Back to South Africa

This morning, we had boiled eggs and bread for breakfast, along with the usual cereals, fruit, and spreads. We then packed up and were on the road by 7.30am. We had the return journey out of the valley along the same dirt road. It was almost 9am before we reached the tarmacked section!

It was incredibly cold on the truck this morning. I just couldn't get warm, despite wearing several layers and covering myself with Cassie’s British Airways blanket! It remained that way all day, despite it being sunny!

We drove to a different border to cross back into South Africa. This was a rural border post and much quieter than the one we went through the other day. We crossed without incident. Kristina helped herself to some of the free condoms that were on display everywhere on the South African side – just as a souvenir! I was amused that they were supplied by a company called ‘Condoman’ and were dispensed from a ‘condomtainer’!! 😂

The scenery on route to our next stop was incredible! We passed through cattle country with large farms owned by rich white people. Many of the signs we passed were written only in Afrikaans, something we haven’t seen before in South Africa. We stopped to buy some lunch at a dreadful shopping mall where we had to pay to use the toilets and where the only food option was KFC!! I had two very greasy bits of chicken and the worst cup of coffee I’ve drunk in a long time! Mark had a packet of crisps and a bottle of beer!😊

It was a very long driving day along increasingly bumpy roads. As we got closer to our destination, Cintsa on the Wild Coast just north of East London where Nelson Mandela was born, Ernest drove faster and faster in an effort to reach our campsite before it got dark. We made it just in time!Read more