Kombi nation
If you’ve recently travelled on a dirt road in Lesotho, I’m sure the following has happened to you: You’re inching your way up a pass, possibly even in low range, as you avoid rocks and holes in the road. You turn to your spouse, who is nervously eyeing the drop-off on the left. “This is why we bought a 4x4 darling,” you say. “Imagine trying to do this in our old…”
Suddenly a dinky Honda Jazz whizzes past on the right, rudely interrupting your “money well spent” monologue. A few seconds later, an old Toyota Hi-Ace minibus, filled with passengers and luggage, hoots twice as it passes. There are few things that can dent the ego of a 4x4 owner like a road trip in Lesotho! Rey Janse van Rensburg’s story of his adventures in the Blue Lady, a 1971 Volkswagen kombi that clocked almost a million kilometres (p 130), brought a smile to my face. In an age of consumerism, where clever marketing will have you believe that adventure isn’t possible without spending a fortune on the latest technological marvels, it’s good to be reminded that a “can-do” attitude will get you further than any gadget will.
As a student, I had my fair share of road trips in kombis like Rey’s, criss-crossing the country in search of deserted beaches and perfect waves. Later, when I had to do my national service in Pretoria and we got a weekend pass, a bunch of us former Rhodes University students would pile into my friend Steven’s white kombi panel van on a Friday at lunchtime. We’d arrive in Grahamstown in the early hours of Saturday morning, catch up with friends and girlfriends, then head north at the crack of dawn on Sunday to be back on the base by 8 pm. Insane!
On one such memorable trip, the rear wheel of Steven’s kombi fell off just as we approached the Grasmere Toll Plaza south of Joburg. The kombi lurched to a grinding halt on the side of the road, and we watched in horror as the wheel hurtled towards the plaza, bouncing higher and higher as it picked up speed. Somehow it managed to miss everything – cars, tollbooths, tollbooth assistants – and it eventually settled on the verge on the other side. We ran to collect it, sheepishly rolled it back to the lopsided vehicle and reattached it with the help of other motorists. Then off we went again to Grahamstown. Shaken, but definitely defin not deterred.