Cruisin' the ZA

Traveling through South Africa, like everything else, is a far cry from state side travel. No congested freeways with a 20km trip that takes well over an hour. No carpool lane or 24 hour taxi service. Instead its endless 2 lane highways with sparse exits throughout burnt "bushland" and game reserves... Unnamed routes are often times identified only by fixed landmarks, not street signs... and these are just the paved roads. Anything off the main roads is a coin flip whether or not you will be off-roading in a mini compact "Corsa Killa" (our loving 4 door micro machine). The majority of these side roads are just tire-tracked dirt with 3 feet of bush on either side. Driving through these areas is guaranteed to get you lost unless you are with a local. Along with the chaotic and borderline NASCAResque car passings (which are totally common and acceptable here) are herds of local villagers hoofing it miles upon miles to reach unknown destinations. Monkeys, cattle, goats and sheep line the roads, no sidewalks or fancy billboards- just pure terrain. We are currently about 40km outside of Mtubatuba on R22 heading to a mission on the border of South Africa and Mozambique. The last "town" we passed was about 5 miles back and still we see random groups of people walking along the side of the hwy. If the constant burn of bush, trash and sugarcane didn't plague the air and cause a mirky horizon, these stretches of hwy could continue on for an eternity. As the 4 of us zone out in our own minds listening to the White Stripes for the 4 hour drive, we all silently still hold a bit of reserve for both safety and curiosity from all the stories we've heard of the "open bush" and highways in Africa. 27 degrees Celsius (ill let you convert that one) on a warm WINTERS day, 4 guys in a micro machine and 300km of open road... Just another day in ZA.
10/4/2010

-R

Check out a short video of what it is like: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSfmhvIuFN8