The long way round

Had an exhausting day yesterday. Nothing achieved, but a lot of travelling. I hate to admit that as I get older, long-distance driving makes me tired, as there is nothing I enjoy more than a road trip (I lie of course, there are plenty of things I enjoy more, but you know what I mean!). Due to unrest and a blockaded road nearby, we have had to take a massive detour just to travel 4km - an extra 25km (50km if you come back home again). An inconvenience which does nothing for good neighbourliness or the improvement of our soul journey but nonetheless good training for a better self.
The only good thing about the detour is that it takes us over Red Hill, which is one of the most scenic and beautiful drives on the Peninsula, although over the last few years the potential for traffic disruption has mushroomed with an informal settlement totally inappropriate to the area. However, panoramic views across the Table Mountain chain and over False Bay, with the picturesque naval harbour of Simon's Town at your feet takes the edge off the extra time needed to get anywhere.
The purpose of the drive was to fetch a friend's huge 4x4 (embarrassingly large for someone who normally drives a half a loaf of bread) in Hout Bay and bring it home until he gets back to Cape Town. This entailed another beautiful scenic drive around Chapman's Peak, a delicious fish lunch at Fish on the Rocks, and then a slow, painfully slow, drive back along the same route, behind sightseeing tourists travelling so slowly I could barely get out of 2nd gear. Definitely no chance to test out the capabilities of the behemoth's very adequate engine!
The passengers in the taxi in front of me apparently had different ideas on what interested them, as the lady stared out of the window at the view, but the man had his head bent - either looking at his phone or one too many wines at lunch - and missed it completely. There seems to be a new trend in driving at 50km/h or less along the narrow roads around the Peninsula where just one car can hold up 20 others and cause overheating of the brain, not to mention the engine. The word 'roadhogs' springs to mind, and it is no wonder that road rage is so prevalent here. The roads cannot cope with the volume nor the incompetence.
After a three hour drive and over 100 km to get to and from a place I can see across the bay from my balcony, a nap was in order!