Editor’s note: Bend’s Elijah Callan embarked on a two-year, 70,000-mile-plus motorcycle journey around the world on Aug. 31. He is sending The Bulletin stories and photos from the road, which we plan to publish every other weekend during his trip.

Finishing my run, I opened the first of two security gates to enter the home I was staying at and thought to myself: “If a zombie apocalypse ever happens, South Africa is going to be the last country standing.”

After seeing dozens of neighborhoods in Cape Town, I found it impossible to ignore the fact that nearly every home was not just a home — but a compound. A mini-fortress with 8-foot-high walls, security gates, barbed wire, electric fencing, and a placard from one of the dozens of security companies stating “WARNING: ARMED RESPONSE.”

Due to a series of shipping mishaps and delays, I had been in Cape Town for nearly a month and had developed something of a routine while waiting for my motorcycle to arrive.…