Festive season??

This time of the year is called the "festive season" here in the good old R of SA. Well for many it becomes a season of tragedy and immense sadness due to the carnage on our roads at this time of the year.

Last Saturday the Italian Leprechaun and I went to fetch a friend from hospital in Pietermaritzburg. As we got on to the N3 highway heading south I knew this drive was going to be no picnic. The traffic was bumper to bumper on both the south bound lanes and and almost as bad on the north bound. There is no room for evasive action if someone should do something stupid in front of you.

At the small town of Mooi River (Pretty River) +- 30km south of this point in the photo below is the "Mooi toll plaza". Traffic south bound going through the toll was +- 6,000 an hour, not counting the heavy trucks which average 5,000 a day on this road. Heading north the count was +- 3000 an hour.

Looking south, from here the N3 stretches 200 km to the port city of Durban on the Indian ocean. At Durban the N3 crosses the N2 highway heading north and south just inland of the coast and all the seaside holiday resorts, the destination of all the inland holiday makers. People pay thousands of rands for a few days stay at these resorts, some never get there or if they get there some never get home.

 I took this photo on Sunday morning and the traffic has reduced to a trickle. The day before was a totally different story, the south bound on ramp where we joined the flow is just around the corner on the left.

Looking north, the N3 stretches for more than 400 km to the city of Johannesburg, after that still further north to our capital city Pretoria, and the further north still for hundreds of kilometers further.

No one drives a small car any more, the bigger the better and it had better be a 4 X 4 SUV or you are a nobody. The speed limit on our main roads is 120 km and hour, about 70 mph, but few obey this rule. Most of the highway is under average speed camera coverage. The authorities collect millions, (maybe billions) of rands in traffic fine, never seems to change any-ones speeding.  

In spite of cars being bumper to bumper on both lanes there are the weavers who look for the slightest gap and weave from left to right into these gaps as they pass others at excessive speeds. Even when you have no where for you to go, you will get some fool behind you flashing his head lights at you to get out of the way.

After collecting our friend at the hospital we took the N3 heading north. We were about 20 km north of Pietermaritzburg when the first ambulance passed us red light flashing and sirens howling then a police car, another ambulance. I lost count of the emergency vehicles that had passed. 

About 30 km further we came to the scene of the accident on the south bound lanes, shattered  vehicles scattered in all directions, bodies lying everywhere. One large SUV was lying on it's side with it's roof ripped off and the bodies of two children still strapped in the back seat. One amazing thing though is the fast reaction time by the emergency service in situations like this, (lots of practice I suppose). At this time of the year all emergency services are on high alert 24/7.

How did this happen? Well people are stupid, selfish and think they own the road. Hundreds die on our roads during the so called "festive season." During the June/July school holidays the results are the same. 

At the moment the road authorities are adding a third lane, especially on steeper parts of the road, eventually the whole of the N3 highway will be a 6 lane highway, doubt it will make much difference though.

South Africa has one of the most stringent learner drive laws in the world. You have to been trained by a register'd and licensed driving school, then you get tested and get your learner drivers licence, more training by the driving school then tested for your drivers licence, fail one part of the test and you start from the beginning again. But once behind the wheel of their own car all this seems to be forgotten at once.

My father taught me to drive and told me that the most dangerous part of the car is the "nut" holding the steering wheel.

Will be travelling north about 600 km on this highway myself on the 2nd January, not looking forward to the trip.

Back home.

Arrived home yseterday afternoon after an absence on eight days, the dogs were ecstatic and went mad with joy. Poor Cat the cat had a rough time of it and hadn't been home since last Wednesday according to Maria my housekeeper. Late last night Cat came home and sat on my feet untill I went to bed.

Click to enlarge.

N3 highway looking south, straight as a ruler all the way to the horizon. Enlarge the photo to realy get the impact of space. 

This part of the highway goes through the plains of the Free State Province of South Africa. Big sky country with wide vistas. The Free State is prime farming country, maize, wheat, sunflowers, sheep, and beef and dairy cattle.

