We were travelling in a 1972 Volkswagen Fleetline minibus, which we’d hired from a former student called Piet Vis.We were also towing a trailer. The plan was to drive to Badplaas (now eManzana), where we’d sleep for two nights. The driver wore a yellow motorcycle helmet and had two co-drivers on the front bench with him. The other four of us sat in the back, around a little table that we used to play bridge. (Little did we know that we’d be playing a lot of bridge in the days to come…) In the trailer were two cases of Swartland dessert wine.
We cruised north as one vehicle after another overtook us. We were very excited when we reached 110km/h on a downhill.
It was smooth sailing to Warden in the Eastern Free State, but then“Piet Vis se bus” broke down. My friends Rys Matthee and Hawies Fourie went to the local parsonage for help and the dominee referred us to a mechanic. The carburettor had to be replaced and the part had to be ordered from Harrismith.
That night we pitched our six-man tent on the lawn next to the mechanic’s workshop. It was June and bitterly cold – the seven of us slept so close to each other that you could have fitted two more guys in the tent! The carburettor arrived the next morning and we were on our way again.
We arrived at Aventura Resort in Badplaas, where we had one night remaining of our scheduled two-night stay. The next morning, the bus wouldn’t start again. We had to push it for what felt like an hour before the engine showed any sign of life. We bought supplies in Barberton and drove on to the Kruger Park.
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