Saint Lucia to Joberg and a Reunion of friends!
We had a joke when we were traveling with Jerry and Nadxi, think Jerry came up with it: "Is this a game day or travel day?"
We found that even when we were supposedly traveling from one point to another we saw game so it made for great adventure. After leaving St. Lucia after nice breakfast of banana pancakes we drove pretty much straight through to J'berg. Unfortunately we did get lost in at least one of the small towns. The road signs are fine until you get into the city and then they disappear and if you are lucky you pick them back up. We did ask for directions in one town and Jerry and Naxdi got to learn one more South African term - robot - which is what they call traffic lights! We also had been warned to drive the speed limit in town as they did have speed checks. We were driving through one town when the guy in front on us was pulled over--not sure why but glad it was not us. Did make one wrong turn but it turned out to be ok because took us through suburb on outskirts of J'Berg and we were able to find Airport Shoestrings without any problem. As we have said before Rob and Tabatha are great people running the place. The guys cleaned out the car and vacumned and washed it. Rob said most rental places will charge extra if you do not wash them. Tabatha took Naxdi and I to the store where we bought dinner for the night. Cooked chicken and fresh veggies. Delicious! We visited with Graham a friend of Rob's who had an overland business Capetown to Cairo and is now starting a new one Cairo to Bejing! There was also a traveler that had sailed on a boat from Antarctica to Cape Town! What a story he had to tell.
We had heard from Mark and Margie (owner's of Ngepi) and they had invited us to come visit them at their home outside Pretoria. We spent most of the day packing things up and getting ready to visit with them. Around 6:00 they arrived with a truck and car to take us to their place. What wonderful people they are, so much fun and so interesting. They live in an amazing home on a game farm outside Pretoria. They mainly have various antelopes--springbok, kudu, impala, etc., wildebeest and so on. It is hard to believe; their place is about 45 minutes from the J'Berg airport but seems so much further away. We had seen pictures of the place but up close and personal it is so unique and beautiful. It is a series of levels with decks all around and much of it is open to the elements. They did this when the tree indoor had outgrown it's cover and they just built a plastic cover and so there birds and bats that occassionaly find their way inside.
Margie fixed a great chicken and curry dinner and we had great conversation about a wide variety of topics. Tomorrow is our day to fix something for the group. When we got up we had coffee and breakfast and then later lunch outside on the upper deck. Mark, a wonderful storyteller kept us amused with stories of some of his adventures. He also showed up the skull of the Maribou stork that came through his plane window while he was flying. Fortunately he landed safely.
Both he and Margie told us stories of their recently deceased fathers and growing up in southern Africa. What adventures!
Robert and Naxdi went to store while Jerry and I did laundry and relaxed. Mark and Margie said they would like something from our part of the world so we decided on Mexican dinner. Naxdi fixed chicken enchiladas, Robert and I beef tacos with chopped lettuce and tomatoes and cheese, gucamole,beans, and rice. While all this was going on Jerry and Margie fixed lemonade with fresh lemons from their tree. Mark was going to try to find some tequila to go along with it. He brought Patrick from Maun home with him. Patrick had a grueling two days getting to their house to pick up a car from Mark and turn around and take it back to Maun to use in the taxi business. The Mexican dinner was a huge success and delicious on top of that. We all had plenty to eat and enough for leftovers! We watched the promotional video on Ngepi and now Jerry and Naxdi are sure they want to go there. We are talking about riding with Patrick as far as Maun and then catching the bus to the border and then to Ngepi.
The next day it was decided that we would all go to Ngepi via Maun with Patrick. Mark was going to lend us a trailer and we would transport a windscreen for a plane in the trailer with our stuff. Margie took us on a walk around part of the property where we say some of the kraals that were around 500 years old. It was quite a pleasant day and we did enjoy the scenery and company. Patrick and trailer arrived and got everything loaded. Dinner was stirfry vegetables with rice, great conversations, and atttempting to solve the problems of the world but didn't quite make it. They also enjoyed the tequila and lemonade. We had a 5:00 a.m. getaway so should have gone to bed earlier but hey!, you don't get to visit with friends every day! Mark gave us directions that would allow us to bypass both Pretoria and Gabarone.
We were all ready to go by 5:00a.m. Said our goodbyes to Mark and Margie and off we went with our directions written on a piece of paper. Less than an hour down the road while still dark, we had a blowout! Fortunately Jerry had experience with this kind of tire and knew to loosen lugs and roll forward and then change out tire. Bought Patrick a new tire, got it put on and on we go. At the South African border the guards really questioned Patrick about the car and trailer. Ended up getting a fine because the trailer was not registered properly. Made it through Botswana customs without a hitch. The border crossing we took is evidently not well-used. In fact, the first 30 miles or so in Botswana were a dirt road and Robert was driving and it wasn't much fun. Patrick is a black African and so we did our fair share of questioning him about life in Maun, his life, his family and his hope and dreams in life. Further on down the road, got onto the blacktop and got a little better time. Then, another roadblock. This time Jerry was driving and we think the guard must have thought he was South African. Asked for his drivers license and then said we needed to pull over and leave the trailer behind. WHAT!!!!! It had all our stuff in it. Robert, Jerry and Patrick went to talk to the guards about what we could do. Once they discovered we were not South Africans but from the United States, they decided another fine and we could carry on. Got to Francistown, changed money, did our shopping for going to Ngepi and found a campground that was attached to a very nice lodge. Dinner chicken rollups with lettuce and tomato and then over to listen to girl singing at poolside bar and calming down from day.
Next morning on road by 7:00 a.m. We were trying to make it to Maun to catch the 11:30 or 112:30 bus to make it to the border before it closed. We had called and made reservations at Ngepi. Business has picked up and we wanted to make sure we could get site on the river.
The road between Francistown and Maun that we traveled was not very busy so we were making fairly good time. Had one more roadblock so had to stop and fix the trailer lights before going through. Had Patrick drive and got through and made it to Maun about 12:20. We couldn't get on that bus but the next one. It was one of those wild scenes. Robert talked to the bus driver and was allowed to get on bus and save us 4 seats otherwise ........Got our stuff loaded and I got on and sat in three of the seats and this elderly lady helped save the other one. Had one moment of miscommunication with a lady, thought I only needed two seats and tried to take one. Naxdi joined me and we got them saved until the guys could join us. Robert and the bus driver called Ngepi and told them we would not be there that night. Menno at Ngepi recommended a place right near the border where we could stay. The wonderful bus dirver called the place and made sure they could pick us up.
Wonderful experience with African people: Our bus driver was named Nyet(sp?) which means buffalo. He was so kind, calling about us a place to stay. Called right before he let us off to make sure they would be there. Stopped the bus to let us look at the Tsdollio(sp?) Hills along the way, and when he had to go into one village, urged us to get off bus and use restroom and get something to drink or eat.
Glad we got offf. Place had hot water, paper towels, soap--so we all had a attitude adjustment. Robert bought us all some chicken so we were in much better frame of mind for next two hours of our journey. It was getting dark--donkeys, cows, and goats all over the highway. We were also stopping at several small villages to let people off. It was really a cultural experience! The bus driver tells us our stop is coming up and then stops in the middle of nowhere it appears to us. We offload and then see headlights coming down a road toward us. It is the guy from Drotsky's coming to get us. Talk about being happy to see someone!!!
Set up camp and walked over to bar area where we visited with the owners and enjoyed the night sounds and off to bed before another adventure!
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