There are sweet wonders in this world of machinery. There are reliable machines. There are machines, simple, efficient, and steady. There are those that are built to last, those built rugged. There are those aggressive in stance. And there are those that are blistering in pace. There are those you’d want as a trusty friend, and those that you’d name. There are even machines fuelled by bottom- less tanks giving the cockpitted pilot unhindered journeys, unhindered experiences. There are those enigmas of machinery that make the cover of magazines. There is this Machine perched in my garage. It’s the Toyota Tazz 1300, bleached white and stainless. I’ve pushed it to its limits and I know it has further to go. My white Toyota Tazz, huge underhood, Italian under foot.
Me, my Sugar and my Tazz rocked the east of Africa. Mozambique. The darkness. The journey was one in search of a product to return back to SA to make my Scrooge fortunes.
With a fuel tank larger than a Ukrainian powerlifter, the sipper sipped. Nelspruit, Komatipoort. Lebombo and after 5 hours we breached the border posts without interruption/corruption. The open road into Maputo is a drag. Our vehicle hovered above the darkened, heated tar racing past the tracer-bullet like divider lines. All is a blur, nothing scenic, nothing for the eye. Every kilometre is destructive as the bugs splat face first against my windshield turning Tazz white into Jackson Pollak.
With a fuel tank larger than a Ukrainian powerlifter, the sipper sipped. Nelspruit, Komatipoort. Lebombo and after 5 hours we breached the border posts without interruption/corruption. The open road into Maputo is a drag. Our vehicle hovered above the darkened, heated tar racing past the tracer-bullet like divider lines. All is a blur, nothing scenic, nothing for the eye. Every kilometre is destructive as the bugs splat face first against my windshield turning Tazz white into Jackson Pollak.
We sweep past Maputo, but the white shirts are out. The Tazz pulls purrs to the side and we Blah Blah blah to the officer, he gives us a check, an arrogant nod and some attitude, and we’re off with a grunt. After some 14 hours of road work we heave a sigh of relief. We’re in Xai Xai, a little one road town African in energy, European in structure. The street’s bursting like paw paw seeds. Dust hoverin
g at nostril level clogging my vision. We’re still ten kays short of a good time. The sun is double dipping and my legs are turning to sweaty liquorice.
We reach the beach, a sandy road and an arrow to our location. I’m thinking this ain’t all that bad and then I feel the car losing traction, the back wheels violently sidestepping like Joost on an All Back defence.
I’m not sure. I take my foot off the gas and well, now we’re done for. Stuck stiff like beaten mousse.
My hands crashing against the steering wheel in dismay. I want to bawl my eyes out. The Tazz’s super fluorescent lights tearing through the liquid black of the African darkness , dust criss-crossing the beam playing chicken. A planetary interlude. Dead silence. 1 kilometer from anywhere. Upon hands and knees we shovel sand, the dust fine dune enveloping the tires still.
This wasn’t The Bear Hunter hunting alone, here he had his sugar by his side, and this scenario racked my nerves.
As we locked the car up, by the light of my head torch we walked leaving behind the disgruntled, stymied beast. She of chipper smile, and calm remedies tried desperately to sooth my angered nerves.
We reached lifesaver safety. Two mozambican locals smiled, walked us back to the car and with iron arms dug us out. Once they’d given me the all clear made like Tom Cruised and did a Days of Thunder. My eyes steely, my arms stiff, and my foot flat we ramped ditches, dongs, hillocks and humps. I nearly soiled my self but me, my car and my self were free.
Wooah, what an experience?. With my heart throbbing inside my throat over whelming my apple this was an outer body experience. My Tazz, a beast of burden, punching above its weight was an overwhelming champion. And with my sugar on my side as a coolant we endured.
