With wall-to-wall sunshine, it’s no surprise that beautiful Cape Town in South Africa has become a long-haul haven for Brits who are fed up with our winter weather. For tourists the cost of living is very reasonable and, while the sterling/rand exchange rate isn’t as good as it was, say, three years ago, your money still goes a long way. The attraction for truck nuts like yours truly is that the trucking scene is both varied – in the age of its wagons – and cosmopolitan. A mix of European, American and Japanese manufacturers produces the rolling stock and, with no salt needed on the roads during the winter months, the life expectancy of motors is a lot longer than in the UK. South Africa has a population of about 44 million, which is substantially smaller than the UK’s 60 million but in area this huge country is something like the size of Europe. In that respect, trucking operations are spread more thinly than in Britain – but if you know where to look, you’ll certainly find a massive wealth of motors. (For full story see July's T&D).