B&B roadtrip the Eastern Cape: Day 2

Kms driven: 630km
Start point: Rhodes Hotel
End point: Ulovane Environmental Training Centre, near Grahamstown
Animals spotted: Dassies, Mountain Reedbuck and goats (dud day)

There are three routes out of Rhodes: The route we came in via Aliwal North, which meant backtracking 60kms of sand road; another nondescript route via Barkley East or Naude’s Nek Pas which is 90km of sand road and takes you to a height of 2596m/8517ft above sea level and went in the exact opposite direction to where we were heading. We decided it’d be worth it. On the way, we picked up a hitchhiker (not a particularly common or safe practice in South Africa) who stank of Boxer tobacco and pretty much stank out my entire car. He was a tough passenger because he couldn’t speak a word of English or Afrikaans and my brother and my Xhosa is completely non-existent. But he had far to go and I have no idea how else he would’ve got to Maclear without us (Bjorn and Brigitta to the rescue!!!).

Highlights of the day:
Icicles at the top of Naude’s Nek Pas – it was that cold!
Boxer the smelly hitchhiker
The traffic jam in Umtata – avoid at all costs
Collywobbles – random town name near Idutywa (where?)
Flowering Coral trees