Desert Sojourn

December 2007

For some time now, I have been talking about the need to find some space outside of the city where one might set up a small community whose common ideal is to live in a sacred and sustainable way, with a minimum impact on the environment.

Well, when Desray and I received a phone call late Thursday to say that there was a parcel of land available in the Karoo at a reasonable price, we thought that it would be a good idea to go and have a look.

The friend who invited us suggested we all go in one vehicle. However, the group wanted to leave Cape Town at 4pm, reach the farm after dark, sleep over, look at the farm in the morning and leave by 10 am to be back in town by 1 pm. Desray and I both wanted to see more. So instead, we decided to go in our own car, leave early, and have some time to explore the area. It felt like a grand outing and of course we wanted to be able to make an informed decision.
 

After a few stops, side trips and plenty water we were about 140 km north of Ceres. There we were required to turn off the major gravel road onto a minor farm track. The final leg of the journey required we go through 4 farms to get to the 5th farm. This road was terrible, very stony, and the heat was an awesome 43 degrees. Everything looked parched even though the odd pocket of muddy water was evidence of the previous week’s unusual thunder and lightning rain storm.

We were quite relaxed and chatting away, wondering if it got greener closer to our destination. Then just after 6pm we topped a small rise and horrors, we hit some unavoidable thick hot sand. Stopping or turning was impossible. The only choice was to keep going and to try to drive through, but we got stuck after about 300 m. When I got out of the car my feet sank into the burning hot soft sand. We tried to dig ourselves out but in that heat the sand was like water. I let most of the air out of the tyres, but it did not help, the wheels just dug deep into the sand. And of course, you’ve guessed it, no cell phone reception.

What to do? The risks were numerous. The heat was still 43 degrees. We did not know exactly where we were. After all this was an adventure and all we had were the faxed directions with some estimated distances. Desray has a major knee problem and can maybe walk about 1km on the best days before the knee collapses. Since we were about 8 km from either the farm or the major gravel road, walking did not seem to be a good option, especially in that heat. In any case, we had only seen one other vehicle on the long road from Ceres: a very slow and heavily laden donkey cart. So there was every possibility of finding no passerby.

Clearly the wisest course of action was to stay. After all, it would be but an hour before our friends were due to travel the same road and we could safely keep the aircon on for that short time. Simple really. Once they arrived, we would make a plan to get the car out of the sand, or go with them to the farm and get the car out in the morning.

By 8.30 pm there was no other car, it was still 43 degrees, and the sun was setting. A slight breeze had come up and we gladly put our camping chairs outside in the breeze. What a rude shock: a mere 30 minutes later, a mosquito onslaught saw us retreating into a closed car again. By now we pretty much knew we were stuck for the night. We stopped using the aircon to save the battery power. Boy were we hot. We had some grapes and water for supper and decided to get as comfortable as we could and try to sleep. Sleeping was really difficult as I could only sit in one position for about an hour. Every time I moved I woke a fitfully sleeping Desray. We knew there was a magnificent display of stars out there, but the mosquitoes made sure we saw very little. The moon came up some time around midnight but since it was waning there was not much light.

Eventually the dawn approached and we could see again. Desray was prepared to walk. But in the cooler morning temperature the sand was firmer and I wanted to try driving out one more time. We were very thorough since we probably had only one chance. I checked the tyres with the air gauge to make sure the pressure was less than one bar in each wheel. Then we each took one of my sandals and carefully dug away around the wheels. Desray insisted we place some rocks under each front wheel . And, a miracle, we managed to drive until we could find a hard surface.

Since our friends had not passed us during the night, it made no sense to go to the farm as it seemed unlikely they would be there. We had no idea what had happened to them; maybe they had decided not to come; maybe they had had an accident; we just did not know. So we carefully made a U turn, and with trepidation drove back through the soft sand (more than 800m). Once through and on harder ground, we pumped the tyres again and started back to Cape Town.

As we approached Ceres, we got a cell phone signal again: the first time since the previous afternoon at 4pm, and received a message from the farm. We stopped and called back immediately. We told them our story and were relieved to hear they were fine. Turned out they had taken a different route to the farm that we did not even suspect existed and of course they were never going to pass us. Seemed they had not realized we might be stuck. We declined joining them on the farm. For us this particular journey was done, and we continued home.
 
Once home we simply collapsed and slept. A car seat does not make a good bed. All worked out well. Seemed our angels were on overtime duty. Mulling it over has also given us greater clarity about what it is we might actually want when looking at the options of finding some space out of Cape Town.

But on a deeper note, another friend has told me that gravel roads are synonymous with “the path of creation” and so, if this is true, we ended the year on the path of creation and we shall see where this takes us for 2008.

May 2008 be abundant, happy, and healthy for all.
John & Desray J