The idea
Early December (''08) I realised that for the first time in years, I didn’t have a gig on New Year’s Eve (I’m a musician in case you didn’t get that!). My younger brother Trevor works in advertising and plays in an “indie” band for fun, called “The Privates International Band”. Trevor told me that the Privates’ December tour had been called off, so I figured, “perfect time for a road trip”.
The decision on where to go was based partly on a recent gig I did with Melanie Lowe in Upington. Melanie and I drove to Upington and back in two days for one gig. It was a part of the country that I’d never seen before. On the way I kept seeing photo opportunities, but we were pressed for time, so I thought I’d have to return someday.
The Plans
I first started looking at local websites for ideas on places to stay, but soon realised that for more remote areas there was very little information and lots of 404 error messages!
Next day I went to a bookshop and bought a South African Road Atlas and the very useful and highly recommended “The Rough Guide to South Africa, Lesotho & Swaziland”.
My brother and I booked three places to stay along the way (in Groot Marico, Kuruman and Port Nolloth) and decided to leave the rest to chance.
We planned to go in my car, but then our kind sister-in-law offered us the use of her wonderful, luxury Mercedes ML320 Diesel.
The trip (Part 1 - see follow-up blog post for Part 2)
1. From Jo''burg we headed North West on the N4 to Groot Marico. The town is best know from the wonderful stories of SA author Herman Charles Bossman, who said of the place
“There is no other place I know that is so heavy with atmosphere, so strangely and darkly impregnated with that stuff of life that bears the authentic stamp of South Africa”
It is close enough to Jo’burg for a weekend getaway. Worth a visit is "Die Oog", a crystal clear and refreshing natural spring. (Ed: not to be confused with Die Oog at Kuruman which you can''t swim in, unlike the Marico one). Also, don''t miss out on the potent Mampoer made in the area!
2. We then drove through Mafikeng along the N18 and Vryburg on N14 and spent two days in Kuruman, visiting Hotazel whilst there. And yes, Hotazel is “that” hot! It was also completely deserted on Christmas day and looked a bit like something out of a Zombie movie. The Moffatt Mission turned out to be an interesting place to see in Kuruman....
3. From here we continued South West along the N14 through Upington and Keimoes, stopping at Kakamas for two days and spending a day at Augrabies Falls National Park.
(Continued on next blog post)
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| A Cafe in Groot Marico | Cooling off at Die Oog, Groot Marico |
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| Kissing in Kuruman (NOT Graeme and Trevor) | It really is as hot as.... |
