Imla Guest Farm

April 11, 2021

Our accommodation provided breakfast for us, but at another restaurant in town, so "Benjamin's" was our first stop of the day. Part of the establishment are two donkey's called Oscar and Basjan who demand a bit of attention. Breakfast itself was pretty good - Eggs Benedict with ham (for me) and salmon (for Leigh) plus all the trimmings.

We were as full as ticks by the time we finished breakfast and slowly rolled out of town at about half past nine. The first twenty kilometers was on the R70 which runs between Senekal and Ficksburg. It had two meter wide shoulder and a few bad potholes which ensured that what little traffic there was drove slowly and carefully . The combination of the two made for a stress free ride. Then we turned off onto a pretty rough road which would take us to Imla Guest Farm over a distance of thirty kilometers. It was one of those rides that was hard on the body but gentle on the soul. We loved every slow minute of it.

The road was rough but the cosmos was usually there to soften the ride.

We saw a number of these tracks today - the characteristic spoor of a puff adder.

At about two o'clock we stopped for lunch ... and in front of us was this lovely female Puff Adder (Bitis arietans) crossing the road. Almost a meter long and as thick as my wrist.

The reason for the poor condition of the road was all the rain that eastern Free State had enjoyed this summer.

Heading up the road to our digs for the night.

After arriving at Imla it didn't take long for us to realise that we were pretty knackered. Supper is being provided so at least I don't have to worry about cooking. As I type up this journal entry a cold Windhoek Lager is going down like a homesick mole. We head to Clocolan tomorrow morning and from there carry on to Ladybrand, retracing part of the route we took northwards.

Today's ride: 50 km (31 miles)
Total: 1,302 km (809 miles)

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Scott AndersonGoing down like a homesick mole? That’s great. Did you come up with this, or is this a folksy old saying I’ve never heard before?
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3 years ago

Jean-Marc StrydomTo Scott AndersonI would love to claim copyright on it but I heard it when Herschelle Gibbs was being interviewed on TV after being the first cricketer to hit six sixes in an over in an international match during the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies. I often simply truncate it to "like a homesick mole" as I take the first sip. Herschelle was a brilliant all-round sportsman, playing rugby, soccer and cricket for South Africa as a youngster before concentrating on cricket, but was often rather naughty.
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3 years ago

Dino AngeliciI'm going to use that one!
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10 months ago