Tin Man travels in South Africa
With my time in South Africa drawing rapidly to a close, I recently took the opportunity to head off on a bit of a cross country adventure, using most of what was left of my holiday leave from working in Golden Gate National Park.
With my partner and fellow GVI, a tent, and as much stuff as can be crammed into a 1983 Golf Mk 1, I set off on a trip of about 4000 kms to loop through the parts of the country that I hadn’t yet experienced first hand. This involved heading through Bloemfontein (an old favorite after so much time in Free State) and then out across the remote emptiness of the Northern Cape, through Augrabies Falls National Park and a brief stop to stare at the epic waters of the Orange River pouring down the cataract waterfall, and then out towards Namaqualand, and a short stay with a fellow GVI.
Out on the North West coast of the country we camped near the beach, marveled at unbelievable skies and enjoyed watching the sun drop like a stone into the Atlantic Ocean (which is a treat for us Australians from the eastern states). We then packed up the Tin Man (said 1983 Golf) again and drove towards Cape Town, where we quickly settled into our hostel / discotheque and soaked in the vibe of a true city for the first time in months. We did the usual things one tries in Cape Town, enjoyed the scenery, got lost, got rained on, and then spent far too much money. But before long it was time to head along the coast towards Cape Aghulas, the southernmost tip of Africa and the meeting point of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. After battling the wind and the cold, and scoffing down a wonderful breakfast in town, we headed to Wilderness National Park, part of the famous Garden Route. After managing to avoid setting up and packing down the tent in the rain we felt justifiably excited as we headed further east along the coast to a reunion with some old friends, and a date with the (very cold) waves at the world renowned Jeffery's Bay.
We crashed in J-Bay for longer than expected, enjoying the relative warmth, the excellent surf, and the wonderful vibe of the town, and again spent too much money on having a good time, before sadly packing up the car once more, and driving the long trip back up to the Highveld and home.
It was a wonderful look at a wonderful country, and I can’t wait to come back here one day and do it again.
In a car with a radio.
Date posted: 09 June 2011
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