Travel Diary: Phase 2 of Lockdown

With 5 weeks of Level 3 lockdown under our belt and signs that camping places were beginning to open, we left Cape Town just before a big cold front was about to lash the Western Cape and headed into the mountains just outside Montagu.  Our destination was a totally off-grid spot were social distancing was never going to be a problem as we were the only campers and the two other couples staying in cottages were at least 500m away.

Mr. Jones appeared to be in shock that he was actually back in use when on our first night we were unable to cook on either of the two gas stoves!  A couple of quick checks left us none the wiser whether we had a blockage in the gas pipes, an issue with the regulator or if it was just too cold for the gas to flow properly but fortunately we have a spare regulator and short loose pipe so that was quickly rigged up to the spare gas bottle and portable stove and thus only caused a small delay in supper.

During lockdown in Cape Town we had got quite good at doing a short yoga session each morning and had good intentions of carrying this practise on while on the road,  we managed this on the first day but not again for the entire week we stayed.  For now we will blame this on the cold front which arrived….

With the arrival of the cold front the days and evenings become very chilly but with all the cold weather gear we have hauled around for the last year (and not had reason to use) we were never too cold and always slept wonderfully warm.  Although the winds that accompanied the cold front did leave us wanting for sleep the one night as Mr. J was buffeted around like a yacht on stormy seas. 

We were expecting the arrival of our friends the De Nobrega’s on the Friday, but with no cell reception we had no way of knowing that the cold front had made them delay their departure, needless to say they duly arrived the following day.  A wonderful couple of days and evenings followed before they headed back to Cape Town and we began thinking of where to next?

After a week of being totally disconnected and with the weather turning ugly once again we packed up and headed out. Our departure was not without a little drama: as we finished climbing up out of the valley Mr. J suddenly lacked power and then just stopped.  At this point it was pouring with rain and blowing a howling gale, at one point the rain drops even turned to ice as they hit the windows.  There was no way we were going to climb out and try and fiddle with him in those conditions so we spent the time trying to work through the scenarios of what could be wrong; the lack of power and cut-out was very similar to what we had experienced in Malawi also on a steep climb up from the lake and on first appearance it appeared like we had ran out of fuel but we knew that could be not possible based on our mileage so far; our next idea was that perhaps somehow we had got water/contaminations in the fuel system.  When the rain eased off a bit, Stuart (assuming the 2^nd idea the most probable) opened the valve on the fuel sedimenter and instead of getting the expected water and diesel flow was greeted by a hissing sound as air escaped the system.  A very strange result and it would take a few more “breakdowns” over the next few weeks for us to finally find the problem.  For now though we were grateful to not be stuck in the middle of nowhere and happily setoff for Montagu.

Having spent a week disconnected from the world and being back in travel mode we were in no hurry to “stick our faces to phones” in order to catch-up on social media and the news.  

This meant we blissfully went about shopping for some supplies before hitting the road again and heading east along the very scenic R62.  The real grassroots impact of the lockdown and ban on local travel was very evident as we passed through the small towns bordering the Karoo, such as Barrydale, whose economies are heavily dependent on weekend travellers.

Our plan was still to travel slowly and explore the area but after finding 2 potential camping spots closed and needing ideas we did finally pull out the phones to search for alternatives, at which point we saw the inevitable WhatsApp messages regarding the renewed ban on alcohol sales and also clarity that leisure accommodation was to remain closed for the remainder of Lockdown Level 3.

We were now homeless with nowhere to park….

The regulations did still allow inter-provincial travel if you were relocating residences so having had our fair share of the cold and wet that is a Cape Town winter and with the prospect of a very long extended lockdown being in place ( and no Old Brown Sherry to warm the bones at Samantha’s house ) we decided to use the allowed exemption for travel and relocate to Stuart’s brothers holiday home in Durban.

Now that we had a plan of action, first priority for the afternoon was to find somewhere to sleep before starting the long trip east the next day. It took three more failed attempts and 150km before we eventually found a spot in Calitzdorp.

That night as we sat parked in a “formal” camping spot next to an old railway siding, Tania cooked supper while Stuart sat in the front of Mr. J preparing the affidavits required to allow inter-provincial movement.  Thanks to modern technology and suitably qualified friends we were able to digitally sign such documents, email them off and receive them back duly notarized.

Considering that we had 1600km ahead of us, our start the next morning was much later than it should have been but it is difficult to emerge from under a lovely warm duvet when the sun is late to rise and its bitterly cold outside.   Our plan was to do the journey in 2 days which in a modern vehicle would be no issue but in good old Mr. Jones was going to be quite a big task.

Despite being under “pressure” we thoroughly enjoyed the day’s drive as we marvelled at the constantly changing landscapes and scenery; the stunning beauty and rock formations of Meiringspoort; snow on the mountains and next to the road around Richmond;  the beautiful yellow grasses contrasting with browns all through the Karoo.  If only we could have done this slowly and stopped often.

