Off-the-grid adventure

‘Let’s pack our bags and leave tomorrow. We’ll go wherever the wind blows us!’

Awestruck, I sat behind my holiday-job counter with my jaw on the floor. Standing across from me was my best friend, nonchalantly proposing the most ridiculous, yet tempting, adventure.

Before I knew it, the words ‘Um … okay?’ slipped out, and a sunrise later we were on our way with nothing but a tent, sleeping bags, some burger patties, R1 000 and three promising days of unplanned fun ahead of us.

Spontaneity had never tasted so sweet: December sun on our skin, roads threading through a patchwork of farmland, Journey’s song ‘Don’t Stop Believing’ blaring out the windows… What more could we need?

Famished after setting up camp in Arniston, we started a fire, only to realise that we’d forgotten to pack a braai grid. We began the quest for twigs for what seemed like a logical solution: a handmade grid.

Needless to say, our innovation failed miserably. After hours of alternating between laughter and the impossible task of getting the meat cooked while balancing the rickety structure and preventing it from catching fire, we finally admitted defeat. We sat watching our best intentions burn to ashes as we hungrily proceeded to eat the undercooked meat.

Giggling, my friend glanced at me. ‘Next time we go off the grid, we should really consider packing one!’

– Jane de Wet, Cape Town