Whether peak or off-peak, flights between Johannesburg and Cape Town are still doing what they do best: committing daylight robbery with a smile.
R6 000 to R8 000 for a return economy seat where you are forced into a painful Locked Lotus yoga pose for 120 long minutes – and you still have to pay for your luggage.
So four teenagers and I did the unthinkable (or perhaps the sensible): we drove. Not just drove – we turned the journey into part of the holiday.
The weapon of choice for our rebellion? Volvo’s EX30 Twin Motor Performance, a compact electric missile that proves two things can be true at once: Electric Vehicles (EVs) are properly quick, and road trips can be the main character.
Let’s do the thing South Africans are excellent at: financial justification. Flights for a family of five, at about R6 000 per person? R30 000.
Add car hire in Cape Town for seven days at about R500 per day and you are looking at R3 500. Now compare that with driving an EV from Joburg to Bloemfontein, and connecting with the Garden Route to take in the natural wonder that is George, and ending up in the Mother City.
Electricity costs less than petrol and diesel, public fast chargers are increasingly dotted along major highways and byways (with about 500 chargers available every 150km or so) and suddenly it becomes a no-brainer.
Public charging costs approximately R7 a kiloWatt hour (kWh) and for the 1 600km one-way escapade, it cost us roughly R2 500, as we consumed about 320kWh of energy. Clearly, R2 500 trumps R33 500 any day.
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When the journey becomes the holiday
The problem with flying is that it compresses the country into a security queue and a lukewarm muffin. Driving, on the other hand, reintroduces scale. You feel South Africa again.
The Karoo doesn’t flash past your window. It unfolds.
Each charge at dorpies such as Ventersburg, Colesberg and Richmond is an opportunity to interact with locals who are more than keen to recommend where to have the most delicious lunch.
Road trips mean that towns have names and are not just exit signs. Coffee stops become memories.
Instead of punishing ourselves with a single, 16-hour drive, we opted to stretch it over three days, sleeping over in Bloemfontein, followed by George.
The trip was not only about “getting to Cape Town”, it was also about stopping to smell the roses along the way.
Bloemfontein doesn’t get enough credit. It’s the middle child of the N1 – dependable, quietly improving and always there when you need it, just like the Protea Hotel by Marriott Bloemfontein.
A night at Protea Hotel Bloemfontein is the kind of restful pause every long-distance road trip deserves.
Why EVs change road travel
As it is centrally located in the business district, the hotel strikes a solid balance between comfort and convenience, as the hotel’s 94 rooms are thoughtfully decorated with modern, earthy tones that instantly put you into holiday mode, while free Wi-Fi and air-conditioning tick the essential comfort boxes with ease.
I know it’s really tough to impress teenagers, but even my lot could not keep quiet about how friendly, attentive and welcoming the staff were, turning our stopover into memorable and way too many selfies.
In the morning, I was asked if we could take the outdoor pool, sun terrace and comfortable beds as part of our padkos.
Unfortunately, the Volvo’s 318 litres of boot space was already crammed with four suitcases and its multiple storage spaces were teeming with hair products, device chargers, pimple removing creams and the latest, trending sneakers.
Yes, you need to do very basic planning. No, it’s not stressful, thanks to apps such as A Better Route Planner and GridCars. Additionally, the R1 055 900 Volvo EX30 comes with a Wi-Fi router loaded with data that allows you to use the on-board Google Maps.
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