Meander, Mandela and Monkeys

 Wednesday, March 1, 2023

Today our travels take us a shorter distance, 270km to Midmar Resort in Howick.  We began the Midlands Meander Route, heading southeast and crossed into the Kwazulu Natal State (another province).  This is one of the designated scenic drives through the area.   We knew we were someplace different, because suddenly our cell phones were no longer working.  AT&T must not have an arrangement with this province.—(the Verizon phones are working fine.)  We've been without service for more than 24 hours!!   It made us realize how much we rely on communication via phones and how much we miss them when they are not available.  By the way, another thing I really miss is my electric toothbrush! 

Much of the area we travelled could be in the midlands of the US…lots of rolling fields, corn and livestock…even some on the road!  

In some places it was like "whack a mole" trying to dodge the potholes--just as you escaped one, there was another one waiting.  It sure kept us on our toes.

We meandered upon the bustling town of Estcourt.  You wouldn’t believe how many people were out and about on a Wednesday afternoon.  Nobody uses crosswalks, and the cars and trucks don’t use lanes…it was crazy! 

There were shops lining both sides of the street, and one dress shop had a lady with a sewing machine doing alterations on the street!   Now that’s pretty good service!

There is a new museum that just opened, the Nelson Mandela Capture Site.  He was arrested on August 5, 1962 and spent the next 27 years in prison.  This museum commemorates this moment in history with an impressive collection of artifacts and stories. 

The car he was in was on display, along with a piece of art depicting the number of days he was in captivity.…9,377 days.

At the end, you can follow along the Long Walk to Freedom, which has markers for milestone moments in his life, along with a pole for each year he spent in prison.  At the end is a magnificent  world-renowned sculpture, that shows his face when you approach.

We stopped at the Belgian Chocolate Shop on the way to the campground at Midmar Nature Reserve. The clerk wanted to go back to the USA with us because she loved our accent!

The highlight here is a view of the lake, and the monkeys! 

The monkeys were all over in the trees.  There was a camper in a tent that had gone to take a shower, and left his tent open…the monkey’s had a field day, snatching a plastic cup, and who knows what else!  It was fun to see them romp around and scamper among the trees.  

And, on a sad note, we just found out our new friends Ken and Chris from Tennessee will not be continuing the trip.   Chris fell and broke her upper arm, had surgery on Tuesday, and was released from the hospital today.  We will really miss them and will make a point to reconnect with them in the future.  (Ken was a fellow blogger, and I’ll miss discussing our blog woes too.)  

We continue to have power shedding frequently—sometimes with warning, sometimes not.  Last night it was off from 8-10 and 2am-4am.  But, at least we had hot water for showers today!