This seemed to be the question on everyone's mind the day we drove to Kokoriba Nature Reserve and Family Holiday Resort. The drive was only supposed to be 7.5 hours, instead it turned into 12! No, we did not get stuck in traffic, there was no accident, no construction...nope, we were going to be impounded!
Lets start from the beginning. The van and trailer that we were driving had a permit on it. The permit had expired (as per the decal on the van's windshield) so we were pulled over by the traffic police. The traffic police have the authority to arrest, fine and impound vehicles and drivers. Our guide, Chris, explained that he had went to the office to renew the permit and had paid for a new decal, but the office was on strike so instead he was given an official receipt of renewal. The traffic police listened, and despite this still fined us and told us the van would be impounded. This got everyone going as you can imagine. Chris then dropped us and the van off at a local gas station and went with the traffic police to pay the R2,500 fine (this converts to $360 Canadian dollars). It was really hot out, in the high 30's and we were all sitting by the van waiting for someone to come and impound it. Then, a police cruiser pulled up. There were 2 cops in there and they asked us what was happening (strange sight to see 7 caucasian girls at a gas station) and once they heard our story, the parked beside the van and got out. We soon learned that one of them was named officer Starbuck, and as you can imagine we all loved his name! After talking for a while, they decided to stay with us until Chris returned. We soon made friends and took pictures with our babysitters until Chris came. The van was never impounded, but the fine still had to be paid. We said goodbye and then continued to Kokoriba.
Just when we thought the day couldn't get any worse, we stopped at a mall and one of the girls went to an ATM machine to get money. We learned that theft of pin #s is very common in SA, and this girl almost had her bank account cleared. It is common for a man to distract you, stand close or pretend they are part of the bank and "help" you when really they want to steal your money. After this experience, we were all a little more careful with who was around us at all times. After a period of time, she found out that her money was still all there - thank goodness!
After this, we got into Kokoriba really late, unpacked and then hit the hay.
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