Last days on the road
We finally left the dust and mine dumps of Gauteng on 10 March to take a leisurely trip down south. I was having a great time living near my friends and family but it just seemed that we ought to at least get to Cape Town to officially complete the trip. The decision was made to job hunt in CT first and figure out if we could make a life there. But it was a leisurely trip…
First stop over was to visit Carolina Guest Farm in Fouriesburg in the Free State. Carolina is a special place for me. Quite some time ago, the fact was, I was a difficult teenager. I wasn’t naughty but I gave my parents a tough time and so I was conveniently offered the opportunity of spending my school holidays working at Carolina with John and Rose. It really wasn’t work. I helped out riding horses, playing with guests’ kids in the river and running a little tuck shop and enjoyed every minute I was there. I loved the mountains, the wide open spaces and the peaceful way of life. The place is still as beautiful as ever and John and Rose as chatty and lively as always.
Paul had done a lot of moaning about not being fit and wanting to see mountains so we went to Golden Gate for a walk. Golden Gate National Park has big golden rocks that look a bit like giant sized mushrooms. Many million moons ago the area was a sea and if you look carefully you will see coral and some other really interesting bits of geology. There were a number of short walks and one that was a four hour walk. Of course we’d do the big walk. I think that living in the UK has made me forget some important things about South Africa: It’s not for ninnies. We did one ball busting walk up the mountain, across the ridge and down the other side. It took us closer to five hours and my legs were knackered beyond belief.
The next day my legs weren’t as bad as I thought they’d be. We made our way through the Karoo to Aliwal North. I know Paul finds the flat landscape boring but I loved it. There are vast flat plains with small koppies (rocky hills) poking out of the ground. Sometimes the koppies look like a giant has fallen asleep and gets covered by a layer of soil and grass but we can still see the hip, shoulder, face profile and a pert breast or a large buttock. There are dark veins of volcanic rock resisting erosion and stand like the spines of a dragon. The landscape is rolling, stretching and gentle. If you listen all you hear is the wind blowing. Against this soothing landscape farmers have cut fields, built houses and planted metal windmills. The straight lines, bordered patches, rows of trees stand out in contrast to the vast gentleness of the Karoo. Riding through seems to take forever but there is a musical rhythm to what I’m seeing that keeps me alert. My eye glanced down the rows of the mielie (corn) fields as they flash past like a techno beat. Then I glance up to the electrical pylons that follow the road and the wires sag along like a slow dance. The windmills seem to work independently. As one spins frantically, not far away the other is making a half hearted effort to turn. Some are completely stationary, not catching a breath of wind. In the evenings the light changes dramatically to golden. The sunsets can change the whole sky to bright pink, brilliant blue, gold and red.
At this magic time of day we found our way to a delightful stately home just outside Aliwal North. It was quite unexpected. I’d expected a run down little farm somewhere but at the last second I caught sight of the house. I got off and walked over to the woman in the doorway, “Wow. I followed your signs from town and really didn’t expect to find a house like this. It’s extraordinary. We didn’t book so is it possible to stay the night?”
I could see she was eyeing us out. Unfortunately, bikers in SA have not earned themselves a decent reputation. Most the bikers I’d met so far belonged to clubs with names like “Death” and “Ghost Riders”. I’m sure they are delightful people but they like to be loud, drunk and generally a bit anti social. As I got closer I could see she was summing me up.
“Yes, I have a room.” She said and led me though to a beautiful en suite.
“Wow again!” I said. “Your home is amazing. This is like a little bit of Scotland.”
Paul added, “A Scottish castle with Cape Dutch gables.”
“You’re right.” She smiled. “Our grandfather lived in a Scottish castle and so designed the house to look like the castle but was helped by Sir Herbert Baker giving it the Dutch influence.”
Karoo towns are something else. I would recommend that if anyone visits South African, don’t miss out on the little towns. There are all kinds of surprises: beautiful architecture, good food and very warm, friendly people.
And 50km from Middleburg (so named because it is smack-bang in the middle of the Karoo) Paul’s bike went pfut again. I quietly fumed. I have no way of putting this delicately or politely but the fucking thing was dead again. We checked all the old problems, we tried to jump it from my bike, we tried to pull jump it with my bike. Nothing. There was no cell phone reception either. I was relieved to leave Paul at the side of the road and go to Middleburg in search of a mechanic and a pick up. I hoped he would be okay but at the same time, I was ready to kill myself.
I’m a lucky girl, as you all know by now. So I pulled over to the first petrol station I saw that had a garage attached and went to ask for help. I explained that I’d left someone at the side of the road, etc… The guy told to me that he was a biker himself and would be happy to help. Hannes turned out to be a brilliant mechanic and an all round hero. By the evening Paul was back, I’d had time to shower and calm down and the guys were discussing solutions.
Something I’d really noticed on returning to SA was the rise of Afrikanerdom. Or, an awareness about being an Afrikaner and having a unique identity. I’ve always enjoyed Afrikaans music so immediately picked up on a whole lot of new music out there. Young people seem to be embracing their culture. I think this is very good and pretty cool. What I also realised is that this need for asserting identity is because these people are feeling threatened as a minority group in a country that has little sympathy for it’s own people and the rest of the world most certainly isn't giving a damn. There are still the radical views that I encountered years ago. It’s not about agreeing or disagreeing with these people. I see where they are coming from and I guess I can see beyond our different religious and political views and see that they are really amazing people.
Paul’s bike’s fan had broken. It overheated. It almost completely burnt itself out.
We crossed over the Outeniqua Mountains, visited Outshoorn (the ostrich capital of the world) and popped in at Knysna to see the last bits of this utterly unique forest. This utterly unique forest that once upon a time we wanted to protect from woodcutters but now is nearly completely obliterated by housing development for wealthy holiday homes. Sometimes I don’t understand things and this will never make sense to me.
The last couple of days of our trip had a small change of agenda that we didn’t expect. It just so happened to be the Buffalo Rally in Mosselbaai. It seemed like a good idea and was en route. Why not? One should always do something once before making any judgements. It was certainly different. Again, SA is not for sissies. I think this was a bike event like in days gone by, perhaps. This was an event for testosterone, big bikes, macho men, meaty food, beer, beer, beer, strippers and the kind of biker chicks that enter wet t-shirt competitions. I wanted to enjoy myself but I didn’t quite get into the swing of things. It wasn’t my thing! (Sorry guys) It was interesting but... mmmm.
I am however, going to give these guys credit where due. There were no incidents that weekend. No crashes, no punch ups - nothing. Just lots of revving up and generally having a good time. We also got a "special prize" for I guess being a bit of a novelty (long distance bikers, straight, square and not wearing leather).
The last detour was Cape Agulas which is the most Southern point of Africa. It was a frigging icy with a gusty wind and a barren landscape. I’m sure it’s lovely on a warm sunny day. Quick photo and then on to Cape Town.
Back in Cape Town and as much as I’d like to say something more positive; it was a massive anticlimax. Arriving in Springs was warm and special but Cape Town just felt empty. The reality of the job situation. Life becoming normal again. Relationships changing dimension again. It wasn’t going to be easy. I’m finding myself in a very different head space now.
I have new challenges on my horizon. “Success” is the theme for the year and so far things are looking good. How silly but I can’t wait to start working again. I’m hoping to write a book – so wish me luck and hours of happy memories with my laptop. In the next few weeks I’ll also upload some more mini-vids onto youtube.com for your entertainment.
posted by Sandigs @ 9:46 AM
