Friday, 27 April 2012

Day Twenty: Springbok to Garies (117 kms)

Shaun started the day feeling less well than yesterday but did he listen to advice? Basically no! The road today was very hilly with monster ascents and easy enjoyable descents. The vegetation started changing to Karoo scrub, the ochre sand to the duller yellows of a semi desert. It is an area with intriguing names: Handjieskraal, Spoegrivier, Soebatsfontein, Kys, Mesklip, No Heep, Aanloop en so aan.
Leigh and I chatted up a storm about everything under the sun (and played the windmill game) and Nic was a star on the back seat. I am getting to know autism first hand now. I see how the meds (chewies) help Nic to relax and entertain himself. I see the affects of the meds wearing off just in time for the next stop. I see the autistic behaviour (super polite requests in all circumstances). I see a little boy beginning to get upset if he cannot see his Dad. I hear his semi correct language ie “Dad is following to us” when we are in fact following him and Pieter. My heart beats faster when he opens the car door with ease as soon as we draw to a stop on the side of the road. I see him having fun and making happy noises. I see him responding to commands. I hear him telling us when he needs to wee, when he is hungry/thirsty. I see a beautiful little boy struggling to wake up early in the morning and taking a while to warm up to the day. This is an experience I am loving more and more.
We trundled into Garies and easily found the very pink Sophia Guest House in the main street of a town that smacks of the Karoo.
Because Shaun was not feeling great they decided to go the Garies hospital to get some antibiotics. It was apparently a surreal experience. The hospital was new but devoid of personnel. They had to walk through several passages before they found two sisters on duty who then gave some generic meds. Leigh was checking with her medical doctor brother-in-law that the pills were okay. On their way home they stopped at the garage shop to buy some tomatoes and a cucumber. We had mince and pasta (made by Chef Pieter) with a fresh salad. It was delicious.
I found out that Garies is a type of grass (couch grass) as I was curious about the name. In springbok we saw information signs to Cape Town for the first time. Just as we left Springbok the mileage to Cape Town was 555kms. The end is beginning to edge into sight!

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