Johannesburg

On Saturday night we met up with our dear friends Falk & Svenni at the hotel in Jozi ... that is what the locals call Johannesburg. We have been traveling together for 32 years, this is our 11th trip - we have really seen the world together. 

That night we celebrated with the South Africans winning the Rugby World Cup - that was a wild scene in the bar!

Sunday we took a full-day tour of Jozi - we wanted to see what the largest city in SA had to offer.

There is a lot of history here around Apartheid.  I cannot possibly do the subject justice in this short forum.  Basically from 1948 - 1994 there was a system of oppression meant to keep the native/black/colored/asian populations down.

In June 1976 the "Soweto uprising" took place, led by students.  They were protesting the requirement that subjects in school be taught in "Afrikan" language - that none of them spoke.  They wanted to learn but could not under those circumstances.  15,000-20,000 students from many schools met in Soweto to peacefully march.  They were confronted by police and violence ensued.  Hector Pieterson, a 12-year old primary school student, was among those killed.  The photos of the protest and specifically one taken of his body opened the eyes of the world to the situation in South Africa.  We visited a museum about that day.

We also visited Constitution Hill.  This was the site of a prison that housed criminals as well as political activists and others ... sometimes without charge.  The conditions were deplorable.  Both Nelson Mandela & Mahatma Ghandi spent time there for their political activism.

This room, designed for 30 men, often housed 60.

We drove through the richest square mile in Jozi - and took a short walk in a "township" in Soweto. 

Jozi was interesting but we were super excited to get to our next adventure!  Monday morning we caught a shuttle for a 6 hour drive to Three Rivers Restaurant, then a further 30 minutes to Ruyika Safari Camp. The weather became a bit of a challenge at this point, turning cold and rainy but ... we soldiered on!

An evening game drive showed us impala, jackal, hare, duiker & hyena. It was cold but the rain held off until the very end of our drive.

This morning they woke us at 4:30 for a 5:00 departure in the rain/cold for a big-5 game drive.

They say the brave are rewarded and it was certainly true today.  among other animals we saw elephant, zebra, giraffe, impala, hippos, herons, crocodile, eagles and other birds.  I was most excited about the hippos who were quite well hidden - looking exactly like the rocks in the river!

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A bunch of people showed up to the camp - all European of course ... where are all the Americans?!? Anyway, that means the wi-fi is a little taxed.  I promise that I will post more pictures of cool animals next time!

More to come!

Take care, 

Sheri & Carsten