Log
Charley Boorman Log- Day 6
June 15, 2012
In which Charley and the team run into some issues.
Today, the plan was to camp in the wilds of the stunning Baviaanskloof National Park, famous for its baboons and their notorious mischief making with campers. To get there, our path takes us through the famous Garden Route – The N2 motorway that threads its way across the beautiful South coast. We even stop at the Plettenberg Bay Hotel, and check our maps in their lovely garden terrace while we watch some crazy surfers tackle the waves in bay below.
So far, so very good.
The daylight is already fading as we enter the countryside surrounding the Baviaanskloof. As any camper knows, it’s now a race to get to where we need to be and put our tents up before we have to do it in the pitch black of a rural African night. But then, as we speed along rough dirt tracks through acres of sweet-smelling orange groves, the trailer that contains our luggage and filming equipment bursts a tire! We’re now stranded in the middle of nowhere, tied to a broken vehicle that is completely immobile, with no chance of reaching our camp in time!
As we scout the surrounding land on our bikes. In the brilliant glow of the setting sun, we chance across one of the orange farmers, supervising his workers as they harvest the fruit. His name was Kobus Duprez and the South African reputation for friendliness was born out a thousand times by this guy. Kobus helped us get back to our trailer, bringing along a few of his workers in case they could help. He then showed us a great lakeside campsite we could get to just before dark, took our trailer in to patch it up overnight and even invited us to see his orange factory in the morning.
We owe this guy so much and without his help, weâd have been in serious trouble.
As we gathered around the fire and listened to the animal chrous ring out through the dark, I reflected on the day weâd had. Adventure is made from adversity, and I wonder what else there is to come?
