Blogs from Gauteng, South Africa, Africa - page 78

Hi all, First of all, thanks for your heartfelt sympathies at our distress at sea, it really warms the cockles to know how much you all care and didn't find any of it amusing at all. After our antics at sea, Vikki decided water wasn't her thing (at least until 4pm for the ferry, but we'll talk about that later) and would be camerawoman instead as Rik took the plunge into the Cape Town Aquarium with some 3.5 meter Ragged Tooth sharks (with permission of course). Vik got some great footage and Rik survived the encounter and even brought back a tooth (a shark one, not one of his own) from the bottom of the tank. When we get somewhere you don't have to carry the camcorder in your stomach to keep yourself safe from muggings, ... read more

Hallo meine Lieben Meine letzten Stunden in Suedafrika sind angebrochen. Ich kann mir noch gar nicht vorstellen, dass ich in weniger als 24 Stunden wieder daheim bin. Puh. Und wenn ich die Mails von allen der Gruppe lese, die jetzt schon seit ein paar Tagen zurueck sind, es wird nicht einfach. Wobei, die letzte Woche ohne all die Leute von der Tour war halt nicht mehr ganz so toll wie der Rest, deshalb faellts mir wohl ein bisschen einfacher, dieses tolle Land zu verlassen. Also, auf einer Skala von 1 bis 10 finde ich es jetzt nur noch 10-schlimm, heim zu fliegen. Letzte Woche waere es noch 20 gewesen... Ausserdem, ich sitze hier im Gefaengnis. Das ist Johannesburg. Wir sind in einer schoenen Lodge etwas ausserhalb untergebracht, sehr sichere Gegend und so. Trotzdem sind meterhohe Zaeune, ... read more

Today we made another trip to Pretoria to check on the accreditations I need for my work permit. Before a person can accept a job in South Africa, that person’s credentials must be certified by SAQA (South African Qualifications Administration). This is another organization that has efficiency issues. After visiting SAQA, we had lunch at a small café called Café d’Oro. A very soft-spoken and attractive young woman named Midah waited on us and misunderstood me when I asked for a glass of tap water. Instead, she brought me a can of Tab and a glass. She apologized and we kidded her a little and asked how old she was. She indicated that she was 21, and I said, “Ah, I have a son that’s 21.” We told her that we had a lot of unmarried ... read more

24 hours prior I had been sitting at home in the US where civil rights for the African-American population had been put into place some 40 years ago. Although racism is still alive and well in the US, there seems to be a stronger sense of equality presently compared to what I have seen here in South Africa. I'll talk more about that later. I began my day by waking up at around 3AM, still adjusting to the 8 hour time difference. As I awoke I began to hear strange sounds that I had never heard. A rooster? Isn't that thing supposed to start making noise at sunrise? Well it was still pitch black and the rooster among many other animals were busy at work keeping me awake. I tried falling asleep but there was no ... read more

Hi Everyone, Here they are, a few pics of the widlife in Africa. It was tough picking only a few, as you can imagine I have a ton of them, when you are 10 feet away from an elephant or a rhino, one suddenly turns into a Japanese tourist and can't stop firing the camera! The game drives were incredible, whether in the morning (wake up call at 3:30 am!) afternoon (searing heat) or evening (the perfect golden light - a photographer's paradise). A few of us, especially Franz and Stefan were really good at spotting wildlife, which can be tough with the tall grass and dust. We saw 3 lions but they were a bit far and I was not able to snatch a picture. I am sure I will get more shots in Botswana! ... read more