Saturday 3 May (day 64)

Up early for our last day of driving!!  It is hard to imagine that our little adventure is almost over.  We are driving to Ven Zelderheide where Johan and Stans Luchters live and the specified end of our journey.  Niels gives the family a call in the morning and Stans says that she has contacted the local news station and they will be waiting for us!  The drive through Germany is beautiful.  It takes us hours and there is an endless stream of Mercedes, Audis, BMWs and Porches whizzing past us in the fast lane as we motor along.  We drive into V.Z. at 4pm and as we turn into view of the house we see a lot of the family waving and cheering with flags and signs and the TV camera filming!  What a great reception!  We are out of the car for hugs and kisses and Stanley gives an interview for the local television station (broadcasted this coming Sunday 11 May 2008).  The media was mainly interested in the fundraising for the Gender Based Violence and Recovery Clinic. The trip managed to collect nearly 1500 Euro from various generous donors. We thank them from the bottom of our hearts. Without any doubt, your entire contribution will reach those people who need it most. The charity will remain active so don't hesitate to continue to donate. 

Nearly 14.000 km of tarmac, rocks and sand were crossed by our old red lady with its heavy cargo in a record 64 days. Given the 56.9 km/h average speed, this translates to over 246 hours of driving. We greatly enjoyed the continuous flow of messages in the guestbook and we hope that our brief journal gave you the same pleasures. It was a fantastic journey and a beautiful way to leave our time in Africa.  An "once-in-a-lifetime experience", though we are already silently thinking about the next trip so watch this space….. 

End of part one…