Saturday. October 23. Day 85.

Last night was an interesting and fun evening spent among the students of Stellenbosch. We met some great people and had an absolute blast.

We spent our last off day before the tour ends exploring the town while Human drove through to Hout Baai to pick up is wife and daughter. They will be joining us on the last leg of the tour.

Protea hotel are really looking after us and have gone out of their way to accommodate us on the final days of our epic journey.

With only a couple of k’s left the crew are jumpy with excitement and looking forward to reaching our final destination.

Sunday. October 17. Day 79

Today was by far the hottest day on the road. After almost a week of rain we are now facing the extreme sunshine and over powering heat. We started the session right in front of the hotel where we were staying. At first the road was a bit rough but smoothed out a bit later. Puddy skated behind the van for the most of the day just to try and stay in the shade. We ended the session on a 19km’s for the day and made our way back to base camp. Tomorrow we pack up and leave for Riviersonderend.

Distance for the day 19 km
1674 km skated on tour
top speed 33km/h
average 22km/h

Tuesday. 05 October. Day 67

Knysa is prettier than any woman ever. Skating past the lagoon, Puddy could hardly keep his eyes on the road as he was looking at the beautiful scenery the whole time.

Our session today started nice and early and our marker from where we were to skate was right in front of the backpackers where we were staying. On the road Max took the wheel of the van while the extra hands of Jono managed the camera! Little ‘goggas’ filled the air and constantly ended up in Puddy’s eyes and mouth making the skating a bit tough. Even the van was filled with them.

The surface of the road was good for skating and luckily there was no wind. However Puddy face a dramatic uphill which really tired him out. He kept pushing though and was rewarded with a nice long smooth downhill ending just before Knysa.

We think Puddy broke a record today – unfortunately there was no ‘official authority’ to witness it. We do have it all on video though. Puddy managed to manual (wheelie with a skateboard) for a total of 1.1km’s on an average of 35km/h. As far as we know the furthest manual is somewhere in the 800m mark.

It was Tuesday so Dj Fresh from 5fm phoned Puddy again catching up with the tour.

The evening was spent enjoying some great fish which Jono cooked up for us! Not only is he quite crafty with the camera but enjoys cooking too.

Good day of skating done with 25km in the bag.

Top speed 56km/h

Average speed 13km/h uphill

Average speed 40 km/h downhill

Average speed 24km/h flat

Monday. October 04.day 66

On the Garden Route...
Surf school from earlier this weekend!

We are closing in on our destination with a total of 1385 km’s under the belt leaving us with only 415km’s left to go!

We packed up this morning and made our way to the lovely town of Knysa. Cornell, Puddy and Human took the road on for the day’s session while Max and newcomer Jhono made ahead to hook up some accommodation.

The skating was beautiful. The Knysa and surrounding areas is probably the most aesthetically pleasing place n the country. Puddy encountered a hectic downhill on this stretch which scared him a little. None the less he took it head on reached an epic top speed of 52km/h.

Arriving in Knysa Max and co waxed sweet accommodation at the Island Vibe Backpackers.

31km skated for the day
50km/h top speed
Average 22 km/h
1385km total

Friday. 1 October. Day 63

BUNDGEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

Waking up was quite hard this morning as there was so much adrenaline in the air! Today was the big bungee day and every one anticipated this with some fear.

We made our way to the Bloukrans Bridge were we hooked up with Stefan again, He is the guy who hooked us up with Face Adrenaline.

Stefan brought his short boards with as he was going to join Puddy on the road for a session later that day. That and he wanted to Ollie into the bungee which, in the end didn't work out to well as he lost his board.

Pudddy the fearless was up next for the bungee. Afraid at first, he took it like a man and took his skateboard with him. Grabbing his board in a melon grab style he bungeeeeeeeeeeeeeed and is the first guy to do a grab with a skateboard from the Bloukrans bridge.

After the bungee we made out to the highway were Puddy was still to skateinto Plet. Stefan joined in but soon after had to retire due to some fatigue. Puddy kept pushing and we made a total of 25k’s for the day

We are looking forward to the weekend as there are some surf lessons arranged and some more demo skating to be done

Thanks to Stefan Bouwer and Face Adrenaline for making it all possible.

http://www.faceadrenalin.com/

Saturday. September 25. Day 57

Saturday might as well not have existed as the weather was so terrible that skating would have been close to, if not impossible. Luckily we are ahead of schedule on the tour. Like true “binne landers” we made it outdoors whilst on the coast, took the weather head on and made it to the beach front. We spoke to some friendly locals and pushed the sms line to everyone we met.

That night we went out to a local eatery known for its incredibly hot Habanera. Puddy made a bet with Max that he wouldn't be able to eat it without breaking a sweat but Max took it like a man.

Tuesday. September 23. Day 53

The crazy guy on the road.......

Our heart warming day at the SOS Children’s Village came to a positive end and we were on the road again to our destination.

We set out from our accommodation; The Gecko Lodge in Blue Water Bay, rigged the sign and started the day’s session.

It is evident that, thanks to last night’s television exposure people are a lot more aware of us and the cause. Most of the cars hooted in support and the cash donations also picked up significantly as people noticed “that crazy guy skateboarding from Joburg to Cape Town.”

At first the road was terrifying. The section beyond the yellow line was super rough. Luckily after about six k’s it smoothed out giving Puddy a chance to enjoy the skating and the weather. It was the first day since last week that we enjoyed some sunshine again and helped us regain an average of 20km/h.

We made good time today and only have 32km’s left till we hit the J Bay turn off tomorrow. SABC man Mike Propter also met us on the road to come and greet. He was the man behind the news publicity last night.

Dj Fresh from 5fm also gave Puddy another call to hear how he was doing on the road.

Tomorrow we set out to our new base camp in Cape St. Francis.

A good day for skating

Top speed 25 km/h, Average 20 km/h, Distance skated 25, Tour distance 1147

Monday. September 20. Day 52

A day of smiles and sunshine faces amidst the rainy skies.....

Today was one of the reasons why Puddy embarked on this historical Journey, to raise funds and awareness for the

SOS Children’s Villages across the country. Now finally, after 52 days he finally managed to roll into one of the SOS Children’s Villages in P.E. Known as the windy city, the friendly city and on this day the rainy city lived up to all three of these titles.

Upon arrival at the village the kids wore smiles bigger than theirHeads whilst singing and cheering like only happy children can. They even made hugebanners in all colours of the rainbow promoting the cause and the tour.

After our welcoming we moved into a hall where Puddy and Human spoke a few words about the tour and what it’s all about and also encouraging these kids to stay motivated considering their situation. The mic was passed to one of the people working at the Village and she quickly prompted the children who burst into song which they had specifically composed for Puddy and the team. By far the most beautiful and hart warming moment we have experienced as a team, reminding us that there are children less fortunate, and its initiatives like the Children’s SOS Villages that help kids like to reach their goals.

SABC news crew popped in again to film the episode giving us some much needed and more national exposure. Hopefully people saw what we are doing here and donate towards the SOS Children’s Villages. Puddy did a few tricks for the admiring crowd and camera who looked on in awe and kept on cheering the roof off the building.

Outside Puddy and the crew spent the afternoon (despite the rain) learning to skate (the Village had provided the kids with boards).We had scrunches Boere wors rols supplied by Shoprite Checkers.

A great amount of thanks to Shoprite Checkers and Marine Protea Hotel who made this day possible and provided us with some great accommodation.