9 Peaks Challenge-Adventure with a PurposeTuesday 22 April 2014
22 April 2014 Tuesday 2am
Jordan and I packed and then went
off to catch some sleep. With all the excitement it was difficult to drift off
into any meaningful sleep. None the less we were on the move at 00h00 and
arrived at Pamela’s house just before 01h00. I had taken my little Jimny along
and it was already packed to the hilt, however Jordan had created some luggage
and sitting space for Pamela. Once
Pamela was piled in (only her face was visible around the entire luggage) and
Jordan who had a large duffle bag on his lap and some luggage around his legs
was also well wedged in, I announced “where are the car keys”. Silence.
Suddenly in the midst of all this luggage and space chaos Jordan pipes up from
under the duffle bag, in a sheepish and muffled voice, that the keys are in his
left pants pocket. This was too much for Pamela who erupted into fits of
giggles. After some stealth maneuvering and the hot cappuccinos sitting on the
dashboard, we managed to retrieve the car keys and the Jimny made its way past
the security guard, who could not believe his eyes when Pamela’s little face
peering between the sea of luggage and she had to convince him that we were not
kidnapping her nor half her house in the Jimny!
It was now time to hit the
highway on our way to Midrand to meet up with the rest of the gang. Our trials
were not over however and as luck would have it we were stopped by a police
road block. Really at 01h15 in the morning!! We were then curtly told after
having flash lights shoved into the Jimny that we were overloaded – no shit
Sherlock!! I did tell them that the Jimny has a 1 ton carrying capacity and we
had not exceeded that. I then went on to tell them after I had opened my wallet
to get my driver’s license out that I did have a PDP so technically ……. Then he saw from my Work ID
that I was employed by the fire dept. We then swapped some war stories of the
inner city and Hillbrow and he told me to drive off safely and go and feed lots
of people while climbing the mountains. Nice chap actually!! Ok so now finally
we were on our way and I did not have to give away any of our cappuccinos,
bonus!
We arrived at the petrol station
our meeting point before anyone else had arrived. Slowly over the next 15 minutes
everyone trickled in. We had by then packed the entire luggage into our Meals
on Wheels combi only to be told we had two unexpected guests who also arrived late
with heaps of luggage. Eish so now we had to have some of our luggage at our
feet. Jordan and I had taken the seats behind the driver – what with those extra-long
legs and size 12 shoes of his 
The trip down was uneventful and
we were treated to an amazing sunrise with several mountains as a backdrop as
we made our way down to Durban. We
arrived in Durban late morning and grabbed some lunch at the Mugg & Bean at
the Pavilion Shopping Centre in Westville after freshening up. 
We then made our
way to Chesterville Township near Westville for a special treat. We were going to meet some of the amazing
staff of Meals on Wheels who feed several hundred people in one day. We had the
privilege of helping out and dishing up food.
Jordan and I had some fun with the little tot’s and were able to spend
time chatting to some of the locals. It always saddens me to see hungry and
malnutrition kids and even though their plight is often so dire they still
laugh and play with the other kiddies totally unaware of the life perils that
have been bestowed upon their short little lives, ones that they have absolute
no control of, that they are solely dependent on the adults in the communities
to keep them alive. This particular township is a lot cleaner than many that I
have seen in Johannesburg. The communities made long lines and waited patiently
for their hot meal, with the children hanging onto their mom’s legs or wrapped tightly
on their mom’s backs, while others darted in-between the lines of people along
the dusty roads and walk ways.
There was no fighting or jumping queues
and the people were truly grateful for this nourishing meal that the angels
from Meals on Wheels had prepared for them.
What strikes you is the way in which the care givers from Meals on
Wheels treat the community, it is with love and respect for fellow human
beings, there is no power struggle or feelings of superiority, only kindness
and love.
We then made our way back down
and up dusty township roads towards the tarred highway and headed towards
Hillcrest and our first stop over at a B&B Branley Lodge. Beverly our hosts
were excited to see us and knew the Meals on Wheels team well. We had a hot
shower and changed then made our way to Haley’s workshop to have a sneak pre-view
of our Land Rovers and Peugeots being wrapped in shocking pink and sponsors’
logo being branded. Evidence of talented hard work lay all over the workshop,
the staff and family bursting with pride at a magnificent job well done, under
huge pressure and time restraints. Wow the team from Ethkewini Banners and
Signs you guys Rock!!
We then headed back towards Gateway
shopping centre to take part in our interview with Abi Ray from East Coast
Radio. Abi Ray is as every bit warm and friendly as she sounds on air. It was a
delight to meet her. Jordan had his second ever radio interview and was
somewhat nervous. But he was soon made to feel right at home and got the hang
of it and relaxed. Joining him was Pamela and Vaughn from Peugeot
Pinetown one of the 9 Peaks main sponsors as well as a huge sponsor of the
Wheels for Meals on Wheels South Africa.
From the studios we went across
to a restaurant in Gateway and had dinner with the sound and smell of the night
sea. We then made our get some much needed sleep.
Posts
