Thursday, January 19, 2012

South Africa: Johannesburg


From sunny Cape Town we flew north to Johannesburg where we had nearly another week in South Africa.

Our first stop however wasn’t actually in Johannesburg but rather two hours out to a town called Rustenburg, where friends from Livingstone had recently moved. So in our very small Hyundai Artos we sped to Rustenburg to catch up with Robyn and Arno.

Mike standing proudly next to his Hyundai Artos


With Robyn and Arno we spent the afternoon at Sun City, a theme park/ casino/ hotel. It’s difficult to explain Sun City, only to say that you actually have to see it to believe it. It’s crazy but fun.

Sun City (as the sign says)

Walking around Sun City.....

.....lots of craziness


Not really prepared for the wave pool, we headed for a nice lunch and beers in the “Traditional Village” Shebeen. 

A Shebeen is kind of the traditional African equivalent of a pub. Well
that's where they drink beer anyway!

Mike and Arno with their beers

And Robyn and I with our beers. Loving the large bottles!

Arno's "Man-size" meal

Enjoying a drink and lunch: Of the four photos the waitress
 took for me, this was the only one that didn't come out blurred!


From there we planned to visit the “Palace” and were very fortunate to be driven there in a brand new Mercedes Benz (we later realised they thought we were guests, opps!). Unfortunately we weren’t able to view the inside of the Palace as it is closed off to guests only in the afternoons, but we did get the general idea.

The entrance to the Palace. Imagine the inside!

And Robyn, Mike and Arno looking quite impressed with themselves
for getting that Mercedes transfer, hehe


Leaving Robyn and Arno in Rustenburg we headed to our accommodation in Johannesburg, getting a much needed sleep before heading out to the Cradle of Humankind the following day.

I absolutely loved the Cradle of Humankind! There are two parts to it; the first is the museum, “Maropeng”, the second the Sterkfontein Caves.

The Cradle of Humankind


The museum was very cool and interactive, basically providing the story on the creation of earth and the evolution of humankind. It also contains many of the fossils discovered and their stories, in the nearby Sterkfontein Caves.

Maropeng entrance


I took a photo of this just because I liked it!

Mike on his way to the boat ride...Yes! They have a ride!

The museum had lots of these sort of signs, quotes, messages.

Another ride! Well it was sort of a ride. The turning colours really
mess with your head as you walk through. I think Mike walked
through this at least half a dozen times; I couldn't get him out of there

As mentioned, it was a very interactive museum
Nelson Mandela's handprints

My hands were only a bit smaller than Nelson's

And my foot is about the same size as Jacob Zuma's

Skull found at Sterkfontein Caves, also referred to as "Mrs Ples"


The caves were also pretty cool, but it was more the stories that made them exciting. After all, caves are still only caves. Currently within the caves, and unfortunately unable to be viewed by the public, is the discovery of “Little Foot”; the most complete and well preserved skeleton found for its age (3.5 to 4 million years old). The skeleton is still being excavated, approximately 15 years after full excavation first started. Tedious work!

Entrance to Sterkfontein Caves

Heading into the caves

From memory, our guide tried to tell us that this formation looked
like an elephant; I couldn't see it!

Lime deposits within the cave

In the caves (with out guide)

Still in the caves...apparently they used to allow diving (for research)
 in the caves until someone got lost and couldn't find their way out


Our next (and last) tourist stop was the Apartheid Museum, which I also loved. Done much better than Robbin Island, it provides a full history of how South Africa ended up where it did, the full story of Apartheid and how it finally ended.

The entrance to the Apartheid Museum. Each ticket designates you
as white or non-white, separating you at the entrance for the first
10-15 minutes. Really well thought out

To be honest, if you have read Nelson Mandela’s book, you would already know a lot of the story, however it was good to get an understanding of how it actually all came about to begin with, and the video documentaries and photography were fantastic.


This exhibit was called "Journey's" representing those from different backgrounds
who journeyed to the "city of gold" in the years following 1886

Different faces of Mandela


We didn’t manage to get on a tour for Soweto as originally planned. Tours were expensive and getting there was difficult as we had by then given our car back (btw, we did around 450km using only 28 litres of fuel, very impressive!). Plus, we felt a bit strange about the idea of drving through a township where people still live and staring at them through a bus window, doesn’t feel right.

So instead we enjoyed our remaining days relaxing, eating good food and drinks, we saw a movie in the cinema (!) and I got my first “real” haircut since I left Australia. It was nice feeling “normal” again.     



Koi, my favourite restaurant in Johannesburg: Peking Duck Pancakes

And Mike clearly enjoying his duck :-)

Thai food, in its abundance!


I know Johannesburg regularly cops a bad rap, with a reputation for crime and just being a difficult city to get around; the later is a little bit true in my experience, as a car really does help. Nonetheless, I really like Johannesburg, there is something about it.  And again, I would highly recommend a visit for anyone who hasn't been there.

Skyline of Johannesburg from our hotel room



Tuesday, January 17, 2012

South Africa: Cape Town


Our two week trip to South Africa began in beautiful Cape Town, oblivious to the small drama unfolding at home.

