Done and Dusted
Posted: Sat Apr 23, 2016 7:43 pm
Some months have gone by and many other things have happened - but a trip to the Kgalagadi can never be forgotten (if you keep notes and have a pic or two to jog the memory). Jax and I had got on so well on our trip to Zimbabwe together it planted the seed to travel to the Kgalagadi together. A year in the making and it was finally time to hit the road. Kgalagadi beware the merry widows are on their way!
If we knew then what we know now we may never have booked the trip we did - but knowing what we know now - and knowing how rough it can be - we would both do it again in a heart beat. But that will unfold as the days pass. If our families had known exactly what we would be facing and which route we were taking - we would have probably been put in padded cells and straight jackets!
A daily diary format would take far too many key strokes so I have decided to keep it short. Our first day we were patting ourselves on the back for making such good time - then we realized we had taken the scenic route and had to do an about turn. Pulling off onto the side of the road for a quick pit stop - horror of horrors - our front passenger tire was imitating a pan cake.
No problem we would have it changed in a jiffy.
me ; "mmmmm Jax I think we have a problem - the wheel spanner is too big for the wheel nuts - or I am just stupid."
No such luck- not only were we we were stranded with a wrong size spanner - and the sun was starting to sink lower and lower. We eventually managed to flag down another vehicle and their wheel spanner was the correct size. The woman could not wait to escape from these two mad woman who had flagged her down in the middle of no-where, standing next to a vehicle that was leaning ominously to the one side. It took a lot of sweet talk to convince her we were not serial killers but just two normal (debatable) every day women trying to change a flat tire. Fortunately our wheel spanner fitted her vehicle, so a quick swap and a bit of cash changed hands and we were smiling again - and she was bombing off down the road to escape as quickly as she could.
Although the evening air was coming in we were still very hot, sticky and very frustrated as we should have been back on the road instead of battling with a single, simple flat wheel that we still had not managed to change for a nice fat, pumped tire.The jack could not lift the vehicle high enough. No problems - we soon had the jack balanced precariously on rocks we had picked up the the vehicle high enough to get the flat off. As if we had not had enough frustration - the spare wheel did not fit the rim! By now Jax was cursing and swearing about the garage that had checked the car and given it the thumbs up before she embarked from Durban to Jozie.
Fortunately the second spare was a good fit and it wasn't long before we were trundling along once again. So much for patting ourselves on the back for the good time we had made! Not much later we were having a good laugh about the episode. No point getting upset and staying upset - what is what is - and laughter is always the best medicine.
Finally we arrived (a lot later than expected) at our un-booked and unknown destination 'till we got there.
Who can worry about minor problems when you are sitting under an African sky with stars sparkling like diamonds above you, a drink in hand and flames dancing in the fire.
If we knew then what we know now we may never have booked the trip we did - but knowing what we know now - and knowing how rough it can be - we would both do it again in a heart beat. But that will unfold as the days pass. If our families had known exactly what we would be facing and which route we were taking - we would have probably been put in padded cells and straight jackets!
A daily diary format would take far too many key strokes so I have decided to keep it short. Our first day we were patting ourselves on the back for making such good time - then we realized we had taken the scenic route and had to do an about turn. Pulling off onto the side of the road for a quick pit stop - horror of horrors - our front passenger tire was imitating a pan cake.
No problem we would have it changed in a jiffy.
me ; "mmmmm Jax I think we have a problem - the wheel spanner is too big for the wheel nuts - or I am just stupid."
No such luck- not only were we we were stranded with a wrong size spanner - and the sun was starting to sink lower and lower. We eventually managed to flag down another vehicle and their wheel spanner was the correct size. The woman could not wait to escape from these two mad woman who had flagged her down in the middle of no-where, standing next to a vehicle that was leaning ominously to the one side. It took a lot of sweet talk to convince her we were not serial killers but just two normal (debatable) every day women trying to change a flat tire. Fortunately our wheel spanner fitted her vehicle, so a quick swap and a bit of cash changed hands and we were smiling again - and she was bombing off down the road to escape as quickly as she could.
Although the evening air was coming in we were still very hot, sticky and very frustrated as we should have been back on the road instead of battling with a single, simple flat wheel that we still had not managed to change for a nice fat, pumped tire.The jack could not lift the vehicle high enough. No problems - we soon had the jack balanced precariously on rocks we had picked up the the vehicle high enough to get the flat off. As if we had not had enough frustration - the spare wheel did not fit the rim! By now Jax was cursing and swearing about the garage that had checked the car and given it the thumbs up before she embarked from Durban to Jozie.
Fortunately the second spare was a good fit and it wasn't long before we were trundling along once again. So much for patting ourselves on the back for the good time we had made! Not much later we were having a good laugh about the episode. No point getting upset and staying upset - what is what is - and laughter is always the best medicine.
Finally we arrived (a lot later than expected) at our un-booked and unknown destination 'till we got there.
Who can worry about minor problems when you are sitting under an African sky with stars sparkling like diamonds above you, a drink in hand and flames dancing in the fire.
Ja that road also caused some grey hair to us and as RP mentioned before it seems like lots of car troubles in lots of TT to KTP.
Lucky to have two spares 
Glad, you girls were able to take it with humour, even if it was only afterwards 
