Memoir Monday - The Slow Road and Taking Flight

A road trip, my favourite way to travel, would never have taken me to my most memorable trip across the ocean in the Netherlands, but it certainly took me to many other memorable trips in my home country of South Africa.

Why a road trip?

Well, we could drive at our own pace, stop wherever and whenever we want, admire the natural wonder of our diverse country, and take a detour if we see an interesting signpost.
Of course, I'd quickly check the review score if it's a long and winding road so we could make a U-turn and not risk a flat tyre in the middle of nowhere!

We've discovered many hidden gems like this.

My Arthur had a sense of adventure, always wanting to explore, had the patience of Job, and never complained if I led him to the middle of nowhere.

That was before cell phones and search engines.

We relied on good old Map Books back then, which required careful route planning. We had to write down the route and distances, sometimes draw out the route, and look out for the turnoffs to the next town! We sometimes would get lost, and have to stop and ask locals

Moms had to pack a picnic basket, or 'padkos' as we call it in Afrikaans.

There were no convenient rest stops along the highways, you'd only find a fuel station, and if you were lucky, a small cafe, and a toilet in the main building.

We missed many photo opportunities because we only had cameras, and some of those old photos have faded and become yellowed with age.

Thanks to digital technology we now can take spur-of-the-moment photos with our cell phones and store them forever, something the younger generation takes for granted. We would never in our wildest dreams have thought this was possible.
As for the lady inside the navigator, well, that would have sounded far-fetched in my younger days!

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Many memorable trips

There have been many memorable camping trips when I was just a kid, always exploring the coastline, and occasionally inland; as long as there was a dam. My family were keen anglers.

When we got married and had our two sons, we always travelled by road; up or down the Kwazulu Natal Coast, camping when they were small, and later on in timeshare resorts.

There were many memorable trips to other parts of our diverse country:
The majestic Drakensberg mountains, Northern, Central, and Southern Berg, where we did many day hikes;

The Game Reserves, with the Kruger Park being the most memorable. It is the largest wildlife sanctuary in South Africa, with an abundance of wildlife. They used to play drums around dinner time, and the only sound you would hear late in the night was that of nocturnal animals;

The Blyde River Canyon, the third-largest canyon in the world, with breathtaking sights like the Three Rondavels, God's Window, and Bourke's Luck Potholes;

Our trip to the Overberg region in the Western Cape just before COVID lockdown was another dream holiday. We flew to Cape Town with friends and hired a car at the airport to explore the Overberg region with its stunning mountain ranges, and a small fishing village, and then went to Agulhas, the southernmost tip of Africa.

It was carefree days before masks became the norm.

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My Most Memorable Dream Trip...

The best was my trip to the Netherlands to see my son and his girlfriend's newly adopted country.
I wrote many blogs about that trip as they took me on a whirlwind tour of many cities and towns. It was my first time overseas, and the first time I travelled solo; bittersweet at times, but fabulous experiencing a different culture, a blend of historical and ultra-modern architecture.
We visited Amsterdam, went to the Anne Frank Museum, a live Hauser concert; clocked up a record number of steps on cobbled streets, and saw canals, windmills, wind turbines, cheese and the most gorgeous fresh produce as well as flowers at farmer's markets, bicycles, museums, art gallery, churches, the ancient fortress city of Naarden, Utrecht, Rotterdam, The Hague, Scheveningen, Gouda, Delft, Weesp, and went sailing on the Ketelmeer.
I wrote a synopsis of my trip -
The Finale - Tale of Eleven Dutch Destinations - Jaunts Twelve to Eighteen

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@ericvancewalton's Memoir Mondays has been stirring up some wonderful memories, and as you can gather from my blog, this week's question is:

What's your favorite way to travel and your most memorable trip?

As you read, it was not easy to choose the most memorable, but it was a great trip down memory lane remembering some of the older trips.

I'm afraid the travel bug has me tightly in its claws. If I had the chance, I could easily become a wandering gypsy!

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