We arrived in Cape Town in the evening and were met by the crazy wife and her sister, of our booked tour guide for Stellenbosch later in the week. We discovered that we hadn’t arrived on the best night with a lot of the city roads blocked off for a marching band parade and people and traffic everywhere! Eventually we made it to our hotel, a small apartment, centrally located and as we quickly discovered above some of the busiest restaurants and bars on the strip. The complimentary ear plugs were an ominous sign, although after the first night we got pretty used the noise.

Awesome bed! No foam, no mosquito net and huge!


The following day we headed out to the Waterfront, probably one of Cape Town’s most well photographed areas, and I must say for good reason; it is absolutely stunning! I know I’m Australian, so what I am about to say may be a little controversial, but the Waterfront in Cape Town surpasses any Australian city, including Sydney, in prettiness and just general beauty. Look in one direction and you have the water with the boats and picturesque buildings, look the other way and you have beautiful mountain ranges surrounding the city. I'm sure my photos won't do it justice!

Cape Town Waterfront: Love the buildings

Cape Town Waterfront

Cape Town Waterfront: Looking back, just beautiful!

On the pier

Me with a very pretty scenery behind me

View of Table Mountain from the Waterfront

Did I mention it is pretty?

Christmas Tree!!!


One of the things we enjoyed most about Cape Town was definitely the fresh, good quality food, as well as the wide variety of it, something we’ve been missing in Zambia. In Cape Town we ate everything from Tapas, to sushi, Asian noddles, dim sum, fresh fish, beautiful soft cheeses and great coffee!

Yum, yum, Dim Sum!!

Nearly the highlight of the trip for Mike, I believe...

Or maybe this was the highlight. Great coffee!

Ciabatta with herb chicken, tomato salsa. All fresh and tasty
ingredients


Happy hour Mojito


Singha beer with Pad Thai. Probably sounds so boring to
everyone at home, but was SOOO exciting for us

Lovely white wine with fresh bread and soft cheeses


Enjoying a tasty beer


We took a trip to Stellenbosch where we were finally able to confirm that not all South African wine is bad, only the ones they send to Zambia it seems. On our tour, and on the proceeding and following days, we had lovely white and red wines. I even found some nice Port, despite not really being a Port drinker!

Wine region

The oldest store in Stellenbosch

Hmmm. Where do I start?

Mike and I enjoying a glass (or two) of sparkling

The House of J.C.Roux

Outside of the House of J.C.Roux. Loved all of the colourful flowers

Vergenoegd Estate

Mike and I after a few wine tastings :-)


Disappointingly we didn’t get to spend much time actually in the town of Stellenbosch, a definite drawback of a tour and something I’d do different if I was to go back again. Should definitely have hired a car!

And of course we visited the two key tourist sites, Table Mountain and Robbin Island.

Robbin Island, which we found out needed to be booked well in advance, was for me, one of the sites I most wanted to visit. We were very lucky to get on a tour at all; the tours which run every hour from 8am till 5pm were booked out until 5pm the day before we had to leave. Just crazy busy!

Looking back at Cape Town from Robbin Island. The low cloud
over the mountain looked amazing!


Unfortunately the tour was quite disappointing. Once we arrived on the island we were all piled onto buses and taken around the island with the most mundane tour guide ever! Being in a bus meant we missed a lot, with a lot of the points of interest on the opposite of the bus. Not sure why they won’t allow people to walk around and have a look, as that would certainly have been a lot better.

Lime mine; where prisoners, including Nelson Mandela used
to dig for lime


What does Mike think of the bus tour?


Following the bus tour we were taken back to the prison where political prisoners (the most “dangerous” ones), were kept. At the prison we were given a tour by a former prisoner. This part of the tour was more enjoyable as we got a bit more of a look into what life was like on the island and in the prison. And of course, we got see a very famous prison cell, that of Nelson Mandela.

Former political prisoner who gave us a tour of the prision 

Maximum security prison cell for political prisioners

View from outside of the prision

Solitary confinement cells

Nelson Mandela's cell where he spent approximately
17 years of his sentence while on Robbin Island

No way to escape


Perhaps a good indication of the work this tourist site requires is the state of the women’s toilets which I went to use before heading back on the ferry. A complete disgrace and unusable; not at all what would be expected of an international tourist site, but I digress…..

Table Mountain was incredible, although extremely busy. We took the easy way up via the Cableway, although you can walk up. At the top we had fantastic view of Cape Town, the beginning of the peninsula and Robbin Island.


Cableway up to the top of Table Mountain

Gorgeous view behind me!

View of Cape Town and Robbin Island in the far distance


Most days we just wondered around the city, did a bit of shopping for key supplies (a new pair of Havianas, drink bottle, runners, etc.) and basically enjoyed the city. For anyone who has ever thought about visiting South Africa and in particular Cape Town, I can highly recommend it, and now is a great time to go with the Aussie/ Rand exchange rate very favourable from an Australian perspective.


De Tuynhuys: Significant because this is where in 1992, F.W. de Klerk
annoucned the end of Apartheid to the world 

1. Parliament House in Cape Town

Art Gallery in Cape Town; check out the mountain behind it. The
whole city is like this

2. Parliament House in Cape Town

Cape Town Waterfront: Carousel lit up at night

1. Cape Town Waterfront at night 

2. Cape Town Waterfront at night