Day 1-Pretoria/Johannesburg.

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I arrived in Johannesburg, South Africa on March 7th-I was happy and delighted because I heard Michael Jackson on the radio. Not a popular America song like Thriller or Billie Jean but a song that was not so popular. I was delighted because YES people "get it" and were not judgmental like America. I know most people probably will not be excited but those that know me...."get it"!! :-) But anyways, I hired a transfer from the airport to the lodge. Last night (the 7th) we had our trip meeting and ate at the lodge. In total there were 10 travelers and 3 people supporting the trip (driver, cook, and guide). Of the travelers...


• 7 female; 3 male
• 2 couples; 6 solo travelers
• 1 male solo; 5 female solo
• 1 nurse, 1 zoologist, 3 retirees, 2 teachers
• 2 from USA (CT and HI), 2 from Canada (originally from outside of Manhattan, now living in Alberta Canada), 6 from Australia
• 1 in her 70s, 2 in their 60s, 1 in his 50s, 3 in their 30s, and 3 in their 20s.



They were:


• Amy-24 yr old teacher from Aussie. She ended up being my roommate and tentmate, she was pretty awesome!
• Older Amy-about 28, PE teacher from Aussie, she had been traveling since December
• Yvette- 28 year old zoologist from Aussie. Married to Daniel
• Amanda-35 yr old nature manager person...I don't know what she did
• Daniel-35 yr old husband of Yvette
• Danny-54 yr old Aussie...such a smart ass
• Mike & Linda-late 60s/early 70s from New York but moved to Canada ages ago, now travelers. They said that they may end up buying a place in Thailand. They were funny, kind, pot smoking Jewish folks. Of the group, these two are the ones that I had the most pleasure speaking with.
• Gabrielle- 72 yr old from Hawaii. She was a friend of Mike & Linda. I felt bad for her. Aussies can be mean but she was so laid back and go with the flow. Clearly she was starting to have dementia....one of the younger Aussies asked me how I could tolerate her? Daniel said that I was a nurse, I tolerated everyone. Because really, if there are things you cannot control why badger someone?!? Whereas being negative ALL of the time, bickering about things you cannot control....that annoyed me and I have a lower tolerance for...clearly.



When I arrived yesterday, I met my roomie. She was young but nice and seemed mature. She was 24 year old teacher. Taught Kindergarten.She was a little freaky though, she evidently had night terrors and yelled in her sleep. Thankfully I'm an easy sleeper and will either 1) sleep through it or 2) fall back to sleep easily. She was starting her vacation. The beginning of about 3 months-I think? She was not the only one, another Aussie couple was away for 5 weeks. Another was away for about 6 months. Wow, they know how to travel.

The housing setup was doable. They were little cabins with 2 beds. It was warm. During the day yesterday-myself, the roomie and the Aussie couple walked about a mile to the winery and had lunch. I see that is the benefit about traveling, meeting other people.

After our night at the lodge, we headed down the highway. Before heading out of town we made a stop at the store to pick up last minute supplies. On the road, it was amazing to see how different people lived, between shacks that had support of tin to grass thatch housing. Very different from even the now more modern Johannesburg and surely very different from the skyscrapers of NYC.

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Photos

Twana Lodge
Inside our "cabin" for the night. It was pretty comfortable.

How people live
I did not even notice the boy in the doorway until I looked at the photo. The photo was taken while driving. But they are content this way-at least I should say this is how it is for them. It's weird though, some of them have a satellite dish.

Hospital?!?
Not like America's hospitals/health care.