The waiting was over. May 31, 2009 dawned. We left Durban at 07h15 am in the morning and headed for Baobab Lodge situated 20 km from Martin’s Drift. It was a long day in the car. My Isuzu KB 300 D-Teq Auto 4x4 towed the trailer with ease. But it is an uphill climb to Johannesburg from Durban and we were averaging a rather thirsty 14.5 L/100 km. I used the cruise control and set it at 120 km /h. The Isuzu easily maintained this speed.
In the mail I received a fine of R300 some four weeks later with a photograph of my vehicle doing 98 km / h in a 80 km / h zone close to Shell Ultra just north of Harrismith. Fellow travellers, you have been warned!
We stopped off briefly in Johannesburg to look for a 12 Volt fluorescent light. An inspection light that we had purchased had failed the evening before while we were packing. We were down to one fluorescent light. Another lesson learned. Test your kit properly before embarking on a long journey. 4x4 Megaworld at Edenvale was closed (Sunday) and we were not able to find another outlet. Also the clock was ticking.
We routed via Potgietersrust (Mokopane) to Martinsdrift. Once we left the N1 the traffic thinned out considerably and apart from having to contend with driving into the setting sun the trip from Potgietersrust uneventful and the road in excellent condition.
We arrived at Baobab Lodge at 17h30 in the evening. A warm log fire was burning in the boma in front of the lovely wooden cottage we had been allocated.
Baobab Lodge is accessed by taking the Swartwater gravel road at Marnitz for about 7Km. It is the second Swartwater road after Baltimore +- 160 km from Mokopane/Potgietersrust. Baobab Lodge is on a farm owned by Henk Malan and run by his wife, Anel. They can be contacted on anel.malan@worldonline.co.za. Our accommodation cost us R200 per person and was well worth the cost.
A very pleasant evening was spent around the fire and we took advantage of the coals to braai juicy steaks. The beds were comfy
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