Long way from Colorado.  Left Denver midnite July 2^nd, arrived in South Africa on USA Independence Day.  Three different airlines.  Denver to New York (Jet Blue), NYC to Johannesburg (South African Air), Jo’burg to George (Mango).  Long long way from home.

Lotta hours in the sky but no drama AND I got fed, kinda.  2^nd meal service outta NY, realized it was intentional.  Kept getting my meal first.  Kept being served fruit, plain yogurt & 2 rice cakes.  Printed label on my meal.  GF?  Assume I inadvertently checked gluten-free while purchasing my ticket last February.  Gluten-free?  Blah.  I go thru a lotta fad phases – generally they’re all vegetarian-heavy varieties.  Never ever have I eaten so many rice cakes.  Beef, chicken, pasta steaming all around me.  No thanks, really 2 rice cakes/meal are plenty.  By the return flight home, I was neighbor-borrowing jelly packets.  LOL>

Easy breeze thru SA Customs, not many foreigners on the transatlantic flight (majority South African citizens).  Long 5 hour wait in Johannesburg O.R. Tambo’s domestic terminal for my Mango Air connection.  Just after 2pm local time touched down in George, on South Africa’s Indian Ocean coastline.  Hertz car rental, same in the States.

Hour-15 minute drive to tonite’s lodging, 35 minutes outside Knysna (Saturday marathon).

Driving on the left.  Slow & easy, solo travel this go-around.  No bestie Dawn or Stephen to chauffeur/help me navigate.  BUT only one main road to manage, South Africa’s Garden Route or as Google Maps referenced: the N2.   I could do this.

Far left is our far right – the slow lane, kinda.  In South Africa, there’s also the shoulder.  Not intended for breakdowns, cyclists or runners, the shoulder is an active traffic lane here.  And horns.  Folks use them, use them a lot.

Slow & steady.  Highway or dirt road travel, only one real town to drive through.  Knysna.

Thin city travel, lotta horn velocity.  Double-left turn lane, traffic stopped.  Far left, guy hanging in my lane, stopped.  Horns, whole lotta noise.  Ok I’ll just ease around his vehicle.  [Glad I didn’t cheap out, purchased Hertz’ Super Coverage.]  Yep, clipped him.  Then to make matters worse, I backed up.  Hot mess in a foreign country, only 45 minutes after rental pick-up in George.  Ugh.

Did you know South Africans speak Dutch?  Yeah, neither did I.  Weren’t they British once?  Princess Di’s brother?  Gets better.  Kid I scrapped had just pulled his BRAND NEW Lexus off the lot.  Ran inside to get title/ownership papers.  Yeah, that new.  Double ugh.

Felt like such the jerk.  Kid’s first day at a new job too.  Took cell phone pics, exchanged information & he was on his way.  Would file an accident report within 24 hours – at an African police station.  Yep, exactly as it sounds.  Actually visited TWO the next day.  Plettenburg Bay closer, less city traffic, easier to navigate but the wrong station.  Had to travel back to Knysna, wait with the other criminals.  All types, assume same process in the States.  Grand tourist experience.  Avoidable, my fault.

Can tell ya though, wasn’t horn-rushed the rest of the trip.  Keep on honking drivers, I’m on Afrikaner holiday.

Thursday itinerary: ELEPHANTS  🐘 ❤

Free VZW Msg: Welcome to South Africa.  You have TravelPass, which lets you use your domestic plan for $10/day.  Pay only on the days you use your mobile service.  Use talk, text, or data to start your session.  Enjoy your trip.

Afrikaner Rental