Homeward bound

The border wasn't a big deal at all, and we breezed through so effortlessly that we wondered why the control post even existed. On the South African side, we didn't even need to fill in a form. They just registered our details electronically. The nice lady even spotted our 'just married' sign and congratulated us. Only a few meters into our country and already the toilets are a hundred times better than at our last stop. As Kev got back into the car to wait for me, a policeman that had been investigating the bakkie approached. Murphey would've been held responsible if we'd been fined for the missing number plate on our last day, but it turns out that he didn't even notice. He'd merely come to enquire what the white stuff coating our car was. He'd never heard of Etosha.

We thought we might stop in Zeerust for lunch, but we could just as well book at table in sunnyside, so we pushed on. Traffic is so much worse here than it's been over the last three weeks. Kev reckons it must be so stressful for people in Namibia and Botswana to come and be surrounded by rushing cars. Rustenburg and Brits also came and went, but I managed to will-wrestle Kev into stopping at Hartebeespoort Dam (he just wanted to finish the last stretch and get home). Since it's our last day, I want to make the most of the few minutes we've got left, but he's already begun worrying about business again. Last night, I woke up because he was chatting to someone in someone in Swiss German in his sleep. As first, I actually thought he was on the phone with his mom, before remembering that I'd switched it off so that the late night banking smses wouldn't wake us. He argues silently with himself while driving too, which is rather cute.

Since it was a bit of a detour off our intended route, Kevin wasn't highly impressed with the charming craft markets lining the streets or the quaint wooden cottage called Pick-a-Pancake where we stopped for a late lunch. Kevin picked a very chocolatey pancake filled with chocolate ice cream, topped with chocolate sauce, and served with a chocolate flake. Since he just wanted to get home, unpack, and sleep, he wasn't thrilled that I needed to run back to the restaurant for my sunglasses I'd forgotten there (not the first time I'd made that mistake). Browsing the curios was very much out of the question. Nevertheless, the drive was pretty, and it was interesting to see how much the town had grown since the last time either of us was there.

We're finally back in Pretoria now, though we have somehow managed to get ourselves lost in town during peak traffic. There's nothing that makes you realize your holiday's over faster than the sound of sirens, hooters, and loud radios blaring as you try to negotiate random taxi stops and hoards of jaywalking pedestrians. Well, we'll soon be home and faced with the enormous task of unpacking and cleaning everything. The very thought has made Kev yawn loudly. I must confess that an afternoon nap would suit me right now too, but in my case it's simply procrastination.