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NO-ONE can fault Kate Stuart-Williams of Capri for taking it easy for a while. This 28-year-old town planner has just completed a gruelling cycle across the continent of Africa that started at Trafalgar Square in London in August last year and ended in Cape Town on 16 June.

The aim? To raise ?10 000 for the Starfish Greathearts Foundation's programme for children who have been orphaned or affected by HIV/ Aids in South Africa.

Kate has been living in England for the past five years. She and five of her friends in England decided to do the fundraising cycle at the suggestion of one of the South Africans in the group, Sean McDiarmid.

For Kate, the most striking part of the journey was the friendliness of Africa's people. "We never felt that our lives were in danger. In any village we arrived in, someone would come forward to take care of us. We would draw crowds when we arrived, because many people had never seen a white person before," Kate says.

She says that Africa is a beautiful continent with breathtaking contrasts in its landscape. In Tanzania, the group took some time off from cycling to enjoy the beauty of the coastline. Sudan was the biggest challenger to Kate's perceptions of Africa. "We didn't know what to expect of Sudan. The media coverage is not good. But the experience we had there was amazing, as people were very generous. Either they didn't know there's a war going on, or they just didn't talk about it."

The journey has so far raised ?9 000 - just ?1 000 short of the goal of ?10 000. Locals who would like to nudge the donations closer to ?10 000 can go to www.trafalgarsquaretotablemountain.com.

Kate is currently catching her breath with her family in Capri. She intends returning to England for one last stint of six months.

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