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Published: October 11th 2009
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So Piet stayed behind in Joburg, doing some visiting before he heads back home to the farm in Calvinia. Nathan, the guy from California, was not quite sure what he wanted to do.. so I said you can just come along with me as I travel for a bit.. with Piet insisting on doing so, we took the train from Joburg to Ladysmith, instead of the regular taxi minibus.. big mistake.. the train was dirty and uncomfortable in many ways... it was a tube full of rats..drunk, sprawled out on the floor in some areas.. I saw more white poverty on that train than I have in all of South Africa.. there was an Afrikaner guy, drunk out of his mind, yelling at people..accusing everyone of trying to take his bag..shouting racist words..and then he decided to hit Nathan on his back..I went with the guard, along with another white guy and black guy that were complaining as well.. we all told the conductor and guard what happened..the drunk denied it and according to the conductor, we did not have enough complaints.. so he was just told to apologise IF he had done anything.. what an experience..after avoiding him the rest
of the ride, hoping he didn't decide to come back.. Nathan and I got off in Ladysmith but as the train was running late we did not arrive until 3 AM.. I decided that instead of sleeping in the train station until morning, as it was cold and did not seem incredibly safe... I called the local police and had them pick us up.. we slept for a few hours in the police station and then went on our way.. we found our way to the taxi rank and after waiting 4 hours for the taxi to fill up, and with a nice bag of hot chips (with lots of vinegar), we headed off to Qwa Qwa, caught a taxi there to Bethleham...
Bethleham is lovely. it is a small town in the Eastern Free State..land of brush,hills, mountains..reminds me alot of West Texas..just a little nicer.. I was absorbing in the great sights, staring out of the taxi as we looped around hills, passing small townships along the way. the town is small, friendly yet stuck in the past.. it reminds me of Pongola (by Swaziland) in the sense that there is still a little more distance between
white and black..not so much racism..just avoidance..seperation..more so than PMburg and anywhere I have lived or been in South Africa.. more like those old days.. we stopped at the local SPAR store to grab some quick groceries and waited for Nikolas to pick us up. He runs a backpacker on his land..but it is not a backpacker in the traditional sense.. more a chance to experience the beauty and nature of this area.. I am so impressed..this guy is 27, cuts the trees down, saws them, dries them and then builds.. the guesthouse, he built from scratch..the bed frames.. his house..his storage shed, the benches.. all from scratch. I wish that I had skills like this.. the shower has inspired me, I know now that we can definitely build a working shower..as he has built this one from wood and scraps.. using an old water tank, stretched out for the main shell..supported with wood poles, with a floor of concrete adorned with stones (for a tiled look).. a drain that just supplies the earth below.. and the roof, plastic lined with the exact piping that brings in the water..the great thing is that he has wrapped around about 30 feet
of piping and it warms up the water catching rays from the sun atop the roof.. it is incredible really.. I hope we can created something as fantastic and innovative there in the township in PMburg. I slept well after a hike through the bush and a meal of pap and curry vegetables made by yours truly on a propane burner.. I am typing this in the house, but of course up here there is no internet access.. I have no idea when I will be uploading all of this..and if I will be able to upload photos(depends on the speed of the internet I find in whatever town..) but at this point I still need to upload the entries for the last day of Joburg, Pretoria and then onto this one..so I will probably be loading a lot of entries all at once.. Take care everyone.
Saturday 10 Oct-
Germans arrived last night to Bethleham.. it was late though so they were not really able to enjoy the scenery.. nice folks though, which is good because my opinion of Germans was starting to really sink.. they left early this morning..and after sitting by a fire I started in
a barrel..eating some breakfast..drinking some coffee..we too hit the road. I told Nikolas that I will send him the footage and photos of his land and all of his great creations.. he is a very religious man. Basically said nothing but “you must just keep going, try more and do right” whenever I complimented his work. We took a short taxi ride to Clarens, a small town even closer to the border of Lesotho. We just arrived.. I am going into town after having unloaded at this great little backpackers.. so going to walk now..if there is internet access WITH a modern computer with USB ports then I will be able to load this..we shall see..
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Joshua Wrinkle
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