Road Trip (Again)!!

Most everyone has told us that Cape Town, RSA is a must-see.  Based on this advice we decided we needed to go south.  The options were to fly, which is fastest but misses the country.  Some American friends took the bus to Jo’burg, then the train to the Cape.  It was an exciting trip with train breakdowns (plural) and consequent missed bus connections to return.  Given the stress in traveling here, I didn’t relish the additional stress and expense.

Then our friend Dave, who married a lovely lady from the Cape, told us about driving non-stop from Gabs to Cape Town to ask the parents for the hand of this fair lady.  Well, if Dave could drive both ways non-stop, surely we could do it by breaking it into parts.

So, we got a good deal on a car rental, which I picked up early Friday AM, and we headed south.  We got away about 0830, with a GPS-forecasted arrival a bit after 1400.   We stopped to cross the border, to get petrol, and that’s about it.  Oh yes, we stopped once more when I was caught by a famous Batswana Police speed trap.  

By doing this hurried travel, we arrived at about 1605.  Alas, the Big Hole (Diamond mine museum) closed at 1700, and we are really slow seeing these things.  Too late!

(Not your typical hotel room, eh?)

Tomorrow we have a tough drive.  We have 782 miles total to travel, so far we have come about 295 miles form Gabs to Kimberley, leaving us about 487 miles for tomorrow.  Plus, we have to find our friends farm which is off a series of dirt tracks.  Part of the directions include a warning that "the pass might be closed if there is a lot of snow".  This is one trip I don't want to finish in the pitch dark, since the last part requires us to drive across the top of a dirt dam.

Most of the time, our travels are pretty mundane, pretty boring.  Occasionally we have a faith test like this next leg.  We pray intently and set the alarm for 0600.  No use getting a late start.

Prayer changes things.  Prayer changes us.