After the fantastic experience of hunting in the higher Eastern Cape, the WNT made the long trudge north, back to Johannesburg. A good friend Mark Moore-Gordon (Geezer) and his girlfriend were kind enough to loan their floor and we set in for a big night on the gas. The Jo’burg nightlife was pumping, and it wasn’t long before we ran into our American friends from Kickabout and partied the night away. Unfortunately, one of the girls had her handbag stolen in the club, so a sour note ended the brilliant night. The next day we were up and with hangover humor steaming with the coffee, we packed the Hilux and frantically headed to Sun City, and onto Rustenburg to cheer on the Aussies and witness the draw with Ghana in the second pool match of the World Cup. The Ghanan’s were great value in the crowd, with chants, songs, dancing and spirited cheering. The actual percentage of real Ghanan’s will never be known, however most of the local South Africans were cheering on their African cousins.
Dan came through with a brilliant solid and managed to snag the WNT a week’s free accommodation in the fantastic resort come casino of Sun City. Jimmy, an Aussie mate of Dan’s who was doing some work in South Africa, joined the party. But it was all null and void after the game, with all heading to bed before midnight.
With a solid sleep, we headed to putt-putt (with Splats taking line honors, and Sperm collecting the wooden spoon), then onto a delayed fines meeting. The fines meeting was fantastic, until the end when things got a little out of control, resulting in a broken window. Nevertheless, all things were mended and hands shaken. Cheers to Jimmy for putting up with our debauchery.
As our Trusty was left in Gaborone for some much needed TLC, we booked out of Sun City, (Dan got lost in a tiny car park) and headed back to Gabs. Once again the Stevens family greeted us with open arms, and we set in for another long session. Flaggon lost his navigation skills and general comprehension, and tried to climb into bed with John and Kathy Stevens at around 2am.
John and Kathy were up early the next day for a short flight to Knysna, leaving more hangover goodness to help re-pack the Trusty. Flaggon left a large Scotch and Coke on the table before departing the night before, and unfortunately had to consume the next morning after breakfast – hence rendering his repacking services (and tea making ability) useless. However, everything found a place, and we departed Gaborone for Nelspruit, and the last Aussie soccer game. The game was a vast improvement from Australia’s previous performances, with them scoring two great goals, although letting one Serbian goal through towards the end. Aus needed Ghana to beat Germany and a win against Serbia for any chance to make it through to round 16. Unfortunately, Ghana lost to Germany 0-1, so Aus missed out on the next round.
Due to pressing time constraints, we decided to drive straight from the game in Nelspruit to Knysna that night. Approximately 1500km and once again through an African night. The risk was worth it though, as Knysna is a beautiful spot, much like Byron Bay in New South Wales. It offers fantastic oysters, bungy jumping, and shark diving. The WNT slipped out to the lagoon for a spot of fishing, catching nothing and emptying the esky. Dominic and Henry from the UK came down from Port Elizabeth (arriving at 2am – fines!) who are always good value, so the whole time in Knysna ended up being a great one. We’re off to Cape Town tomorrow via Cape Agulhus, marking the end point of our trip. Till then, Jason.
