Thank You’s.
Before I start my trip report I must extend my deepest thanks to several people. In no particular order: 4 unnamed gentlemen in the Jo’burg suburbs. Genie, Andre and Janine Retief of Marloth Bush Retreat. Mandla Masuku. Several unnamed helpers in Swaziland. Grandmother and her beautiful family in Swaziland. Sean Ross of South Africa Tours in Sodwana Bay. Brian and Corlia of Reef Teach in Sodwana Bay. Peter Baxter for amazing referrals.
Introduction
Earth in a kaleidoscope of colors from white, yellow, orange, deep red and brown. People with easy, kind smiles, and an incredible spirit. Stately elephants, graceful giraffes or plentiful impala. What is it about South Africa? How did she meander into my spirit so deep?
I am changed from visiting South Africa. How, why or what is still unclear – yet a change has subtly but clearly happened.
I left South Africa to go home, but I know South Africa will never leave me.
Arrival
We were at the tail end of an 11 hour plane trip, and a 40 hour trip and tired, cramped and overwhelmed. The last few hours seemed to stretch into infinity as the airplane droned along. Like little children we were tempted to ask – “are we there yet?”
Finally – we landed. Getting through customs was like other airports – except the officer that checked my passport spoke a tribal language to his friend. When asked, he said it was Zulu and happily taught me to say “thank you” in his language. When I left he called me “Young Mother”.
On the other side, we met the usual taxi drivers, arranged pick-ups and busyness. We quickly and guardedly said “no” to the taxi drivers and searched for a phone to call the hotel to arrange for pick-up. It was almost midnight.
While we found the phone, it did not seem to work. We walked to the booth for official taxi drivers to ask for help. They happily made the call for us on their private cell phone, and we soon had our directions. Ronald, our driver to the hotel, showed a genuine interest in us and where we came from. The taxi drivers calling for us, and Ronald’s gentle inquisitiveness was our first introduction to how genuinely kind and helpful South Africans are.
Soon Liezl at the Green Palms Guest house met us. We were exhausted and quickly fell into our beds and crashed out. Stretching out was just too wonderful.
Was it excitement or jet lag that woke us up at 7 AM the next morning? I don’t know – but soon we returned to the airport to pick up my mom and the rental car.
Finding my mom was easy and soon we had contacted the car rental company. This quickly led to my first serious miscalculation. I thought we could buy detailed driving maps from the car rental company, but I was wrong. The car was already waiting for us at the airport, and there were no maps. The rental agent gave us some sketchy instructions on getting out of Jo-burg. But calling them sketchy would be an understatement.
Thinking our current maps would be enough, we started out driving.
In just a few minutes we got hopelessly lost. What followed was a “self guided tour of Johannesburg suburbs”. We stopped at the same gas station for directions twice within a little more than an hour. Craig was overwhelmed trying to drive on the left side of the road, and we were all exhausted. I thought we were on the right track, but told Craig to pull off the freeway and pull over so we could look at maps together. Frustrated, Craig overcompensated and hit the curve so hard with his left front wheel that it exploded the tire. Minutes later, the skies opened with a rain strong enough for several thunderstorms. Our first taste of South Africa’s rainy season.
Now what? Lost in the suburbs of Jo’burg with a blown tire in the rain. The warnings of how dangerous Jo’burg were rung in our ears. We looked at each other. We were already over 3 hours late.
First, one guy stopped to see if we needed help. Guarded, overwhelmed and a little afraid I declined his offer. We tried to call our car rental company since we had paid for roadside assistance. I guess South Africa roadside assistance is not AAA. I was told that the car had a spare tire in the boot. After a few minutes Craig and I stepped out in the rain, to haul our entire luggage out of the car and try to access the spare tire. However it was wedged in a little too tight for our strength. We were soaked to the skin after 30 seconds.
Soon after two other gentlemen approached and offered to help. At that moment we were desperate enough to say “Yes Thank You”. They told us to drive into their shop. Yes, we had broken down in front of an auto repair shop. As we drove in I realized we had gone through a large metal gate that could be locked behind us. It was too late to worry about that. Quickly 4 strong gentlemen set to change the tire and make sure the spare tire had enough air in it. They asked us what had happened and soon found out we were incredibly lost.
They proceeded to give us directions. Their accents were strong. They kept telling me to drive towards Wuitbuink. I gave them a fairly lost look – not sure what they were talking about. Further instructions and many repetitions of Wuitbuink later I thought I had a good picture of where they wanted me to go. I still wasn’t sure what this Wuitbuink was.
As we prepared to leave I told Craig to give them 200 rand, about $20, as thanks for their help. They followed by giving us one of their spare tires, because they felt it was too dangerous to drive without a spare. Wow! Friendliness, kindness and incredible helpfulness – all in feared Jo’burg! The South African spirit had shown itself early.
We followed their instructions on the freeway and soon saw the directions towards Witbank. We had our Wuitbuink. The 4 gentlemen’s directions rocked – it was the direct route to Kruger National Park.
We arrived on a day with many thundershowers. I had taken over the wheel, but had never driven on the left side of the road. We drove through beautiful country in the middle of amazing thundershowers.
The colors of the earth and the countryside immediately shimmered. The lightening storms were unrivaled.
Most South African freeways have one lane each direction. I quickly learned that slower traffic is expected to pull as far left as possible without going into the dirt. I learned a few other things about South African driving as well.
Well after darkness fell and four hours late, we finally arrived at our hotel at around 8 pm. After check in and dinner, we headed to bed. Not a single one of us had much left to give from.
The next morning we awoke to amazing African scenery. The tree’s shimmered green and recently “washed”. We certainly had managed to drive out of the beaten path. The hotel was gorgeous – just like in the pictures. The breakfast was scrumptious. After breakfast and walking around to check out the area it was time to head over to Genie Retief at the Marloth Bush Retreat.
