth. Feel the power of the fin as it moves through the water next to you.
8. Finally, season the experience with gentle breeze and lashings of sunshine.

Doing yoga at the hotel - photo by Steve Weaver

Quad biking - photo by Steve Weaver

It’s Thursday, 9am and we’re on the road. I’m writing this as our minibus winds its way up a beautiful mountain pass that is almost alpine in feel. I’ve been up since 4:30am because we took a dawn hot air balloon ride over the Oudtshoorn area this morning. It was my first experience in a hot air balloon and really beautiful. The air was crystal clear and as the sun rose it opened up the skies like a curtain on opening night creating a mesmerising silhouette of the distant mountain ridges. The balloon flight seemed to excite the locals too and as we flew over a school there were literally hundreds of faces pressed against the fence waving at us. Lekker!!! (which means ‘brilliant’ in Afrikans).

Yesterday we were also on the road, leaving the Tsitsikamma region and heading south and west along some of the famous Garden route. The scenery was superb, more mountain ridges and valleys, at times reminiscent of the Scottish highlands but covered in trees and vegetation, and big sweeping bends in the road that would excite any cyclist or motor biker. September 1st is officially the first day of spring in South Africa yet it felt more like summer, the sun was shining and the temperature reached 26 celsius.

During the afternoon we went quad biking and journeyed off road up to a stunning limestone cauldron with an impressive waterfall. It’s fair to say that some members of the tribe were a little overexcited by the quad bikes and anarchy nearly broke out when the ride deteriorated into a cross between dodgems and BMX stunt riding (I still maintain that I was led astray by Ben Lewis from the US, although he suggests otherwise). I am pretty confident that I did the best skids though!

It was late when we arrived at the Swartberg Country Manor for the night and we were warmly welcomed to a night of luxury in another hotel with plenty of character. Throughout this trip the food and drink have been superb and, as I tucked into a perfectly cooked Ostrich steak washed down with a Castle beer last night, I reflected that South Africa offers something for everyone.

5..... 4..... 3.... 2....1.... BUNGEE............ I dive forward and instantaneously the ground is rushing towards me like an express train travelling non-stop through a station. I can hear someone screaming at the top of their lungs. It’s my voice but it sounds like someone else. Then everything stops for a moment. The bungee retracts and I rise back up punching the air. As I come to a rest hanging upside down above the gorge I experience the most amazing sense of quiet and peace.

It’s been an amazing few days in South Africa. After arriving in Johannesburg we flew straight to Port Elizabeth and then transferred immediately to Shamwari Game Reserve. 20 hours after leaving London I’m 10 metres away from a Lion and Lioness. We’re in the bush and the lions are resting together on the ground. Looking at the huge golden mane of the lion contrasted against the green bush my mind drifts back to childhood pictures of Aslan from ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’ and the thought is punctuated only when I hear the most incredible deep roar that seems to emanate from somewhere inside the earth. As my attention is jerked back by the Lion’s roar I am awed by the majesty of the two creatures in front of me.

During our 3 days at Shamwari our tribe has got up close and personal with Cheetahs, Hippos, Elephants, Zebras, Giraffes and Rhinos all in their natural habitat as well as numerous Springbok, Monkeys and Warthogs. We’ve stayed in amazing lodges in the bush, have eaten delicious meats and been been welcomed by the friendly and smiling South Africans. As an adventure tribe we have laughed, screamed, cried, and jumped up and down with excitement and it feels like we’ve been together for weeks.

Having just fallen 700 feet from the Bloukrans bridge the stillness and serenity of the gorge beneath me are beyond words. I could hang here forever but it’s over too soon when the winch comes down to haul me back up ( I don’t know at this point that I’ll be seeing the jump in mind again and again in my mind over the coming hours). I reach the bridge, someone shakes my hand and I sit down with a huge grin on my face. South Africa rocks!

Photo by Steve Weaver.

3 hours until departure

I’m not sure if other people find that before a trip away they are compelled to finish all sorts of projects and tasks and leave everything complete. Last night instead of packing I was attempting to buy a whole new bathroom. This in itself was an adventure because I discovered that it’s not quite like going to the supermarket where you choose the items off the shelf, put them in a trolley and then load them into the car, evidently with bathrooms there is a requirement to order in advance. That’s all well and good but what the bathroom people don’t know is that my Dad is coming to help me install said bathroom as soon as I return from this trip and I am supposed to have organised it ages ago (Dad – if you’re reading this, I did get it organised and spent hours drawing detailed plans, it’s just that I lost them and had to start again). So, having turned up to the bathroom shop an hour before it closed, my long suffering friend and I very entered into a manic trying of toilets (how do I look sitting on this one?), sinks and baths before I lay down in a bath and said, “there’s no way we can get this done in time”.

