Marie-Laure Heitz from Strasbourg stayed over at Natie and Rina de Swardt on Friday at their home, Serenitas, near Victoria Bay. She spoke to the George Herald about how she has dreamt of such an adventure trip since her twenties, but never got round to actually doing it.
Marie-Laure has a PhD in the history of law and used to be a law lecturer before switching to a career in human resources. At age 43, she realised her dream was passing her by. "I was having a midlife crisis and was starting to think, ‘let’s see if I can do it’. I did not want to have regrets someday because I’ve never attempted to live my dream."
She considered the finances and time that would be needed, and started planning. She picked out a country on each continent she wished to visit and plotted a trip that would take nine months. "I was ready to quit my work to do it, but my boss said we could find a way of getting around that."
Starting in February, she cycled through Vietnam before flying to Vancouver and following the Pacific coast down to San Diego, about 4 000 km in total. She flew from LA to Cape Town and cycled through the winelands of Stellenbosch, Villiersdorp, Robertson and Swellendam, taking Route 62 to Oudtshoorn before arriving, via the Robinson Pass and Hartenbos, in George.
She is now on her way to Johannesburg (via Durban) where she will be flying back on 5 November. She will have covered about 9 700 km on her bicycle, carrying luggage of about 20 kg, including a tent. "I’ve been lucky with the weather and had only about five days of rain. I’ve also not had any bad experiences."
She shed about 8 kg in body weight, but gained a lot in experience. "I am much less stressed as I’ve come to realise you cannot control everything. You have to adapt all the time as you never know what’s going to happen or what you will find in the next town or city.
"I’ve also completed an inner journey in my mind, mostly during the first four months of the trip."
Many wonderful memories were made and it is a trip that Marie-Laure will never regret.
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Natie sent this photo of Marie-Laure, packed and ready to depart for Knysna on Saturday morning.
ARTICLE: ALIDA DE BEER, GEORGE HERALD JOURNALIST
