Day 111: Bitterpan – Mata-Mata

The night is restless, not only because we are thinking about the cabin problem and the question of how we are actually going to get out of here, but also because in the middle of the night five male lions hold a loud gathering at the waterhole, which we watch with fascination but also a little trepidation, as Adriano had told us in the evening that the lions like to spend two days lying next to the cars. But after a few loud appearances, the nightmare is over after a while. All that remains is the mental rollercoaster ride that keeps me awake for most of the night.

In the morning we are up early and can't sleep. Three of the lions can still be seen about 400 meters away, but other animals are already coming back to the waterhole. Marius, the mechanic we called, is already there at around 7:30 a.m., but first has a long chat with Adriano. There has to be enough time.

Marius is a genius! With a hijack and two normal car jacks, he manages to get our cabin back in the right position in no time. Neither I nor Leo, who knows a lot more about cars than I do, expected that. Within 1.5 hours (at 450 Rand an hour, that's about 25 euros), Marius welded 4 of the five broken fastenings into the right position. In addition to the labor costs, there is the journey there and back (210 km times 6 Rand/km). My last Rand goes towards paying the bill. He also drives the 18 km to the next gravel road behind us as a precaution. Wow! What service!

The cabin holds and Becky drives again without creaking and with much less wobble. Admittedly, the problem could have been discovered earlier and not just before the disaster. If only, if only, ....

We drive the remaining 90 km or so to Mata-Mata and arrive there around midday. The rest of the day consists of drinking cold drinks, lounging around, showering or jumping into the pool and cooking. It is too hot for anything else and we are too exhausted after the ups and downs over the dunes and the emotions.