I was not looking forward to the long drive to Cape Town and this was even more so the case when our alarm went off at 5:30 this morning. We had been tired from last night and so decided to wait and pack all of the bags and pack the car early before our departure. It didn't take long to clean the house and we we ready to visit the farmhouse and say our goodbyes by 6:20. We were aiming to leave the farm just after 6:30 because that is when Gary and Mike start their work for the day. When we arrived at the house we managed to catch the whole family and thanked them profusely for their generosity over the past few days. They waved us out as we headed down the driveway and embarked upon our 675km journey.
We pulled out of their drive at 6:50 and programmed the sat nav to take us to our time share accommodation in Cape Town. Jenny offered to drive first so she could sleep later when I drove. This unfortunately meant that Jenny would be driving some of the most boring roads we have encountered during the whole trip. Early in our travels we found ourselves on a 155km stretch of road where there were only 4 bends along its entire length. About 2 hours into our drive we made a left turn and were treated with the most demoralising sat nav statement to date.
" In 455 kilometres, keep right "
We pulled into the nearest petrol station to stock up on snacks and drinks before undertaking what promised to be a very desolate expanse ahead of us. You can imagine our shock when we pulled into the shell garage to find 40-50 armed riot police, carrying two pistols and an assault rifle each, wandering about the station. We asked the clerk inside what they were doing there and she told us they were simply passing through from Johannesburg. It was quite a sight and made us a little nervous to say the least.
About 50 km down the road Jenny decided that she had done enough driving and it was my turn. We pulled off into a farm entrance to switch places, and while we were doing so the police convoy from the garage came barreling down the road at about 150 km/hr. They clearly were in a hurry to get somewhere. I took the wheel for the remaining 350km and the road remained just as boring as the first leg of the trip. Due to some traffic delays about 50 km short of Cape Town we arrived at our time share accommodation at 14:30 in the afternoon. We walked down to a nearby Pick and Pay and got some snack for and beers before walking back to the apartment to watch the cricket. On the way back we found a KFC and picked up a 5 piece meal for us to share during the game.
Almost as soon as we walked in the door the India vs South Africa T20 started and I was happy to lay on the couch and watch the cricket. Becaus of our drive we were both very tired, I remember the score being about 65-4 during the India innings and woke up with the score at about 110-5 in the South Africa innings. Even though I slept for most of the match I did get to see one of the best T20 finishes in a long time. South Africa's 20th over was 6 W 0 6 W to finish at 151 and loose the match by one run!
Once we woke up enough after our nap we tidied the house a bit and left to meet Chantel at her flat. Jenny needed to pick up her wedding bag from Chantel's house and we figured we could sit and chat with her for a while before we headed to the airport to pick up Lesley. Chantel showed us where the storage locker we couldn't find was and we packed all the wedding supplies in the car and I had a few glasses of wine. Lesley's flight arrived at 21:40 so we departed Chantel's flat at 21:30 and found our way to Cape Town International Airport.
Lesley's flight was in on time and we stationed ourselves at the domestic arrivals and waited. About 10 minutes later Jenny needed the toilet and Lesley arrived just after she left, figures :D. We drove back to the accommodation and enjoyed a bottle of J.C Le Roux while chatting with Lesley at length about the events of the past 6 weeks. We told her now that she was with us for two weeks she would have to help write some of our posts, we'll see if that happens :D We then settled down and watched 'bridesmaids' before turning in for the night.
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