Taking a Wrong Turn: A Muddy Business

One wrong turn, as so many horror movies have exploited, can make your day or week terrible. We wanted to explore the local area by visiting a brewery we heard great things about plus their beer is really tasty. We decided today was the day because it was overcast and we couldn’t do much else. Little did we know what was in store for us beyond the next turn.

The tar road turned into a gravel road that turned into pure mud. There was no indication, merely a wrong turn. Very soon after we took a turn the car almost completely lost its traction and we knew from that moment onwards that we will not get back up the slope or hill.

This was not the end. We managed to stop the car, turn it around, and after three tries to get up the hill to no avail, we pulled out our cellphones to make that call. No one had a signal. It read like a classic horror story. Wrong turn, no way to escape, no phone signal. All four in the car panicked in their own way. We had a loaf of bread in the car and me being the philosopher writer my brain went in the direction of how long would the bread last. Drama-philosophy-queen I would say.

Then someone emerged from the misty road. A worker on one of the farms. We asked for help and after some sympathy, he walked away in search of help. Then a car emerged. It was a local who knows the roads and who was driving home. She offered to tow us up in her car; we were all skeptical as her car did not look like it would’ve towed us. But, again like in a story, the worker emerged with a brand new tractor. He eventually towed us up the hill and we were all laughing with adrenaline still surging through our veins. We all thought that we would sleep in the car, not an ideal situation in South Africa. But alas, these stories stay with you forever.

The photographs used in this post were taken with my iPhone and some of them are screenshots from videos I took of the event. The writing is also my own.