Blogs from Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa, Africa - page 40

From Rush - We had a long plane trip here, but we had a good conversation with a friend who lives here in Africa. He told us about a creature called the Tokoloshi who takes people who are asleep that don't have bricks under their bed to make the bed higher. They are just like gremlins even if you lock your door they still can get in. The people who have seen them have been lost. So we will ask if there are bricks under the bed at the photo safari hotel. The hotel we are staying in right now is awesome. The ant lions that are in the cone shapped sand holes are bigger than your thumb nail! Thats all I have to say. BYE !!!! From Matt - We are laying over in Joburg ... read more

Back at Base Camp I had the longest shower of my life. By the end I was still not clean! Hit Maun for some lunch and then the airstrip for a flight over the Delta. We were advised it's a good idea to take the flight to get a different perspective. It was such a nice view and you actually see a lot of game because the plane actually flies very low. We saw giraffes, elephants, zebra, "the map of africa" (a lake), the mokoro station and the island we had stayed on from the plane. Karen wasn't feeling so well so the pilot took us easy on us but you can ask them to flip the plane and stuff (maybe next time). Back at the campsite for the night the girls decided to have a ... read more

Today was an intense look at apartheid (racial segregation) in South Africa. We began the day with a lecture at the Apartheid Museum about the South African educational system and how it was influenced by apartheid. We then spent a short time touring the museum - although we could have spent all day there! After lunch, we headed to the Hector Pietersen Memorial. This requires a brief explanation. On June 16, 1976, the African students living in the township of Soweto protested the government about being forced to take school exams in Afrikaans (a language spoken by the white South Africans). As the students were protesting, the march turned violent when the police fired into the crowd. Hundreds of children were killed and Hector Petersen was the youngest of the victims. By the end of 1976, ... read more

Happy 4th of July! July 4, 2008; Part I Happy 4th of July! We hope you all are having fun without us and watching the fireworks for us. We are now in Jo-berg awaiting our flight to the Safari but wanted to update you on yesterday’s adventure. We awoke very early to get packed up and ready before our 9am helicopter tour of Zambia and the falls. We were sure to get the best seats on this 5 person helicopter. Sean sat in front with the pilot and I sat right behind (window seat). The take off was quite fun and even though Sean thought I would be scared, I actually enjoyed it a lot. The helicopter went right over the falls letting us see the mile long ridge in one glance. We also toured ... read more

Day three: July 6th Johannesburg, Soweto, Pretoria 1st full day in South Africa. We got up on the late side and had to skip breakfast but we did have coffee and tea in the room with some biscuits I’d bought at Paris Airport. By the time my cousin made it onto the bus everyone else were on board (or so we thought) and ready to go. 1st stop mall to find a change point to change our USD and Euros to Rand. 1 euro = 11,74 rand. When we got to the mall we realized a member of our group was missing, the Guide joked he usually lost 10% along the way. She’d gotten out just as the bus was pulling out and the hotel arrange a ride for her to meet up with us, so ... read more