It was Christmas Eve and everyone was in bed, except for old Father Christmas and his factory of elves in the North Pole…

The last of the iPads, VR headsets, and Play Station 4’s were being loaded onto St. Nick’s giant black sleigh.

“Check the seat warmers – it’s bloody cold this year!” the jovial man dressed in red and white bellowed to his pint-sized staff.

The elves were smiling from ear to ear, even though they were working well passed knock-off time and in sub-zero temperatures.

Those smiles, however, would soon fade – for a malady of monumental proportions was about to strike the festive toy drop operation and threaten Christmas for all who celebrate it…

Disaster Strikes

It was while travelling over the KwaZulu-Natal north coast that Santa noticed a strange shudder on his reigns.

He looked ahead to Rudolph, the leader of the reindeer, and noticed him slowing his pace.

“Red! Everything alright up there?”

Just then, Rudolph collapsed and the sleigh swung into a nosedive.

They were heading straight for the Moses Mabhida Stadium, when Santa pulled on the reigns with all his might and managed to avoid crashing.

He set the sleigh down in a quiet, deserted side road and hopped off to assess the situation.

His reindeer were knackered, panting at a rate of knots.

“It’s all the molasses I’ve been putting on your feed! You’ve all become frumpy and unfit!”

The reindeer didn’t deny it, and kept their heads down while they were being scolded.

A Rental Bakkie is Needed

Jason, a manager of a Highway Bakkie Hire branch, was on Father Christmas’ nice list, and since it was 2017, he was able to find Jason’s contact information with a simple Google search.

“The NSA comes through for us once again,” he joked as he cumbersomely navigated his smart phone with fingers wrapped in thick black gloves.

Within minutes, Santa had found the address of the Pinetown Highway Bakkie Hire branch.

“Just a few miles further and you bunch can rest properly,” he shouted as he got the reindeer going once more – heading straight for Pinetown.

It was just passed midnight when they arrived, so everything was closed up – except for one single cab rental bakkie that stood all alone with a promotional banner on its dashboard.

Father Christmas wrote a note to Jason, explaining how Christmas in Durban is saved thanks to the rental bakkie, found a straight piece of wire, fashioned a hook on the end, and was behind the wheel of the rental bakkie before long.

Christmas is Saved

Old Father Christmas drove up and down the many highways and byways of Durban, stopping to deliver amazing presents for all who were good, and coal for all who were naughty.

He revved and roared along, with an oversized velvet red bag stuffed to capacity with gifts and toys for girls and boys on the back.

“Thank goodness it’s a single cab!” he chuckled as he went from house to house.

Once done, he returned the rental bakkie to the Pinetown branch of Highway Bakkie Hire, where the reindeer were rearing and ready to continue their cross-continental venture.

Christmas was saved, and all thanks to a lonely little single cab rental bakkie from Highway Bakkie Hire…

Got an emergency like Santa’s and need a set of wheels in a hurry? Get in touch with Highway Bakkie Hire here!