WISHING ON A TAR (ROAD)

ODOMETER READING: 260 958 (We’ve driven 22 186km since April last year)

Sunset on Lake Tanganyika

IN REHANA'S WORDS

Thursday, 2 January 2014

We’ve got about 4 000km between us and Johannesburg, the part of our journey I’m labelling The Last Leg. Unless we are diverted by travellers who tell us of a fantastic place on route, there’s only 13 more stops before we get home.

We will be driving like old ladies on the last 190km or so of gravel roads we face. After we hit the tar we’re unlikely to slog more than 450km a day (Botswana requires some long treks).

Like a practising old lady, I fell asleep at 10pm on New Year’s eve. The party at Lake Shore Lodge started around 11pm, I am told. The rythmic doef doef of the pre-party music wrapped around me in the tent like like a heartbeat through a uterus wall and I couldn’t keep my eyes open.

I’ve been collecting New Year’s wishes like a beggar planning to ride them all the way home. But I didn’t wish us a happy trip home. A wish seems a little too desperate. I prefer a New Year’s hope that we have an adventure-free journey from now onwards. I’ve had enough adventure for now, although I’m still in the market for education and exhiliration.

Our 10 days at Lake Shore Lodge passed quickly. Time tends to speed up when you spend five days staring at a test match and finish a book every day or two. The lodge had a great library. We went for one small walk, but we did swim at least once most days.

Bobbing happily in my favourite lake

Lake Tanganyika may just be the best one we’ve visited on this trip. The water was warm and changed colours and moods a couple of times a day. Congo’s mountains are on the horizon, 50km away but they seem much closer.

Watching the sun set over Congo

Our laconic hero Chris spent an hour or so today fixing some of BRC’s bodywork problems. With the help of a few manne and their boys he secured the roofrack, straightened the bullbar and taped the smashed front headlight cover (all the lights are still working).
The car starts first time every time, and hasn’t leaked a drop of anything. 

Chris and one of many admirers

Poor Jules had a bit of an affliction at what she is calling our organic campsite under the mango tree. All the goggas loved her more than me, and the tsetse flies were addicted to her blood. She woke up most mornings with a hot yellow sting in the centre of a spreading red bulge.
One of the bites on her forehead slid slowly down her face over two days. First her eyebrow bulged, then her eyelid, it moved to the corner of her eye and made a small bag under her eye that finally fizzled away.
She also spotted a bright green snake in the mango tree above our tent on our first night. Louise and Chris poo-pooed, said it wasn't a deadly boomslang but the friendly Tanzanian tree snake.

Our hearts are much stronger since we overturned. We’ve talked about the accident a lot, realised we’re still in the market for a lot of travelling and listened to everybody else’s tales of crashes and prangs much worse than ours. Everybody here agrees that our car gave us the best protection our bodies could hope (wish?) for. 
We highly recommend having an accident within the radius of Lake Shore Lodge. Chris, Louise and all of their guests were the best rescue team we could have hoped for.

Tomorrow we’re off again, Miss Daisy and her partner Miss Daisy ambling south. Probably one more stop – at Sumbawanga – before we cross the border into Zambia. Back in SADCland. Seems like a huge leap homewards.

Hoping all your roads are tarred this year.