When given a chance to see a country, you might as well see as much of it as you can. Last Sunday's 275-mile journey from Cape Town to George was a chance for some of the Irish media corps to take the so-called garden route and pass up the official party's 45-minute air ride.
Breathtaking, ever-changing mountainous ranges; vast farming ranges with ranches tucked in amongst a batch of trees amidst the endless rolling hills and occasionally the private runways for jets. Intermingled with this is a shanty town which would make your stomach churn.
Wilderness is a small out-of-season coastal resort outside George. The squad train at Saasveld College, with a long driveway akin to Powerscourt in Enniskerry and is suited to being a forestry college. Yawn, yet another scenic mountain backdrop.
George and the surrounding area is the most economically vibrant coastal town outside the major cities. Aside from forestry, it is boosted by tourism, fishing, ostrich farming and hop farming (there is a brewery nearby). Proving that PW Botha knew how to look after his constituency.
South West District (SWD), Ireland's opponents today, have no sponsor and have a capacity of 11,000 or so, which will be filled this afternoon. Yet they're a progressive union and fund the only fully professional provincial team of the 14 in South Africa.
South African players apparently like to have their cake and eat it with another source of income. But Heyneke Meyer, the 32-year-old SWD coach insists on two sessions a day for everyone. Even when one of his most promising players came to him at the start of this season and said he'd have difficulty making the afternoon session, Meyer said: "there's the door." No contest. It's not, of course, all work and no play. The players not included in today's squad were able to avail of one of the four golf courses at Fancourt - local club to adopted son Ernie Els.
Reggie Corrigan has revealed that the technician who diagnosed his fractured transverse processes, described the results of the X-rays as the worst of their type she had seen in "30 years". He knew from the impact in first-half injury time on Saturday, that it was a knee rather than a boot: akin to being stabbed with a knife. So, not unnaturally, he let out a bit of a yelp, and one of the more galling aspects of the episode, though he laughs about it now, is that he was fined by the players for squealing.
It's not all doom and gloom for he hopes to be back training in "six to eight weeks" and available for the start of Leinster's campaign.
Piling up the fines as well, not unexpectedly, is Trevor Brennan. His most glaring offence was to ring home on a mobile from the dressing-room after his debut in the green as substitute against Boland.
Such was the apparent din amongst 40 or so relations and friends starting the mother of all parties after watching the game in Barnhall, that Brennan had trouble identifying himself to his own mother. Brennan though, could scarcely conceal his glee afterwards. "It's one of the biggest days of my life." Confirmation of his selection in the starting line-up for tomorrow's game at yesterday's training session prompted another quick mobile call home, courtesy of The Irish Times, and another fine.
Another sign of these more professional times is the presence on tour of John Redmond, our former Irish Press colleague, as press manager or PRO for the tour, in line with international touring parties who visit Ireland.
John wrote the profiles for the IRFU's impressive tour guide, another first, but couldn't resist mentioning his own membership of Blackrock.
Any time he mentions Blackrock, he is fined 10 rand.
Perceptions back home in Ireland of the squad having a rare old time, and enjoying the unseasonally hot weather, beautiful scenery, esprit de corps, have led to dire warning. If the heated outdoor swimming pool at the team hotel, nearby tennis court and miles of beach just a stone's throw away are mentioned here . . . So we won't mention them.
Just a brief mention of the tennis court though. G Thornley (Kilternan) beat P Danaher (Abbeyfeale) 6-2, 4-1 (retired).
Danaher afterwards: "I suppose you have another item for your diary now?" Yep.
The South African television sports channel have an interesting way of selling the forthcoming visits of Ireland, Wales and England. Last summer, they claim, the Springboks were turned over by a united British empire. "It's time to put the record straight."
