On the Road
One final push and we'll be back where we started. We skirt Bloemfontein, refuel in Kroonstad, but other than that, it's only the occasional toll booth that slows us down. The skyscape is the hero in this flat, featureless land. We cross the Vaal River and the road starts to undulate a little, outlying 'burbs begin to spill into the dips. As the city creeps closer the traffic increases and buildings smudge the skyline. We swap national roads for motorway, and our focus turns to deciphering signage and choosing the right off ramps. When mine dumps appear we know the trip is almost over. This is Jo'burg, it couldn't be anywhere else in the world. We've come full circle. We're home. 

<< Day 15     Back to intro

Pit Stop
Karoo National Park Restaurant & Shop
The style of architecture, decor in the restaurant, souvenir offerings in the gift shop - they're all Karoo designery and kind of muted. Even the mood is muted. The animal sightings board shows recent lion and other exciting encounters, but we don't see any game at all on our journey out of the park.

On the Road
A long, hot day's driving and we find ourselves surrounded by a thickening haze that we can't identify. A dust storm? Smoke from a veld fire? We come across a little town hidden in the middle of it and stop to refuel and buy cold water. When we ask the store attendant what is happening, he explains that it's just hotness and dryness, a heat haze. Apparently it hasn't rained here - not a drop - for over five years.

Kimberley
Another of those days where things don't go to plan, then turn out better than you could have imagined. We've never been to Kimberley, never wanted to go, and now that we're here, we don't want to stay. It's too late in the day to see the Big Hole and only campsite in town is unmanned and looks like it's morphing into a squatter camp. It's a long way to anywhere else. Panic starts to set in. We reach for "Camp and a Caravan" and yay! Kandirri Game Lodge appears to be an option. We ring and yay! If we hurry they'll stay open for us. Kimberley is in the Northern Cape and the lodge is just outside Petrusberg in the Free State, a journey of about 85 kms.

Overnighted at: Kandirri Game Lodge
Located: Near Petrusberg on the N8 to Bloemfontein.
How we found it: “Camp and Caravan” 
Road Access: Good.
Amenities: Nice, Africa-themed ablutions with everything you need, braais, flat shady sites with those giant thorns that love spearing jandals, lions.
Cost: NZD29 / ZAR290 for two adults

Our experience
A fitting, final night to an epic roadtrip. As if to make up for not seeing lions in the Karoo National Park, or the Addo Elephant Park for that matter, we're now camped right next to a pride of them. There's a strong-looking, high, electrified fence between us and them, even so, I feel very vulnerable. We're the only campers here tonight and if one of them should find a way out, I don't fancy our chances. To add to the tension, they seem fascinated by us. Although they have a huge enclosure to cavort in, they all line up as close as they can get and settle down to watch us for the night. Eeep!

Soundtrack: Lions roaring so close that your heart literally vibrates in your chest, a parrot that says "hello".

Highlight: Camping within metres of a pride of lions.

Lowlight: Camping within metres of a pride of lions.
​
Lessons Learnt:

• A lion's roar is a formidable thing.

<< Day 14  |  Day 16 >>     Back to intro

On the Road
Travelling on a Sunday in this part of the world means that nothing is open. Ceres, Prince Albert's Hamlet, Worcester, Beaufort West, all out breakfasting or gone to church. Some spectacular mountain moments, but nothing that holds our attention or makes us want to linger.

Karoo National Park
We didn't plan to visit the Karoo National Park, but as we were travelling right passed it, we couldn't resist. It feels quite different to other wildlife parks we've stayed at. Traditional Cape-styled chalets sit perfectly at home in the semi desert landscape that straddles both the Upper and Lower Karoo. It's stunning in a big, lonely, empty kind of way and to be honest, it's mostly empty of animals too. We spotted a few ostriches, red hartebeest, distant zebras and the occasional kudu, a black backed jackal and a tortoise, but not much else on our long, dusty drive. At sunset, when it had cooled, we followed a nature walk between the campground and the restaurant complex, immersing ourselves in Karoo-ness and trying not to get lost.

Overnighted at: Karoo National Park
Located: Near Beaufort West.
How we found it: Signposted on the road.
Road Access: A mix of both tar-sealed and gravel roads, mostly our little car coped with the latter.
Amenities: The usual national park facilities, good ablutions, camp kitchen, braais, restaurant, gift shop.
Cost: NZD62.80 / ZAR6,280 for two adults (inc conservation fees)

Our experience
There weren't many other campers and we had almost too much choice when we came to pitch our tent. After three attempts we finally settled on a site away from yelling families that appeared to offer the most protection from the wind. A little mouse and some guinea fowl kept us company, while the Cape Karoo architecture of the ablutions added a sense of place to comfortable functionality.

Soundtrack: The wind whining through the vegetation and buffeting our tent.

Highlight: Unexpectedly finding ourselves in a national game park we didn't even know existed.

Lowlight: The wind.
​
Lessons Learnt:

• I'm eternally grateful to whoever invented blow-up camp mattresses. Without one I think I'd have cracked my hip bones - concrete would have been softer to sleep on.
• We really, really should have invested in a wild card. This is another of those times when where we would have saved on conservation fees.

<< Day 13  |  Day 15 >>     Back to intro

Leaving Cape Town - Kirstenbosch National Botanic Garden
Our last experience in Cape Town is also our best. We caught up with friends in Kirstenbosch Gardens on the eastern slopes of Table Mountain. Beautiful, lush and peaceful, it's a haven from the hot, frenetic city. The winter rains didn't come this year and Capetonians are stressing about drought and dwindling water supplies, but here you'd never know. A pocket of green in a parched city.

