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Published: April 9th 2008
OK so Joburg is known as the crime capital but to me it's just a really normal place to go. Feels a bit weird to be honest, I'm meant to be off travelling and here I am being greeted by Carlyn at the airport and staying in my Omi's old house in a double room with ensuite and balcony - I'm not exactly roughing it! From to moment I arrived I have been faced head on with all the crap that is going on here; the whole Zuma thing and I'm slowly trying to understand more of the history and culture which has to be honest slightly aluded me on previous trips (spending time with family is hardly condusive to learning abotu new cultures! We normally spend our time speeding from one family meal to the next!)
I won't go into the politics thing too much because I'm bound to get myself in trouble and I fully admit to not understanding it all, but it just feels like South Africa is teetering on the edge of something unsettling. It's a feeling you get just moving around the city and reading the newpaper. Zuma is set to be the next president
and yet he has been accused of rape. Turns out it wasn't; but the real story is in the worring things that he said in his defense. He knowingly had sex with a girl who was HIV+, without a condom and said it was ok because he took a shower afterwards (paraphased, but you get the jist!) and that it was all her fault because she was wearing a mini skirt, so how was he meant to stop himself! Humph! He's also currently being investigated for corruption. This is a man that the people listen to and it worries me to my core that someone like this can be in such a postion of power. Zuma is not the only cause for concern, JB is not labelled crime capital for no reason. The crime here seems to be escalating (or maybe it's just because I'm now reading papers!) people are desparate and so the crime gets violent quickly even when there seems to be no need. Having said this I don't wish to scare people away, I have never had a problem and as long as you take certain precaucions you shouldn't either. You don't see people gunned down in
the street and in general I don't feel unsafe here. One thing does crack me up though, they are meant to be hosting the 2010 world cup and yet we get frequent power outages for 2 - 4 hours. I bought my new fleece in a camping shop in Sandton City by the light of a camping lantern! God only knows how they're going to get it sorted in time.
So basically i've been chilling out in Omi's old house; where my uncle Lourens and his wife Jo now live with their 2 kids. I have to say I desperately needed this little break, I couldn't believe how knackered I was after all the buying/sorting/working/packing and partying! Tandi, their maid and nanny, is really cool; I have spent some time with her during the day, helping look after Ruby and she has been telling me all about her family and life in Soweto and the work she does through her church for kids with Aids. She even cooked us a typical African dish of greens with meelie pup and fried chicken livers (still not sure about livers but getting there!). I decided to give the cabbage and bones a
miss! Inbetween the sleeping, playing with Scarlet and eating way too much I visited a few of the tourist attractions that we've never had time to see and some of my old favorites!
Annabel and Mark (cousins) took me out to see an awesome live gig. We went to the Tanz cafe and A+M said we were really lucky to get seats, very small venue meets very big SA artist. Arno Carston (not sure about spelling) is apparently a big deal over here and I could see why. He performed a mesmerizing set and we were right in the front. It was so cool to go out and see some new live music and really glad that it was something I liked! The price of things is also pretty mesmerizing R200 for the show and lovely 3 course meal then only R180 all in for 12 drinks!
Touristy Thangs
Lourens and I went to the Apartid Museum. Worth the visit, for definite, but it is very wordy and as incredibly heavy going as you can imagine. I learnt a lot and it is very scary to think how recent it all is; it makes the divide that
is still apparent today all the more real. Lots more politics arose over lunch about some of the things that are going on to reverse the impact (some I agree with, some I don't!) The architecture of the museum is very interesting and very inkeeping with the subject; lots of concrete and bars with an interesting initial layout - You go in with different cards either whites/europeans or blacks/coloureds and you have to enter through different entrances and you each take a different path to outside. So the subject matter is expressed through the architecture style and layout. Cheeky little maude came with and we couldn't get the little photo whore to shop posing!
