Vespa Envy

Everybody wants to ride..

A journey's success is not measured in kilometres. It's measured in smiles and memories. 

One of the strange things I’ve notice all along the way during our Vespa vineyard venture has been the wistful envy that has greeted us everywhere we go.

From hotel managers to winemakers and petrol attendants, the reaction to two little scooters loaded with clobber has been: “Gee, I envy you. I wish I could go on a trip like that.”

And I always think, “Well, why don’t you?”

I’ve travelled many thousands of kilometres on the Vespa – in South Africa and overseas – and it’s the easiest, cheapest and most relaxing way to go.

A scooter forces you to pare down your baggage to just the essentials. There isn’t room for an extra pair of shoes, a set of CDs or an electric frying pan “just in case we need it.”

You can pack a surprising amount of stuff into a scooter’s basket. (Most modern motorbikes, on the other hand, have hardly any luggage space at all.)

You don’t have to rush frantically to reach your next destination, because a) you can’t exactly rush, with a top speed of 80km/h, and b) the whole point of scooter travel is that it’s slow and leisurely. You have time to admire the flowers and orchards along the roadside, and to smell the pine trees as you buzz past.

An easy day’s travel is probably about 200km (with a stop for lunch) whereas you feel obliged to cover at least 600km a day in a car, so you miss lots of hidden places like roadside farm stalls and artists’ studios.
Luggage space?

You need to pack clothes for five days, maximum. At least once every five days you’ll find a place to have your clothes washed for you (or do them in a wash-basin).

Add your toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, a small towel, sun protection cream and you’re more or less ready to roll.
Oh, and a corkscrew, of course.