The hospitality is immense and omnipresent. We are completely overwhelmed by the many offers to join in meals. The first many days in the country, we are hardly allowed to eat our own food, due to the many invitations.
But South Africa also has a dark side. Even though apartheid is a thing of the past, the divisions in society are still deep and hard to bear, especially when you come from a small, relatively harmonious country.
Now it's getting REALLY hot
We throw the bikes up against the grocery store, sit in the shade on the bare ground. Our backs to the wall. Open a 2l cola and put it to our mouths. One long, refreshing sip, disappears into our dry throats. Then one more. Half of the gigantic soda is already gone. Then we open a buttermilk. Also 2l. Pour it over our oatmeal on the plate and gobble it down eagerly. The dehydrated bodies are brought back to life. 5 minutes later, the 4l of liquid has disappeared like dew in the sun.
Sweat is pouring off us even though we are sitting in the shade. The thermometer reached 49 degrees just before we rolled into the small village, in front of the Indian grocer. Wanting to boost our blood sugar, we opened our emergency pack of gummies. They had completely melted into a sticky mass, so we had to eat them with a spoon. When we get up in the morning we look like people who have been drinking all night and boxing all morning. Our faces are red and swollen from yesterday's sun and dehydration.
Our plan was to take an extra 5l of water on each bike, bury them out in the desert, so we could come back and get them after a short loop. But that plan is now dead due to the intense heat. Before the sun sets today, Kenneth alone has drunk 15l of fluid. With 200km of broken gravel roads to the next water station, we would have to lug 30l of water each on the bikes. Even if we could find the space for it, the bikes would be too heavy in the rough terrain. Pushing the bikes at 3-4km/h would take even longer. It would require even more water. A negative spiral that cannot be reversed.
One of the locals says to us: “You have just one more week, then it will be REALLY hot!”
We need to straighten out the kinks in our route. The boring straight asphalt road is the only safe option from here.
Africa's beautiful southernmost country
We are in northern South Africa. The last country on our cycling expedition from the North Cape to the Cape of Good Hope. Country no. 25. Of these, 20 are in Africa. We have been on the continent for a year now and have seen many different ways of living. West Africa in particular was intense in its poverty and overpopulation. In deserted Namibia, that picture changed. We met a number of people who said:
“Just wait until you get to South Africa. It’s just like coming to Europe.”
It is not now. Far away.
Well, if you squint one eye, it looks nice on the surface. But if you take even a little interest in the country behind the postcard, a different, much more complicated picture quickly emerges, of a country with deep open wounds on its soul.
Sure, there are beautiful landscapes, good infrastructure, and there are far more opportunities to shop in even the small towns, and the selection is infinitely greater, so we no longer live only on rice and sardines. But the country of South Africa still has many challenges.
After apartheid
In our safe Danish school days, we learned about the apartheid system. About the inhumane division between blacks and whites. About how farmland, opportunities and welfare went to the whites, while the blacks were held down. It is now 30 years since Nelson Mandela stepped out of prison and was elected as the first black president. Hopes were high. The distribution of goods should now fall equally between the races in the country and from there equality and cohesion should grow. But here 30 years later, South Africa's fight for freedom and equality is like watching a man fight his way through wet cement. It is the whites who drive up in front of the fancy supermarkets, in their big four-wheel drives, while the blacks stand behind the cash register, or outside and beg. The basic problem is still not solved.
It starts well
The first day we are in South Africa we pull into a campsite in Richtersveld National Park. We are not allowed to wild camp in the park, so we are ripped off for almost 900kr for the two nights we will spend here. A completely outrageous sum, which is only related to the fact that we are tourists. For locals and Africans it is much cheaper.
The campsite is gigantic and beautifully located right on the Orange River. South Africans like plenty of space and privacy. We quickly spoil that when we wheel our bikes directly between two campers and get into a conversation with the two couples of friends who are on holiday together.
Within 5 minutes we are enveloped in South African hospitality. We are each seated in our own camping chair with a cold beer in hand and respond “Jatak. Thank you very much!” when we are invited to eat with them. The menu is South Africa’s number 1 national sport: Braai. That is, food grilled over a fire. We are asked what we think of South Africa, and we are laughed heartily at the answer: “We have only been here for 5 hours, but so far we have to say that things are going really well!. Cheers!!”
Before we go to bed we are half drunk and stuffed. Our luxury problem is that tomorrow we will have to drag our own food, which we didn't eat, over high mountain passes and through sandy riverbeds in the Richtersveld.
It won't be the last time we experience the great South African hospitality.
