November 10, Part A

0330

First morning in the park.  Yesterday, we had a great breakfast with Andrew of Wild Eye at the Garden Court. He brought a cooler, rice, butter and a few cooking implements. The rice is to fill a couple of beanbags used to steady the camera when shooting from the car, or from a hide. Somehow in the translation from pounds to KG, I got it way wrong and we have enough rice to supply a Chinese restaurant for a week. Crazy.

Took the shuttle to the airport, rented a vehicle (a gutless RAV4) and took off toward the park at a bit past 0900.  All on track and going according to schedule.  We headed north on the R21, a major north/south highway out of J’burg.  It seemed to be after rush hour and we were making good time.  Then a roadside sign warning of a traffic accident ahead and ‘expect delays’.  Shortly after that, all 4 northbound lands came to a near stop.  Then it was stop and go for more than an hour.  And then stop.  Full stop.  Like everyone get out of your cars and wander around stop.  Like looking at your watch and seeing the hours go by and beginning to think that we might not even make it to Orpen before the gate closes stop. Like multiple police and ambulances rushing by on the highway shoulder stop. And Gina noticing that the left-front tire looks low stop.  One thing about traveling is that it teaches you the art of letting go.  Or, conversely, it teaches you the art of being a raging out of control lunatic, cursing the fates for not being nicer.

And then suddenly every gets in their cars and all four lanes move in unison, immediately up to 50kh.  We were expecting to see a pile of crashed cars.  Instead, after only a few hundred meters, we saw skid marks and scrapes and bits of debris and a big pile of white oil dry soaking up a pool of bright red, arterial blood.  Literally, blood on the highway.  Obviously, they’d stopped all traffic to remove the vehicles and once almost all signs of the crash were removed, let everyone go.  And, it was pretty much like a green flag after a long red flag period with 10 laps to go at Talledega.  Everyone’s frustration at being held up immediately poured forth in wild driving (um, did you notice the pool of blood you just drove through?). I made a wrong turn which took a while to sort out (read, I revisited raging lunatic-dom).

With all of the delays, we lost about 4 hours.  That turned a nice, scenic drive into a thrash.  It wasn’t a white-knuckle drive exactly, for me at least (maybe a different story for Gina), but it was driving very hard for 5 hours.  Five hours of intense concentration.  Not giving up thirty seconds anywhere.  Completely missing the beauty of the drive they call the “Highland Meander”. We’d called the camp to tell them we’d be late.  They can let you in to Orpen if you arrive late, but it’s a hassle and they fine you because your luck hasn’t been bad enough lately.

And we made it with 15 minutes to spare.  Grabbed some groceries though we were too tired to cook.  Unloaded, though we have to load up again this morning.  Bed by 8pm.

And awake at 0100.  Lie in bed pretending to sleep until about 0200.  Up, showered, ate some yogurt and Special K.  Noticed that the left-front is very low now.  Crap.  Something else we didn’t want to deal with.

Orpen’s right inside the gate so we didn’t see much wildlife.  A kudu cow with a couple of calves.  And, looking out of the gate at Orpen in the twilight, we saw two hippos crossing the road.

Gate opens in 45 mins.  Don’t even know yet where we’ll go.  We’ll pack everything so we don’t have to check out at 1000 and go either north or south, stop somewhere to fry up breakfast and then come back to check back into Tamboti Tent Camp for two nights.  And we’ll need to stop for air somewhere, and keep an eye on that tire.  Double-crap.

Cameras are assembled and we’re ready to go.