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 – but 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? Add a car hire in Cape Town for seven days at about R500 per day, and you are looking at R3 500.
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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 150 km or so), and suddenly it becomes a no-brainer. Public charging costs approximately R7 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), and for the 1600 km one-way escapade, it cost us roughly R2 500, as we consumed about 320 kWh of energy.
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. YoufeelSouth Africa again.
The Karoo doesn’t flash past your window. It unfolds. Each charge atdorpies, such asVentersburg,Colesberg, and Richmond, is an opportunity to interact with locals who are more than keen to recommend their favourite biltong spots and 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”, but 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. As it is centrally located in the business district, it 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.
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