Pit stops to ‘refill your tank’
Remember the days when you embarked on a road trip for the annual December holiday as family? When mom packed plastic containers and the cooler boxer with food and drinks, and the trusty flask containing coffee or tea.
POLOKWANE – About two hours down the road, dad would stop alongside the road at those picnic spots with the cement benches and table so the family could enjoy a road trip meal, made at home.
There are probably people who still do this, but with the rise of filling stations along most routes in South Africa, the tradition of packing food for holiday trips are diminishing.
Partly because most filling stations these days are equipped with convenience stores and restaurants. Back then filling stations were basically just filling stations equipped with toilet facilities. Nowadays it has become more convenient to grab a bite along the road at one of these filling stations or to order takeaways you can enjoy on the road.
Another factor why people perhaps just don’t stop along road trips is the crime factor. With the country’s high crime rate, it is considered much safer to stop at and buy from filling stations rather than be robbed by opportunistic criminals along the road at designated picnic spots.
Share your views if you still remember those days going on holiday trips where you and your family enjoyed meals made and packed with loving care by mom at picnic spots along the road. Also, feel free to share some of the traditional food or drinks you used to enjoy during these roadside breaks.
