Day 6: Nuwerus to Garies

Woke up at about 7 I think but was politely reminded to get packing as there was a court proceeding about to take place. I wondered why they had a court in a town as small as this. Got my things together quickly after some breakfast. Saw quite a couple of cats wondering around the station before heading back to the shop for some supplies.

Behind me, where justice is served.

Meow

Mmmm. Looks like we both wondering what the hell we doing in this picture.

I was now off headed for Garies as my final destination for the day. My ride was all along the N7 once I exited Nuwerus. I had a refreshing coke break 17kms later in Bitterfontein before carrying on.

Coke break in Bitterfontein.

The day turned out to be stupidly hot with not much to report to be honest. Most exciting thing was passing into the Northern Cape.

A new day, a new province. My high point for the day.

It was so hot I had to rest in the shade of one road sign but even then it was hot in the shade.

So fokken hot that day on the N7!!!

I finally got to Garies and checked into a self catering place.

Plus I met another friendly dog. 'Please, Ill do anything you want. Just let me go.'

I was still in playing it safe mode so that’s really why I checked in. I would take my time later to find places to stay as the trip progressed. Honestly I was looking forward to those creature comforts such as a shower and bed etc, but once I checked in and unloaded my bike, I felt this huge wave of what can only be described as a mixture of either lonileness or bleakness rush through me. I couldn’t explain it and it worried me. Was this going to happen again as I certainly didn’t want to feel this miserable feeling again. I had a shower and ate and began feeling better. I also ended up resting a bit longer than I wanted as when I wandered out to do a shop, the local superstore was closed. Damn I thought. I must really try and get shopping done before closing time next time, no matter how tired. I ended up going to a local fish and chips shop and got me a whole bunch of slap chips for tomorrows ride. Then I just returned to my place and carried on reading my other book for a while. 'The way of the superior man' for those who were wandering. I was also beginning to dread the reality of the dirt road that was waiting me tomorrow if I decided to cycle to Hondeklipbaai. It was a gravel road of about 83kms and I was worried if I could actually do it. I think the worry was influenced from how tough that last dirt road section was the day before. My mind was doing maths of how long it would take to do something 3 times that long. How much water would I need. When would I have to start? All this mental nonsense which caused untold worry. So much so that I was considering skipping that route and heading up along the N7 to Springbok if need be. This would mean I skip a large chunk of perimeter riding plus I would have this silly route whereby I would do a closed loop heading back into Springbok before carrying on which I didn’t actually want to do. I decided to try and not worry about it till tomorrow. That helped a little.

Distance: 75kms