Today we entered the Northern Cape where our awareness campaign really takes off. The cyclists felt that it has been good getting acclimatised to the actual cycling part of the trip before we start the workshops which will be extra work and pressure, although I will be bearing the brunt of that – the problem of getting ahead to places will still need to be solved as we really do need two vehicles to shield the cyclists both in front and behind as they cycle, dodge treacherous pot holes and keep up speed.
We had a brilliant stopover in Vryburg which is a very pleasant little town with a peaceful atmosphere, wide streets and lots of old architecture. The Lockerbie Lodge was superb with all the amenities that we needed and a very friendly welcome. The owners sponsored our stay and it is heart-warming to know that we are being supported in this way from complete strangers. We had a swim in their lovely pool and a very lekka braai of boerewors and chicken with fresh veg and boiled baby potatoes.
Today Shaun (“The Machine”) Murphy cycled like a superstar. He started the day at 06h40 and by 09h46 had cycled 90 kms. We can hardly believe our eyes!
Last night Shaun asked Roland and I what we talk about while we are travelling at an unusually slow speed and we told him of snippets of typical conversations:
Roland: Look at these trees, I wonder how old they are.
Jenni: Ja, and I wonder what they are, they have poplar type leaves but they are not straight nor tall.
Roland: No, I think they might be oak trees.
Jenni But the trunks don’t look like oaks.
Roland: No, but they were all planted at the same time.
Jenni: Hmmm. They sound like poplars!
Roland: But they are not straight nor tall! My uncle had poplar trees on his farm and they awere straight and tall…3 kms to go and he will have done 100kms!
Jenni: Stunning! And I think those other trees we saw may have been nut trees and not citrus trees as we originally thought because this seems to be nut country…
Roland: Oh yes! But I did see a bakkie load of oranges so there must be some citrus around.
(5 minutes later)
Jenni: Shaun has good legs hey Roland!
Roland: Yes and a good bum too, it looks as if it is talking to us.
(Laughter)Roland: Nice road. Shaun has been drinking magic juice he is not telling us about!
Jenni: No it must be the good genes…
Roland: But of course, mine that is, not Heather’s…(more laughter, etc)
I have been trying to do a bit of bird watching as we go along – earlier we saw a magnificent pair of pale chanting goshawks and I have heard plenty of northern black korhaans during the last two days. We have seen plenty of LBJ’s, sparrows, thrushes and in Vryburg redbilled firefinches and red headed finches.
The road to Warrenton was a good road although busy at times – it is mind-boggling how some people drive and the chances they take.
We arrived in Warrenton but could not find a “Welcome to Warrenton” board so Shaun posed next to the Warrenton “Rolbal” club sign at the entrance to the town. We then packed the bikes into the van and drove the 105 kms to our accommodation in Ulco where we were met by our host Huldah Barnard who had arranged five rooms in the Afrisam guest house for us. Ulco is a name made up from the words ‘United Lime CO-operation’ and it is dominated by the noisy, smoky, imposing Afrisam cement factory that seems to operate 24/7. The whole town belongs to Afrisam and it had a definite ‘Truman Show’ feel about it (it made Shaun think of ‘Pleasantville’). The town has one pool that anyone can use at any time, there is an aging Putt Putt course and the whole town can be locked at the entrance to the town. The guest house might have been an ex mine manager’s home – it was huge, we each had our own room, and magnificent well-kept gardens.
A delicious homemade boerekos supper was delivered to the guest house and we relished every mouthful. We watched the Bulls beat the Reds with mixed feelings and chatted to the family who were staying in the guest house. They are relocating from Thabazimbi to Ulco and are waiting for their furniture to arrive. It turned out that the older of their two boys is struggling at school and Tendai, the Dad, was feeling desperate about finding the right school for him. He has been travelling from Thabazimbi to Pretoria twice a week to get his son to OT (at a cost of R6 000 per month). I put him in touch with Huldah who will refer him to an OT in Ulco and he was very grateful for our help. Before retiring to bed we read the boys a story on the iPad and they happily played with some of the educational apps. They eventually, and very reluctantly released, us to go to bed. Tendai confessed that he would have to end up buying a couple of iPads for his very cute sons!
Blog was continued this morning, Easter Sunday because we did not have internet connection last night – yes Ulco is that far into the sticks!
This morning we had to walk to a nearby restaurant ‘Picardo’s’ for a breakfast of orange juice, yoghurt, French toast, baked beans, bacon muffins, boerewors and coffee. Before setting off for Warrenton, the boys had to hunt Easter eggs in the garden, pose for a photograph and then we were off.
After charging the Garmin we left Warrenton at 09h30. The road is downhill and Leigh, Nicolas and granny are waiting for us in Bloemfontein. NOTHING is going to hold Shaun back today.
We still do not know what those mystery trees were!
Todays thank yous are to:
- Lafras and Carina Fourie for a wonderful stay at Lockebie Lodge - the best linen yet!
- Hulda Barnard and Afrisam for the restful stopover in Ulco with supper and breakfast provided
- Kelly Givens for the Fuji 29ers which the boys are falling in love with
- Saverite for the food - we sure are not going hungry
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