Day One: Surprising adventures

I left Grahamstown at around 9.00 am this morning with mediocre excitement and a lot of stress, but lucky for me that all quickly slipped away as I let the road take control of my mind. I drove for about six hours and only covered about 180 km. LOL.

My first stop was at an adorable farm stall just outside Fort Beaufort called Baddaford Farmstall. They have a fine selection of cake, jam, sweets, and gifts and mostly local produce which is great! Local is mos lekker. And they have a few lovely paintings by J. Atkinson, a local artist and family member of Louise (who I will tell you about soon) as well as cards painted by the same artist. I bought one. It's pretty.

I got chatting to a few of the ladies working there and they are the ones behind today's adventures. First, they informed that me Post Retief, where Piet Retief used to live, is just up the road and that I should go see it. And second, the one lady named Louise gave me a number for a history enthusiast in Fort Beaufort who knows a lot about the area before and during the Great Trek. His name is Gert and I just had a very interesting interview with him which is going to make my final article beautiful. YAY! Thank you Louise and Gert!

Lesson number one: Always talk to people. They won't bite.

Anyways, the reason for my many hours spent in the car and little distance covered is because I basically drove half-way to Post Retief, thought I was going the wrong way, turned back, realised I was in fact going the right way, and then went back that same way. Eish. The ladies at the farm stall warned me that the road was bumpy. BUMPY IS AN UNDERSTATEMENT. It was up not one mountain, but about three, through the bush and veld, and there were massive potholes and narrow bridges and mud and, oh yes, it was a dirt road. So I pretty much drove on a dirt road for about four hours. I am sorry Frankie!

And, just to add to the deliciousness of the situation, after I had driven for about two hours, killing my poor blue baby, I got to a sign that said 'Piet Retief House- 50m' and you know what was 50m from that sign? A monument that said, 'This is where Piet Retief's house used to be'. LAME. All that way for a monument. Flip. Well, it was a good experience anyways. I took some pretty photos and did my first hand-break turn while trying to take a photo of a secretary-bird. Such fun.

Tomorrow I am heading to Adelaide to meet a former History Professor from the University of Fort Hare. Should be interesting.

Just outside Baddaford Farmstall, Fort Beaufort, Eastern Cape. 2013. 

Me in front of Piet Retief's 'house', Post Retief, Eastern Cape. 2013.

One of the views from the 1820 Settlers barracks, Post Retief, Eastern Cape. 2013.

The secretary bird that almost killed me (not really), Post Retief, Eastern Cape. 2013.

My fake red vellies: the only pair of shoes I brought with, Post Retief, Eastern Cape. 2013.

I think this one speaks for itself, Post Retief, Eastern Cape. 2013.