Tim and Bruce are cycling from Cairo to Cape Town on the Tour ‘d Afrique, they started on the 10th January and should be coming into Cape Town on the 9th May. They are trying to raise R180,000 to build 2 classrooms for a rural school in the Eastern Cape, you can view their website here – below is their latest adventure:
Lilongwe to Victoria Falls (2 April to 12 April)
Distance: 1216km
Highlights: Victoria Falls Hotel!!!
Greetings from the magnificent Victoria Falls and the bustling tourist town of Livingstone in Zambia. The past 10 days riding in Zambia have been long and tough and the legs and bodies are seriously fatigued… 
Because we were challenged many times over by many long days in this stretch of the Tour, we’ve decided to mix things up a bit and rather than a summary of the different days (they were ALL hard), we’d like to share with you in detail how amazing our 2 rest days have been in Victoria Falls…
So here are the diary entries for those two days, and for more detail on the other days, click here!
Easter Saturday and Easter Sunday, 11, 12 April
It all started out simply enough. We had come across from Zambia with fellow South Africans Craig Tingle and Nick Marr for a bit of lunch at the beautiful 5-star Victoria Falls Hotel. The views down the gorge are breathtaking, the food excellent, and the history and quiet opulence of this historic hotel simply envelops you.
With lunch down the hatch and thankfully paid for by Mr Tingle’s surprise work bonus, we all started to wonder what it would cost to stay a night. We guessed it would be in the region of $250 to $500 a night, so in order to settle the debate, we inquired at reception.
After a bit of smooth talking, and an explanation of why we looked as haggard as we did, the receptionist said we would qualify for a regional rate. With our curiosity tipped, Bruce and I then ventured further with some more bargaining talk and got the lovely Mavis down to $155 a night per person, including breakfast.
Bruce and I exchanged looks, came to the exact same conclusion, and promptly pulled out our Visa Cards and booked two rooms for the night. 
What a sight to behold… These two dirty, hairy South Africans, with absolutely no luggage or change of clothes for the night, being escorted by the porter down the thick-carpeted halls of the Victoria Falls Hotel to rooms 35 and 36.
Other guests looked at us with a confused air of arrogance. However, the looks would get a little more judging when Bruce took an evening swim in the pool in just his boxers because he didn’t have a costume of course, and we got even dirtier looks the next morning when we pitched up to breakfast in the very same dirty clothes. Needless to say, we couldn’t abide by the smart-casual dress code after 4.30pm, I mean we couldn’t even brush our teeth!
But for our weary bodies, the $155 splurge was well worth it. I had a hot bath. I put on a dressing gown (because I didn’t have any other clothes), I watched some TV and fell into a deep sleep which didn’t involve getting up in the middle of the night to kill mozzies or other creatures in my tent.
Room service woke me up with filter coffee at 7.30pm and the breakfast buffet was heavenly and expertly managed by us so that lunch wasn’t even needed later that Easter Sunday.
And having had either oats or mielie meal for the last three months, we felt we needed to share our breakfast feast with you in detail, so here it is:
- Every fresh fruit imaginable and the best yoghurt we’ve ever tasted
- Chocolate croissants and mini hot cross buns
- English scones and chocolate breadsticks
- Fresh farm butter and crepes
- Pork sausages, honey-glazed ham, boerewors, eggs anyway you wanted them, bacon
- A selection of cold meats and a cheese platter…
- And to top it all off, we drank the Champagne that was on offer!!!
Breakfast was followed by more sunbathing by the pool and eventually a massage in the spa. With a heavy heart and relaxed body, we checked out at 12.30pm (2.5 hours later than we should have), and headed to the Falls where we got drenched and giggled like schoolgirls.
It was all an epic and extravagant adventure, but exactly what we needed to lift our spirits for the final stretch and long days ahead!
By the time you read this we will be riding through Botswana where some long, flat days await us, as well as the dreaded longest day of the Tour at 207km! 
On the fundraising front for Hebron School in the Eastern Cape we’re getting closer to our target of R180 000 needed to build and equip two new classrooms, but with some R50,000 still needed we really need you all to please spread the word and get a colleague, friend or family member to donate just a R100.
Click here for our daily diary and click here for our photo galley! If you wish to donate, please click here.
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