This is my first post using my new laptop, I will be doing some more posts about the birds and animals at Sondela game reserve.


  

Temple of mammon

Took a trip to Pietermaritzburg on Saturday the 16th of April. Once a month the Italian Leprechaun go to the big city for a treat. Pietermaritzburg is the capital of KwaZuluNatal province.

On ramp to the N3 highway which is about 500 meters from my cottage.

A view of the N3 toll road through the rolling hills of the KZN midlands, looking south east. Toll fee for the 100 kilometer trip to Pietermaritzburg, R32 about $5, Time to cover the distance at +- 120km per hour, 50 minutes. The highway stretches north from here for about 400km to Johannesburg. About 190km south east from here lies the port city of Durban, Africa's largest port. This highway is one of SA's main export and import routes. Usually this highway is crowded with huge trucks, this photo was taken on a Sunday morning. Long stretches of the highway, through especially steep places, has three lanes on each side, rather than two as seen here. The wide centre median leaves lots of room for widening the highway later.

Our destination Liberty Midlands Mall, entrance 2 of the temple of mammon, here materialism is worshiped The mall is built on the site of an old brick works. Five or six entrances to this mall, it is a baby mall compared to some of the mega malls which can be found in the big cities of SA.

Watching people at the mall and listening to conversations I get the idea that shopping has become entertainment, no longer something done out of necessity. If you're bored go to the mall and entertain yourself with some shopping. Kids getting underfoot at home during the holidays or over the weekend. Give them some money and dump them at the mall.

A town or city's reputation depends on the size of the mall, or how many you have! There's talk of a mini mall being built in Estcourt, and the residents are beside themselves with excitement. A mall, we have arrived, and now have some status.

The rain is pouring down.

The food hall in the mall. The Boulder Creek Spur on the right is the place to go if you feel like a big steak or spare-rib. There are Spur restaurants in most towns and all the big cities in South Africa, and they all have an American names, there decor themes are all a South African idea of the Wild West. Food to satisfy any taste. We went to the Mug & Bean coffee shop for breakfast and coffee.

Spotted this couple with their toddler outside the Mug & Bean coffee shop, dining alfresco.

To us two country bumpkins it sounds like the baristas speak a foreign language, (barista is strange enough) coffee is not just coffee, always has a foreign name, not quite sure what you're ordering. But we did get some fantastic coffee, drink as much as you want, and a breakfast that was worth every cent. The service is slick and fast, and the baristas extremely helpful and friendly, left a large tip.

The actual reason for going to the mall was to sort out a problem with my cell phone at the customer care centre of the company with which I have my cell phone contract. I was helped quickly and efficiently by a friendly young Zulu man named Andile. He typed some arcane code into his computer, my cell phone number and viola problem solved Always nice when you come across someone who knows what he is doing, and obviously likes doing it. The Italian Leprechaun had some bank business to attend to, his problem was just as quickly sorted out.

Ended up in the Exclusive Books book shop and bought these two books. I have a compulsive disorder when it comes to books, just have no willpower. But I think they were worth it. The Italian leprechaun and I have been coming to the mall once a month for about two years now and we only know three or four places, coffee shop, Christian book shop, Exclusive Books, and Cape Union Mart, the outdoor and camping supply shop.

Who's the Italian leprechaun? He's my colleague and friend, also fellow traveller on the road of faith. Teaches grade seven class at the school where I work as librarian. Real name, Enrico Bucceri. Father of Italian extraction and mother of Irish. He is no Italian Stallion, so I thought Leprechaun was more apt.

A master at his profession and all children just love him. One of his learners said to him a while back; "Sir, you are not a real grown-up, sir." Describes him in a nut shell. Much to the chagrin of the principal and more up-tight colleaques he might spend half a day teaching his class how to fold paper planes and then fly them out the top story window of his classroom, but make no mistake, academics do not get neglected.