On the road to Kgalagadi. Second stop: Kuruman, August 18th

Man, what a ride! Didn't quite make it at 9 because I had a hard time packing my heavily guarded stuff (see pictures) so I hit the gas station in Centurion at 11. Filled the tank and the 2 jerry cans (25l each) with diesel. Just to realize that one of them has a little hole in one of its top corners. Well, I realized when I had spilled a good load of diesel over my new jacket. Damn! Besides I had to buy a new jerry can at Midas which cost me additional time. So I finally took off at 12:30h. AAH!

The trip itself was rather mindnumbing. Mostly one straight road to drive on with a few mongooses and suicide birds here and there. And, of course, guys riding their bicycle on the emergency lane of the highway in Pretoria. :) Another odd thing: at some point the N14 would simply be closed, which caused a tiny detour of 35kms. But hey...a lil nothing on the Kalahari-scale. After another stunning sunset I arrived here (the "Guesthouse on main", Kriek Street) at around 7pm which called for approx. 45 minutes of driving in the dark. Not only does no one here pay attention to their permanently switched on brights. What's even worse is that you discover the pedestrians only a few seconds before you have a good chance of hitting them at 120km/h. Luckily I got no roadkill on my checklist today. So, if possible, no more driving after dark! And last but not least I was a bit spoilt by the N1 (tolled) coming from the North down to JoBurg. I can tell you...the N14 does not deserve it's name. It's at max some sort of a mix between a tar and a gravel road. You seriously look for a place to hide when a road train comes rushing towards you with the brights on...!

In case you didn't know: South Africa's always good to teach you a lesson! Never rely on something the locals tell you about the national parks and game reserves. NEVER! I was told that the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park has a great infrastructure and accomodation is easy to get. Well, when I called SanParks to make a reservation for Twee Rivieren tomorrow they would reply that the park is fully booked. Except for camping sites. Guess what? It's winter and the temperatures in the desert can fall to minus 10. Right. Minus 10! I just hope that I'll get something else when I am actually at the gate tomorrow. Got three blankets and a sleeping bag in the car, but does it make sense at all? And what's even worse: NO availability at the apparently spectacular Nossob restcamp. I, however, feel a bit of an Africa-newbie today. Strange to realize that with all the advice you got from the locals you're riding a dead horse after all. :)

No assumptions, we'll see about that tomorrow. Have a good night everyone, I'll try to sleep a bit despite the slight reek of diesel in the room. :D

Cheers!

Stefan