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Africa » South Africa » Limpopo
August 3rd 2010
Published: August 3rd 2010
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Easter Weekend was hectic as we multi tasked to keep the fully booked lodge running smoothly. I had a bash at baking scones which ended up in the dustbin not surprisingly. Luckily the guests were more than happy with a bottle of good wine, biltong and snacks for their “African high tea”. Theo and Delana rushed around pumping the land cruisers tyres, carried beds to the other side of the camp and dealt with the obligatory snakes. I waited on tables, with a smile on my face and kept a constant supply of icy drinks flowing while the complimentary temperature of 40 deg C melted everything.

Theo and I entertained some guests by taking them for a pontoon river cruise. We got a flat tyre on the return 10 km drive back to camp but luckily were able to summon Delana to the rescue on our ever faithful 2 way radio. She came hurtling down the road in the lodges 2nd land cruiser, eyes wide, apron flapping over her shoulder and arms floured to the elbows from her half finished dessert. The 3 of us took turns to frantically work the hand pump as we knew it was minutes before dinner time and the slab of raw deboned lamb was still marinating in the fridge. The guests, who by now had emptied the cooler box of its alcohol refreshments, found our hysterical laughter catchy and gave us encouraging commentary as they enjoyed the show. Then it was a mad rush back to camp to beat the setting sun, with Delana driving right on our tail since Murphy’s law, that was the day the back up cruisers lights decided to pack up. Just another day at the lodge.

Easter weekend eventually ended and as the last guest disappeared down the dusty road, the three of us jumped into the pool with a G & T grinning with satisfaction. Theo and I were overdue for our 7 day holiday break - how cool is that - taking another holiday from our current holiday although we were more than ready for some timeout and a change of scenery. We were still in the market for a 4x4 truck and there was one for sale but it was all the way across the country at Port Shepstone on the, east coast. It would have cost us too much to rush the 1 000 km's and we hadn’t been paid our salaries yet, in fact the cash flow wasn’t looking too good at the lodge and the world recession had affected the upcoming hunting season badly. On impulse we decided to bugger off and headed off into the sunset to view the truck and then head back to Cape Town to convert it to a overland camper.

Turns out the truck was a piece of shit, but since we were on the Wild Coast, what the heck, we had a blast doing the wild thang. We ate loads of avo’s and the best curry at the Taj Hotel. Bananas and sugar cane grew wildly in people’s gardens and on the beachfronts, quite different scenery from the thorn trees and dusty grasslands on the bushveld. I was entranced by the never ending rolling hills of Ciskei and her smiley people. We parked at stunning beaches and the odd caravan park as we slowly worked our way down the coastline. We explored lighthouses, mountain tracks almost concealed by tropical vegetation, walked the beaches, visited the pubs and mostly just chilled. We still didn’t have a new truck but thought our chances might be better in Cape Town and anyway, we were missing our friends and family so we packed up, left our last hang out, Jeffreys Bay, and headed south.




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