South Africa 'Series Two' or should it be 'Have boot will travel'? Those of you who know me are aware that I have damaged my leg again and it was touch and go whether or not I would make the flight. Ever the adventurous spirit I had booked my flight with 'Quatar' departing from London Heathrow at 16:00 hrs on the 1st October flying via Dohar to Johannesburg arriving 13:45 the next day. Everything went smoothly, the airline ferried me around in a wheelchair, my case didn't get lost, my new 'Cabin Max' hand baggage holdall at less than a kilo allowed me to meet the 7kilo weight restriction with the same amount of hand baggage that I normally carry and I was well fed throughout. A different menu with a different airline. The both ground and air crew were excellent but, if you are having a stop over of more than an hour or two ask about the sleeping lounge at Dohar's magnificent new airport. Apparently it has reclining seats and blankets which would have afforded me some five hours kip!
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| The roundabout |
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| Turn right at this junction |
The ground staff at Johannesburg trundled me through immigration, baggage retrival and across the road to the Avis car hire desk, couldn't have been nicer. The young lady at Avis whose name began with an 'M' was friendly and helpful, producing maps for me too. She even drove the car nearer so that I did not have far to walk sans boot. I left the terminus and was straight onto the R21 heading towards Pretoria and my much needed bed for the night at the pre-booked Dinkwe Lodge & Guest House. Plenty of time on a nice sunny afternoon until got lost, it grew dark and I was really tired. The website instructions tell you to leave R21 at the Pieterburg N1 off ramp. Well I found off ramps for N1 Johannesburg and N1Pretoria (signposted Polokwane) opposite. I followed the link to N1 Pretoria and drove, I then looped over and returned to the R21 looped around again and tried N1 Johannesburg. This is to explain why I have taken so many photos of signposts. Follow the N1 Pretoria (which passes Pretoria and heads on to Polokwane) until you see the off ramp for Stormvoël and M18 (this will work wherever you come from). At the bottom of the ramp follow the signs for M18 Gezina. The instructions say take the third exit off the next roundabout but I found it easier to carry on along the M18 to 30th Street, head up to the top and, at the T junction (Frates Road), turn left then first right. You are still on 30thStreet and Dinkwe Guest House is on your left about half way up. There is a plaque on the wall next to the gate.
You can also head up Codonia Avenue until you see the sign for Waverly Plaza and/or Pick 'n' Pay down the street on your left. You turn right into the Plaza which has a shopping centre and plenty of places to eat from snackbars to restaurants. Handy for the guest house. You can call in at Pick 'n' Pay to replenish all those things airport security made you throw away! Leaving the Plaza turn right then right again at the first traffic lights or robots as they call them here. You are now back on 30th Street. Once you arrive it is well worth the journey. I completed the paperwork ordered breakfast (inside or out, I chose out) on the patio for 9:30 am tried to watch a movie on satellite TV but slept.
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| Fresh cut flowers too |
I awoke at 09:00 hrs on Friday morning, just time to use the complementary soaps and potions before slipping on the soft fluffy dressing gown and slippers provided, as my fresh fruits covered in yoghurt awaited me on the patio. Would I like coffee or tea, white or brown bread and how would I like my eggs? The lady of the house had provided me with some brochures of places to visit and is most attentive and helpful. The lodge is also self catering and even boasts 'induction' ring electric hobs
She showed me around the grounds after breakfast explaining hat the grass goes yellow and dies off during the summer so they had decided to be more adventurous They have created a magnificent setting to relax in which is still a work in progress. After a 'phone call to Avis which means that I have to take the car back tomorrow due to a faulty indicator I decided that a swim was the order of the day.
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| Rolling along with a song |
Feeling refreshed I decided to take the car for a spin as my leg and back (resulting from not walking properly) were hurting again, this may affect this trip more than I thought. I thought that I would find a proper route to the N1 rather than the round the houses way I arrived, hence the instructions above, then head up the N1 to Polokwane. Why? 'Cos it sounded interesting rather like the town in the movie 'Groundhog Day'. I drove north up the N1, incidentally it is just like any other motorway in the world on a Friday afternoon, passed through a toll and pulled off for refreshments at a service area signposted as 'panoramic'. Harking back to Tenerife and the 'Mirador', a good place to view and take photographs, I thought the same thing here. I presume the view was down the N1 whilst eating lunch or did I miss something?
Pulling back onto the N1 the first signpost including distances. Oh dear I had over 200km to go so I pulled off at the next off-ramp and on a whim turned left. It is surprising what you find along highways and byways. I also went down a dirt track to the 4x4 museum but it was after 5 when I got there and closed.
Back to Dinkwe then as the light was starting to fade and I could feel rain in the wind! I must remember to change the timezone on my camera as we are now one hour ahead of British Summer Time, Quatar was two hours ahead of BST so my poor body isn't quite sure where it is yet but tomorrow is another day!
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