South Africa

March-May 2014, February-March 2024

An enormous land of many different lands.

I spent three months in South Africa during part of my Global Cycle Tour. All my travel was by bicycle, but I spent nearly half of my days hiking, surfing, and exploring on foot.

There's a seemingly endless quantity of places in South Africa. Every valley is unique, and the country has more cultures, biomes and landscapes than almost anywhere.

Most international visitors seem to hardly get beyond Cape Town and maybe Kruger. Me? I thought the unremarkable destinations were the most spectacular. The towns with unpronouncible or forgettable names. The mountains left off of general maps. The beaches with no one there.

South Africa is both one of the most fascinating places and countries on earth. It's certainly one of my favorites. I had no problems with crime (though I had my fears), and met some of the most amazing people, nearly all of whom reminded me how stupid and crazy I was for crossing their country with a bicycle and a tent.

I returned in 2024 to initiate our Coast2Coast2Coast Africa Overland Expedition. I was shocked by how much South Africa had changed in 10 years, for the worse, with major corruption at the borders, decaying infrastructure, societal paranoia about violent crime, and sketchy young men on the streets everywhere. It's scary what the future will bring to this dynamic nation.

Lukas Eddy in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Rural landscape in KwaZulu-Natal.

Gear and food on arrival into South Africa.

Lukas Eddy at the very first moment of a 21,000 kilometer cycling trip, which would start in South Africa and end in China 14 months later. Aged 25 years 2 days in this photo.

Lukas Eddy in Hout Bay, South Africa.

Bhekuzulu

Camping in a police station. About a week into South Africa, a policeman saw me setting up my tent in a field. He told me it was too dangerous to camp there, due to crime, and offered me a place at his station. From then on, I learned to ask the police about local camping areas, and was often invited to sleep in police stations. In this particular station, I set up my tent because of several birds flying around inside.

On a peak near Swellendam.

Cooking lunch at Warmwaterberg.

Table Mountain summit.

Baboons in the road. Common occurrence.

Climbing the 100+ meter duns at Woody Cape.

Cycling out of Nature's Valley

Riding away from severe thunderstorms. Several times I was caught in the open in hail and lightning in the barren Highveld. I could've died, as one time lightning struck a fencepost ~10 meters from the ditch I was sheltering in, leaving me deaf for several minutes. Of all the places I've travelled and all the storms I've seen, only the Arizona monsoon is comparable to the fury of South African thunderstorms.

Cape Town at dusk.

Atop Tugela Falls in Royal Natal National Park.

Baboons invaded and destroyed my tent while I was at the beach one day, just to rob a jar of jelly. The tent was unusable, so I threw it out and slept on the ground for the next two weeks until I got a new tent.

Morning snack on the road. I ate around 5,000 calories a day, often more on rest days.

Sandton in 2024

My parents in Johannesburg - first time in Africa for them!

Our truck in Johannesburg, starting our three month trip overlanding Africa in March 2024!