Hope everyone had a festive Christmas!
My gift to you is a friendly reminder to never, ever, EVER fly commercially during the holiday season if you value your sanity. Or your luggage.
We depart for Mexico in a few hours so here's us wishing you a rockin' New Year as well.
See you in 2009...
Monday, December 29, 2008
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Quickie
Here's how our trip is wrapping up...
Today we went on a half-day tour of the Soweto area. Soweto stands for SouthWesternTownships and is South Africa's largest township (i.e. "underdeveloped community" consisting largely of government-funded and cookie-cutter housing and squatter camps of corrugated tin shacks). No worries, as we were safely ensconced in a van and our guide was thoroughly knowledgeable and savvy. On Vilakazi street we saw the home of Desmond Tutu and the former home of Nelson Mandela - we drove past his current digs in uberwealthy Howton earlier in the day. The Hector Pieterson museum gave us a peek into the Soweto uprisings of 1976 and is definitely worth a visit, as they've done a really nice job with it.
Tomorrow we plan to visit the Apartheid museum and perhaps try our luck at the slots at the casino next door (in moderation, of course!). There may or may not be a rollercoaster involved as well, since the complex also boasts a small amusement park...
We fly outta here in the wee hours of the 20th and much as I've enjoyed the vacation, I am excited to be home for the holidays. Hope you've got your shopping done!
Today we went on a half-day tour of the Soweto area. Soweto stands for SouthWesternTownships and is South Africa's largest township (i.e. "underdeveloped community" consisting largely of government-funded and cookie-cutter housing and squatter camps of corrugated tin shacks). No worries, as we were safely ensconced in a van and our guide was thoroughly knowledgeable and savvy. On Vilakazi street we saw the home of Desmond Tutu and the former home of Nelson Mandela - we drove past his current digs in uberwealthy Howton earlier in the day. The Hector Pieterson museum gave us a peek into the Soweto uprisings of 1976 and is definitely worth a visit, as they've done a really nice job with it.
Tomorrow we plan to visit the Apartheid museum and perhaps try our luck at the slots at the casino next door (in moderation, of course!). There may or may not be a rollercoaster involved as well, since the complex also boasts a small amusement park...
We fly outta here in the wee hours of the 20th and much as I've enjoyed the vacation, I am excited to be home for the holidays. Hope you've got your shopping done!
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Full Circle
We arrived back in Johannesburg this afternoon after our whirlwind adventures in Namibia and Zambia. After my last entry we flew off to Windhoek, Namibia's capital city. To be quite honest I didn't care for the vibe there (more on that another time) and we rented a car the following day and set off for Sossusvlei. These massive dunes are a truly breath-taking sight that is hard enough to capture on film, so I will hardly even make the attempt to describe them in words. That, and I'm very short on internet time.
After Sossusvlei we traveled northwest to the beach town of Swakopmund. I fell in love with this spot, which had a relaxing atmosphere, fabulous restaurants, cutesy shops, and some really great sunsets. I also got the chance to visit their aquarium and museum one day while hubby was off paragliding in the dunes.
After dropping the car back in Windhoek, we took a 22 hour bus to Livingstone, Zambia, which shares a border with neighboring Zimbabwe. In my opinion the Zambians were the friendliest group of people, as a whole, that I had the pleasure to encounter in Africa. As strangers in a foreign (and very poor) land, we never felt concerned for our safety or valuables and on the contrary, the locals were always striking up conversations with us. We saw the famed Victoria Falls and did a bit of hiking, coming thisclose to many, many baboons!
Much more to write and tons of pictures to upload soon - but time's up for now!
After Sossusvlei we traveled northwest to the beach town of Swakopmund. I fell in love with this spot, which had a relaxing atmosphere, fabulous restaurants, cutesy shops, and some really great sunsets. I also got the chance to visit their aquarium and museum one day while hubby was off paragliding in the dunes.
After dropping the car back in Windhoek, we took a 22 hour bus to Livingstone, Zambia, which shares a border with neighboring Zimbabwe. In my opinion the Zambians were the friendliest group of people, as a whole, that I had the pleasure to encounter in Africa. As strangers in a foreign (and very poor) land, we never felt concerned for our safety or valuables and on the contrary, the locals were always striking up conversations with us. We saw the famed Victoria Falls and did a bit of hiking, coming thisclose to many, many baboons!
Much more to write and tons of pictures to upload soon - but time's up for now!
Saturday, December 6, 2008
From South Africa
We have been in South Africa for 3 weeks and, like all good things, it must come to an end.
After flying into Johannesburg from Nairobi, we caught a local backpacker bus down to Howick and were picked up by our Bulwer host and transported to his lodge. We spent the next two weeks in the mountains of the Kwazulu-Natal province, relaxing and living the good life. Dan did his paragliding-thing and was able to get about 15 flights, most of which were quite lengthy. I did a great deal of reading and several days of horseback riding at a neighboring farm. Bulwer is a small rural town, and we were without internet access during that time - which is why there were no posts :)
About midway through our stay there, we took a day trip through the Sani Pass and into Lesotho where we had lunch and a Maluti at the highest pub on the African continent!
We can now say "hello" and "thank you" in Zulu.
We are presently in Cape Town and have spent the last few days walking through the marina, driving along the coast, visiting the Cape of Good Hope, hiking Lion's Head to watch the sunset and touring vineyards in the Stellenbosch wine region. We're spoiled and we know it.
Tomorrow morning we fly to Windhoek, Namibia for further adventures.
Until then...
After flying into Johannesburg from Nairobi, we caught a local backpacker bus down to Howick and were picked up by our Bulwer host and transported to his lodge. We spent the next two weeks in the mountains of the Kwazulu-Natal province, relaxing and living the good life. Dan did his paragliding-thing and was able to get about 15 flights, most of which were quite lengthy. I did a great deal of reading and several days of horseback riding at a neighboring farm. Bulwer is a small rural town, and we were without internet access during that time - which is why there were no posts :)
About midway through our stay there, we took a day trip through the Sani Pass and into Lesotho where we had lunch and a Maluti at the highest pub on the African continent!
We can now say "hello" and "thank you" in Zulu.
We are presently in Cape Town and have spent the last few days walking through the marina, driving along the coast, visiting the Cape of Good Hope, hiking Lion's Head to watch the sunset and touring vineyards in the Stellenbosch wine region. We're spoiled and we know it.
Tomorrow morning we fly to Windhoek, Namibia for further adventures.
Until then...
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