We left the beautiful Ernie Els Winery in Stellenbosch and were driving along a narrow brick road. As we were commenting on the expense it must have been to pave a road as long as that with bricks (look I even took a picture I thought it was so cool) we were approached by an oncoming truck. Now, I must remind you that in South Africa not only is the driver on the right side (or should I say wrong side) of the car but you also have to drive on the left side (also the wrong side) of the road. It was so strange. We actually adjusted easier than we thought we would, you just really had to concentrate hard - especially at intersections when you were trying to figure out which direction the cars would be coming from and which lane to turn into. The only part that we didn't really ever get the hang of was that the blinker was on the right side of the steering wheel and the windshield wipers were on the left. So every single time we went to turn on the blinker we turned on the windshield wipers instead - and it never got old, we laughed at each other EVERY time. So back to the oncoming truck.
Jeff swerved out of the way, off the road to the right and we fell of the side of the lovely brick road - the sharp, jagged edged, brick road - slightly startled by the feeling of falling off the road he swerved back. We continued on our little drive, the whole time Jeff complaining about how awful our car performed when he got over 120 kilometers an hour and kept complaining that it must be really windy out because the car kept pulling to the left. We had no idea that anything was actually wrong. It wasn't until an hour or so later that a nice passer by on the highway - let me also explain that most of the roads down there are single lane but with an extremely large side pull-off area. We found out that if the person behind you is going faster than you, instead of hogging the lane and making them pass you in the oncoming lane, you pull off the side and let then pass - so considerate. Anyway, someone came up behind us, so trying to do as they do in South Africa we maneuvered toward the left to let our friend pass. As he passed he honked and started waving and motioning his hands together. We both looked at each other and thought "oh crap, do we have a flat tire?"
We immediately pulled off the side of the road to see that indeed, we had a flat tire and it had probably been that way for an hour, thinking back to our little run in with the brick road back in Stellenbosch! Lucky for us, our little Kia Rio had a spare and my trusty husband changed that tire like a champ. And we definitely didn't let it affect our excitment and enjoyment of the adventure we were on - but look at that view that was around us, how could anyone be upset? The funniest part was the next morning when we popped into a tire repair shop - Speedy Tire in Knysna - and the guy there went above and beyond to help us out. He didn't have our size tire, so he called around to other places in town and found one. It didn't stop there though, he said it would be hard for us to find the location so he personally lead us there, stayed to help out, and also personally lead us to an ATM and back to get cash since we were a few dollars short to pay for the tire. What a nice guy! If anything we thought the entire event added to our trip, making it even more exciting and giving me a story I can continue to tell during my
Life As A Wife.
We left the beautiful Ernie Els Winery in Stellenbosch and were driving along a narrow brick road. As we were commenting on the expense it must have been to pave a road as long as that with bricks (look I even took a picture I thought it was so cool) we were approached by an oncoming truck. Now, I must remind you that in South Africa not only is the driver on the right side (or should I say wrong side) of the car but you also have to drive on the left side (also the wrong side) of the road. It was so strange. We actually adjusted easier than we thought we would, you just really had to concentrate hard - especially at intersections when you were trying to figure out which direction the cars would be coming from and which lane to turn into. The only part that we didn't really ever get the hang of was that the blinker was on the right side of the steering wheel and the windshield wipers were on the left. So every single time we went to turn on the blinker we turned on the windshield wipers instead - and it never got old, we laughed at each other EVERY time. So back to the oncoming truck.
Jeff swerved out of the way, off the road to the right and we fell of the side of the lovely brick road - the sharp, jagged edged, brick road - slightly startled by the feeling of falling off the road he swerved back. We continued on our little drive, the whole time Jeff complaining about how awful our car performed when he got over 120 kilometers an hour and kept complaining that it must be really windy out because the car kept pulling to the left. We had no idea that anything was actually wrong. It wasn't until an hour or so later that a nice passer by on the highway - let me also explain that most of the roads down there are single lane but with an extremely large side pull-off area. We found out that if the person behind you is going faster than you, instead of hogging the lane and making them pass you in the oncoming lane, you pull off the side and let then pass - so considerate. Anyway, someone came up behind us, so trying to do as they do in South Africa we maneuvered toward the left to let our friend pass. As he passed he honked and started waving and motioning his hands together. We both looked at each other and thought "oh crap, do we have a flat tire?" 
We immediately pulled off the side of the road to see that indeed, we had a flat tire and it had probably been that way for an hour, thinking back to our little run in with the brick road back in Stellenbosch! Lucky for us, our little Kia Rio had a spare and my trusty husband changed that tire like a champ. And we definitely didn't let it affect our excitment and enjoyment of the adventure we were on - but look at that view that was around us, how could anyone be upset? The funniest part was the next morning when we popped into a tire repair shop - Speedy Tire in Knysna - and the guy there went above and beyond to help us out. He didn't have our size tire, so he called around to other places in town and found one. It didn't stop there though, he said it would be hard for us to find the location so he personally lead us there, stayed to help out, and also personally lead us to an ATM and back to get cash since we were a few dollars short to pay for the tire. What a nice guy! If anything we thought the entire event added to our trip, making it even more exciting and giving me a story I can continue to tell during my Life As A Wife. 
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