Careering around …

CHRIS BENNETT has been lucky enough to visit the Cape again; he is now on his way home.

Driving around the country while air travellers are stuck in foreign parts makes for interest reflection

There is an old Arabic saying that the soul invariably travels at the speed of a camel. That might account for jet lag; waiting for the soul to catch up.

I prefer to travel by land because of the stimulation. I don’t think I have been bored for more than five seconds in my whole life, not even on a flight of many hours. But the rewards of travelling within a framework of normal time are great.

The philosopher, writer and recent writer-in-residence at Heathrow airport, Adrian de Botton wrote last week in the Telegraph: one of our key motives for travelling is to try to put the past behind us, then we often need something very large and time-consuming, like the experience of a month long journey across an ocean or a hike over a mountain range, to establish a sufficient sense of distance.

He might have added, “Or drive across the Great Karroo”.

My recent trip, peppered as it was with little slings and arrows; things like losing my driver’s license and my cellphone, lack nothing if not interest and the experience of some remarkable officers of the government.

For example, in Knysna a town of great charm, with officials to match, I was able to hold my temporary license in my hand in about ninety minutes. Everybody concerned was so very helpful. Similarly, the Standard Bank in Sea Point showed courtesy and efficiency the likes of which I never encountered before; and I have had an account with the bank for more than four decades. Things sometimes really do smile.

As the good de Botton wrote one of our key motives is to try to put the past behind us. I for one think it works.

The fine road between Cape Town and Beaufort West, that unsung hero of the Karroo, that noisy, dusty dorp that alone has the ability to slow down, and indeed stop, the appalling behemoths hurtling along the highway at speeds beyond belief. This is because the tone has no by-pass and has a circle, fiendishly confusing, at its entrance.

Incidentally the road has two delays while the other lane is being rebuilt. These are meticulously manned and controlled by cheerful souls who wave cheerful yellow flags and smiles that gleam in the glorious Karroo sunshine. The delay at these points is about ten minutes and is ideal for getting the circulation moving again. A large bouquet to the excellent roads department of the Western Cape.

A surprise came when I found the Formula 1 Hotel in Beaufort West had had an attack of common sense and introduced room tariffs for one, two or three people. I was on my own and it cost R219 a night.

The breathtaking exhilaration of the drive; a journey without destination; time without appointment. Dreams unfold under the blue, shining like brass, sky; cresting the Hex Pass; the astonishment as the great valley opens like a triumph of trumpets. The sheer magnitude of it all; this makes driving a privilege indeed.