Les's Blog
Thursday 24th June
Today is the day we reach our final destination, our Son’s place in Stellenbosch where we will stay for a while until we settle in and find a place of our own. We wake up in a sort of confused and enthusiastic daze if you know what I mean as a lot of different emotions are taking place all at the same time. Yes, of course we’re looking forward to seeing our son, our daughter-in-law and our dog; on the other-hand, our journey, no, let’s call it our trip here, will be over. Breakfast is served from 6.30 so at 6.28 we’re at our table along with most of the other guests. This isn’t a hotel you’d have your honeymoon in, it’s just a bed for the night so everyone’s in the same frame of mind, ‘come on let’s get going’. We aim to be at Gareth’s at about lunch time so we ring and tell him. We came to SA last year for 3 months, and although we haven’t seen his new house, the area is familiar to us and so by the time we get to Worcester we are on roads we have driven on before. The finishing line so to speak has been coming in drips and drabs; crossing the border into SA and getting that final stamp was a poignant moment as is the sight of Table Mountain that has just come into view. There it is says Jan, The red tractor perched on a wall signifying that we are at his house, in the grounds to the rear of the restaurant called ‘The Antique Tractor’. As we drive in, people in the grounds smile and wave as if they’d been expecting us for the last 3 months. Murray, the owner comes out to congratulate us and then shows us where to go. While Jan and Gareth are having a hug, Charlie licked my hand; that’s it, the trip may be over, but the journey has just begun.
I feel very privileged to have witnessed first hand
the sheer diversity of this, our beautiful planet,
as 11,579 miles, 15 countries and 3 continents
have passed beneath our wheels
This blog though is not over; when the dust has settled I will inflict upon you a summary of the trip.
