A die-hard Sprinbok fan cycled through 44 African countries. This is what he saw

Updated 1409 GMT (2209 HKT) September 30, 2015

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Ron Rutland: "I could have just done Cape to Cairo, but I'd never been to West or North Africa. I thought, you know what, I'm going to try and do every country... I sat with a map of Africa and plotted for hours and hours." Courtesy Ron Rutland

"Cape Town to the border of Mozambique was a honeymoon period. I had a telephone that worked, water and shops everywhere. I only camped once in two months -- when one farmer knew what I was doing he would pass me on to his mate." Pictured, South Africa's plains. Courtesy Ron Rutland

"In Angola, I got to a little village and had no water left. I showed a lady my bottle and she walked around behind two or three mud huts where she had three jerry cans with very gray water that she shared with me. I still don't know to this day where she's got that from -- I didn't see any pumps or wells nearby." Courtesy Ron Rutland

"Communication was sometimes difficult. I don't speak any language other than English, so often I just gestured 'tent' or 'water'." Courtesy Ron Rutland

"I knew more of Asia and Europe than I did of Africa, so part of the motivation was to explore my own continent. Africa is the iconic continent of adventure." Pictured, sunset on Lake Tanganyika, Burundi. Courtesy Ron Rutland

Rutland's diet ranged between street food consisting of meat and rice, to packet noodles and biscuits he carried on his bicycle. In places like Rwanda, mangoes and avocados were "dripping off the trees." Courtesy Ron Rutland

Rutland's bicycle and second tent, camped in the Ugandan bush. He lost his first tent in a fire on his first night in the Mozambique bush, which he started by knocking over his gas stove. Courtesy Ron Rutland

Ethiopia's Simien Mountains are "the most dramatic" Rutland has ever seen. At 3,600m altitude, the peaks are made of dark basalt rock formed by volcanic eruptions some 20 million years ago. High, grassy plateaus drop abruptly into 2,000m deep canyons. Courtesy Ron Rutland

A starry night in Ethiopia. Courtesy Ron Rutland

Resting the bike in Djibouti. Rutland says the pressure of needing to finish in time for the Rugby World Cup spurred him on through exhaustion. Courtesy Ron Rutland

A craggy bay off the coast of Djibouti. Courtesy Ron Rutland

Rutland says he rested from the bike whenever he needed to, taking a few days off to ease the muscles. "I was completely unfit when I started." Pictured, enjoying a camel ride in Egypt. Courtesy Ron Rutland