On the Road
We're heading back to Johannesburg in a more direct route than we came, even so, we'll be travelling over 1,400 kms. Two whatarethechances moments: another of those Kiwi-meets-South Africa synchronicities when we find ourselves following a bakkie with an All Black sticker on the rear window. And in a vast, empty landscape where we haven't seen another vehicle for miles, we witness a van crossing over a bridge as a train hurtles under it. Surreal.

Overnighted at: Fynbos Guest Farm & Animal Sanctuary
Located: 2 kms from Wolseley.
How we found it: Signposted on the road.
Road Access: Just off the R46 on Boontjiesrivier Road, gravel but no problem in our little car.
Amenities: Boutique-style camping with bush-screened, generous-sized sites, flat and shady.
Cost: NZD28 / ZAR280  for two adults

Our experience
The quirkiness of Ashby Manor manifested in a campsite. We followed the road signs on a whim and what a reward! Turns out this is also an animal sanctuary and after we pitched our tent we wandered around, meeting the inhabitants and exploring the gardens. Back at our private site shaded by pines, we're enjoying mountain views and the stone-built braai, when a peacock comes visiting. This is almost glamping, even the ablutions look like one of the holiday cottages on the property (although I still wouldn't camp right on top of it - why do people do that?)

Soundtrack: Doves cooing, peacocks mewing, mossies tweeting, roosters crowing, pot bellied pigs grunting, distant traffic on the main road, the occasional train.

Highlight: The joy of being back in a tent and delight of finding ourselves neighboured by pot-bellied pigs, lamas and springboks.

Lowlight: None.
​
Lessons Learnt:

• Follow the signs. You may not always end up where you thought you were going, but you will always end up where you're meant to be.

Fynbos Guest Farm & Animal Sanctuary
Some zen moments as we kept coming across signs attached to fence poles and trees, with messages that seem specially written for roadtrippers.

<< Day 12 |  Day 14 >>     Back to intro

On the Road
Cape Town
Busy. Busy. Busy. Queues for everything. Queued for over an hour trying to get through roadworks to Fish Hoek, gave up and went back the way we came. Tried to go up Table Mountain, managed to find a parking spot miles away but despaired when we saw the length of the queue for the cable car. Bucket list fail.
The promising-sounding Chapmans Peak Caravan Park was booked out (we should have guessed) by a campervan convention, and anyway, it didn't look great. Kommertjie was too windy to pitch a tent. Negotiating holiday traffic in the sweltering heat made it impossible to appreciate the scenic side of Cape Town. As soon as we were able, we checked back into the guest house. On the rooftop balcony we immersed ourselves in sweeping Fresnaye 'burb views from Signal Hill to the Atlantic Seaboard. Much more chilled.

Overnighted at: Ashby Manor Guest House
Located: Fresnaye, Cape Town
How we found it: Booking.com
Road Access: Tar-sealed and good.
Accommodation: Bedroom with ensuite, tea & coffee making facilities, satellite TV, free wifi, onsite parking, complimentary breakfast.
Cost: NZD85 / ZAR850  for two adults

Our experience
We checked out at 10.00am, intending to make a real bed a one night stand. When it became apparent that camping in Cape Town city surrounds wasn't going to be an option, we began another booking.com search. Ashby Manor, which appeared to be fully booked in the morning, suddenly had rooms available. So we went back. As with everything else about Cape Town, the novelty had worn off and it wasn't quite as cool. We got a dungeon of a room in the bowels of the building, very small with no natural light. The decor was fabulous though - a citron and turquoise colour palette, wall art for Africa and the cushions didn't disappoint.

Soundtrack: Other guests navigating the creaking floors and stairs. The flushing of the staff loo right next door. Definitely ghosts.

Highlight: The delicious, designery, complimentary breakfast.
Lowlight: The dark, squishy room with a TV that didn't work.
​
Lessons Learnt:

• Second time around the cracks start to show. Best to avoid retracing your steps, but if you have to, manage your expectations.

<< Day 11  |  Day 13 >>      Back to intro

On the Road
Hermanus to Cape Town
We've never driven this route before and we've been told it's stunning. It is, in a wind-blasting, jaw-dropping sort of a way. These mountains are uniquely Cape Town, we couldn't be anywhere else in the country - or the world. Things we note with interest: pohutakawa trees (New Zealand's native red flower 'Christmas tree') appear to do as well in this climate as proteas, agapanthus and arums do in NZ's North Island, and even a spectacular backdrop can't take the edge off the Cape Flats.

Overnighted at: Ashby Manor Guest House
Located: Fresnaye, Cape Town
How we found it: Booking.com
Road Access: Tar-sealed and good, we're in the Big Smoke.
Accommodation: Bedroom with ensuite, tea & coffee making facilities, satellite TV, free wifi, onsite parking, complimentary breakfast.
Cost: NZD85 / ZAR850 for two adults

Our experience
We swapped the bush for the 'burbs and our tent for a heritage building, complete with original creaking wooden floors. On multiple levels giving new meaning to the phrase 'nooks and crannies' with no two rooms decorated the same. We got lost continuously and found new places at every turn. Smothered in sumptuous cushions and wall art and quirky stuff - eclectic would be one way of describing it. Did I mention the cushions? So many cushions. Lots of fun.

Soundtrack: Other guests navigating the creaking floors and stairs. Possibly ghosts?

Highlight: The surprising decor and proximity to the sea. Just 600 metres from Sea Point Swimming Pavilion, the beach and the icy Atlantic - as well as shopping malls, bars and restaurants.
Lowlight: There wasn't one. The novelty and eccentric-ness of the place blinded us to any faults.
​
Lessons Learnt:

• How comfortable a king size bed and crisp sheets can feel. Ten days in a tent gives you a new appreciation of the conveniences that come with city living.

<< Day 10  |  Day 12 >>     Back to intro