Below is a map of our self-drive journey through South Africa.
We drove 7,193 km spread over six weeks. The journey took us through spectacular countryside. We probably had two brief periods of rain, as the country in general had been suffering through a drought for some time.
The people were friendly, the roads excellent, and the cost of living relatively cheap. Unfortunately, when in or near the many townships and larger cities, the countryside was littered with plastic and garbage.
Regardless, the country is amazing, the landscape incredibly beautiful and diverse, and we would highly recommend a visit.
We departed Jo-Burg on the 22nd after picking up our 4 x 4 camper and headed west to Kuruman for a pit stop after a long 7-hour drive. The landscape was primarily flat (unusual for South Africa so far) and arid prairie. We spent the night camping at Red Sands Lodge.
This was our first night setting up the camper and spending a night, so we were very smart in our planning… We picked up a bucket of KFC and coleslaw for dinner, lit a fire, dug into the chicken and slaw, sipped on wine and beer and sang along with “one, two, three o’clock rock” that was blasting over the campground from a wedding being held at the lodge nearby.
We departed the next morning for an approximately 350 km drive, of which about 160 km was washboard, potholed gravel and sand. Our bones didn’t stop rattling until an hour after our arrival in the Kalahari Desert at Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park in northwestern South Africa.
The desert is, as they say, hot during the day and very cold at night. It was -6°C this morning and warmed up to at least 28°C in the afternoon. We took it easy today and updated the blog, relaxed in the sun and barbecued chicken, squash and scalloped potatoes over the braai (BBQ) while the sun set over a dusty hue in the distance.
The stars are amazing at night in the desert, and the Milky Way (absolutely stunning) can be seen from the northern to southern horizon. After much contemplation on our existence on this tiny blue planet and our place in the universe, and feeling a little numb from the cold, I crawled into bed (Joyce crashed earlier) and dreamed about driving down endless bumpy gravel roads! My place in the universe for the next six weeks!
