Well Hello There Fellow Hivers And Travelers
The day finally came that we had to head homewards, I can't even begin to describe how utterly crap this it felt and is still feeling. 😂 Almost so bad that I don't want to do the "adult" thing anymore. But life goes on and feelings fade I suppose?? By the end of the year I will be jumping with excitement because I know what would await me down at the seaside!
They say all great things have to come to an end, and why? Why isn't everything in life great? Even if something crappy happens? Blew a tire? Well at-least you got to blow that tire! You must think I am mad? No I just know that I am fortunate enough to have a vehicle on which I can blow a tire? I know it's not the easiest thing on earth to make the bad into good, but give it a shot!
MMMkkkkkaaaayyyy Nufff Of That.
I do feel the need to mention that this is the end of the adventure filled journey we had, however I still have a lot to share and will do so in the coming weeks! We did so much! And I have so much more to share! Stick around and see what awaits!
I have made a few posts already, I'll put them down here in the order of how they happened and not when they were posted!
I hope you like them!
The Journey Down And Through The Outeniqua Pass
The Merchant, Beach Adventures And A Pinch Of Madness
Going Down The Road Of Old, Visiting Antique Shops In Bland Street Mossel Bay
The Day Before Christmas Made For Donuts And Beach Vibes
Where were we?
Oh we were on our way home!
But before we jump too deep into the story of the road, I would like to thank @misshugo for a wonderfull and amazingly fun adventured filled holiday! Until our next journey!
The Journey Home
Even though we had one amazing holiday and did much more than I thought we would do. The ending of it all was a bit depressing, to say the least! I say this because we still had some stuff planned but the weather said nope, you ain't doing that on this round of vacation! On the last day we planned to go to a shipwreck located in Glentana in the Western Cape not far from where we stayed actually, around 30KM away, however we weren't able to get to that, rain poured down on us so there's that.
Don't get too excited this post has no amazing adventures in it, merely the road trip back home.
Brace yourself I am about to add more photos than needed into this post, now I won't be adding words to every picture, but I will add some words here and there, like naming a few places, what I experienced on the road.
But most of all I want to share the views, that's the main thing about this post, now keep in mind that photos never do justice for how a view is perceived first hand in the eyes of the beholder! (This means some photos might not look as exciting as what I perceived, but I'll share them none the less!)
I will keep the photos raw and un-edited so bear with me!
As always I try to be on the road before the sun rises! That way you miss most of the traffic and well the traffic police isn't on duty that early so you can cover a few miles faster than you would normally do. If I have to be somewhat honest 90% of the road I was surpassing the legal speed limit, fear not though in my country 95% of drivers do this 😇😇
I know that some of the photos have reflections on them, that's only the windows of the vehicles. They aren't visible in all of the photos but take note when you do happen to see them!
The first mile stone was the small town named Union Dale which has a very vast and rich history tied to it.
Oh not to mention a very very scary ghost story! But we shall leave that for some other day!
Just one of the beautiful historical buildings still intact.
Yes I know this is almost a double of the same photo, although it isn't. It's two photos taken after each other, both me and the Betty love doing that, just incase the second might turn out a little better.
So yeah there will be a few photo's that might seem like it's double but they aren't really but add them I will!
These were taken when we got over the Outenique Pass you can read more about the pass in a post I wrote on the first day of our holiday adventures. Check it out here The Journey Down And Through The Outeniqua Pass however it's not focused on just the Outeniqua Pass.
A few snaps after crossing the Outeniqua Pass.
Mountains everywhere I look, I swear the Western Cape feels like a whole different country compared to the Free State where I live, To put this plain and simple, I legitly live smack dead in the center of South Africa in a metro called Bloemfontein, where nothing amazing really happens. 😄
Just another beautiful landscape view, however I think this might look stupid to a lot, but coming over the hill and seeing everything from above really felt amazing.
The Outenique Pass was just one of three passes that we had to cross before we were bound for the flat-lands, the term country side would be a more befitting word, however we call it "Platteland" in my native language which directly translates to flatlands.
Just look at those clouds spilling over the mountains! Nature has so much beauty to it! I swear the next holiday we go on the Betty needs to drive so that I can sit around admiring the lanscapes!