Bikepacking galore
We are still following the SAND bikepacking route. It does not disappoint here in South Africa either. The raw rocks and dramatic high passes of the Richtersveld are replaced by a detour inland to Namaqualand. A characteristic area that is primarily known for its succulents. That is, plants with thick watery leaves, such as Aloe Vera.
Soon we reach the infamous “Road to Hell” pass. Anyone with a 4WD for miles around knows this place. Not because they can drive here. But precisely because they CANNOT drive here. The last person who tried is still missing his car, which was left halfway up the pass. On our bikepacking bikes, however, it is a different matter. We have hit our element again and easily sneak around the broken down car, slowly and carefully steer the bikes over the wild pass and are blown backwards by the raw landscape in front of us.
The reward is arrival at a deserted river valley, a place where no one goes any further, due to the traffic jam in the pass. The road ends at the river bank itself. You can't go any further. Unless you take your bike under your arm and walk across the impassable beach. There is about 2km to another 4×4 road, which also ends at the river. From here we can get back up into the mountains. It is a surreal landscape of purple rocks, which stand steeply down into the riverbed. It is quite amazing to be completely alone with only a couple of baboon monkeys roaring after us. As well as a couple of footprints in the sand from a rather large cat!
The next time the route hits the river again, the map shows a 5km path along the river. But there has been a recent flood and the path is destroyed by the water. Sometimes there is a goat path. Other times not. As we reach the last bend in the path, and can look forward to where we meet a new 4×4 road, a tree blocks our way. The tree grows over the goat path and into the rushing stream. Kenneth sticks a long branch into the river. It is more than 2m deep. There is no way to wade in the river around the tree.
We consider the situation. Either we walk almost 5km back along the river, then drag our bikes back up the wild Road To Hell pass, risking running out of water. Or we make a way forward.
The path is only half a meter wide. On one side, the rushing river, on the other is a steep slope, 20m high. We put the bikes down and reconnoiter. Branches and trees cover the slope. There are hawthorns on every branch and the ground is loose on the steep slope. But we are optimistic and see an opportunity through the quagmire.
We have to take one bike at a time. We tie a strap to the first one. Marie goes up the slope as far as the strap can reach. Kenneth lifts the bike, Marie pulls and the bike rattles up the steep slope. It is dusty and hot. After just 2 minutes we are soaked with sweat. There is still a long way to go. A few meters up the slope, we have to tow the bike lengthwise, between tree trunks and bushes. We stand and swing on well-chosen thick branches while we pull and push the heavy bike. We get cuts on our arms and legs from the long thorns.
Again we have to pull the bike up the steep slope. We have mastered the technique. We are filthy and snorting and moaning. But we are moving forward. Finally we are at the top. In the middle of a thorn bush. With pocket knives we have to cut a passage through the bush, big enough for a bike to be pushed through. And then finally – out on the other side. Then we just need the other bike.
The sun has almost set when we, laughing, pull the other bike through the thicket on the top. It has taken well over an hour to get 50m.
The original inhabitants
It is here in this landscape, on the edge of the Kalahari Desert, that the San people have lived for about 50,000 years. The San people are also called Bushmen. They are one of the few remaining indigenous peoples who can still live one hundred percent in, with and from nature. They know every animal, every plant. They know the healing and preventive properties of the plants. They know where they can find a fat caterpillar to eat, in an otherwise dry, hot and raw desert.
But they don't live like that anymore. Like everyone else on the planet, they have entered the modern age and have abandoned bows and arrows in favor of mobile phones.
In the West, we may tend to romanticize indigenous peoples and their lives close to nature. We ourselves have been guilty of this. But in Africa we have also seen what this means in concrete terms. That there are also less glorious aspects to indigenous life. Drought brings hunger. Diseases that cannot be cured. But the worst of all is that modern society roars past, while indigenous peoples remain in their culture and traditions. This means that the distance is growing. And this especially means that respect and understanding are diminishing when we in the modern world want to exploit the forest, the land, the animals, the natural resources. In this fight, it is again and again the indigenous peoples who lose. And unfortunately they lose big, because it is their entire basis for existence that we are taking away from them.
Load shedding
At the next camp we are again offered cold beers, even before we have parked the bikes. Beer leads to food. Food leads to exciting conversations about South Africa.
“Did you know that Nelson Mandela's village has not had electricity for 4 years?”
It is a popular way to describe the huge problems South Africa has with electricity. Most cities do have electricity, but not all day long. There are planned power outages every day. The so-called “load sheddings”. This causes huge problems in the otherwise fairly modern country. How can you run a hospital or an industry in 2024 when there are power outages all the time? It causes gigantic challenges for the economy. It is a really good example of how South Africa has failed to run the country in a profitable way in the last 30 years with the black party ANC in power. There is great and growing dissatisfaction with the economic downturn.
