Jansenville to Middelburg – 23rd February 2016

All systems go this morning – we are about to begin the long journey back home – this time with twice the load we had coming down! We are all happy and looking forward to trip, which begins at 7h03.

This time we are more motivated and only perk up when passing through a town. Through Graff-Reinet once again and onward to Middelburg. If only we had known what lay before us. It is scorchingly hot, yet again and the bakkie air conditioner is really not helping. Ice sloshes around in the cooler box invitingly, but we are anxious to press on to get home as soon as we can.

We pass through Middelburg and as we are going along the main road, there is a strange noise from the back of the bakkie like ‘gluck’. What was that, I ask. Probably just a bump in the road comes the reply. I relax again and take in the scenery. Naude’s Pass at 1446 metres, the highest pass in the country navigable by a sedan, goes by and then Lootsberg Pass at 1781 metres.

Just after a sign pointing to the left that says Brulberg – a game ranch apparently, there is an almighty noise and a huge wrenching of the bakkie. I see Emmie fighting to hold the vehicle on the road and this she manages to do admirably. We are not sure what has happened, only to feel a sense of dread. The bakkie is at a standstill and we climb out with eyes as large as saucers. The trailer is lying on it’s side, a twisted mass of rubber, axle and various bits and pieces that lie strewn all over the place. The AGA we have purchased for restoration, fortunately, sits stoically in position.

We now react like the three vultures in Jungle Book – what are we going to do – I dunno – what we gonna do. Finally we recover slightly from the shock and get onto our insurance broker and start the great insurance wheel moving. It’s been about 7 minutes since the ‘moment’, it is frighteningly hot and now we know that the waiting game has begun. Literally a knight on a white horse appears and stops his snow white bakkie. His name is Mr Naude, and we find out later that he has an antique shop in Middelburg. What a gentleman. He knows someone in town who fixes trailers and has his number. He duly phones this person whose name is Louis. There is quite a bit of conversation and we are told that Louis will send someone to have a look. We thank him profusely, still a bit dazed from the experience. He drives off and we wait. About half an hour later an ancient bakkie rattles into view and stops behind us. Two gentlemen get out, take one look, and say they will have to go back and get more help – this isn’t something they can do now. I think the photo tells the whole story and you can see Mr Naude patiently waiting, while Emmie is on the phone to the insurance company.

We wait and wait…suddenly another shiny white car pulls up behind us and out steps a woman who walks towards us with three bottles of water. My goodness..how kind and thoughtful!! It turns out that she is Alison Naude,  wife of Mr Naude, who has sent her to our aid. We gulp down the water gratefully and thank her profusely too.

In all this time no one else has stopped but merely slowed down to have a look and then raced on by. Then as if by magic another bakkie roars into view and pulls in front of us. This is Petrus from Middelburg Tyres – he takes one look, mumbles and scratches his head. He says that he will have to go back to get some spares and then it will take around two hours to fix on the side of the road. We are a bit taken aback but Emmie hops into a 25 year old Ford bakkie and off they go at 140km an hour to get the required parts. It seems like an eternity, but after a phone call to find out the length of the axle, they return. Freedom and I are feeling like boiled lobsters, never mind feeling helpless and frustrated by the whole episode.

The work begins and one almighty effort later the trailer is set almost level again and two jacks are gingerly placed under each of the corners that have been lying on the ground. Slowly the remains of the trailer start to take shape-the new springs are inserted first, then the axle and lastly the wheels. So excited are we! Petrus and his brother wait patiently as we retie the AGA down along with the other pieces that have amazingly remained in position. Finally we are ready for take off and make a U-turn to go back the 11,4 kilometres back to Middelburg to pay for the damages.

No so quickly say the fairies. The bakkie is acting like a young colt under it’s first saddle. It bucks and pulls and hops. What now we wonder. We crawl into Middelburg, much to the chagrin of Petrus and his brother who are quite used to driving at 160 – not 60!

Nevertheless we arrive at Middelburg Tyres and after much humming and haaing, we discover that both rims are buckled and that the trailer hitch is also loose. We change tyres and rims and tighten the hitch! Wonderbaar – the little payment machine burbles away happily while regurgitating a very expensive receipt!!!

In the meantime we have been on the phone to Caro Chalets again to spend the night as we are all tired and quite shocked by our experience. So at 15h00, or thereabouts, we head back to van der Walt street where Agnes Booysen welcomes us with great sympathy. We unpack and all of us are hot, hot, hot! Freedom settles himself under a tree near his chalet and Emmie and I don our bathing costumes and head for the pool. Well that did the trick – the pool was freezing cold and we only managed 5 minutes – but we were cool!

Emmie was understandably extremely tired, what with the accident and the heat and climbed straight into bed, only to receive a call from the first lady we had seen in Middleburg, who she had contacted earlier, in the vain hope of some help alongside the road. This lady would like to visit us and see if all was well. OK we said. This was at 17h30 and by the time she left at 20h30, I don’t think either of us were making much sense in the conversational arena.

Enough said – bedtime!!!