Well, here we go! Betsy has been ill for some time now, and although I didn't want to disclose the bad news to the readers of this column, I just couldn't keep it a secret anymore.

As I was raised and bred a good honest and Christian human being, I should open up completely. Since three weeks now, Betsy has had problems with a small tumour in her radiator and the doctors at Land Rover Cape Town diagnosed it as chronic, beyond repair. The only thing to do was to transplant a new radiator and luckily there was several donors available.

I was not happy spending 4000 Rand just after only one months cruising, but figured out it was better to do it in Cape Town among professional surgeons, rather than getting stuck in the bush. The good news now is, she has never felt better since the day we met! You know what? The workshop at Cape Town Land Rover actually looked like a hospital, people running around in white, the only thing missing was the stethoscope.