But, the whole experience got me thinking about the nature of adventure and what it means to be an adventurer. For me, adventure means the unknown and risk. The unknown might be places, weather, terrain, other people (what they will say, do or how they respond) or anything else which is uncertain. The risk is that it might not work out and sometime even might hurt (this could be physical or emotional e.g. damaged pride). So, for me, having an adventure means doing something where you enter into the unknown and take a risk.

An invitation........
Over the coming days as the tribe are having adventures in South Africa we’ll all be experiencing the unknown as we go Bungee jumping, Shark Diving, Kayaking, Abseiling, Mountain Biking, Surfing, Hot Air Ballooning, Caving and Zorbing (yes, we are going Zorbing – see the photo below if you don’t know what it is).

My invitation to you is to have your own adventure each day that I’m in South Africa. As the famous ‘Sunscreen’ song by Baz Luhrmann said, “Do one thing every day that scares you”. I don’t know what you’ll choose. Maybe you’ll talk to your boss about something that’s been on your mind, maybe you’ll ask someone out on a date, you might run or cycle instead of driving or choose something else which would be a challenge to YOU. But, whatever you choose, it means you’ll be adventuring in your own life and that’s a great feeling.


Meanwhile my bags are now packed and I’ll soon be heading to Manchester airport. I’ve just got to make a quick detour on the way to the DIY store for my 11:30am appointment with the bathroom designer. Luckily the planners obviously had this kind of scenario in mind as they placed the DIY store, very thoughtfully, right next to the railway station!

South Africa here I come.


Photo below of Zorbing which is the activity of rolling downhill in an plastic ball, generally made of transparent materials.

Yesterday I was in Edinburgh at the Fringe Comedy festival and saw comedian Tim Vine. He has just won best joke of the festival with the following, “I’ve just been on the holiday of a lifetime, I tell you what, never again”.

It’s now only 3 days until I’m off to South Africa for the trip of a lifetime and I’ve been checking out what we doing in more detail. I've been on YouTube and watched people jumping from Bloukrans Bridge (the highest commercial bungee jump in the world - about 70 storeys high) and just watching the bungee jump made my heart beat louder and my hands sweat. It seems I’m not the only tribe member feeling this way though, I checked out the blog of American winner Ben Lewis and he appears equally nervous (and slightly more graphic about his potential bodily responses).

I've seen videos of the skies changing over Table Mountain in Cape Town and of majestic lions, giraffes and zebras wild in the bush. I've started reading books and checked out films featuring South Africa. I actually cried watching 'Invictus' which tells the inspiring true story of how Nelson Mandela joined forces with the captain of South Africa's rugby team to help unite their country. I’ve even been drinking South African wine – just for educational purposes – and it’s really good!!

My friends are inspired by the trip too and I have received offers to carry my bags and requests to be smuggled in my luggage. As I learn more and more about South Africa, funny as Tim Vine’s joke is, I can’t help thinking that 10 days won’t be long enough and this is one adventure of a lifetime that I might want to repeat.

Photo - me last week in the South of France having just cycled up the famous Mont Ventoux.

I'm writing this in my cottage in the English Lake District. The view out of the window is beautiful, the hills are a deep green right now and the clouds are boiling up a mixture of whites and greys with some blue sky shining through. And, yet, as I look out of the window I have images in my mind of bungee jumping from a bridge, of seeing sharks up close and personal, of being on safari and seeing wondrous animals, and of a sun drenched landscape. I imagine hearing the noises animals make at night and the accents and voices of people from a different culture.

Where is all this coming from? Well, on August 28th I’ll be in South Africa joining 6 other Adventure Ambassadors from around the world for an adventure experience of a lifetime. Our itinerary is packed full of inspiring activities and, as well as those above, we'll be going quad biking, caving, kayaking, abseiling, wine tasting, sandboarding, surfing, mountain biking and taking a balloon trip. Wow!!!!! It sounds amazing!!!

As I look out at the Lake District hills starting to shine I wonder if the pictures in my mind of South Africa will be what it's really like. I guess that's one of the reasons we actually travel and visit places because words and pictures can never convey all the smells, tastes, sights, sounds and feelings that a country brings. I do love to read about travel and adventure though and I’ll be writing more and reporting on my trip when it happens. Hopefully as you read more about my South African experiences and the adventures of our international tribe you’ll be inspired to create your own adventures and bring them to life.