BRIGHT and early next morning we set out, following Bruce’s explicit instructions as to how to find the road. Cross the bridge, turn right and then keep bearing left. It couldn’t have been simpler.
On our first attempt, it took us only half-an-hour to find ourselves back at the bridge. Perhaps we should have made two right turns before starting to bear left? This we tried, thus making our second detour longer than the first. In just under an hour we found ourselves, not at the bridge, but on the main road to Ngoma. We stayed on it.
The road was every bit as bad as people had said and involved about 65km of heavy sand, most of which could only be negotiated in low ratio. Though the cap held together all the way to Ngoma, the radiator complained bitterly at the treatment it was getting.
It consumed most of the contents of our so-called drinking water tank and I don’t think it liked the consistency of that ferrous gunge any more than we did.
Just short of the Ngoma gate, the radiator cap disintegrated, finally and irretrievably. This was not such a disaster as it might seem. The road from Ngoma to Kasane was so good that we could keep up sufficient speed for the airflow to cool the engine.
Kasane boasted an engineering works, but it was closed when we got there. Now we were faced with the choice of driving all the way to the campsite in the park and all the way back again the next day to get a radiator cap, or staying overnight at the hotel.
Next morning, as I sat cleaning my camera on the doorstep of our little cottage in the hotel grounds, I heard a shout. “Sue….Sue!” Corrie was packing the roof rack at the time and obviously needed a hand with the ropes. I started towards the bed to put the camera down gently, when out of the corner of my eye, I saw something which made me put it down none-too-gently on the floor and dash outside.
A driverless Land Rover, with Corrie clinging to the roof like a monkey on a stick, was heading downhill for a swim in the Chobe River.
I dived in, with a foot or so to spare before it hit a tree and got the handbrake in something between a rugby tackle and a half nelson. It’s amazing how fast you can move when you suddenly remember that you’ve forgotten to renew the insurance!
HAVE YOUR SAY
Like the South Coast Herald’s Facebook page, follow us on Twitter and Instagram
For news straight to your phone, add us on BBM 58F3D7A7 or WhatsApp 082 421 6033
