Granny and the trip….day one.

Hello All.

And I am back.
Still exhausted.
What a trip.
I have decided I am too old to drive nearly 8ookms in one day.

I think I will have to break my posts into one day at a time.
Or I shall bore you to tears.
And me too.

Saturday was my first day.
It started badly.
I got up at five and had a shower.
Made coffee.
And finished my packing.
And the power went off.

I got into the car and the battery was dead.
The guy who delivers the paper chose the wrong time to ask for a Xmas bonus.
He was roped into pushing my car up the slope and into the road.
I got the car started but then it started screeching at me.
Very loudly.
I turned to come back home but then the noise stopped so I turned again and headed out.
I will be having some very strong words with the mechanic who serviced my car the other day, and put in a new fan belt.
He obviously did not get the tension right.
Hence the flat battery….I think… the battery was very old.

I reached the main road out of town to discover thick mist.
Not my favourite way to travel.
Fortunately, the mist lifted after about fifteen minutes.

There are two main ways to get down to Cape Town.
The most popular being the Garden Route.
On this road you pass many towns.
And holiday resorts for the rich and famous.
And the traffic was horrific.
I realised I was going to spending a large part of the trip riding in the shoulder and letting all the expensive cars go by.
So I opted for the alternative route.

 

 

This route is called the Langkloof and goes inland between incredible range of mountains.
It has it upside and it’s downsides.
The upside is there is very little traffic.
And it is so beautiful.
The downside it is a bit longer and there are no gas stations.
Which means no convenient toilets.
Oh boy.
I had to stop the car and open both the side doors.
And squat.
Something I haven’t done since I was a kid.
But, when you have to go you have to go!

Ok…this post is getting too long and I am not half way through.
More tomorrow.
Stay tuned.