I spent the night without internet signal in the shadows of the Drakensberg, which initially felt rather strange. No TV, no radio, no other human noise meant the tiny bedroom was incredibly quiet. I then remembered that I had audio books that I could listen to and I dozed off before 8pm. Too many trips to the loo meant that I didn't really feel rested although the fresh morning mountain air was a great perk me up.
I sat and drank my coffee on a swing just thinking how mild the weather felt when just one week ago there had been snow of the mountain tops. I took a walk and peeked in the empty rooms of the lodge, sadly missing all their overseas visitors.
Car all packed, I sat in the wifi efficient lobby and planned my route to my next stop, Pietermaritsburg.
One of the best things about modern life for me is the introduction of Google maps. Knowing that I can follow instructions to get to roads less traveled is really a liberating feeling. Today I set my route to avoid tollgates. On hindsight, I should have listened to my intuition instead of the Maps app, when faced with the national road again, but I took the back roads at that choice.
My car is a bit of a curiosity in certain areas and I smile and wave in return of their pointing. After my last wave at bouncing kids, suddenly the tar disappeared. A really, and I mean really bumpy dirt road had me slow right down to 20km/h at one point. My map said 12km to the highway. My body sank, and my shoulders tensed and I caught myself getting worked up. So I pulled over to get a sweet and take a pic. Then I laughed.
The long stretches reminded me of running through the karoo on a 20km stretch of dirt roads. I felt like the only person on the planet on that bit, and I had a familiar feeling on some parts today. But at least, I had my car, and I wasn't on foot.
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