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This holiday I went on a road trip to the Eastern Cape to spend New Years on a farm in the Karoo. The road trip was great, and the time on the farm refreshing, but at the end of it I still wanted more adventure. Living in the city doesn't come with a lot of adventure, and I was keen to find some on this trip. A friend and I then hit upon the novel idea of hitch-hiking back to Cape Town.
I wanted to create a story to tell my imaginary children one day. I imagined myself driving through the Karoo with my imaginary family, and telling them how I hitch-hiked through this hot and desolate landscape. My imaginary wife will shake her imaginary head and smile, while the kids are filled with awe for their brave dad. You can't drive through Cape Town and tell your imaginary family how you once had half-price sushi at the restaurant on the corner. It's got to be more epic than that.
So with big, romantic ideas of being Alexander Supertramp, we left the farm near Jansenville on 1 January 2012 and 31 hours later we arrived back in Cape Town.
If you're thinking of doing the journey, here are some helpful hints to hitch-hiking across the country.
1. Pack water. We did, and we're still alive. Note the correlation.
2. Don't expect lifts from people with lots of space in their car. People who stop to pick you up already have a bunch of people in their car. The first car to stop for us had 5 people in the car, the next 3 people, the next was a minibus taxi (read full), and the last lift was a bakkie which was carrying 9 people before we got in.
3. When people say they're going somewhere they might remember that they aren't going there after you ask for a lift.
4. Try not to walk in the Karoo during mid-day. We did. We got hot.
5. Stand outside of town and look desperate. Simply putting up a thumb doesn't work. You need to let them see the desperation in your face. Wave a lot and get them to notice you.
6. Sunblock saved our lives. You're spending a lot of time on the side of the road. Make sure you don't become a lobster. Also try to find shade when you can so that your brain doesn't boil.
7. Don't cross the bridge going out of Beaufort West. If you do you will probably get mugged. We didn't cross the bridge thanks to a homeless chap/security guard who told us not to. A minute later a group of 7 guys were hustling us. Some quick thinking got us out of the situation, and soon thereafter we were in a roadside hotel.
8. Contribute money for petrol, but be prepared to bargain if it's a taxi. Bargaining in Afrikaans is not as easy as sleeping.
9. Expect happiness when someone stops. After being ignored by a lot of people, expect to be very stoked to be inside a vehicle. A worn seat never felt so good.
10. Hitch-hike with someone. I couldn't imagine going on the journey by myself. There's something great about experiencing a tough situation with someone, and being able to share laughs together. Plus, it's safer. Two people is probably the best number. If we had more people I'm guessing we wouldn't have been able to get the lifts that we did.
This all being said, you still need to be very careful when deciding to hitch-hike. Things can go badly quite quickly and so be wise when deciding whether or not to try thumb for lifts. We had a good experience, but were always on our toes to ensure we didn't end up in a bad situation.
