Time to depart

The start of our second trip was a little less rushed and, because we more-or-less knew what we were getting ourselves into, we definitely weren't as anxious; at least I wasn't.  We started packing at 07:00 and we were on the road by 10:00 which sounds like a long time but to pack a 4x4 ready for duty does take a while.

This trip we didn't experience any traffic jams at all and had breakfast at the steers on the restaurant over the highway. I must admit that I was loathe to leave the vehicle unattended since everything on the roofrack is easily accessible and removable.  Sometimes I think that we, as in South Africans, are way too conscious of theft but given the frequency with which it happens ...

We arrived at the baobab cottages mid-afternoon and had a bit of a hard time getting the correct turn off and accidentally turned off into a bar which looked a bit dodgy.  Got back on the main road and took the correct turn off about 100m further on and from there it was simple.

The baobab cottages had a line of five or six, i think, baobab trees bordering the road and a very comfortable if rustic self catering cottage.  There was a great fireplace in front of the cottage and we had a very peaceful evening staring into the fire while work receded into the distance.

Aside from the baobabs the farm had a variety of dilapidated farm equipment in artistic decay.

The owner of the cottages turned up a bit after we had arrived and we recognised him from the tavern we had almost driven into.  He was a little happy but very pleasant and congenial.  There was rugby on so we retired to the other cottage which had a TV but no people to watch while we drank some wine and unwound.

The evening was quite cool in contrast to the day and we really enjoyed the peace and quiet.  The cottage had an outdoor shower which was great, the hot water on my cold skin felt just fantastic.