After spending a few days on a houseboat in Amsterdam, which was very nice, we flew 10 hours south to Johannesburg. KLM was very nice - good service,reasonably comfortable for such a long flight. Got to Jo'burg and quickly got the group to the hotel to rest up.
Had a free day there, so we organized a small tour visiting Soweto, the black township, and downtown Jo'burg.
Solomon our guide shared his information with us, we visited the large football stadium used for the World Cup a few years ago, then headed into Soweto, an area that is home to 6 million people. The tragic apartheid history comes alive here.we visited Nelson Mandela's house, where his wife and children were regularly shot at by police,and the Hector Petersen Memorial commemorating the young schoolboy gunned down by police in the student uprising of 1976. These kids were merely protesting against having to take classes in Afrikaans which was being forced on them by the apartheid regime.
Very dark days in their history,and helps you understand the struggles here. Puts things in better perspective. Grant and I went for a walk with Solomon and found a local Shabeen, where we enjoyed a cold beer and a few laughs with the locals.
As we drove around, it was strange to see all the large mine dumps everywhere. These are hills created from the tailings of gold mines. They are yellow in colour and apparently some small bits of gold can be found there still.
Downtown Johannesburge is large, uninteresting, dirty and a place for commerce. There are more beautiful and more interesting suburbs around that I'd recommend people visit if they have time.
We had a really amazing dinner at a steakhouse in the Emperors Palace complex where our hotel was. Dinner for 10 which included fresh salads, amazing steaks and all the fixings, 5 bottles of wine came to $45 CAD per person! Yes and it included the wines! Great value here.
Next Chapter- Kruger Park.
Tuesday 13 September 2016
Friday 2 September 2016
A Trip of a Lifetime about to Begin!
The Goergie Girl, our dog is taken care of (thanks Joanne & Cory!) paperwork done, more or less, packed and ready to go!
I'm looking forward to that moment later today when we have checked in, got our boarding passes, collected foreign exchange, gone through the security line and are seated comfortably on the plane, taking off and ordering a glass of wine to toast us on our way!
The plan is to keep this blog updated with posts of our adventures, pictures and interesting facts we discover along the way. If you are interested, please feel free to follow along.
The plan is not to write a diary, day by day. One of the primary goals for me is to chill out, relax and live in the moment, absorbing every sight, sound, smell, and feelings that Africa has to offer. It's one of the big reasons I return. This will be by fifth time to South Africa, 10th time to Africa! How lucky I have been to have so many trips of a lifetime in one life!
Another reason for this big trip is to celebrate a milestone birthday. On September 9th I turn the magic age of 60! Crazy! But wow! So far, I've had so many great life moments, met so many amazing people, many I keep in touch with from my travels all over the world. I am very grateful for my extraordinary life, so far, and know there are lots more great times ahead for me.
So, if you're interested......
Stay tuned for updates here. If not, not to worry. Enjoy September!
Alison
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