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Published: December 27th 2008
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Paradise?
The Paradise Park Holiday Camp Caravan Center
For more photos, click here: [url=http://flickr.com/photos/alexarmitage/sets/] Flickr Photo Page [/url] A Lemon in Paradise
Dec. 27, 2008, Agulhas, South Africa
“Where ya headed,” asked the girl, who was probably eight years old.
I rolled my eyes and chuckled.
She was cute, but after her fiftieth question, it was getting to be a bit much. I was busy with some last minute fixes on a Land Rover that my girlfriend, Sarah, and I just bought. I can only do one thing at a time. Sarah, thankfully, was handling most of the girl’s questions and organizing our stuff, helping us to get on our way. Sarah met up with me in Cape Town after my Indian Ocean sailing trip and we spent two weeks looking for the perfect touring truck. And we’d found it. And, thankfully, our down time in Cape Town gave us the freedom to see much of the local sites - Table Mountain, Lion’s Head, Long Street, the Harbor, etc.
”We just bought the truck from your friend Henry. And then we’re headed up to Namibia, Botswana, Zambia and Mozambique,” Sarah replied.
“Uhhh. Are you sure this thing’s gonna make it there,” said the girl, holding back the urge to kick the tires, fearing that
Cape of Good Hope
For more photos, click here: [url=http://flickr.com/photos/alexarmitage/sets/] Flickr Photo Page [/url] her Size 5 Children’s shoe might do some serious damage to the truck.
Sarah and I just laughed and continued our packing.
Later that day we headed south from Cape Town to Cape Point National Park and the Cape of Good Hope where the cold Atlantic Ocean and the warm Indian Ocean meet. That was last week. And so began our roadtrip of Southern Africa in a 1993 Land Rover High-Line “Bakkie” (Afrikaans for pick-up truck.) The bakkie has 230,000 kilometers on it and the engine was rebuilt about 30,000 kilometers ago. “These things last forever,” we were told by more than a dozen South Africans. Two mechanics looked at it, and all but assured us of our intentions. There’s a canopy on the back, so our idea was to sleep in the truck. We were told that in the parks, sleeping in your vehicle is safer then in a tent. Hyenas get both hungry and inquisitive at night - a potentially lethal combination. And occasionally there are stampedes of buffalo, kudu or even elephants, veteran African four-by-fourers told us. “Best to be in a tent mounted on top of your truck, or in your truck,” they said.
Sarah at Kirstenbosch
Sarah, taking in the sights at Kirstenbosch Gardens.
For more photos, click here: [url=http://flickr.com/photos/alexarmitage/sets/] Flickr Photo Page [/url] We opted for the cheaper accommodation. Our plan, if you can call it that all, was to spend two to three -- or maybe more -- months touring around Southern Africa. We’d let the wind, our maps - and the truck, if it was reliable enough, guide us.
If only we’d listened to the girl.
As I type this blog entry, I’m sitting next to a potential lemon at the Paradise Holiday Camp Caravan Park in Hermanus, about 75 miles east of Cape Town. It wasn’t our top pick, but it was a necessary stop. My hands smell of diesel and I still can’t get the putty off of my fingers. Yesterday, at about 5 p.m. we discovered fuel leaking from the tank. It was Friday, so we knew we needed to move quickly. We raced to a local mechanic who suggested the putty, pointed us to another mechanic, who would be around on Monday, and wished us good luck. We raced to a local Midas, leaving a trail of diesel along the way, and bought some putty.
I spent three hours puttying the seams on the tank of the Land Rover in site No. 83 in
12 Apostles, Near Table Mountain
For more photos, click here: [url=http://flickr.com/photos/alexarmitage/sets/] Flickr Photo Page [/url] “Paradise,” while Sarah cooked dinner and offered help, encouragement and much-needed humor. She pointed out that all the other caravaners were keen to see what it was under the truck that could possibly be more important than grilling meat and downing beers. Diesel dripped and I puttied. I puttied all the seams of the safety plate and the drip seemed to slow, but I’ve discovered that South African diesel is smart and devilish. It seemed to find its way around my work, and return with a vengeance. I strategically placed an empty glass jar, with the “Basil & Tomato Sauce” label still visible, under one drip. For the other drips, I used a Fanta can with the top cut off. (Today, we upgraded to two large industrial strength Tupperware bins.) Occasionally, our work was distracted by Christmas lights at some of the permanent residences in the park. One creation is a Christmas tree set to flicker at such high speeds that I get a headache if I look at it too long. That said, the diesel fumes probably didn’t help. A few others have lit up strings, all flickering at different speeds, in various non-Christmas colors. Sarah just laughs when
Cape Point National Park
For more photos, click here: [url=http://flickr.com/photos/alexarmitage/sets/] Flickr Photo Page [/url] she looks at them.
Nina’s “99 Luft Balloons” played at a party at one of the nearby sites our first night. Bryan Adams’ “Summer of ‘69” roared from the other direction. Occasionally, another site’s techno music drowned out both of the 80’s lover’s music. And, occasionally, the hum of the highway, about 100 feet away, drowned out both of the DJs - as well as the “ping ping” sound of the diesel hitting the bottom of the Fanta can. The religious youth camp “New Beginnings,” visiting for the weekend and trying to drum up support and money, has added to our experience at here. They invited us to a pannekoek breakfast one morning.
The music and illumination montage are likely to make us epileptic if we don’t get out of “Paradise” soon.
So after more than 24 hours, we’ve lost more than a few liters of diesel and more than a little bit of patience. We’ve asked and called around for more opinions and advice and we’ve found a local shop that will look at the truck on Monday. Hopefully, we’ll be back on the road in no time, with little damage to our wallets.
Fast
Woof
"Woof, woof. Who's a good boy."
Ok, in some areas of Cape Town people still live in fear.
For more photos, click here: [url=http://flickr.com/photos/alexarmitage/sets/] Flickr Photo Page [/url] forward to Monday. I couldn’t believe what we were told by the local Land Rover mechanic. It was too good to be true. For the equivalent of about $150 and about a day’s work, he could weld the tank. “This is a common problem with Land Rovers,” he said. Better to find out now, than in the Namibian desert, I suppose. And sure enough, by 5 p.m. the Land Rover was fixed and we were on our way.
After a few days in “Paradise,” we headed west a few miles to do some rock climbing at a local crag in Kleinmond. The cliffs were set up well for sport climbing so we ticked off a few routes and took in the stunning views of the southern Atlantic Ocean, 500 feet down the valley. Then, on Christmas day, we headed east towards Agulhas, the southern most point in Africa. On the drive, only about 50 kilometers, we stopped a few times to watch a dozen or so Southern Right whales playing in the bays. But the drive took all day, because they put on a good show, breaching and flapping their tails in the air, as well as rolling around on their backs. That evening we found a campsite about 1 kilometer from the tip of Africa and grilled a chicken and some veggies (we couldn’t find a turkey).
Thankfully, the smell of diesel was nowhere to be found and the drive to Agulhas was free of any problems. Today we’re headed up to Bontebok National Park, near Swellendam.
Alex
For more photos, click here:
Flickr Photo Page
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Kaylee
non-member comment
I love Cape Town and this picture makes it even better!!!