There was a little bit of joking in the cabin when we lined up for the second try and the feeling of tension was palpable. The pilot got us down just fine and some people even clapped (for conservative South Africans this is a big thing). We heard the Hostess announce that there was a big gust of wind which upset things on the first attempt hence the need for a second. I got to the door of the plane to disembark all the while thinking the pilot messed up on the approach. As the gut in front of me stepped through the door and I got into the doorway, I was almost blown over! Walking to the terminal building was not the easiest thing to do so I had to take back all of my thoughts about the pilot and replace them with some admiration. That guy could really fly!
I went right away to collect a rental car for the drive from East London to Mthatha. Let the games begin!
The rental company we usually use is very good and will bend over backwards to help (it does help that I have a preferred customer card through the company...) if at all possible. This is usually not required though because everything is arranged beforehand by the ladies in the office. Thursday though, was the day that I found out these ladies are not infallible. I arrived at the desk of the car rental company and handed over my card as usual only for the guy to get a funny look on his face and spend a while punching keys on his keyboard. He looked up at me after a while and said "We don't have a booking for you." which got me on the phone to the office immediately. While dialing out he told me there was absolutely nothing available for rent for the next three days. The office confirmed that I had no booking and there I was, in East London with no transport from the airport to Mthatha which is a 2.5 to 3 hour drive from where I was. I was supposed to meet the sellers of the property and walk around with them but I was beginning to wonder If I was going to get there.
As I said earlier, I have a kind of routine when I travel but this kind of blew that right out of the water. I had to now think for myself what needed to be done - how terrible! I went to every other car rental counter in the airport looking for a car, any car, but was turned away by everyone. OK, before I was kind of thinking the situation was a little funny but now I am wondering if this trip has just been wasted because no cars are available. I came back to one of the counters I had been to before (they had been busy helping someone else) and was told they had a little car with no air con or power steering available (didn't know manufacturers made cars without power steering nowadays). I took it.
After paying and signing my life away, I went and go into the car and started my trip an hour later than planned. I enjoy driving and usually have a good time on the road but this little car was going wherever the wind told it to go, my input was somewhat of a hindrance as it was trying to drive across lanes every time there was a gust outside. Once out of East London the wind seemed to die down a lot and it was easier to keep the right wheels on my side of the line. As I started thinking I could possibly get to Mthatha on time, I stopped. There are a bunch of "stop and go" areas on the road between Mthatha and East London!
I stopped the car and ended up sitting there for ten minutes or so in the heat, wishing the wind would blow! I never seem to be happy with what I am given lately do I? After we got moving again, we had a couple of slow moving trucks in the queue ahead of us and my little tchorrie was not in a hurry to overtake when the situation presented itself and would only cooperate on downhills or, if I had given it a run up, gradual inclines or again short steep ones. I would get to overtake a truck and end up stopping again at the next stop and go with another truck ahead in the queue. By the time I got to my destination I was wet with perspiration.
The sellers couldn't make it to the property to show me around so I went in and did a recce alone. The place had been vandalised really badly and was totally overgrown with weeds and grass as tall as me. My timing was not very good either as a lot of people were now knocking off of work and walking through the area. I get to spend some time in the townships around the country with my job and have never felt threatened at all. Thursday was the first time I had ever felt a little uncomfortable. I needed to measure the property so I walked around the borders and marked everything on the GPS.The grass was longer than I am tall and really thick so fighting my way through it was not really fun (never mind not knowing what is one meter in front of you). I made it through the grass around the border of the property and went to have a look in side only to find someone sitting there just in front of me holding a metal rod in his hands. Being Mr cool, I just greeted him and continued doing my thing while he grabbed his goods and left. My heart nearly stopped! There were a couple of guys who walked past while I was doing my measuring and photographing who looked like tsotsi types but the worst I had was a couple of speculative looks.
I drove home once done and thank goodness the road closures had been removed so I got back to East London without too much hassle and got to see a pretty good sunset while driving. The photos never do justice to the real thing but here is one anyway (taken through the window while driving).
What a beautiful world we live in.
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