Wim, our host in Ladismith, was kind enough to get up early to take us into town at 5:00, so at least we didn't have to walk the extra 5km from Elandsvlei. (Thanks again for the lovely farmstay, Gerda & Wim!)
We were underway shortly after 5:00, and walked in the dark (overcast with almost no moon) for almost an hour, and even after sunrise we were blessed with lovely cool overcast conditions. As far as our surroundings were concerned, the people we spoke to were right - nothing happens in the first 50kms after Ladismith. You even have to create your own photo opportunities... But a day isn't made up of surroundings only...
After about 15kms walk, two cyclists came up to us from behind. Turns out 6 buddies were cycling from Howick to the Cape, doing their own version of the Freedom Challenge, culminating in the Cape Argus this coming weekend. They call it the Long Ride - all the best to them!
As we were chatting about long rides and long walks, they mentioned a guy (Tony Tractor :)) who is soon going to embark on an around the world journey on a vintage tractor - apparently it is likely to take something like 5 years! Now there's an interesting new take on endurance sport- sounds amazing!!
A couple of kms later an elderly gentleman stopped to offer us a lift. When we explained that we were doing an unsupported endurance walk and thus couldn't accept his offer, he was quiet for a second, then smiled and asked: 'Shall I go fetch you a doctor, then?'.
While this day has been perhaps the quietest yet in terms of scenery and activity, it definitely takes the prize so far for the loudest support. Trucks and cars honk their horns rhythmically from a 100m away, and keep at it long after they've passed, police vehicles amuse us with an array of their most melodious alarm sounds until they disappear over the horizon, people wave jovially... A lot of fun all around, and it definitely helped the kms go by faster!
With all the foot-niggles and long kms behind us, Wouns (AKA Blister Sister :) ) has lost some speed, so even with all the emotional support along the way, and only short rests every few hours, we still ended up walking until after dark. When we got to the point where, according to our calculations, the turn- off to Warmwaterberg Spa should be, there was still no sign of our destination. As it was getting quite dark, we decided to phone our hosts, who were kind enough to come pick us up on the road. Turns out we still had just under 3kms to go, but we'll make up for the bit of 'cheating' by walking the 3.5km from the Spa back to the R62 at the start of our next leg.
After the 50km leg, and with 8 days of walking without a break behind us, we felt Warmwaterberg Spa was just the place for a day of R&R. Thanks so much to Frieda for throwing in an extra day for free - this means the world to our tired bodies!!
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