Gerald and I left Friday morning with two friends for a lovely weekend in the Drakensberg mountains at a lodge I thought lay just after Howick. The trip started off with laughter, snacks , naps, joking, lunch half way… very enjoyable. Just after Howick I started studying the map book – the lodge seemed to be much further than I thought, about 100 km further! Very well, what’s a 100 km’s here or there? Eventually we reached the dirt road turn off, and an enjoyable resting weekend was so close I could almost taste it! Well, about 5 km later we had to pull off and change the tyre – a side wall cut! Out goes all the luggage and after battling to get the spare tyre out and changed, I whip out the wet wipes to clean the dirty hands and off we go!
Unfortunately the next minute disaster struck again… a rock in the road hit the car’s sump – a hole as big as a tennis ball. There we stood – all the oil drained out of the car, fog every where, a very weak cellphone signal and darkness looms around us. We phoned the lodge, two very friendly men came to fetch and tow us to the lodge-thank goodness for good Samaritans!!
So Friday evening did not end to well… Saturday morning early Gerald waked me up looking for my cellphone charger. He had already spoken to our road assist plan people, the insurance people, the Citroen people and have not made much progress. The fact that there was hardly any signal did not help the situation much either. To make a long gruling story short by 12:00 we have not managed to arrange someone to tow the car to a garage or to Jhb, we have not managed to get a rental car, nothing!!! We were pretty much stranded and the stress was starting to get to Gerald. Thank goodness for our good friends who stayed calm and helped us see the lighter side…then a miracle. One of my colleague's (and a great friend) came to the rescue.. Her husband hired a trailer and borrowed his dad’s double cab bakkie and they were on their way to come and fetch us! They arrived at about seven that evening and we had to start our journey back the next morning at seven. Sunday evening at seven we finally walked into our house – home sweet home!!. Tired but strangely happy – the damage was extensive and the costs will probably not be something to smile about but the what is the cost of strangers coming to your rescue at a dark night in the woods, friends cheering you up even though their weekend is also spoiled, and two people giving up their weekend (and study time) to come and tow you (driving 7 hours to get to us, sleeping a few hours and then driving back for 11 odd hours also having to go to work the next day) I'll tell you the cost, it is PRICELESS!!
So Friday evening did not end to well… Saturday morning early Gerald waked me up looking for my cellphone charger. He had already spoken to our road assist plan people, the insurance people, the Citroen people and have not made much progress. The fact that there was hardly any signal did not help the situation much either. To make a long gruling story short by 12:00 we have not managed to arrange someone to tow the car to a garage or to Jhb, we have not managed to get a rental car, nothing!!! We were pretty much stranded and the stress was starting to get to Gerald. Thank goodness for our good friends who stayed calm and helped us see the lighter side…then a miracle. One of my colleague's (and a great friend) came to the rescue.. Her husband hired a trailer and borrowed his dad’s double cab bakkie and they were on their way to come and fetch us! They arrived at about seven that evening and we had to start our journey back the next morning at seven. Sunday evening at seven we finally walked into our house – home sweet home!!. Tired but strangely happy – the damage was extensive and the costs will probably not be something to smile about but the what is the cost of strangers coming to your rescue at a dark night in the woods, friends cheering you up even though their weekend is also spoiled, and two people giving up their weekend (and study time) to come and tow you (driving 7 hours to get to us, sleeping a few hours and then driving back for 11 odd hours also having to go to work the next day) I'll tell you the cost, it is PRICELESS!!
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