Day 8 - Durban to Mtunzini (472km)

In spite of grand early morning ambitions it was around 11.30 before I shifted Mike (my willing passenger for the day) outside and into Betty. Some dawdling! Mike had just bowled and written off his own small car during the year on some high speed dirt road venture to and/or from some legendary Grahamstown party or another no doubt and was in the hunt for a new vehicle. After much sweaty spinning around dodgy Durban alleyways and lanes in one of its industrial zones we finally found a seller he had located on Gumtree the night prior. He was offering a beautiful metallic charcoaly greeny 2008 1.4L Corsa bakkie - the best looker on the market in my eyes (post 1989 in any case). She was mechanically sound - could hardly hear her breath in the underground car park - but was going at a questionably low price. It transpired that she too had been written off recently, rolling and crushing the left pillar and pushing the roof sideways across the right of the car. Somehow yer man straightened it out and beat out any dents, changed the front wing and did a lovely respray job. It was a great car at the price but I wasn't sure if any insurance companies would touch it and how it would affect resale if she made it that far. In any case Mike threw down a deposit there and then - love at first sight.


Mike, Tracey and Betty share a happy moment in Empangeni

After some difficulty in escaping Durban's pre Christmas traffic we finally made it to the N2 going North. It wasn't a very long or difficult drive to Empangani (the hometown of Mike's lovely lover Tracey) but it certainly was the sweatiest one yet. The cab hovered at a steady 35°C with both windows open and cool air on. Add to that Durban's notorious humidity and Betty Bakkie's non-porous grey pleather seats and you've got some very wet boys. Could have renamed her Betty Swollocks for the day, gan dabht!

Anyhow dropped Mikee off at his missuses in Empangeni before heading back South to Betty's (semi) ultimate destination: Mtunzini. I had only popped my honking head in the door for a few minutes at the Smuts' stronghold before I was whisked away on a delectable sunset booze cruise on the Siyaya lagoon. Absolutely stunning spot.


A murky shot of the Siyaya lagoon, Mtunzini

Black Label in hand, bats and warm dusk air through the hair, two Mercury outboards whirring in the background and a braai to look forward to back home. Who could ask for a better start to the Christmas holliers?