First off I was very happy to leave Vryburg behind. It seemed very unmanaged. I asked the petrol attendant what they had that was interesting, and he says, Tsotsis (gangsters), who prefer to steal and get paid every day, than to work and get paiud once a week/month. I left there as quickly as I could say, "Thanks for the petrol", and I was gone.
Later, reaching Mafikeng wa a pleasant surprise. They even had a 'Cash Crusaders' which is a shop that sells used equipment, music instruments, etc. I went in there for "old times sake" but nothing interestingwas on sale 9where would i pack it anyway??).
Unluckily, they never had a smaller tent, which was what I was after. I had a short chat with a friendly guy in the parking lot, then went round the block where he advised I could get food, unfortunately it was by the taxi rank and I didn't get anything.
So I went into 'Choppers Mall'. They had a Spar supermarket so I knew they would have fresh food, salads, etc.
Now the fun begins.
I pulled into the parking lot trying to find a parking space. When none materialized in a safe location I decided to pull up onto the pedestrian area close to the door, where the bike would be safe.
(1st strange event) I was going at 'old granny walking with a walking stick in each hand pace, turned round a pillar and 'bang' right pannier hits the pillar, and the Titanic moves towards the ground on the left side in verrrry slow motion. I basically couldn't hold the ±250 to 300kg up anymore and the bike went down basically in the entrance of the bottle store.
This happened right in the middle of the undercover walkway to te shops. Boy was I embarassed. Luckily 2 kind gentlemen helped me lift the bike up. there was no damage, and i walked into the shop as if nothing had happened. At least the salad was good. And I filled my Nalgene water bladder with over a liter of apple juice.
I ate and got out of Mafikeng as quickly as possible. Heading for Botswana.
The border crossing was easy, except I had no Bot Pula (Botswana Currency) so got some from the exchange container thingy at the border office via card payment.
(2nd strange event) While unpacking I realized what the plasticky, burning smell was that I had detected earlier while driving.
My bike cover had melted from the exhaust heat. Luckily my sleeping bag, wrapped inside it, was fine...... For now. The sticky stuff was coating the end of the exhaust, but it was basically just causing a bad smell, and nothing mechanical was affected.
(3rd strange event) Driving through into Botswana, I headed further north for Gaborone at about 120km p/h. Slowing only for a troop of monkeys in the road, and some cows also almost on the road. All of a sudden, I feel the bike 'shake her booty side to side' doing the twist again. Looking backwards and down to the right pannier, I see the very same bike cover trailing in the wind like a yacht's main sail. And..... No sleeping bag in site. I hadn't fastened the stuff well enough. Grrrr. I looked back and saw someone flashing their lights, so I thought they wanted me to come collect the sleeping bag. It took me 5 minutes to tie up the bike cover again, but by the time I turned round..... The car was gone......and so was the sleeping bag.
I drove back about 5km. But nothing. So I turned and headed for Gaborone, safe in the knowledge that it was time to get a new sleeping bag.
In Gaborone, I realized that I had gotten there just in time for peak hour.... Wow, I couldn't get the bike through faster than 1hr of walking pace. And of course.. . yes, of course, as soon as I got the GPS navigation system charged, I had to drive BACK through the jam 5km to find Mokolodi Backpackers, which was my choice of the places listed as potential places to stay. It was nice and clean, but again had no card payment facilities? (What world am i in??)
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| My bed at Mokolodi Backpackers (Gaborone) |
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| Ready to leave from Mokolodi backpackers the next morning |
Luckily I had just enough Pula to pay for a tented bed, at 165Pula.
Wow, what a day.
Tomorrow, let's go further north to Livingstone, Zambia, which the 2 German exchange students say can be done in 9hrs total driving time. They just came from there.
