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English Anglo Boer War blockhouse next to the national highway on your way to Capetown
I am fascinated by these big trucks on the roads and I am writing again about these giants of the road. And the Anglo Boer War blockhouses that you can see next to the road.
Heavy duty trucks [20-wheelers!!] are lethal instruments on the SA roads. And as such we should be very, very careful when on the roads. And yet, my wife and I just travelled slightly more than 3300 kilometers from Johannesburg, Gauteng to Capetown, Western Cape to Gansbaai, to Grootbos, to Mosselbaai, past the Owl House in Nieu Bethesda, Eastern Cape, to Middelburg to Johannesburg safely. There was just one incident that called for caution - the entire roundtrip was hugely successful and safe and enjoyable. We passed hundreds of these 20-wheelers; I was told by a petrol-attendant that these trucks take easily R20’000.00 fuel to fill up. I even saw some with 32 wheels!
I am, in general, positive when I encounter these huge trucks on our roads. I think it is partly because I got my driver’s license on an army truck and ever since, trucks figure in my thinking processes. It is tangible evidence of the SA trade and industry; the wheels of commerce are turning! [unless there is a strike somewhere for some gripe or two or three or four …]. I am aware of all the caveats and warnings and negativity surrounded these moving objects. How else can they move the goodies? By rail? That is non-existent.
I had a choice when
driving down and back what my reaction should or could be? Negative? Or positive?
Indifferent? But why indifferent? I think that is a cop out.
Shortly before we left, some two days prior, I had a long conversation with a friend who had just returned from a road trip of more than 8000 kilometers thru our beautiful country. He was brim-full with what he saw and what he had experienced. He called it a road trip doing social observation. That turned my head around. I don't have to do the mundane thing of keeping the vehicle on the right side of the road; or just charging down at breakneck speed to get to the other side. Or keep on wishing that the long stretches of tarmac come to an end! There is much to do on the road either down to Capetown or up from Capetown. Remember, my wife was with me. We had long interesting conversations.
But there were stretches when it was silent. What then?
I asked her to write down the names of rivers, spruits, little dorpies, farms and stations (often the only thing left of a railway station was the name on a rusty plate next to the road). Oh, yes, sometimes the ruins of the building-infrastructure were also left.
This reminded me of the fascinating discipline referred to as toponnomy (the study of names of places). Click here to read a Wikipedia write up. I was born under the old South African flag that was very recently confirmed by the Highest Court of Appeal to be hate speech! I never thought that I would live long enough to experience this lot.
Place names written while we were travelling and a sketch of a withered tree standing in front of the DRC in Richmond Northern Cape
Kenneth Kaunda was the
President of Zambia. If my recollection serves me right, it was said that he
was a trained cobbler. Another thing I remember of him was that, while he was
President, he cried a lot in public. Now, that I am older it is understandable
- I do that without thinking twice. Then, I read a tribute to him in his
retirement home in Zambia. It impressed me! He was highly regarded in Zambia. And, in my country he was
derided as a cry-baby and an enemy of South Africa.
During our road trip, we were very fortunate, and I hasten to say blessed, in that we did not witness any collisions of any sort. There was just this one incident on the road where this big truck was overtaking and we were somewhat compromised but without any consequences at all - you can see that in my video.
The road workers were doing their job. There were even guys in the middle of nowhere walking next to the tarmac, picking up dirty papers, paper cups, messy wrappings of all our fast-food shops. They put the debris in plastic bags that were hanging around their shoulders. It was obvious that they have to carry that the entire day till they knock off duty. Let me tell you that the sun in the Karoo is brutal! And they were walking, carrying their bags full with our road users' messiness! Shame on everyone that just throw their stuff from vehicles and think nothing of it.
Let us think for a moment or two or three about these unnamed people working constantly so hard to keep the roads in the Karoo clean. Bravo!!! To you!!
Another thing you could do while driving these far-off roads, is to concentrate on the landscapes, the animals, bird-life, road signs, stationary vehicles. Practice social observation - do what that friend of mine did travelling more than 8000 kilometers! It is a nice way of looking. And of observing. And of trying to make sense of your surrounds. Switch off the radio. Don’t listen to the news bulletins. Concentrate on what you see around you.
Let’s look closer to the landscapes. It changes all the time. The structures of the different trees change. There are shrubs struggling to survive the harsh Karoo climate. Back home you can take your time to do so reading about the Karoo. Click on this link.
As far as you travel,
the presence of church towers is inseparable from the horizon! The presence of
the Dutch Reformed Churches dominates not only the skyline, it dominates the
little town. It is almost always the biggest structure in town. And the address
of the church? Kerkstraat! Church street!
If you have the time, stop and see if you can gain entrance to have a look inside. My experience is that the DRC buildings are mostly locked up.
The DRC in Colesberg is gigantic! It is an understatement to say it is dominating everything in the area! It is absolutely overpowering! It is as if there are no other church denominations that matter! Social media outlets are brim-full with images and information about churches in South Africa.
Please write me your
story: neelscoertse@wirelessza.co.za
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