Leaving Benoni on the Baz Bus
Trip Start
May 21, 2003
1
7
Trip End
May 27, 2003
Benoni,
South Africa
Wednesday, May 21, 2003
The journey was nice - it's great to be in the company of relaxed travellers for a bit. Talked, read, slept, looked out the window... ahh, the feeling of getting away from it.
The bulk of the scenery was familiar -- large expanses of dry grass and fields seemingly flattened by the beating sun. It was only when we headed south that we diverged from the route I took earlier on in March to go to Kruger. As we climbed into the Drakensberg the late afternoon light shone through the clouds and lit the mountains up -- a welcome sight after all the flat of Gauteng. Mine dumps don't count, see.
Arrived at Legends backpackers, I stopped off with two other travellers - Ant and Emma - who are on a grand tour of the world.
They had brought their own food and stuff, and kindly offered to share. Legends is undergoing some renovation at the moment, so it could be a better atmosphere. When Emma switched the grill on, all the cockroaches that were hiding under the lid bit ran away from the heat. Not that I particularly mind - cockroaches aren't necessarily an indication of dirt, and in this part of the world there's not much you can do to stop them getting inside. As long as they aren't in my food, I don't care.
Major excitement of the evening was caused by a tiny bat flying into the dorm room and flitting around. Everyone squealed - guys and girls alike - and beat a hasty retreat, leaving me to figure out a way to catch the poor thing. It was obviously scared, and really really fast. I grabbed a blanket off the bed and threw it over him/her/it. Then I had to carefully unwrap the expanse of fleece to find the tiny thing, clinging for dear life to the folds and bearing its sharp little teeth at me. I took it outside, parting the small crowd of backpackers and staff like Moses with the Red Sea. I'm sure I heard actual whimpers... honestly, show some backbone!!
The little mite flew off into the night, hopefully writing itself a little note: don't fly through tiny little holes in walls! The door to the dorm had been shut, so the only way in was through the minute hole in the broken air-vent. I thought bats had better spatial awareness than that..?
My mobile doesn't work here and neither does my credit card. Hee!
Comments
Of bats and roaches
So what was the fate of the poor frightened bat?
Funny, for some reason I think roaches are the only living creatures that make my flesh crawl. I'll squish them while I'll let most other creepy crawly things escape. Wonder why?
Re: Of bats and roaches
Oops, never did quite finish the tale did I? Hold on....**goes to edit**....there, all done!
Cockroaches don't really bother me. At home in Chester my brother used to have 4 Madagascan hissing cockroaches, so I suppose I'm used to handling them in a controlled environment. Or something.
Also, part of my zoology course involved a cockroach dissection of sorts (ummm yummy) so, again, the scuttling-ick factor is eliminated. Having a scalpel helps you feel better... ;)