The Sad Road Trip On An Empty Wallet

As soon as I heard of my aunt’s death, I knew straight away that I had to make a plan to fill my petrol tank and attend the funeral.

- Motlabana Monnakgotla

I hadn’t seen her in months and felt bad about not getting her the mobile phone I had promised her months earlier. Guilt was coursing through my body with blood pumped by a hurting heart.

Back to the tank issue – I was broke and could barely afford to buy enough petrol to drive 175kms to Ledig, in South Africa’s North West province. After fetching my uncle from Midrand, north of Johannesburg, and with just a 1.5-liter bottle of Valpre water in the car, we set off on our journey.

Fifty kilometers into our trip, we drove through Hartbeespoort, a scenic holiday spot in the North West known for its dam. We were stunned to see the narrow bridge in the area; it was like being in a different country for the first time, looking at everything with a new eye. It looked like one of those bridges from the movies depicting ancient Europe. It was beautiful.