Blogs from Gauteng, South Africa, Africa - page 81

Although we didn’t leave for the bike ride until the Tuesday, events started on the Monday with the fetching of our rental bikes from Fritz Pienaar Cycles in Pretoria. Arno provided us with some fantastic bikes at a very reasonable rate, and he was extremely helpful. We had a slight drama when we got back to Andrew & Ella’s to find that we couldn’t lower Laura’s saddle far enough, a quick call to Arno and next thing we were taking a hacksaw to the saddle post - sorted! ... read more

.....and there is our time in South Africa. The Rainbow Nation has fabulous and varied scenery, but is tainted by a crime wave and a people seemingly divided as they ever were! We enjoyed ourselves for about 75% of the time, but would be unsure about ever coming back until they sort out the personal security issues. When visiting countries, we often ask ourselves could we imagine living here? The answer in this case is simple - NO!! In the words that some readers of this blog will be familiar, "we don't live like these people" - behind bars, razor wire and electric fences rarely venturiung out after dark. We survived for 12 weeks with one close call on the mugging front in JBay and two hostel break-ins while we slept, but that is no consolation ... read more

Leaving Home 21st July Great news - we managed to complete and exchange on our flat at 15:15 on the day we flew out! Nothing like cutting it fine. We spent the entire trip around the M25 on the way to the airport canceling all the bills. We’re now officially homeless. Arrival in SA Saturday 22nd July Andrew and the kids were waiting for us at Johannesburg International after a relatively uneventful flight. We took off a little late and shortly thereafter a fire alarm in one of the toilets started up and didn’t stop until 6:00am, fortunately we were on the upper deck (which has a whole 3 inches of extra leg room - woo hoo!) so could only hear it faintly. The cabin crew tried everything to turn it off, including shutting down the ... read more

Soweto. The name conjures up a myriad of images and thoughts: the long dusty road along which the schoolchildren marched in 1976 to protest against the use of Afrikaans as the medium for their education; the "black hole" of Johannesburg (forgive the expression) to which the Blacks were forcibly removed from as early as 1904 and where Whites feared (and perhaps some still fear) to venture; endless "matchbox" houses and squatter camps; the birthplace of the New South Africa; the home of Nelson Mandela and Bishop Tutu, shebeens and high crime rates... I could go on and each of us will have their own images. I had wondered about the ethics (if that’s not too strong a word) of going on a tour of Soweto. It seemed voyeuristic, gazing into the lives of ordinary people much ... read more

I arrived in Jo'Burg which apparently is the most dangerous city in South Africa, and you could easily see it was. Every home had 10 feet high fences with razor wire along the top and 2-3 guard dogs barking. I had one day there until I would meet Jas and Ryan in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. I spent the first part of the morning in Lion Park where I got to see many lion's of course along with other animals. The highlight of this trip was petting a white lion cub and driving through lion dens. I then went to Monte Casino, which looks like a giant castle from the outside, but the inside is desinged to appear like you are outside in an old aged town. The shops looked like old houses and the ceiling ... read more