Keys Locked in Car

We left Bethulie at just after 9:00am, and had a loose plan to make it to Graaff Reinet, about 364 kms (226 miles) away.

We're actually slowly making our way back to Cape Town, just not really deciding what the next destination is until we get to it!

We had a  couple of stops to make just outside of town though. The first one was at a graveyard memorial. The other day we told you about the Boer War concentration camp that the British ran in this area back in 1899-1902.

There were approximately 5,000 prisoners there, and more than 1,700 of them died. Many of them women and children.

In 1966, a dam was built that would have flooded the graves of those people. So a decision was made to exhume the remains, and re-bury them at a new memorial.

The original headstones were very fragile, and were relocated this way.

More than 1,700 names.

The next stop was only a couple of kms down the road. The D.H. Steyn Bridge (sometimes simply called the Bethulie Bridge) is the longest combined rail and roadway bridge in South Africa, at 1.2 kms.

The Bethulie Bridge.

From there, we made our way on the back roads through farm country and small towns. Not much to see really, and it was a mostly overcast day, which made the photos look a little dreary. Still, we did go through a couple of interesting mountain passes.

Hardly an cars on the road the whole day.

Yesterday's drive, 364 kms (226 miles).

We stopped in Cradock for a late lunch, and then it was about 3:30pm when we arrived in Graaff Reinet. We found the tourist office and asked about inexpensive accommodation. They gave us a few options and we ended up at some rental cottages that are walking distance to town, and with kitchen facilities to be able to cook our own meals.

I stopped across the street, shut off the car, and Ruth stayed in the car while I ran to see if they had availability. They did, and the lady walked out with me to show me one of the units. I waved to Ruth to come on over and check things out with me.

Ruth, always being reminded to lock up the car, did exactly that.

We went and looked at the place, bargained ourselves a price of R1000 ($105) for three nights, and headed out to do some grocery shopping. As we got close to the car, I reached in my pocket for the keys.

Of course, they weren't there. But I knew right away where they were!

Oops.

After spending twenty years working in auto body repair shops, I'm pretty good at getting into a locked car. But of course I had no tools. A guy had pulled in to a nearby driveway and I asked if he had a coat hanger. He came back with one, but he was a little overly helpful and wanted to do the job himself! He worked away at it for five minutes or so but he wasn't getting anywhere, and handed me the coat hanger as he went back to the house to get something else. I worked away at it for a couple of minutes and by the time he came back with another tool, I got the car door open.

A few minutes of frustration and excitement, but we got things under control in less than 15 minutes. Good thing our rental car is twenty years old because newer cars aren't quite as easy to get into!