Molteno Memories

More than 4 months ago I visited my son Bertie and his girlfriend Monique in Beaufort West for a week. I had an incredible time there. A time I fondly look back on. Very special memories were created. I don’t see Bertie that often, so every moment with him gets ingrained into my mind. I take it out at a later stage when the longing gets too bad to dust off and reminisce about.

This was a very special afternoon. We picked Monique up at work, and traveled through the Molteno gravel pass, South Africa’s oldest pass. It was completed in 1881 already. Just the three of us in Bertie’s old Mazda 323, a coke each and a bag of chips. The beauty around us was really awe-inspiring. We laughed, we chatted, we took photos and we just enjoyed being together.

I am writing this 4 and a half months later. Bertie drove me the 1000km home a few days later. I had a bus ticket, but we thought with the Covid-19 threat it might not be safe. Bertie had to rush back home a few days later when a nationwide lockdown was declared.

125+ days later, and we are still in lockdown. The world has changed, people are struggling and businesses are going bankrupt. The pandemic is continuing to devastate our world.

I keep thinking back to this afternoon, and this very special moment with the sunset behind the Nuweveld Mountains. Just the three of us and quietness around us.

The Karoo at it’s most beautiful.

After we are all gone, and the Covid-19 pandemic relegated to the history books, 100’s of years into the future, someone else will stand here and enjoy this serene beauty, and new memories will be made yet again.

JC Crafford

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