go! Platteland

On mountains and moments

The way beyond Barkly East, leading onward to Moshoeshoe’s Drift and the village of Rhodes, was some-what problematic to negotiate – or, plainly said, just shitty. If it weren’t for the high mountains I could have been on some track in Equatorial Guinea or driving through the green paddocks of New Zealand after Cyclone Gabrielle had passed. Owing to the recent rains, the little gravel road with its multiple muddy vehicle tracks looked a lot worse than the road almost never travelled. In fact, my fancy Autobahn-designed German car, now with its tyre treads filled with mountain mud, kept on flickering and beeping all kinds of commands like “Change to snow conditions on all alpine inclines!” I know, I know – I should have read the manual, but it’s nearly as thick as the Bible. So there we were, skidding and slipping all over a mud slide in the southern Drakensberg, not having thoroughly studied the Bible or the VW Tiguan’s manual.

I still follow that dream of going somewhere I’ve been many a time before, in the hope of finding new alignments

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from go: Platteland

go: Platteland13 min read
Return To Life In 1897
Whatever you do, do not flee to Soetmelksvlei on a day when you have totally had it with your fast, comfortable, technologically advanced, consumer lifestyle. After spending seven blissful hours imagining that you are living in 1897 – the year that w
go: Platteland4 min read
The Man With The Brooms
Every day, Jan Mentoor wakes up at his home in Wynruit Street in Malmesbury, prepares for the day, packs his stock, says goodbye to his wife of more than 30 years, and heads off to work. This might sound like an ordinary suburban existence, but Jan’s
go: Platteland2 min read
An Afternoon To Feed The Soul
– Eikenhof Dam, Elgin Valley – It was a clear, beautiful sunny day in February when the hiking trails around Eikenhof Dam in the Elgin-Grabouw area mesmerized and enchanted me. My brother indulged me for about three hours as we spent the afternoon me

Related Books & Audiobooks