Day 19: The final drive home and everyones trip conclusions *Transkei Road Trip*

Monday Blues. Double whammy! Not only was it Monday, it was also the last day of our amazing holiday. We were basking a bit in the sun about us not being one of the people going back to work on this Monday, as majority of South Africans were back at work on this day.

We packed the car for the final time and jumped in to take on the long drive home. Jandre drove the whole day, which took about 9 hours. We stopped off for snacks, coffee and toilet breaks. It was pouring down with rain and the roads were quite busy. 

At around 16:00 we arrived at Jandre's house and unpacked. We said our goodbyes and off we were back to normal life.

I asked everyone what their feedback was regarding the holiday and only Jolize came back to me. Here's what she said:

"Definitely one of my best holidays in recent years. You somehow forget how rural parts of our country are, and this was a great reminder. Dramatic coastlines, pristine beaches, friendly locals, amazing seafood, hot weather and rolling green hills. What more can you ask for on a holiday. Oh, good company of course! What an awesome crew we had, with everyone contributing in their own very important way. We lost on the trip sunglasses, camping chairs and a blow up mattress, but never our tempers or sense of humour. Our biggest concern / worry each day was what we should eat. Bliss!

Highlight:                       

Our Christmas day hike to waterfall bluff and picnic by the rock pools. 

Words of advice:              

Intersperse camping with a stay at B&B or backpackers. Quite intense to have to break down and set up camp in one day after a 3-4hr drive.

Avoid any beaches or towns on New Year’s day – the locals decent in their 1000’s.

Stock up on food and booze in any of the bigger towns – the Spazza shops in the small towns really have a poor selection unless you don’t mind pap and uhmm.. pap"

My feedback:

This was one of the most phenomenal holidays that I've had. I was lucky enough to go on holiday twice this year. The first being in June when I went on a Eurotrip, but this was a different calibre of holiday.  The Transkei trip was intended to relax and unwind us from a busy 2013, which is exactly what it accomplished. I feel like the holiday made me appreciate the simple things in life again and made me realise that life should be simple. If life is too fast paced, it rushes by you and you don't get to enjoy or appreciate it. 2013 was a very busy year for me, I studied business management, organised the social club events, went on a 26 day Eurotrip which 10 of those days I spent hiking over 200 kms and my social life was pumping. For 2014 I want life to slow down a bit and I just want to have some moments when I have absolutely nothing planned, I actually would like to be bored sometimes (this is wishful thinking as I'm constantly on the go, but who knows) and I want to be more creative (draw, paint and complete decor DIY projects). I think that the Transkei definitely kick started this slower paced lifestyle for me and I will try and ride this wave out for hopefully the whole of 2014.

Like Jolize said, our biggest concern or worry was about what meals we had to plan for the day. It was so refreshing to just wake up and have nothing planned and then to decide what you want to do for the day. Do you want to snorkel the colorful reef, lie on the beach, explore the town or go for a run through the gorgeous rural villages. Simple life. I often covet a simple life, thinking I won't mind living on a farm, but there's probably a lot of work on a farm which I don't account for in my fantasy.

Jolize is a natural at organising and I learnt a few things from her. She had the biggest suitcase by far, but the guys inflatable boat compensated for the space it took up. She had a separate material bag which she kept for dirty laundry (perfect as it doesn't mix with your clean clothes and make them smell funky too), another bag for her shoes (clever, as your shoes won't make your clothes dirty either), smaller bag to put underwear in (it's like you have different compartments) and another material beach bag which folds up small, so it doesn't take up space and it's very handy to use to go to the beach. She also had one of those toiletry bags that folds open and then have a hook so that it you can hang it up. So I'm definitely going to be packing all those things next time!

What to remember the next time we go camping: extra flip flops (as mine, Jolize and Jandre's broke), extra camping chairs (as one of ours broke on day 2), extra headlamp or batteries (as mine broke) and hang mats to chill in at the camp site.

All in all this was an excellent well planned trip with incredibly cool bunch of people. Next up Malawi. Watch this space! 

Thanks for reading, we loved sharing our experience with you.