My day started with a little panic to get moving, as I had a long way to go and my body was a little sore after the big distance covered yesterday. To add to it, I knew it was going to be hot and that the road was narrow and horrible… so progress would be a little slower than usual.
After a great breakfast and receiving a lunch pack from Grob’s Lodge, I headed off through Northam and was sadly struck by the P Fairy just as I was leaving town – not cool! 3 km down and already a flat… it wasn’t a good sign for the day.
By 10 am the ‘lunch pack’ was gone and I was feeling the heat, so downed the can of cool drink that came with it. Eish! I was glad I’d put the DromLite bag in the freezer, so had a backup 4 kg block of ice that would slowly melt through the day.
The damn Fairy got me again and I was not a happy boy, but fortunately found some shade behind a massive road sign and made the necessary repair. To my amazement though, my new tube which I picked up the other day was a 24″… despite it saying 20″ on the box. Grrrr! So now I don’t actually have any new tubes left… only got ones that have already been patched, and the three I have have all been patched a few times.
My progress when walking was good, but there seemed to be loads of little problems and I just couldn’t find a good rhythm – which was compounded by the heat. With no wind and high humidity, I was losing fluids and salts like there was no tomorrow. Due to some bad judgement and overdoing it on my rations, I had run out of drink mix so was left with the dodgy cranberry stuff that has some weird effects on my stomach.
A passing motorist stopped and handed me an ice cold can and wished me all the best – just what I needed! Thanks! A little later I was in luck again, as Pieter from one of the local mine stopped and asked if I’d eaten… but before I could say I was chomping away on plenty MuleBar’s he handed me a foam box and said ‘enjoy’ and drove off. Inside… steak, fries and salad. I sat right there and wolfed it down, along with the cold drink he gave me.
Not even 1 km further, I was pulled over by the Limpopo Traffic Department. Oooops! Now what? Turns out they’d read about me in the local newspaper and wanted to chat and wish me luck for the rest of my journey. And then complimented me on my excellent visibility on the road (saying they wished all pedestrians would take such good care!).
Moving along, another chap pulled over and gave me a can of Coke – what a legend! I was taking major strain and this was just what I needed. And when I saw the padstal 500 m later I swung in to pickup a backup can as I still had 3hrs or more to Thabazimbi… and someone sitting there said he’d buy it for me! What a day it had been – open hearts all the way!
There’d been some confusion regarding my accommodation in Thabazimbi, as several people had invited me to stay but all through different channels and methods causing major problems… so I was very happy when Casper pulled over and we settled in right there.
I struggled the last stretch into town, on what was most certainly the toughest day of the journey so far. It was rough, but made by amazing people all along the way.
I met up with Casper in town, after two ladies stopped and presented me with a bottle of cold water to welcome me into town, and headed for the guesthouse which is almost finished – opening late March. I am in the honeymoon suite (alone), and will be staying an extra night to allow my body to properly rest before taking on the last 500 km.
