Strand beach was at one point so lighted up that lights were not needed. Some people spend thousands of rands on fireworks to just see it go up in smoke.
This is in somerset west before I drove off into the smoke. The sky turned red the deeper I went into the smoke the less i could see in front of me even with the car's lights on.
This is part of the roadtrip series.
So driving at night is preferred even though many people say otherwise. If you are awake, drive. The road to Colesberg well that was not where we intended to go, actually we just drove, without plans, without direction hoping to find something interesting and wonderful.
As I was saying, we drove from Helderberg to the place where the plot is. Now on the pictures the lady did not tell us that its located just across the road from a squater camp. We had the idea that the plot was located in the middle of the Karoo, we had the idea it was a small town with a bunch of artists. And so we were wrong.
When we got to the town it was empty, it looked like a ghost town. No houses were standing up straight. It really looked desolated. The only life in the forgotten village was the smoke coming from the far reaches of the massive location.
And that was the end of our hopes to buy a plot there.
By that time it was around 9am. I have been driving 10 hours straight. Non stop, no sleep, no food, no comfort and I was starting to feel it. It was then we took the journey to Colesberg 250km from Bloemfontein. We got to a hotel there. I cant remember the name of the hotel but its really close to the petrol station on the left side of the n2.![]()
Inside of the hotel in Colesberg.
Before booking into the hotel we went for a drive on a backroad in Colesberg. There are many gravel roads leading to mysterious places in South Africa. You really should take one of those roads some time. You will find amazing places and views. Especially if you are into photography. The best places to see in South Africa is off the road.
The Northern Karoo or Groot Karoo as some know it.
So the time has finally come where petrol hit the R10 mark in South Africa. Buying a bicycle and using the money that you would of spent on Petrol on other things might be wise. That is if you make it to the shop on a bicycle driving through the crime.
Here is a list of things you can buy for R10 instead of paying for that petrol:
Milk
You can almost buy 2l of milk for R10. That is enough to make about 30 cups of coffee. Not even speaking about milk coffee. Using only milk in your coffee makes it way creamy... and stuff.
Bread
We all need to eat and bread is South Africa's biggest wheaty thing we are eating. Bread makes the belly full. So you can buy a bread and feed a family for one night by driving to the shop with your bicycle.
Can of food
You can buy a can of food, you know like tin food. Canned food can last up to 1 or two years. So if the entire country goes down you still have that can of food you can eat. Think about it. When the shops are empty like Zimbabwe you might be the rich owner of a can of bake beans. Super.
Pack of tabacco
You might not be able to afford a pack of smokes but with a pack of tobacco you can still contribute to global warming while saving petrol. Think about the heat waves and the ice melting. YOU can help.
Biltong
The South African snack. I like it.
Mieliepap
I dont know what that is in English but it can feed a family for a week. You can buy 1kg of mieliepap for less than R10. Take the bicycle and feed that family.
So here is a list of things you can buy by taking the bicycle to the shop instead of the car in South Africa. If you make it that far.