Journey to Johannesburg

I got up early at 5.45am after my last night camping in the tent on this trip. It had been another cold night but i slept quite well with all my sleeping layers on. However, when I opened up the tent zip in the hope of seeing a clearer sunny sky, I was very disappointed to see another morning of low misty cloud hiding the mountain views. We had hoped to trek to see the renowned Amphitheatre of mountains but it would be unlikely that we would see it in this weather. I got a hot shower at the shower block and joined my fellow travellers for a light breakfast of cereals and toast from the truck. The mood was a bit gloomy to match our disappointment with the weather. After breakfast, I was still hopeful that the weather might break and wanted to do the morning trek to the viewpoint for Amphitheatre despite the poor weather. However, my fellow travellers were not so keen and wanted to drive straight to Johannesburg so I was outvoted. As we left the campsiite, crossed the now heavily flooded bridge over the swollen river, and headed out past the ever present troop of baboons, onto the main road, I struggled with my disappointment at not being able to view the Drakensburg mountains on our last day of the trip. We headed down along the lovely river valley and we could see the nearer mountains but not the high mountains of the Amphitheatre beyond. There were bright patches in the sky with the sun peaking through so it looked as though the weather may clear later in the day which was even more frustrating. As we continued back up and through the lower, but still impressive mountains and valleys we had passed going towards the park two days earlier, I began to process my disappointment and remember all the wonderful things I had seen previously on the trip. We saw two kudu by the fence of a wildlife park. We then passed out into more open pastoral countryside and the sun began to peak through the clouds more and more until there was clear blue sky. Howecer, the wind continued to blow very cool into the truck.
We continued travelling through very western looking countryside of trees and fields and the views were less interesting than the mountainous views we had seen through most of South Africa. The terrain flattened out into large wheat fields which had amazing looking small black birds, 'Wedos'?, with huge ribbon like black tails that dangled below them as they hovered over the wheat sheaves. We stopped in a small service station to buy lunch and some provisions.
After a few hours, we arrived at the outskirts of Johannesburg and at our campsite, Backpackers Connection. We acknowledged that this was our last stop on this amazing journey across Africa and that we would no longer be boarding our faithful truck, Chui (meaning 'leopard' in Swahili). I felt quite nostalgic and emotional leaving the truck for the last time. We headed for the reception and were shown around the bar, pool and communal kitchen and then to our rooms, dorms, and tents. I had booked a safari tent which was nice, but very hot in the afternoon sun.
I began to move all my travelling possessions from the truck to my tent. When I went to collect the last of my things, there was no one else on the truck. I therefore sat down in the seat I had most often sat in on the trip, I looked around the truck and up towards the front where the 'beach' opening at the top of the truck was. So many wonderful memories came in a jumbled procession, of time spent on the truck with my fellow travellers, the amazing views I had seen from the beach, all the hundreds of animals I had seen, like the mother cheetah with her cubs, or the black rhino mock charging the truck, or the lionness running alongside, all the thousands of African people I had waved to from the truck through twelve countries, and all the amazing landscapes and vistas I had seen. All these images and more passed through my mind as I looked around the truck and I mused at all the memories that it carried with it along the road with more experiences to come with its next set of travellers. I felt very emotional leaving it behind.
I spent the afternoon with my fellow travellers, swimming in the pool, drinking cool drinks from the bar, and playing pool doubles on the pool table. I went back over to the truck to see our driver, Often, to photograph his log book that had all our stops, campsites and mileage written down and would give me a record of all our campsites on the trip for my blog. Often and I talked about how we had enjoyed sharing our mutual interest in the wildlife during the trip. Often had enjoyed my interest and questions about species of animals and birds, and I had greatly enjoyed and valued his knowledge of the wildlife. We agreed to keep in touch on Facebook and that I would be in touch with him about any future trips to Africa that I planned.
I then got ready for our final joint meal in the evening. I enjoyed our conversation, humorous banter and reminiscences about our long 9000 mile journey. I sat next to Often and we had some final banter and I was able to give him a tip for all his help and kindness during the trip. The founder and CEO of Oasis Overland was in Africa to meet the crews and drivers of the trucks and was due to meet with our tour leader, Jemma, who was likely going to work for Oasis in South America, and our driver, Often, who would need a new tour leader to train up or take on the role himself in the future when Jemma left. Chris joined us for dinner and asked us a lot about our experience of the trip. We, of course, gave great praise to our excellent tour leader and driver. I also mentioned how helpful Katie had been in the Oasis office in England when I was planning the trip. Chris talked about his experiences travelling and the trips that Oasis planned in the future. It was interesting and timely to meet Chris and hear his thoughts at the end of our journey with Oasis Overland.
We got a lift back to the campsite from the manager of the site. I said my goodbyes to Often, and thanked Jemma for all her help and support during the trip. We all then retired to bed as it was getting late in the evening. I settled down to sleep as the night cooled considerably under a clear, starry sky.Read more