Colesburg to Cape Town

Colesburg has a quaint middle of nowhere tourist trap charm to it. Made up of mostly little guest lodges, and mini churches. You can walk from one side of Colesburg to the other in under 10 minutes.

The guest lodge we stayed in was clean and hospitable. Though, if we had a problem with it, we could most probably cross the road, or go to the next house to see another. The owner told us that the area is very safe, and that there is almost no crime, and that was the reason for him retiring there. Being from Gauteng, we were left sceptical, especially since the house was circled with a high wall and barbed wire fence. I was the first to suggest we explore the town, and the others seemed less than keen. The town, basically a tourist location, is dead this time of year, with one or two people appearing out of the woodwork. It was suggested that Colesburg would be the perfect place to film a Zombie movie, which was not too far from my original idea of chainsaw wielding locals, maybe with a cannibalistic lust to boot.

Colesburg has some amazing buildings, and worthwhile for anyone who likes to escape the bustle of big cities, and finds that they preffer a quiet little town as their holiday destination, and they would want to stay in a guest lodge... I seem to go in circles, but I cannot seem to stress how many of them there are. Every house seems to have a little swinging sign with the words 'Guest Lodge' emblazoned on it.

So as we leave the sleepy little town of Colesburg under the blanketed night sky and head towards our next destination, I can only say that, luckily, I escaped without getiing eaten by zombies or chopped up by bloodthirsty locals. Colesburg is a very sacchirine sweet town, too sweet for words actually, and a lovely place as a stop over.

To the Cape, the grand adventure...

Woke up at the crack of dawn, the sky only just showing the first small glimmer of light, the rooster having not even had time to cry yet, this was going to be a trip to remember.

Through sleepy eyes we packed the car, full of the things we would need for our trip, and then some. We checked that we had everything, that we had made all the necessary arrangments, and that we were set to go, and so we packed ourselves into the car and off we were.

We have been driving for hours by now, our co-pilot even fell fast asleep and made snorring sounds with mouth wide open, yet luckily our pilot was wide awake, and continued couragously with the journey, with some mild bemusement at the expense of the co-pilot. Rock music on the radio playing, and rather boring flat countryside for miles round, we three were the lone-rangers (it sounded cool, though if you think about it, lone we were not, and probably closer to the three stooges than actual cowboys), on the dusty trail to the great wonders of the Cape.

It would be a grueling journey, but through perseverence we would get to our distination in one piece... We were going to stay in a dodgy inn in Colesburg, where we might get butchered by chainsaw wielding Boere AWB hockey-mask wearing locals, but most probably escape, and make the story more interesting than just saying that we slept well...

Poetry

Tryst to the Politician
I have listened to your fetid lies
self effusing charlatan.
You demonstrated your impalpable hatred,
your inept insight into the world.

Bleed the very lives you wish to save,
corrupt the good, break the past,
belie those that have made a difference.
Sing your false songs of revolution.
We have had true heroes.

Your name will be tarnished by history,
forgotten in time,
all that will remain is the joke that was your legacy.
Not everyone lives to kill,
singing it aloud for all to hear.

We are a nation under one flag,
culturally diverse,
a beautiful dream that will come to pass.

I wrote this poem after listening to Malema (ANC Youth League president) speak on TV one day. He was someone with so much hatred that it seemed to ooze from his every word. I could not believe that this man was trying to incite more racial hatred in a country that has such diversity and beauty. As South Africans, we live in a country that should be an example to the world, we should strive to strengthen our distinct culture of tolerance, and make this a place we can all be proud of.

Random Thoughts

I've always liked making people think, about everything, so it is of no surprise that I sometimes play Devil's Advocate when my friends and I are in a deep conversation (fine, sometimes they are not so deep, but we do try to be intellectual most of the time, except when discussing sweets).

I just love posing questions, even when I already know the answer. It allows me to see what others think, or how they react to a certain topic. I find people interesting, or maybe I should be more precise, I find the world interesting, and everything is bound to get me thinking, reading, researching and learning. I am a very inquisitive individual. I can never take anything at face value, if someone tells me something, I have to go find out about it.

I suffer from insomnia, which means I get very little sleep done, which can lead to terrible boredom, so I read about anything and everything. So when people start saying something that I find incorrect, I just have to argue. I have had many arguments about the most trivial things, which has allowed me to learn and teach at the same time. Nothing bothers me more than someone being closed minded about something, especially if they do not fully understand it. My favourites have been topics revolving around evolution, and the all too oft used slur of "it's just a theory". Which just makes me upset that they have not read up on what a 'Scientific Theory' is, and also most of the time, shows that they have not even taken the time to read up about the evolutionary theory, which has brought so many interesting hypotheses forward, and is everyday being proven with new discoveries.

The world is too interesting to leave everything to the unknown. The human spirit, if you like, is always striving for knowledge, and that is how it should be. Why should one group, or individual, have the right to restrict the progression of the human mind in a world filled with so much wonder.