We had a really packed 10 days in and around Joburg, thanks in large part to our friend Janet Magner (d'you see what I did there?), who so kindly allowed us to stay with her in her spacious apartment in Killarney. We thoroughly enjoyed spending time with her - and indeed with other members of the Magner family whom we had not met before.
Apart from all the Mandela-related events, sights and activities which we've mentioned in the previous blog, we also found time to visit:
* the Cradle of Humankind - a vast (47,000 hectare) archeological and paleontological World Heritage site focused around the Sterkfontein hominid fossil fields. We spent most of our time in the museum which is full of interactive exhibits, including a 'boat ride' back in time through the stone-age, iron-age and ice-age, back to the 'big bang', and exhibits showing how the human race has progressed since our beginnings in Africa.
* the Voortrekker monument and museum, and Freedom Park - both in Pretoria, the political / administrative capital, (for whose team my younger brother, Keith, played for two years during his professional football-player career, having been transferred from Millwall during the 1970s). The Voortrekker monument commemorates the achievements of the Dutch / Boer pioneers as they trekked north to escape the British, and also has an amazing frieze depicting the Battle of Blood River in 1838, when some 500 Boer defeated around 12,000 Zulus. Freedom Park, a modern hilltop memorial nearby, commemorates all the people, local and international, who sacrificed their lives for 'The Struggle'. It's a lovely peaceful space and creative park, but as yet feels a little unfinished. For most of the time we spent at these two monuments, there was significant military aircraft activity, and it took us a while to understand that this was due to the huge number of international heads of state and dignitaries arriving at the nearby Military Airbase, for Mandela's commemoration service.
The Voortrekker Monument: the monument; the laager; part of the frieze; model of Voortrekker ox-wagon.
We were also thrilled to be invited to the 6th birthday party for Janet's granddaughter, Alice, which was held at the beautiful home of her other son and daughter-in-law, Mike and Colleen, where we also got to know Harry, their nearly-8-year-old son, and Brian, David and Mike's father. What a wonderful occasion that was, and so great to chat to so many of Mike and Colleen's friends while all the children were leaping about on the bouncy castle in the beautiful communal garden.
Alice's Party: Brian, Barbara and Janet; Alice; Harry; the garden behind Mike and Colleen's home in Jo'burg.
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We took our leave of Janet early on Tues, 10 December, to spend a few days at the Pilanesburg Game Reserve, north-west of Joburg, a smaller, more manageable game reserve than, say, the Kruger. There we were lucky enough to see loads and loads more wildlife, as well as experience an amazing thunderstorm which took out the electricity for a while in our rather comfortable chalet. It was our first self-drive game-park experience, and we just loved it! It's really such a thrill to suddenly come across a family of rhino, a couple of dozen giraffes, or an elephant plodding determinedly and majestically along the dirt road in front of you - or even, at the other end of the scale, a lone tortoise making its way across the road and into the bush. It was also good to spend some quiet hours in one of the hides beside a water-hole, watching the antics of the many birds, as well as the absolutely still crocodiles who didn't even twitch, let alone move, the whole time. And, as you pass by another vehicle (albeit fairly rarely, we were pleased to note), to stop and exchange sightings with each other. Our wooden chalet in the Manyane Resort in Pilanesburg was also delightful - complete with its own living room, kitchen, bedroom and two bathrooms, around which a large herd of springbok, including many very young, gathered every morning and evening.
Pilanesburg Game Reserve: pictures to follow, when internet allows!
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We took our leave of Janet early on Tues, 10 December, to spend a few days at the Pilanesburg Game Reserve, north-west of Joburg, a smaller, more manageable game reserve than, say, the Kruger. There we were lucky enough to see loads and loads more wildlife, as well as experience an amazing thunderstorm which took out the electricity for a while in our rather comfortable chalet. It was our first self-drive game-park experience, and we just loved it! It's really such a thrill to suddenly come across a family of rhino, a couple of dozen giraffes, or an elephant plodding determinedly and majestically along the dirt road in front of you - or even, at the other end of the scale, a lone tortoise making its way across the road and into the bush. It was also good to spend some quiet hours in one of the hides beside a water-hole, watching the antics of the many birds, as well as the absolutely still crocodiles who didn't even twitch, let alone move, the whole time. And, as you pass by another vehicle (albeit fairly rarely, we were pleased to note), to stop and exchange sightings with each other. Our wooden chalet in the Manyane Resort in Pilanesburg was also delightful - complete with its own living room, kitchen, bedroom and two bathrooms, around which a large herd of springbok, including many very young, gathered every morning and evening.
Pilanesburg Game Reserve: pictures to follow, when internet allows!
Last October, before leaving home, we had hoped to move on to Alexandra Township around now, in order to do some voluntary work for the Gumboots foundation - a complex including an orphanage and a dance school. However, for a number of reasons - not least the current annual holidays, leaving only a skeleton staff on site, with little time to show us the ropes - this has not proved possible. It does, however, mean that we shall instead have time to explore the Drakensburg mountains and then the Garden Route along the south coast, as we drive slowly back towards Cape Town. So, we're not exactly downhearted!
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