My final full day. My final game. At the end of it, 56 matches will have been played in this tournament, with only eight remaining. I will have caught a quarter of all 64 games in this World Cup. And I am pretty much all footballed out. Close to exhaustion. The game today is in Pretoria between Paraguay and Japan. When I first organised this trip, I planned to finish on Sunday with the match in Bloemfontein (which saw England eliminated), but when booking my return, thought I would like to catch the last four first round knockout games on the television rather than be in mid-air while a couple of them were going on. I subsequently realised that, being based in Jo'burg, I would be able to attend a couple of them, so bought tickets. A kind of addiction takes over as you fill gaps in the schedule with more matches. Totally unnecessary as I'd seen games at Ellis Park and Pretoria, but when you book the thing you just can't imagine how tired you are going to be.

Of course, my co-attendee Mark, out here for only three games, is still fresh as a daisy and enjoying his brief time based in Jo'burg to the max. I picked him up at noon and we made good time reaching Pretoria, although I managed to go into the city a different way from my previous visit and had trouble finding the spot where I wanted to park, near some restaurants and an internet cafe where we could kill time before the game. I think I did a complete circuit of the area around the Loftus Versfeld stadium before recognising the road and parking up pretty much where I wanted to, courtesy of the inevitable local 'parking assistant' who made 40 rand in total for his trouble. 20 before the match and 20 after. In fairness, when we have paid a local to ensure no damage is done to our car, we have returned to it and it has been fine.

Pretoria seems like a massive place to me. Almost as big as Jo'burg. The stadium is some distance from the centre in one of the suburbs, whilst the fan park that serves this city is about half an hour's drive from the stadium, and some of that on the N1 motorway. It seemed so far out on a limb to me that I couldn't see anyone using it, although maybe the area near it is heavily populated. The fan parks have been criticised here, mainly because you cannot - as in the stadiums themselves - bring in your own food and drink. Granted they are free, but once inside, your only options are the overpriced fare that you find in the stadiums. The only beer is Budweiser (give me the original Budwar any day). So little choice and significant expense. South Africa's matches saw the fan parks packed, but who wants to sit in a field with about a dozen other people to watch Slovenia play Algeria? At least the one in Durban was on the beach, and as the only one I ever saw a game at, I am only going by what has been reported here regarding the fan parks elsewhere. There have been some gatherings not organised by FIFA and/or the local organising committee and they have in some cases proved successful, not least because they only open for games people actually care about in significant number. I am sure they will all open for the semis and final and get decent numbers, the food and drink on offer being far more varied and reasonably priced. What I now perceive the official fan park idea as being is an opportunity for FIFA and their sponsors to fleece non-stadium attending fans for money by creating a captive market. As if they are not making enough profit already.

Mark and I were talking about his goal average - seven in two games is pretty good going in comparison to mine - and we were optimistic we would see some goals today. How wrong we were. The sky was fairly overcast, but at least, with a 4pm kick off, it was not too chilly. I think I have described the stadium in Pretoria before, but Mark - who likes rugby too - had an interesting comment in saying that both Ellis Park and Loftus Versfeld felt very much like traditional rugby stadiums, which is of course exactly what they are, but I had not really perceived them as such. I have heard that some of the bigger rugby internationals will be transferred to Soccer City from Ellis Park for the obvious reason that bigger attendances equals greater income. I wonder if they will re-brand the stadium name for such occasions.

I doubt that Pretoria has seen many rugby games as dull as the entertainment Paraguay and Japan gave us. Chances were pretty rare. The two defences played well, but the paucity of ability in either side's attack had me thinking that whoever managed to triumph in this tie would be eliminated in the next round by either Spain or Portugal, depending who came through that game later. There was little surprise when extra time finished without any score. On the principle that it is difficult for me to watch a game without favouring one of the teams, I plumped for Paraguay to win. I think this was because I am aware that they are capable of playing decent football and was hopeful of a watchable quarter final if they did get through. Mind you, I was hardly passionate about the result and before long in the first half was just hopeful of a goal from either team, just to open things up a bit. Of course the penalty shoot out provides some drama, but it sure wasn't worth the two hours we endured to see it. The highlight of the match before the shoot out was my last sighting of the McDonald's fan dancers at half time. One of them looks suspiciously like Melanie Slade - so perhaps the Walcott household did infiltrate this tournament after all.

Once Paraguay had won the shoot-out we didn't hang around. I had a farewell dinner waiting for me at Martin's and wanted to get back to catch Spain play Portugal on the box. On the way to the car, Mark was able to pick up three vuvuzelas for people back home from a street trader. This was the last game in Pretoria, South Africa are out of the tournament and there are a lot of unsold vuvuzelas. These were quite nice ones that I could not haggle below 50 rand a week ago, but we got him down to 30 rand each. There have been a lot of people selling World Cup related stuff in the streets - mainly national flags, scarves, vuvuzelas and decorated mining helmets. Some are lined up on the approach to the stadium, many just work the junctions in the traffic. There is a phenomenon of people (invariably black, but there are obvious reasons for that) selling stuff at traffic light junctions (or robots, as they call them) here. Newspapers, bin liners, football ephemera, ornaments, oranges and more I don't care to remember. Some give out publicity flyers and some just carry a bin liner offering it for you to dispose of rubbish in your car. It's a step up from begging I guess.

