18 July, Thursday: Tzaneen -> Troy Otto, Gravelotte

We only had 50 km to cycle today so we spent the morning relaxed, treated ourselves to a hearty Spur breakfast. Our first "fast food" in 3 months!! It's crazy, the whole trip we have not craved fast food or missed it but as soon as we entered SA and we had options, we were so excited to have Spur!!

We now were energized and ready to hit the road. As we left Tzaneen the road was very busy but luckily there was a wide shoulder where we felt safe enough to cycle. It was a nice and easy ride today, mostly downhill. We cycled past all the organized commercial citrus farms and smelling the fruit brought back a familiar smell. Seeing the small koppies with dry veld covering them gave me a sense of home and a sudden wave of excitement hit me, realizing that home is literally just around the corner. This trip has just flown by, I cant believe it's already been 3 months since Chris and I first embarked on this journey. I am not quite ready for it to end...

Just after lunch we arrived to a very excited Troy and Lily Otto. Troy and Lily are brother and sister, a family that we have grown up with since we were small kids. Troy is now working on a breeding game farm in Gravelotte and offered us a night on the farm and when Lily heard we were passing through, she immediately jumped at the opportunity and came from Hoedspruit to meet us. The farm has a self-catering family lodge on the edge of a koppie with a stunning view of the farm. We were shown to our rooms and then taken on a drive to a surprise location. We crossed a few farms, drove past some game and arrived to a herd of 35 white rhino all running towards us. Troy had arranged for us to join the manager of the breeding rhino farm to be there when he feeds them. It was the most incredible experience. We got off the vehicle and watched these magnificent animals interacting while they wait for their food. I have never seen so many rhinos together, ranging from shape and size and colour. Some had been dehorned while others had massive long horns. As they trotted around us, they created a cloud of red dust filling the sky. After we watched them in amazement, Troy poured us an Amarula and Lily made a wonderful toast to the K2K team.

We got back to the camp where a fire had been lit which we gathered around with a GnT. Troy braai'd and Lily had prepared delicious sides. For the first time since Zim, we were sitting outside and the evening temperature was pleasant enough to not be in longs. We spent the night laughing and chatting away and catching up on all our adventures. It was such a lovely evening and we all went to bed with very happy hearts, feeling great about being with old friends.

Cycled: 50 km

Time: 2:32 hrs

Ave speed: 19.5 km/hr

Ascent: 333 m