Just another bunch photos of the beautiful landscapes! Bare with me as I feel the need to add all of them.
Most of these photos were taken in the moment, there wasn't really any planning behind them, laughs. Just me telling the Betty oh take a photo of that or this or those. I know this might seem like it's all the same but it's not!
Check Them Ostriches
Have you ever eaten ostrich biltong? Oh wait I'm stupid biltong is native to my culture, laughs believe me when I say you guys are missing out on some of the dried meat snacks we have over here in South Africa it's almost like beef jerky but much much better!
We drove past an ostrich farm on our route back home, and I can't recall a time where I've ever seen so many ostriches on one piece of land! And no, those in the photos are probably less than 10% of what was on the land. We reacted to late, we should have taken a video while we were passing. Well let bygones be bygones!
Ostriches on a farm, probably more than a thousand of them walking across the farm in a line.
The first pit stop we made was at a "padstal" as we would call it in my language, it's almost like a little market next to the road which sells coffee and artsy creations.
It really is just a pitstop between two towns where people can stretch their legs and well grab a bite to eat and maybe a coffee, we didn't linger long nor did we buy anything. We made some snacks the night before we left and prepared flasks filled with coffee for the road, I like to get the driving done with as quick as possible, although I have to say it was more fun than I thought.
The Man Sitting On The Tire Marks The Pitstop.
As soon as I got out of the vehicle, we saw this peacock going about as if we ain't no big threat, and well we weren't I just think he has gotten so use to human activity it doesn't really bother him anymore.
A Peacock Going About His Business.
A Fancy Little Shop On The Inside.
The Three Lone Tree.
The next milestone was a small town called Graaff Reinet although I think it might be bigger than I realize.
On the way down to the seaside we weren't able to catch a photo of the historical church, it wasn't on the route. However on the route back you happen to drive past it because we went into town because we had to fill up with gas.
Sorry the photo was taken in traffic and I had to act fast otherwise I'd have missed it so apologies I myself wish it came out better, but regarding the situation I think this was nicely done.
The Old Church In Graaff-Reinet.
Somewhere past the halfway mark we started getting some rains on the road, nothing that was of major concern, really I can't even complain I told the Betty I wont mind if we get some rain on the road because then the car can get a nice wash on the underside. So I suppose I got what I asked for?
Rainy Roads Ahead.
Clouds Rolling Through The Misty Mountains.
Needless to say the rains and clouds cleared up the closer we got to the Free State who would have thought. The moment I saw the clouds clearing up I knew that I was gaining on home. Which is basically a desert like country side, but with plants 😅 warm during the day and icey cold at night, well colder than you'd think, not icey cold. Although a lot of people are claiming it to be turning into a desert but I don't believe it just yet!
The Orange River
So this is called the Orange River it separates the Free State from the Western Cape. The river itself also has a lot of history tied to it, funny hey? A river? How can that even be, well there was back when the English Empire invaded South Africa they literally dug the river out to carve more into the cape colony. They led the river around a town called Kimberley and claimed it as part of their territory. You can give it a google, much to read about it!
A Few Photos Of The Orange River, it's wider than you think, swimming across it isn't a option..
Free State Border
We almost missed this little border sign. Fortunately the Betty had some wits about her! Thanks for that @misshugo!
If you look on the right side of the photo you can see the border crossing sign! This mean once I crossed that bridge with the massive river, I am basically home. We still have a few miles left but this is home!
From here onwards we didn't take a lot of photos, the long drive caught up with us and we didn't have much energy left in us. Actually some might say otherwise, if someone was to observe us they would say that oh you guys are full of energy, well the thing is when I get tired, I get a little crazy twist in me, laughs I pumped the music and well sang along. I had to do something to keep my eye lids from closing! Hahaha but needless to say we didn't care for more photos!
The Lone Hill
We Are Home!!!
So let's wrap this up here, as I said above we call the Free State the Flatlands, well I suppose these photos can clarify as to why we do, of-course there is a hill here and there but this place is mostly flat as flat can be!
With that said, it does have it's own kind of beauty! It's especially beautiful if you can get to high places, now drinking a coffee watching the sunset. boy oh boy ain't nothing that beats that!
Dated 06/01/2023
Connecting the people of #HIVE across South Africa. #hive