Only 9 hours of driving today. I could do this. Thanks to cooler weather and fresh rain, the whole family was in good spirits as we woke up early to get a head start for Cape Town. The first 30 minutes turned into 60 with washed out roads. We enjoyed this novelty of mom driving through the mini road ponds, patting ourselves on the back for having 4-wheel drive. As we turned onto the highway, I figured we could easily make up lost time. I know I've written ad nauseam about the amazing Namibian landscape so I will spare you the details other than it was neat and a little weird, and a progressively green as we made it to the border to South Africa. We needed get through customs and immigration, so we stood in line, diligently filling out the required paperwork behind a group of barefoot hipster men who seemed definitely too old to be running around without shoes.
Still, we were on schedule and in decent shape to continue so I sped on. Three hours in, I managed to give Mark heart burn, when I realized we might run out of gas. I didn't calculate our range incorrectly, I just overestimated the range indicator so I ended up driving the last 20 kilometers going no faster than 30mph (48kph), a painful experience for everyone on the road (even the semi trucks) as the posted speed limit was 75mph (120kph). After gassing up and a wait in line behind a one eyed nun at the town's only ATM, we all took deep breaths.
3.5 more hours to go. We only had my various dried sundries in the car and Mark didn't want to stop, opting to hold out for Indian food in the city- so we trudged on despite our hunger. Now, Mark and I are fairly good with a map and he had already been to Cape Town, so we felt pretty confident we could find our rental near the Company's Garden. Then we saw a road block. And another, and another. Our early evening timing coincided with massive road closures due to Carnaval celebrations. "No" the police said, "we have no idea how long this will last, and no, you cannot pass through."
We had a car full of electronics, none of which would work in South Africa without wifi. We had four people who hadn't really eaten since 6:30am, and the anxiety of being in unfamiliar territory. Plus, we had luggage/spare tire strapped to the roof, so we didn't feel we could leave the car. And it was getting dark. My point: edges were frazzled and the city was becoming progressively festive (loud) which made for extremely unpleasant conditions. I'm surprised no one murdered me.
Finally, with a partially charged work phone, we made back and forth calls to our host who somehow navigated us down secret streets and to their building.Thirty-five left hand turns up the parking ramp gave us our final stop. Seriously, I counted. It was the tallest, yet smallest parking structure I had ever driven. But we made it. Time to eat our weight in dal, drink some strong gin & tonics, and sleep.
The next morning we woke to our rowdy air conditioner and high winds beating down the windows. One glance at Table Mountain with the clouds pouring off the top and funicular visibly swaying told us our plans of hiking wouldn't be realized. Coming up with the next best solution that involved zero driving on our part meant taking the jump-on double decker tour bus. It was a means to an end, and we did get to spend our first day as zombies. We got off at a few stops such as the World of Birds Wildlife Sanctuary and Monkey Park (where we stepped in a lot of poop- birds) and the Aquarium (where we smelled a lot of poop- diapers), but by the afternoon both kids requested naps. We returned to the wind blasted apartment and fell asleep just long enough to wake up for a stroll through The Company's Garden, dinner, and bed.
Though the day was sunny and the gorgeous ocean reflected amazing hues of blue, it didn't help that the wind in the Cape was chilly and relentless. From the bus we watched people getting sand blasted on the beaches, trees bending and shedding, and tiny tornadoes rush through the streets as fast as the clouds moved overhead. Overall, our first day was leisurely and we had fun even if we enjoyed it through a windy, sleep deprived haze.
3.5 more hours to go. We only had my various dried sundries in the car and Mark didn't want to stop, opting to hold out for Indian food in the city- so we trudged on despite our hunger. Now, Mark and I are fairly good with a map and he had already been to Cape Town, so we felt pretty confident we could find our rental near the Company's Garden. Then we saw a road block. And another, and another. Our early evening timing coincided with massive road closures due to Carnaval celebrations. "No" the police said, "we have no idea how long this will last, and no, you cannot pass through."
We had a car full of electronics, none of which would work in South Africa without wifi. We had four people who hadn't really eaten since 6:30am, and the anxiety of being in unfamiliar territory. Plus, we had luggage/spare tire strapped to the roof, so we didn't feel we could leave the car. And it was getting dark. My point: edges were frazzled and the city was becoming progressively festive (loud) which made for extremely unpleasant conditions. I'm surprised no one murdered me.
Finally, with a partially charged work phone, we made back and forth calls to our host who somehow navigated us down secret streets and to their building.Thirty-five left hand turns up the parking ramp gave us our final stop. Seriously, I counted. It was the tallest, yet smallest parking structure I had ever driven. But we made it. Time to eat our weight in dal, drink some strong gin & tonics, and sleep.
The next morning we woke to our rowdy air conditioner and high winds beating down the windows. One glance at Table Mountain with the clouds pouring off the top and funicular visibly swaying told us our plans of hiking wouldn't be realized. Coming up with the next best solution that involved zero driving on our part meant taking the jump-on double decker tour bus. It was a means to an end, and we did get to spend our first day as zombies. We got off at a few stops such as the World of Birds Wildlife Sanctuary and Monkey Park (where we stepped in a lot of poop- birds) and the Aquarium (where we smelled a lot of poop- diapers), but by the afternoon both kids requested naps. We returned to the wind blasted apartment and fell asleep just long enough to wake up for a stroll through The Company's Garden, dinner, and bed.
Though the day was sunny and the gorgeous ocean reflected amazing hues of blue, it didn't help that the wind in the Cape was chilly and relentless. From the bus we watched people getting sand blasted on the beaches, trees bending and shedding, and tiny tornadoes rush through the streets as fast as the clouds moved overhead. Overall, our first day was leisurely and we had fun even if we enjoyed it through a windy, sleep deprived haze.
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| Credit to Mark. Cozy Sheep in the morning light. This might also be a reason why we took 12 hours instead of 9 to get to Cape Town. |
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| Credit to Mark. Wearing our warmest clothes. Just outside Kirstenbosch Botanic Gardens. |
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| No filter. |
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| Lunch with Bandit Girl at the Waterfront Market. |
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