Meeste lesers sal hierdie film onthou, maar in hierdie geval is dit egter “Around South Africa in 35 days” - deur twee “tannies”. Lyn Greenwood-Smith van Pearly Beach het hierdie “ontdekkingsreis” om Suid-Afrika onderneem. En die voertuig? ‘n Bloedrooi Nissan bakkie wat met spierwit en oranje blomme oortrek is, met kamptoerusting en tente agterin.

Lyn (76) en haar vriendin van ‘n plaas buite Swellendam, Rykie Hodd (68) het die eerste deel van die rit na Johannesburg aangepak. In Johannesdburg het Lyn se suster, Pat Cheetham (70) by haar aangesluit, met Rykie wat nie verder saamgery het nie. Toe het die rit van ±5,000km oor ‘n tydperk van 5 weke in alle erns begin - “twee witkop-tannies in die rooi bakkie met wit en oranje blomme”, met een doel voor oë en dit is om die land te verken en veral op Sanparke te fokus.

“We travelled up the west coast, visiting and camping in Sanparks from the West Coast National Park to Groenriviermond in Namaqua National Park, through Gamoep and Uitkyk’s unsignposted dirt roads to Pofadder and Aughrabies. The longest stretch was up north to Mapungubwe National Park and World Heritage Site at the borders of Zimbabwe, Botswana and South Africa,” sê sy.

“One of the most interesting parts of the journey was driving through the eastern cape - Lusikisiki, Port St John's, and Butterworth. The people are so poor and the towns are very full and seem to be disorganised - it is definitely ‘Africa’ with all it’s charm and apparent chaos. The people are so friendly and we did not have a single moment of antipathy or feel any angst. Everywhere we were met with: ‘what can I do for you mama’, or things like ‘close your window mama - it is dangerous here’,” het sy gesê.

“The bakkie is very visible on the road, and the flowers make it easily recognisable which is a deterrent to theft. It makes people smile and I'm quite certain that this is one of the reasons we had such friendly reception wherever we went.” 

Hardus Botha

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