South Africa

The drive’s OK, the South African Border poses no problems at all, but I’m having trouble changing gears, third being a particular problem. Despite the problems I arrive in good time in Loskop Dam. Driving upto the log cabin and seeing my parents – who I’ve not seen for 11 months is quite something. It feels as though I’ve made it – I’ve finally reached South Africa, and after such a long time, get to spend three weeks with my folks.

Tony and Helen are in great form – they’re both looking well, and unchanged since the last time I saw them 7 years before. Tommy and Jean, Helens’s cousin and close friends make up the rest of our party for the next three days.

I arrived at the dam just an hour after my parents – after 11 months on the road, this date that’s been set for some time couldn’t have been timed any better.

It feels like I’ve now achieved my goal – although there’s still a thousand miles or more to travel until I reach the cape – Africa’s southern most point, seeing my parents again, who I last saw a few days before my departure from East London - here on my first day in South Africa it feels as though I’ve completed my journey.
Africa’s a complicated place, it’s full of challenges, dangers and for those wishing to find it – an eye opening, life changing world of beauty. In the scenery, the people, the culture and the sheer diversity to be found here – I’m at last reflecting on my successful drive across the worlds greatest continent.

The car problems I’ve had en-route from Swaziland had a new addition – the steering is shaking violently, and after we’ve caught up on all our latest news I find that one of the steering damper securing bolts has worn through it’s mounting – a decent tightening of it should see me through to Cape Town.

We hire a boat and head out onto the dam, the hour-long sprint around the dam is OK – but as it’s the middle of the day, there’s little to see. The most impressive find was a huge monitor lizard (about 1.5m long) hanging out beneath a bird colony.

We’re staying in a beautiful log cabin, which for me is a total luxury. It’s a far cry from the roof tent, the next three weeks with my parents will probably feel more like a holiday than the traveling I’m now accustomed to.

South Africa itself is unlike the rest of Africa, there’s a McDonalds in every town, advertisements are everywhere, the cars are in good condition and people (mostly white people) are well off. You can sense the divisions though – there are affluent black people here – most new jobs by law have to go to black employees – an effort by the ANC to reduce the wealth gap (or should I say canyon), but it’s clear that there’s still huge inequality.

I’ve been to South Africa once before, 7 years ago with my ex-girlfriend Emma, so there’s no shock to the system to see how westernised this is – it’s just a lot to take in right now.

After a few wonderful days with my family, it’s time to leave – my parents will join me on the journey to Cape Town, we have less than three weeks to get there – at which point they have a train to catch, back to Johannesburg and to their flight home.

This has been the first time all of the male Noble’s have been together – my dad, his brother Tony and I are the only living male Nobles – I sincerely doubt that either of them will be having any more children anytime soon, so it’ll be down to me to carry on the family name… Lots of time for that I might add!
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