The journey back to Jo'burg was a good one. We made a decent getaway and I was able to drop Mark back at his hotel. The traffic in the centre is almost non-existent once it gets dark. What a contrast to my journey to pick him up at about 4pm yesterday. We said our farewells after a brief panic when I could not get the keys out of the hire car ignition, nor start it. It turned out I had neglected to put the gear in park. It is strange to think I didn't encounter him until gone 4pm yesterday, and only 28 hours later was bidding him goodbye. He said he had enjoyed dipping his toe in the water of this tournament and is glad he came. It's a shame his final game - and indeed mine - was such a damp squib, but as we all know, when you buy the ticket, there are no guarantees.

I think this was the third 0-0 I have seen in my 16 matches. The others were France v Uruguay (the very first game on this trip) and Brazil v Portugal (the final group phase game I caught). None of them have been particularly good to watch, as some 0-0 games actually are. I will give my overall thoughts on the tournament back in the UK when it is all done and dusted, but at this stage, all I can say is that it is crying out for some good matches at its climax to salvage it from a football point of view. Unfortunately, there have been simply too many dull games, too many poor sides and not enough drama. Being here, I've seen the best of it as the atmosphere has been superb. Back home, I suspect there is disappointment for a number of reasons, one of those obviously being England's below par displays.

I got back to Martin's in time for a fish and chip supper and the Spain v Portugal match. No doubt the best team won there as Ronaldo's mob were hardly at the races. It has been a wonderful stay in Bryanston and I will miss my hosts. At the same time, on arriving back after my final excursion, I admitted to them that I was demob happy and ready to go home. Reality and a huge pile of things to attend to await there, but I have largely been able to put that stuff out of my mind while I have been here.

It has been an exhausting trip and I suspect I will sleep well on the plane journey home and indeed for the first few nights back in the UK. I will probably do a couple more entries of this diary - one maybe reflecting on the contrast of watching the quarter finals back home and another one with some overall conclusions on the tournament after the final. But for South Africa, this is it. I have written at length about this place and the situation the country finds itself in. I have attempted to relay something of the feeling of being here. There are a few reasons I started this diary. Arsenal content for the website is certainly thin on the ground at the moment, although a couple of writers that have submitted stuff will have to forgive me and believe I will be posting their pieces soon. Working time (especially online) has not been easy. I also felt it would be a good aide memoir for me of the trip, so please excuse the self-indulgence. Finally, if anyone asks what the trip was like, I can just point them to the website and they can read it at their leisure.

I've had some very positive feedback from both those I know and others I do not, including a couple of Gooners in South Africa. Many thanks to all that have emailed to offer encouragment. I am aware that those who have no interest probably just stopped reading and don't feel the need to relay their views, but I am just pleased to hear that some have enjoyed my offerings and even feel that, vicariously, they are experiencing the tournament in a slightly wider way than that portrayed by the media back home.

One thing that you should always remember about the media at these tournaments is that they are largely cossetted from reality, billeted up in their hotels and ferried to and from matches and press conferences without having to deal with the everyday stuff that travelling supporters do. They never have to endure the sheer hassle of getting into a stadium that you cannot park anywhere near, and needing to stop in the middle of nowhere to get some petrol in places no-one would ever know if you disappeared. I've taken a few chances, and had Adam not been my travelling companion, I am certain I would have taken more. Doubtless the family back home are grateful I didn't. We've met some very hospitable and entertaining individuals and been treated like royalty. To all those who have helped us out, the hope is I can reciprocate the favour in London sometime.

South Africa has opened its arms and embraced the influx of visitors. Granted, some have used the opportunity to make a little more money, but overall, the impression I get is one of pride rather than cynicism. Welcome to our country. The people here are tremendously proud just to be hosting this event, and making a decent fist of it in terms of organisation and a party atmosphere, to the extent that the memories I take will not be the lack of exciting football matches, but discovering this country and its people. Yes there are dangers, as in any society, but I am confident that the anecdotal evidence of those who have been here will encourage people to either return to South Africa, or visit for the first time. There is work to do after the party's over, not least addressing the huge unemployment problem. But for the most part, the worries and fears have been put on hold while the world's football fans are in town, and everyone has been determined to make the most of this month. Even the school holidays have been shifted so that kids are off for the five weeks of the tournament. That, in a nutshell, symbolises what the World Cup means to the country.

It's been a unique event here, and I shall miss this place.