Back in South Africa, Johannesburg to be specific, was heavy with deja vu. We had done nearly the same thing, nearly a year prior. Trailer in for repairs; check. Stay with our friends Roger and Jenni; check. This time though, Roger and Jenni were home, not racing north to explore Ethiopia and Sudan. It was fun to get to spend time with them while Conqueror sorted out the repairs on our trailer. We were glad for their company while we waited for repairs.
Conqueror quickly ascertained that the problem with our electrical, which reared it’s ugly head as we drove into Zambia, was that the collapsing body work had sliced into the cable between the batteries, shorting that system. They also agreed with my assessment that the root cause of the problem was in the suspension design, and had already changed the design on their trailers. They were able to retrofit a shock absorber mount bracket to prevent this from happening to us in the future. Getting new body panels through the production process to repair those that collapsed though took over two and a half months. While this is a long time for us to have waited, their production schedule was booked out and they got parts to us as quickly as that process allowed.
During the nearly three months we spent in Johannesburg, we did not sit around and idle time away waiting for repairs. I helped Roger with some projects around the house, and Jen utilized the kitchen to keep us all fed with deliciousness. We also took a guided tour of Johannesburg and visited the Apartheid Museum. Roger and Jenni took us to some of their favorite haunts, and we watched their cats and dog for a week while they were away. Roger, Jen, and I took a knife forging class with a local blade smith at one point, creating some beautiful knives. Jen and I even upgraded our mattress in the trailer.
When the repairs were done, we had a little over a week to get to Cape Town and get shipping for the Jeep and trailer finalized. We stayed the night in the Karoo with George and Berdine, friends we met through Conqueror. We spent an evening with them in their farmhouse, enjoying Afrikaans treats like kremel pap, Karoo lamb, and Brannewyn (brandy and Coke). The next day, we made it to Cape Town. This gave us 3 days to get everything done before we flew back to the US. Luckily, Duncan, the guy that runs the camp ground would also organize shipping and load the Jeep and trailer into the container. We had to run into Cape Town to talk to customs as the trailer didn’t have a Carnet, like the Jeep, nor was it registered in South Africa. As such, it falls outside of what Customs is used to and we wanted to make sure all our bases were covered. The customs officer we talked to at the main office gave us direction, but could not guarantee it would work, as she had never seen a case like ours. In the end, we had enough documentation to prove the trailer was not stolen and they let it out of the country with only a cursory inspection.
While in Cape Town, we also got to see our friends Marc and Carolyn, and their daughter Julia. We stayed with them when we first arrived in South Africa, nearly two years prior! After a nice lunch with them, we finished our work cleaning perishables out of the trailer and packing for the trip home. Our 90 day visa was nearly completed and we had to head back to the US. All of a sudden, our grand trek through Africa was over, and we handed the Jeep keys to Duncan so he could load it into a container, and caught a plane back home! It was a bit unreal to say goodbye to Africa after nearly two years. Another forty hours of airplanes and airports and we would see family for the first time since we left.
South Africa by the Numbers
Miles Driven: 7,698 (total)
Days in South Africa : 222
Nights Camping: 21
New Lifelong Friends: 11
Traffic Tickets: 0 (Woo Hoo!)
