Post 21 Build it Journey

Blog Post 21

A very wonderful thing about staying at Belmont is that you have a hot breakfast delivered to you at a time of your choice. Being an early riser I got to have my breakfast with the day still crisp sitting outside my room watching the sun grow in the sky and bathe the valley below with its warm light. I had showered already and packed the car and it was an early start and drive to Kokstad.

I had miscalculated or rather got the road on the map wrong a bit as the road that I had wanted to take turned out to be a dust road for about a 100 km so I decided that my little car deserved better than that so I took the longer route which was all tarred. I don’t think my car would have done another long dirt road, the rattle from the last experience has only just settled down.

I arrived in the thriving town of Kokstad and met with the very friendly Dyllan Herbert. He is a busy man with many people trying to see him while he was with me and I appreciated his time. Another successful meeting done I was off to Matatiele, a town I am starting to know well as my cousins Niall and Jade – both vets, live there and I have visited them before.

I need to break and say that so far on this journey the scenery between Kokstad and Matatiele is the most beautiful so far. Poplar trees, dams, flowing valleys that go on forever all bordered and pinned together by the most majestic hills and mountains. The colours at this time of year, is I think my favourite. I just love the brown’s and stark scenery. It comes I think from always spending time in the berg over July holidays when I was young. I know spring is coming and it’s going to be fabulous to be travelling through the country and see all the flowers and shrubs blooming in beautiful colour and the tree’s getting their leaves back.

It was very hot and I am starting to seriously decide when I get into the Karoo whether the Build It owners and managers will mind if I wear shorts on my visits. My car’s air conditioner is not the strongest or most robust part of my car.

In Matatiele I met with Warren and Dephney both of whom were so nice. After explaining the site to both I sat with Dephney t go through the nitty gritty. Dephney is amazing and so smart. I told her that she needs to apply to own her own store and open one in a town where there is not one and one is needed. She has a bright future ahead of her for sure.

Warren was such a good bloke too as after work was done he kindly came and looked at my bike whose derailer is bust. We tried together for about half an hour undoing this and that, fiddling with cables and basically the whole thing was not keen on being fixed. I was definitely an assistant to Warren’s kind efforts and I am very grateful to you for trying Warren. Thank you 

It was by now into the afternoon and I went off to find my cousin Niall Watkins who as I mentioned is a qualified vet and moved to Matatiele to support his beautiful and wonderful (no superlative can do her justice) girlfriend Jade who was sent to Matat to do her community service. The first set of qualified vets to have to do this. I saw where Niall worked and then after getting his keys set off for his beautiful sandstone farmhouse that they have rented for the year. Niall followed soon after and then Jade was with us after completing her day and we had the most lovely and happy evening together. Great chats with the most awesome people.

Niall and Jade you guys are champions and the light of our extended family. There are no words to explain how much I value your friendship and how excited I am to be part of and to watch your guys lives. You are heading for great things, both of you and I love you both. Well done for being just exactly who you are. I am so proud to be your cousin.