We get the feeling that many white people have sat back, arms crossed, as they have watched the ship take on water. Then they have sat in their self-pride and said to each other and to those who will listen:
“Look – they can’t figure it out. Nothing works. We’re all getting poorer.”
On the other hand, the blacks have a different story:
“Imagine taking over the keys to a house. The previous owner knows every room, every door, every nook and cranny. Because he built the house himself. But now we take over the keys and open the front door to a house we don't know inside and out, but which needs to be completely renovated.”
There is no doubt that it takes time to abolish apartheid, to build a new foundation for society, to create equality and cohesion where there is reluctance and disgust. But there is also no doubt that the ANC has not been able to take on that task.
The divide between them and us
We have difficulty in getting in touch with black people. And we are surprised because throughout Africa, until now, it has been easy to talk to everyone. We have been used to the fact that as soon as we stop, people come up and talk. Or we find it easy to start conversations with everyone ourselves.
But here, in South Africa, it is difficult to make contact with black people. We also don't see as many black people in the city as we are used to. Mostly white people. Despite the fact that there are only 20% white people in the country, and 80% black people.
We often feel that black people distance themselves from us. There is usually a neutral coolness when we try to talk to people.
On a bench in front of a grocery store in a small village, however, we meet a young black woman. The Indian owner of the grocery store is praying the midday prayer, so the store is closed for an hour. This gives us time for a good chat on the bench.
The young woman is trusting and tells us that we can buy vegetables in the village. But they are expensive because some of the men of the village have to fetch the vegetables from a long way away and sail them down the river. But first they have to steal them from the white man's field.
She has probably spoken too much, but it gives us an accurate picture of what we already sense. The gap between blacks and whites is as great as ever. Apartheid may have been abolished, but respect for each other is still far from over. People tolerate each other's presence because they know it cannot be otherwise.
But the class society is still intact. Blacks are often poorly educated and have very little income. Some feel compelled to commit crime to survive. You probably feel you have the right to take from the whites, just as they once took from the blacks when they took over the country.
On the other side of the fence, the white farmer, according to the girl, will not hesitate to kill a black man if he does not have a good explanation for what he is doing in the white man's field.
They have not succeeded in creating a balanced society where equality is tolerable and where respect thrives. Neither historically nor now. This is despite the fact that South Africa is Africa's largest economy and that all the prerequisites for economic growth are available in the country, which has fantastic agricultural land, great tourism and diamonds underground.
South Africa has 12 official languages
But perhaps it is no coincidence that it is precisely in South Africa that apartheid arose. There are more groups than just blacks and whites. The blacks consist of many different population groups, with about 10 different languages. Most of the groups have been pressured to flee through Africa over time and have ended up here. But the groups do not like each other and fight each other.
Between black and white, there is the colored population. They fight like a louse between two nails. They refuse to be black, but they are not accepted as white either.
The whites are divided into Afrikaners, those who emigrated from Holland, and those of British descent. Between these two groups we also notice a distance and lack of respect.
In other words, South Africa is still a complex society with great internal tensions and huge cultural differences.
Everything can be repaired in Africa
The SAND route takes us to the cozy town of Springbok, where we stay for a few days and refuel on calories. As always, we stay on a campsite. As always, we quickly fall into conversation with friendly white South Africans. As always, we are invited to a braai. It is absolutely amazing to experience how social, trusting, hospitable, open and friendly the people are. We talk throughout the evening about South Africa and the racial differences and our new friends are completely open and honest about the country, its problems and their own attitudes. It is a pleasant, open, curious conversation that leaves us wiser and with a more nuanced view of the racial differences in the country.
We stay for a couple of days and get to tinker with the bikes. And here Kenneth discovers one of the few things you don't want to experience on a long bike ride. Kenneth's bike frame is cracked. It's not that serious yet. But we doubt whether the bike can handle the rest of the distance to Capetown.
Through new friends we have met David. A mechanical engineer from the University of Stellenbosch, who lives here in Springbok. A super sweet and nice guy. Kenneth calls him. 30 seconds into the conversation he says:
“It's probably best if I come and pick you up and the bike.”
15 minutes later, a 30-year-old, sky blue Toyota Highlux in perfect condition rolls into our campsite. David behind the wheel.
We go out to his father, who is a retired engineer with a home workshop.
3 men sit silently squatting in front of the bike, thinking. Few words are exchanged. There is agreement on the durability of the plan. David's father manufactures a steel rail, which is glued around the break with epoxy. We cross our fingers that it will last all the way to Capetown.
