AFTER eight months and 12 days of walking along the border of South Africa, Kyle Meenehan stopped in Port Elizabeth yesterday for a day of rest, 4700 heavy kilometres from his starting point in Cape Town.

“It was nice to sleep in a bed and eat some good food again”, said Meenehan, who was charging up for another 1100km on his 23rd birthday at a good friend’s home in Walmer yesterday.

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On May 9, Meenehan decided to leave his normal life in Johannesburg, where he worked as a freelancer in the film industry, and fulfil his dream of going around the country on foot. His motivation? “I like walking.”

“Physically and emotionally it’s very tough, but so far so good,” said the born adventurer, who is surviving mainly on muesli and porridge and fresh fruit that he buys along the way.

“I carry a poncho with me, under which I sleep in the bushes, a sleeping bag, a mattress and some clothes. A cellphone was the only electronic thing I had but unfortunately it was stolen and I lost the new one,” he said.

Meenehan is financing his trip partly with the R15000 he received from the Mountain Club of SA for his adventurous idea of the round trip walk from Cape to Cape.

“Many people declare me crazy, and I had some quite negative, even angry, reactions,” he said. “‘Why are you wasting your time?’ they say.

“Other people are scared when they see you on the side of the road. They are not used to it and don’t know how to react.”

However, Meenehan has also encountered great hospitality, especially in the rural areas. “For instance when I knock on a farm door to ask whether I can sleep in the barn, they often invite me to come inside.”

Meenehan admitted he had felt lonely sometimes, and had got to realise how it was to live in grinding poverty as most South Africans did.

“In those circumstances you cannot make rational choices; that’s why service delivery is so immensely important in a democracy.”

Meenehan walks an average of 35km a day, and takes one day of rest a week. In remote areas he “just walks fast”.

Despite facing severe setbacks the past few weeks along the Eastern Cape coast, like bad weather and attacks by muggers, Meeneham has not accepted the tempting offer of a lift home.

He continues his trip today. Those who want to follow his adventures can look at his blog www.walksa.blogspot.com