Getting to Cape Town

I didn't really intend on writing a blog today, sitting in a bus all night isn't usually that interesting but this has been exceptional. It's a running account since I really wasn't able to sleep for long with all the interruptions. Enjoy! And to the family - don't worry I'm absolutely fine.

So up early on this Wednesday Morning, i've been in Africa a week now and today is the first proper big travel day. First leg is a 2hr drive back to PMB then a 21hr bus ride to Cape Town. Going with Greyhound this time and as I write this were currently going across a field in a 30ton double decker coach with a luggage trailer, more on that later.

The drive to PMB was quick, we picked up a total of 6 people giving various lifts, all that yet no one stopped to pick us up yesterday a we were hiking back to the youth hostel. Our little Hyundai i10 was packed. Saying bye to Stewart in PMB, we made plans to keep in touch.

The bus is nearly on time and for the first few hours all is well until about 2 1/2hrs north of PMB we drop someone off on the side of the freeway then almost instantly hit a traffic jam. We bounce along a massive grassy verge to pick up some people at a service station and as I write this were now driving back the wrong way along the hard shoulder of the freeway supposedly finding another route since the road is apparently shut until tomorrow! Ooh there we go back on the verge again.

Just been stopped by the police, for some reason they don't like coaches driving the wrong way on the motorway. I think the driver is trying to find a way across the central reservation or come off at the previous junction. Still a good 19hrs from Cape Town.

New developments, it's about 4pm now and were parked outside a police station. Apparently a car driver was involved in a drink driving accident (with our bus?) so there reporting it to the police. Really not sure what's going on but we'll get to Cape Town sometime.

Nearly 6hrs after leaving PMB, were at Harrismith, still in Kwazulu Natal Province. The huge detour took us around a massive accident involving allegedly 10 lorries with queues for what must be atleast 40miles if not more, the main Joburg to Durban motorway is a car park for as far as the eye can see. Further more every time someone wants to go through the door into our bit on the bus it's like they're breaking and entering. The hostess lady has to shoulder barge to get in.

At 2000 another odd bit. The bus stops at a service station and the waitress runs out with a bag of rubbish, leaves it near a pump, runs back and a random man grabs it and runs off like a goblin from Harry Potter. Speaking if which they've got Deathly Hallows Part 1 on. Sadly we won't be able to finish that film.

Update: it's 2130 and we just hit something Pretty big I reckon. Very sharp deceleration with swerving and now were parked with emergency lights flashing on the side of a road literally in the middle of nowhere. It's pitch black but the weather is decent. We haven't reached Bloemfontein yet and that's not even half way through our journey. No communication yet as to what it is but people are a pretty agitated and the complete stranger next to me tried to grab my hand for support. Interesting.

2144: Reports from my fellow passengers suggest the window screen is smashed and bumper completely off. Currently seems like we had a pretty nasty collision with a car and just owing to our size we didn't feel it too badly. If that's so then you'd guess were not going anywhere very soon.

2205 Update: So were still stationary. Turns out it was a cow we hit not a car (thankfully) but the cow is very dead, laying a few hundred meters back along the road. The front of the bus is pretty badly shot up, the drivers must of crapped themselves when it happened, there's not much metal between them and the front. The windscreen and most the lights are smashed, the bumper is gone completely back to the chassis. A few police are here now investigating and we've just been ushered back onto the bus, I guess they intend to escort us to the next bus station where we'll transfer to another vehicle but we've had no real information. Makes you think that if we were in a standard car the cow would easily have wrote it off. Best advert to wear a seatbelt in a long time. On a lighter note, I got chatting to an elderly gentleman from Howick and a young guy from Durban. Both are just going somewhere in the Free State, I say I'm off to Cape Town and we laugh saying it might be a while before I get there. I guess these things are relatively common out here but you wonder if it was the UK there would be all sorts of insurance and litigation claims etc, no-win no-fee lawyers would have a field day with personal injury claims.

2230: After about an hour stationary were on the move again, albeit abit slower. We've got a police escort in front from what I can see. Not sure how far we're going in this bus, can't be that far. Just as I write that we're stopped at another police station, the second today.

0120: we're finally in Bloemfontein. Can only guess that we're at least 4hrs late, no word whether we're changing buses or not.

0340: Seems like we're finally going to leave Bloem. Another bus, a single decker this time, has come from Joburg for us. Must still be another 12hrs ish to Cape Town since its about 1000km. We left PMB 15 hours ago. Yawn

0940: we're scheduled to be in Cape Town now but still about 600km out. Just stopped for some free fast food but most of us just want to get there now. I appreciate some of the last 24hrs probably wasn't Greyhound's fault but still it reflects badly on them and I certainly won't be travelling with them again.

1410 Update: We're somewhere in the Western Cape now, another road closed and another detour. Travelling around SA is never straight forward. In other African countries you'd simply drive around the blockage and keep going but here they shut roads and it all takes a lot of time. Couple of hours to Cape Town maybe?