The Jozi jaunt

So I got on the flight which was quite full, but I got my seat immediately upon checking in so I was well pleased. Dewald looked surprisingly awake despite having to pick me up at an ungodly hour. We then cruised to his place and met up with his nice landlord Nico. I was staying in his guest room. The house is brill ! 3 rooms, 3 bathrooms, 2 living rooms, a swimming pool, an outside cottage in which Dewald lives, etc. You get the idea. I told Nico I'd buy his house if ever I win the lottery.

Nico showed us around the fancy suburbs of Joburg on Sunday. In his Jag ! Who said a visit to South Africa shouldn't be stylish hey ? Lol. We went on a hill from where you can look down on the green area of town. Apparently Jozi is home to the biggest man made forest in the world. Some 6 million trees or something. Interesting hey ? Then we cruised further down to Houghton, home to RSA's first ever black president, Nelson Mandela. It wasn't a surprise to see the humble size of his house. Very according to his personality. The rest of the afternoon was spent playing Jenga while downing glasses of white wine. Loads of fun that was. Keeping a steady hand is such a task when you're drunk. Lol.

Yesterday Dewald showed me around central Joburg. Check out the pics on which buildings we saw. Despite of its reputation of being one of the most dangerous cities in the world, I wasn't scared or feeling unsafe at all when we were walking downtown. But that was definitely because I was walking around with a 'local', otherwise I'd be terrified for sure.

Nico told me that Jozi is one of the highest cities on the African continent, which is why the weather is so dry. The land is quite arid and they haven't had rain for months. I saw Nico taking a pic of a cloud and thought that was the most bizarre thing I have ever seen. Coming from Europe, I embrace this hot and dry weather, but I think as a Jozi inhabitant the occasional rain is necessary for several reasons. Oxygen being one of them. I suppose that's quite a good reason for wanting it so badly hey ?

The drive to Gold Reef city the next day was quite hot, but I really wanted to go to the apartheid museum so I didn't mind. Our plan was to go to the museum first and then scream our lungs out on the roller coaster rides of Gold Reef City fun park. When we arrived though, the gate guard told us both the park and the museum were closed. We were so bummed. Dewald was sceptically thanking Nico for his brilliant idea to go on a monday to avoid the crowd. I just couldn't stop laughing. But all in all it was a good thing as we then headed to Constitution Hill on the border of the dreaded suburb of Hillbrow. It turned out to be the highlight of Joburg so far.

Constitution Hill houses the transparent constitutional court which was erected on the fort built by Paul Kruger back in the days of the Anglo Boer War. The fort served as a jail for political prisoners and has now become Joburg's main tourist attraction. There's also a women's jail in which Winnie Mandela was once imprisoned.

The courthouse itself is so much different than courthouses in other countries in that it is open to any member of the public on a 'first come first serve' basis. All the cases are heard in all 11 official languages of the country and ruled by 11 judges to prevent a tie in the verdict. A little trivia: one of them is blind. To represent the past in the future, they built the courthouse with bricks of the old fort. It's all very interesting really. Definitely worth a visit when you're in Jozi.

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