Day 180: Eland Game Reserve / Oribi Gorge

It make us cry. Someone in the workshop must have driven the car at full speed into a gate, which was too low. Only because a fitting on the roof rack came loose did we realize that the entire roof rack had been torn out. The roof has scratches across its entire surface. The attachment points in the airline rails were torn out. They then tried to reattach the whole thing in different sockets, drilled new holes, and messed around.

The upper roof has been pushed back 10 mm, the front is slightly curved, but the connecting rail is still holding. Stefan Decker from 50Ten tells us it can be repairable and it currently isn't a safety risk. Thanks for the quick response.

What concerns us most, besides the material and financial damage, is the fact that at least half the staff must have witnessed the incident. And no one said anything. Everyone smiled and maybe even posed for photos. Shocking.

The manager of Balito Panel & Paint connects us with Jonathan from 4x4 South Coast in Port Shepstone. We'll have a repair of the roof rack with him; he can get the materials for tomorrow.

In the afternoon, to distract ourselves, we take a short drive around the Lake Eland Game Reserve. A few pretty viewpoints, a few zebras and wildebeests, and a suspension bridge with a great view of the gorge. We are not in the mood for the supposedly spectacular zip-line ride today, and we're a bit late. What a pity.