When we had set off in the morning we had no idea how far we would get or where we would sleep that night, especially considering the previous days challenges in finding accommodation, so as the shadows grew long we began considering our options.  The first one was to head down one of the small dirt roads that intersect with the N1 and bush camp for the night and the second option was to spend a night in a truck stop with the long-haul truckers. Bush camping in the rest of Africa is generally pretty safe and accepted but we are not so sure about it in South Africa, even in the middle of the Karoo so in the end decided on the latter option.

As the sun was setting we pulled into a truck stop outside the tiny dorp of Springfontein, roughly 150km south of Bloemfontein, not knowing what to expect but ultimately were pleasantly surprised.  The ablutions were spotless, security good and if you fill up with diesel you stay for free otherwise it is R50 for the night.  The AluCab Icarus roof and subsequent camper conversion were once again worth their weight in gold as we holed up inside drinking wine and cooking supper while watching the outside temperature drop, the forecast predicted -6 deg Celsius for the morning!

We had been a little concerned that we would have a disturbed night of sleep with the coming and goings of trucks but in fact slept really well and only noticed noise from around 4:30 in the morning,  this may have been because of the lockdown curfew in place but nonetheless we weren’t complaining.  As expected the temperatures plummeted overnight and when we switched lights on, around 6am, the inside of the tent was sparkling with ice crystals so emerging from our lovely warm duvet took quite a bit of willpower especially knowing that we have no heater in Mr. J and would not be getting warm anytime soon. Eleven months prior in Mozambique we had a coolant leak at the heater and so had bypassed it as “bush” fix, replacing the heater matrix was on the to-do list but to our detriment we had only planned to do it once arriving in Natal.

Apart from not being able to warm ourselves, the lack of a heater meant we couldn’t defrost the windows so Stuart had to scrape off a surprisingly thick and stubborn layer of ice from the windscreen using our kitchen spatula.

We must have been quite a sight when we pulled into the Engen One stop at Bloemfontein, (anybody who has ever driven in a defender will know that they are anything but airtight) so with no heater and the chilly temps we were wearing as many layers as we could and had towels and other miscellaneous clothing items stuck in every nook and cranny trying to keep the cold out and the little warmth we were generating in.  Apart from filling up with diesel we were hoping to sit down at Wimpy to warmup while enjoying some bacon and eggs with coffee, alas this was not to be as they were still closed under the Covid lockdown restrictions.  A takeout pie for breakfast it was going to be for the second day in a row.

The rest of the day passed by uneventfully as we traversed across the Free State, stopping briefly in Bethlehem to finally shed some layers of clothes,  and then barrelling along the N3 towards Durban (well barrelling as fast as a heavily loaded Landy can).

Despite making good progress, Kevin’s holiday home was 100km to far in respect to getting there in time to collect keys, so late in the afternoon we pulled in at Tania sister’s (Nicole) smallholding in Drummond for one more night of camping in Mr. Jones as the “inn was full”, so to speak.

Anybody who has been monitoring our maintenance log will know that the trip has not been without a few minor breakdowns/repairs but Mr. Jones has always been a scholar and a gentleman in terms of when and where he decided to take a break and we have always appreciated him for that.  Our sense of humour and appreciation for him did however fail us when he chose the very moment we arrived at the security office of the estate Kevin’s holiday home is located in, to cut out and then subsequently refuse to start – the estate is very smart, has many rules and we doubt anybody has ever crawled under a car at the security booms in an attempt to fix it.  

Thankfully by the time we had completed the necessary biometric registrations for access he had had enough of a rest and started with a bit of coaxing.  We clearly had a problem but what was it? First thought would be the some issue as a few days earlier but alas it was not, over time we were to discover & fix more than one issue.

Over the next weeks we slowly got used to having a large family home to ourselves, made full use of the amenities and in between relaxing, made regular weekend trips up to Drummond to carry out various service items on Mr. Jones.   Mr. Jones was not the only one to receive maintenance attention during this time, Tania had been struggling with her foot the last few months which we thought would require the attention of an orthopaedic surgeon.  Thankfully no surgery was required but the orthopaedic did recommend visiting a bio-kineticist to align the “chassis”.  Normally the bio-kineticist would conduct a program for this over the course of 3 – 4 months but as we did not expect to hang around in Ballito that long, he come up with an intense program to “fix your sh#t” in one month (his words not ours…).

Just as for our stay in Cape Town, our stay in Ballito has been longer than envisaged but after 8 weeks enjoying all the amenities it is time to get back in our home and start wandering.  

It is easy to procrastinate leaving, especially in times like this and with all the luxury around us, but just as it was a little over a year ago when we first embarked on the journey we are reminded that “the first step is always the hardest…”.