I Woke Up in the North-West

Sunday evening, I had a show from 10 pm to 2 am on the 13th of December. It was the first show of the festive season on POWER 98.7, there was so much pressure to set the tone and be on my A-Game. But Kgoshigadi being Kgoshigadi, I didn’t sleep throughout the day. Excitement coupled with gophapha! We nailed it, according to my boss it didn’t sound like I hadn’t slept. After the show, I went to my friend’s place and slept in the car. About an hour into my nap, I woke up at a tollgate leaving Gauteng and into the North-West Province.

Two weeks before I woke up in the North-West, me and the girls from the Goddess Academy (a Facebook group that was recently closed) SBWLed a shot’left away from Gauteng, also celebrating the end of the group. The Facebook group was home to a lot of us; a safe space to vent, cry, share without any judgement. I’ve shared everything in there, break-up’s, make-up’s, the passing of my cousin, the first gig I ever manifested. It was home to a lot of women who also shared a lot. After six years of calling this group home, we had to let go. Since the lockdown restrictions didn’t allow for the annual Unfuck Yourself Retreat, we thought a hiking trip would be the best way to end the year. Off to North-West, we go.

The gang I was traveling with was the last to arrive. We had a few dramatic stops because of “Pinky and the Brain”, the two ladies who occupied the front seats. These two women have such an interesting love/hate relationship. I quickly realized that I should mind my own business, not that my tired body would let me do anything but sleep. Upon arrival, we were greeted by smiles, hugs, and instructions on how the day would go.

Most of us prepared for a sunny day; shorts, shades, litres of water, sunscreen, and sugar for the road. But the North-West weather was everything but sunny. After a few catch-up sessions with the ladies who got there before us, it was time to hit the road (before it rained). 2km’s into the hike, it started to drizzle.

We came across the first of many waterfalls after 2.5 kilometers. I’m convinced the Brain, Noni (the front seat lady who was driving) is a mermaid. We blinked and she was naked and deep within a waterfall. I watched her and decided I will not be joining her. A few minutes after I made that decision it rained, hard! I learned a lot about surrender because there was nothing I could do but stand there and get rained on. There was no shelter, and we had to wait for the rain to ease off before we could walk again. I felt my afro shrink and my hiking boots fill up with water that could not soak out because the boots were waterproof. I questioned my hiking boots waterproof feature, how did the water get in there in the first place… Anyway.

The rain didn’t stop so we hiked to the next stop, a fountain turned river. Can you tell we love water? The sun came out a bit so I didn’t mind getting naked, just so my clothes could dry… Lol. This fountain turned river fascinated me so much, the rocks allowed for one to slide from the top to the bottom. Some holes in the river were very deep, while others were shallow. The water had a strong tide one minute and a slow tide the next. It was beautiful to witness.

And then the nude photoshoots began. I was not prepared for the water situation, I thought it would be a hike only. I lie, I hoped it would be a hike only. I had FOMO, so my pink little number (g-string) became my swimming costume for the day. The water was safe and clean enough to drink, I discovered that one of the bottled water companies stocked up here. We sat in the water for hours, laughing, talking, and enjoying the sun.

After chilling in the water, we gathered at a fireplace near a shop that sold bevs. We did the girly thing and all had a bev or two while we spoke about men, sex, and life while we waited for our clothes to dry. For a moment, the year that was 2020 was a distant memory. What else could a girl ask for? I even forgot about how I hadn’t slept in the last 24 hours or so.

Before we got too emotional, we said our prayers and called it a day. Everyone was quoting me… Leave the party while it’s hot! And just like that, I was on my way back to Joburg to prepare for another show. This time around I was awake the whole trip back home. Besides listening to Pinky and the Brain fight, the views were a beautiful way to complete the trip. How does it get better than this?