We also went to an old favorite which is the Rosebank rooftop market. It has become a little too touristy from how a remember it but definately something that I always love doing when in Joburg. Another old favorite and also soooooo unlike a remember it is Monte Casino. Carlyn and I spent the day together showing me around one of the buildings she designed and taking a trip to the Westcliff polo lounge, which is a bar in a huge fancy hotel which a
Maude's first outing
Apartid Musuem, Joburgview to die for (with the obligatory infinity pool!) From this perspectiveyou would never believe the suburbs are as built up as they look from ground level. The whole city is covered in trees, apparently it is the greenest city in the world (sure to be contradicted!) So even though we'd had a long day we hauled our arses to Monte and played a little roulette and used some of Omi's numbers (she used to love the roulette tables!) but she obvoiously wasn't with us because we lost all our money pretty quickly! It was quite shocking how different Monte felt - it was dripping with desperation rather then the fun vibe that i remember. Outside however there is a square with bars and resturants and music; a complete contrast the minute you were away from the gaming tables. It's worth the trip though coz the building is so crazy (a ma-hooo-sive faux crumbling tuscan style building in the middle of Africa is a very strange sight!) but just remember that The House always wins!
The day before I had met up with Hanneliese and Petra (my step grandmother and my aunty) and they took me out to Maropeng,
the Cradle of Humankind. As we drove up the building is very difficult to pick up in the landscape because the front is completely covered in grass - designed to look like a little hill in the landscape. It is out in the middle of nowhere with only veld as far as the eye can see so you could imagine how it would look if there was a huge building plonked inthe middle of it! Very touristy but informative and obviously a really good one for kids because the place was crawling with them (Not very annoying! Hmmmm) we had such a great day though and it was awesome to see them. We had a good catch up over lunch at the Maropeng Hotel- stunning views out across the landscape. I got very over excited and was taking loads of photos of the view from the top of the exhibtion building, I just love the landscape here, love it, love it! Hilarious moment though when i came home and let slip where I had been in front of Scarlet (my 3 and a half yr old cousin), she jumped off the sofa, arms and fingers spread dramatically, and said "YOU.
went. to. MAROPENG!" like no-one is allowed to go to Maropeng without Scarlet! she loves it.
Hanneliese also took me to out for another day (had to do all this stuff with people coz no-one walks or takes public transport here!) we went to Bryanston organic market and Constitional Court. All good until we couldn't find our way to the court and started driving through Hillbrow - not a clever idea coz it's generally and area that is avoided like the plague by white folk! Hanneliese was so cool abotu it though, she never shows any fear and felt perfectly safe. Then when we finally arrived we were confronted with police tape - I was like "Ummm not sure about this one!" Hanneliese just started wandering around looking for another entrance; when we started walking through I still had my reservations but H just said "well no-one has stopped us yet" not sure it's quite the right attitude when around the corner there were loads of police milling round and men in suits and even a Scorpions car. (the hardnut group of guys that can investigate bascially anyone they want! Black car with red 'scorpions' emblazed acros the side
- come across that and not want to brown your knicknacks!) Found out later that it was the day the court were discussing Zuma's appeal. Loved this trip coz I didn't know what to expect, i thought we were just going to see the architecture but we had a whole tour of the old womens prison and 'Number Four', where Mandela and Gandi have been imprisoned and a walk around the constitional court. All very interesting and really glad we found it, eventually! Also love spending time with Hanneliese, very sane person, which in my family is a rarity! She showed me some old magazines and photos of the two houses that Opa designed for the family; so weird to see them in real magazines but definately cool!
One more Joburg tourist trap is the Pilanesberg, just a couple of hours outside Joburg a self drive, malaria free sarfari. We tried desperately to get into Umlani which is in the Timbervati (sp!), an area around the Kruger, where my uncle Johan's family have a game reserve (still one of my favorite places on earth!) but with no luck and I couldn't come to Africa without seeing some animals; so
Pilanesberg ahouy! Another brilliant day spent driving around looking for game - only saw one of the big five (buffalo, lion, rhino, leopard, elephant) a rhino. But I did get to see Hippo in the wild, which is one of my favorites and something i've never seen! we also saw zebra, warthog, various buck, a rare crimson breated shrike (my very random spot!) monkeys etc.
Then the rains came - Yep you'll all be glad to know that on our way out of the pilanesberg and on the way to Hakahana, Johan's farm just outside the Hartebeespoort dam, the heavens opened and pissed like a racehorse all over us! I've never seen anything like it, JB normally gets a bit of rain in the evening but this lasted for 5 days! Bastards! So we couldn't enjoy the farm properly and where very glad to be heading down to Plettenberg Bay for Easter!
Missing you all and hope the weather isn't getting you down too much either - snow at easter is just too crazy! (but I am writing this in Cape Town on a glorious day, so the weather didn't follow me down here!) xxx
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Sam
non-member comment
Ah hum......and where might the bungee and sky dive photos be??! xxx