Wednesday 24 June 2009

Road Trip 2.11

Monday 15th June

The last day! Time to head back to Stellenbosch for Jon's last week in SA (for now)!

The house was a frenzy of packing and cleaning for at least an hour before we were all safely in our own vehicles and heading our seperate ways. We had a tour around Sutherland and took a few photos of the typical buildings and the surrounding area.


Meanwhile Mot and Marieke were exploring and the rest of the gang were waiting for the tyre to be fixed on the Kombi.

We headed out of town back towards Matjiesfontein and the N1. We didn't get too far before Elaine spotted some more art materials for us to harvest! This time it was to collect the white long and sharp thorns from the acacia tree! Ouch!

Meanwhile Mot and Marieke overtook us and therefore moved into the lead in the chase home! Over the next 45 minutes we overtook each other a couple of times as they stopped for photograhs at one location and we stopped at another.


As we approached the N1 junction we had already decided to go straight over and pay Matjiesfontein another visit. Obviously Mot and Marieke had the same idea and in the distance we could see their car leading the way!

We met up with our comrades outside the hotel and arranged to meet up in the coffee shop after we had done some more exploring. We went to the transport museum which had a good selection of old cars (British and American), a Penny Farthing and a steam engine and railway carriages amongst the exhibits.


We made our way back towards the coffee shop and met up with the others who were in the process of ordering tea and scones - make that two! The sun was shining as our refreshments arrived and delicious they were too. We could easily have been in the UK, probably in Devon if I had to guess!!


The snack had made us hungry so we decided that we would go back to the scene of Friday nights entertainment, have a drink and wait for the inevitable - the Kombi with the rest of the gang pulling up! Sure enough just as the drinks were ordered the pub door opened and in walked the rest of the gang, we really are predictable people!

We sat outside and enjoyed sausage and mash with good cold beer before taking the decision that we should really try to get home today! We all set off back on the N1 and soon became dispersed as one stopped for fuel and another stopped for pictures etc.

Eventually we reached the beautiful Hex River Valley and noticed that the weather was starting to change, which is pretty typical the closer to the Du Toitskloof Mountains you get. The autumnal colours of the vines were stunning and the sun streamed through gaps in the clouds.


A short while later came Worcester followed by the Huguenot Tunnel, Paarl and finally home, Drommedaris Street in Stellenbosch!


Guess what? The Kombi had beaten us back and Ninja and Stoffel were busy unloading their bags. We were exhausted and after saying goodbye to Carl, Ursula and Heinrich we went to our respective parts of the property and collapsed!

What a great trip, exactly what we like doing. We just wish we could travel around permanently and not have to go to work!

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