Blogs from Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa, Africa - page 49

The flight was great and on time. We watched a couple of movies, took a tylanol pm and woke up somewhere over Africa. My college roomate's mother, Edna, met us at the airport. She is our travel agent. We spent some time having coffee in the airport and going over the trip itinerary with her. We couldn't chat too long because we had to catch a flight to Cape Town. ... read more

So, the first step of the plan is completed. the flight was quite ok. It was very very small, but there was a television with quite a lot of different games and movies. I got company from a danish guy wich was quite ironic. anyway, after 10 hours flying, I got the first visual on Africa. I saw a beautifull sunrise trough the airplane window. The Kruger national park was covered in fog as if there were fat dust wires running all over the land. It made even the danish guy quiet for some time. Breathtaking. What a welcome to Africa, and it was definitly africa. When we were transported with busses from the plain to the airport in a bus full of white people trough a coloured crowd, everyones eyes were wide open. even ... read more

Flights April 17thKatherine Howell Made our way through customs without a hitch despite me looking a little suspicious with a very short new hair do (hence the delightful new nickname above - thanks Brigid!!) and carrying the travel guitar in a case that makes it look more like a rifle (or the baboon gun, as Justin calls it). Fended off a number of transport offers, found the woman from the hostel and - 22 hours after we raced out of bed this morning - we’re here! Heavy rain and thunder, but warm. Hostel room is palatial; the bathroom is big enough to be a dance floor. Pity we’re both a bit too tired to make use of that… Day got off to a more frantic start than we expected with a call from Qantas at 5.30am ... read more

About the third week of March, the Johannesburg Spiritual Assembly sent Sherri and I an invitation asking if we would be willing to organize a program for the First Day of Ridvan celebration. The First day of Ridvan is held annually on April 21. Ridvan is a Persian term that means “paradise” and was the name given to the garden in Baghdad where Bahá’u’lláh spent 12 days in 1863 preparing for his departure to Constantinople. It was during those 12 days that Bahá’u’lláh revealed to his followers that he was a Manifestation of God and that He was the Promised One of God for this time. During that time, He also said farewell to all of His followers and taught them the principles that would distinguish the Bahá’í­ Faith from what had been, until that time, ... read more

Maputo entliess uns am 28. Maerz mit einem herrlich krachendem Wolkenguss in Richtung Suedafrika und dem Kruger Park. Nicht weit voneinander entfernt und somit ein Katzensprung, rollten wir schon am gleichen Abend in den wohl weltweit bekanntesten Tierpark ein. Wer wollte bei all' den TV-Dokumentationen zum Kruger Park nicht schon mal Ranger hier sein...?? Neben vielen, vielen (normalen) Tieren, bleiben zwei Erlebnisse erwaehnenswert. Auf einer (mal wieder...) dirt road, auf der wir (mal wieder...) komplett alleine unterwegs waren, hatten wir endlich das Vergnuegen Bueffel zu sehen. Immerhin einer der Big Five!! Das lange Warten hatte sich gelohnt. Die ganze Herde, schaetzungsweise 200 Tiere, passierte nicht weit vor unserem Auto die Strasse. Ruhigen Schrittes und, v.a. die Bueffelkuehe, immer mit einem wachen Auge auf unser Auto. Wir hatten zwischendurch Sir Henry ein wenig nach... read more