On the way back to our camp, David tells us that unfortunately, almost everyone his age is racist. It must be so crazy to live in a country where you are constantly so embarrassingly aware that you are a divided population that doesn't like each other. However, David is a good guy who talks to everyone.
We want equality for all
A month after we crossed into South Africa, we still haven't seen a single black family on the many campsites we've stayed at. We don't see black people in the many large four-wheel drive vehicles either. Unless they're on the bed, working for the white man behind the wheel. We meet many white South Africans who want to talk about apartheid and the time after. When we ask, we always get the same answer. Our questions are rooted in our belief in how society can become more equal. The question is:
"Has a middle class of black South Africans emerged? Are there black businessmen, lawyers, highly educated people?"
The answer is:
"They're on their way. There aren't many. But a little is happening."
We believe that only when blacks and whites are equally well educated and have equally good jobs will there be social balance and thus equality in all sectors. But there is obviously a long way to go. A very long way!
But we still wonder where this separation comes from. How could apartheid arise?
In many ways, South Africa resembles the USA. The culture and friendliness are very similar. But also the great importance of the church and not least the great wave of settlers that shaped the countries. Just like in the USA, it was Europeans who landed on the coast and settled. From there, the most courageous and enterprising and who knows – perhaps the most liberal and gun-loving – moved into the country to start their own free life in an untrodden world. (Untrodden by Europeans, mind you).
With the blessing and strength of the church, they established themselves in this foreign land. Think of the effort it has required. How much courage it has required. What overcomings they have had to make. It has required a special type of person to create that life from scratch. And perhaps that type of person, regardless of their strength and courage, is not the one who has had the best conditions for, or interest in, integrating with a completely different culture. We don't know...
But what we do know is that we pray the table prayer with people who invite us to braai. We talk to people. Try to understand. We just hope that soon we will also meet some young progressive black people who can tell their part of the story.
There is hope for the future.
Hope for South Africa was shown in the latest elections, in May 2024. The ANC, Nelson Mandela's party, which has led South Africa since the end of apartheid, did NOT get a majority of the vote for the first time. Their decline means that for the first time they had to form a government together with other parties. All the South Africans we have spoken to see this as a good thing. As a way forward towards better control of the economy, less corruption and general order in things. The ANC, which is still the largest party and has a black president, started as a freedom party, but has never managed to take on the task of running a state satisfactorily. But the future with the new coalition looks bright, according to those we speak to.
And there are already concrete signs of improvement. Just a few months after the election, there was suddenly power for everyone, 24/7.
When we ask how it can be fixed so easily, and why it hasn't been fixed before, if it really was that easy, the answer points to the ubiquitous corruption and crime.
Trucks carrying coal had their cargo stolen or switched. People say the trucks arrived at the power plants with water instead of coal.
No one can answer how the problems have been solved. But the cooperation between, to put it bluntly, a black and a white party in the government points to a better future for Africa's largest economy.
Now it's not as far as it used to be
We have now been in South Africa for a month. In Africa for a whole year.
South Africa is a very beautiful and easy country to travel in. The infrastructure is good. Every small town has a good grocery store, with lots of selection of good products. We eat well and gain weight, despite the fact that the cycling is still hard and demanding. But we recover better.
We meet many white people who live culturally close to us Danes. This means that our brains and minds are not constantly working overtime to understand, to fit in, to learn cultural codes, difficult languages, different customs. Our minds also relax, our shoulders come down.
We can now see how stressed we have also been in West Africa. We had many clashes and arguments. We were constantly out of our comfort zone. But we also miss the wildness and the daily challenges of creating meaning in chaos.
Just as the cyclists in any big cycling race “roll off”, we also feel that we are “rolling off” in every way in South Africa. It is probably very healthy for the body, mind and soul.
The trip is drawing to a close. There are less than 1,000km until we park the bikes in Capetown. We have already covered 30,000km since the North Cape. Our equipment is getting worn out. There are holes in the underpants. The mattresses are losing air. The burner is spewing black smoke and coughing and hacking. The tent is riddled with ants and termites. The sandals stink of sour toes. In short – the end is near.
We have reached southern South Africa. Right now we are 40km from Cape Agulhas. Africa's southernmost point. We have abandoned the SAND route, in favor of the beautiful coastline along the Atlantic Ocean, up towards Capetown.
It's cold at night. We've completely forgotten what it's like to freeze. But the last few days we've had stormy weather with hail and night frost. We no longer have shoes or rain pants. Summer is said to be on its way.
Agulhas awaits ahead. The last part of the adventure is coming. The last stretch towards the Cape of Good Hope will be up along the beautiful Atlantic coast. The home run!
