Road trip
Cape town- Zululand
5 500 km
68 hours in the car
4 provinces
15 days
In April, we packed a few bags, threw them into the car, and started off on a road trip that we had been talking about for a while.
There wasn’t much of a plan other than to show Hamish as much of our country as we travelled to catch up with friends and family.
My sole goal was to make memories, take photos and teach my son to love South Africa as much as I do.
My husband ( I’m sure was contemplating divorce on a nearly daily basis as I planned hour after hour of experiences for us to savour. But as they say …there are always two types of travellers …that crazy gypsy woman and her poor husband )
Join me as I share the highlights from our trip and hopefully inspire you to pop the kids in the car and venture to somewhere new at least once while they are young.
Day 1
Cape Town – Outshoorn
Our morning started in the cold , dark, early hours of the morning.
We had packed and loaded the car the night before and after fully caffinating ( because you simply can not start a road trip before coffee) the 3 of us kissed the cat and shouted some last minute instructions to the two bigger boys who were going to house sit for us.
By 6am, we were at the Expresso show studio as Hamish filmed a segment cooking with Clement pedro mancrave.
A quick wardrobe change later, and we got into the car to start our adventure.
Not long after leaving the studio, and Hamish had fallen asleep in the back seat and I instantly wished I’d bought a blow up mattress for the backseat.
Our first stop was the Engen one stop for more coffee and some breakfast. Somehow cheap takeaway coffee in hot paper cups hits the spot and sets the vibe for my road trips and we stopped at many along our journey.
Earlier that morning,we had decided to travel straight to Graff Reniet even though I had my heart set on stopping at Cango wildlife ranch By travelling straight we could consume less diesel and cut a bit of time off our travel time as we needed to book into our guest house by 8pm
And so we headed on the mapped out path, leaving the Western Cape and heading into the Karoo.
Along the way we stopped at Boeteka padstal for a light snack and Brent suprised me and did a U-turn of a few hundred kilometers.
We now found ourselves heading to Outshoorn.
Did I mention … my gypsy heart may have loved him a little more in that moment.
Day 1
Outshoorn- Aberdeen
After a fabulous visit at Cango Wildlife Ranch we grabbed some supper to eat in the car as we had a long drive ahead of us to Graaf Reniet.
We had pre-booked our accommodation using www.Booking.com at a guest house in the centre of Graaf Reniet and realizing we would be running late phoned the reception. Unfortunately they were not able to accomadate us if we didn’t arrive by 8pm , leaving us with a cancelled booking and needing to find a new accommodation for the night.
Having lived in Aberdeen for a few years, it is always my go-to for accommodation in the Karoo, and Brent quickly booked with Die Pophuis.
We made good time and admired the mountains as we nibbled on our pizzas.
Occasionally on the open stretch of road, a car would pass by, or an animal would dart out, but mostly, it was silent. Our lone car the only one travelling for miles between karoo farm lands.
About 20 minutes out of Aberdeen, Hamishs stomach decided to grace us with some car sickness and before we knew it, we were knee-deep in vomit, on a dark road.
Thankfully, we were near the guest house, checked in, and Brent settled Hamish ( who I had washed and dressed in near darkness thanks to loadshedding ) and I went outside to wash and clean the car.
I thought again as I stood outside in this small town, bright stars shining down through a clear sky, how it was almost 11pm, I was in a strange environment and yet I felt perfectly safe and at home running about outside alone.
For a nostalgic moment, I thought if the time, my neighbour’s and I had gathered our children in the street late at night to watch the stars and how many happy memories this little town holds for me.
Someone once told me you leave a little piece of your heart in the Karoo …I believe it’s true ♥️
Follow for Day 2 ..
How we spent most of our time in the car, saw a horrific and finally arrived in KZN.
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