Protea Hotel Gold Reef City Johannesburg

... didn't work quite as well as we’d hoped – we got to our "destination" and realized it looked nothing like where we’d been before. I phoned Jill, the lady with whom we were staying, to try to sort things out. Problem was, all of the streets around 2nd were 1st, 3rd….just like they would be in any of the neighborhoods that have numbered avenues. After a bit of wandering, we finally managed to locate ourselves and, after about 15 minutes ...

... got their trophy and both squads did a lap of the grounds afterwards thanking them.
After the game we hit the Lions' Den bar again and started what was to be a pretty crazy night of celebrating. We met a few people we knew but in the spirit of the Lions' me and Rachel ended up sticking with the 3 lads from London. We got taxis to a few different bars and settled in a place called Rhapsody's until about midnight. It was a good laugh and we got talking to a couple of ...

... swiftly adapting to the lack of tar road, the crush of trees and we slowed our pace in anticipation of the end of our journey.

We would be soon be welcomed with open arms, a feeling that we had returned and the wholly delicious scents of oranges, cinnamon and cloves from a cast iron pot of mulled wine which simmered quietly upon an ancient aga stove!. Gladly sipping said beverages, we toured the household ...

... gerade die Zone, in der ich mich bewege. Mitte Januar ist mein Visum abgelaufen. Der Antrag auf Verlängerung liegt beim Department of Home Affairs. Da liegt er gut.... und liegt und liegt. Auf Nachfrage erhielt ich die Antwort, dass die Bearbeitung mehr als 30 Arbeits(!)tage dauern kann. Jo.... Den Reisepass haben sie auch gleich einbehalten - das hieß dann aber auch, dass ich nicht nach Durban fliegen konnte :-( Wie auch immer - wer hartnäckig genug ist ...

... and looked alright, I can't give more enthusiasm than that I'm afraid! We ended up staying a whole week in Johannesberg- I'm ashamed to admit that after months in Uganda and Malawi there was comfort in being in a developed city. One day was spent just hanging out in a mall buying toiletries and going to the cinema! We made friends with the people at the hostel and some other travellers and had some good nights out. One memorable (or not so memorable) night was when Crazy ...

... was really special. Then on the Sesriem and the Namib dunes at Sossusvlei. That included doing a dirt route of about 140 kilos. Most of the road was ok except in stream crossings - they were dry but one had to slow right down. We had 5 kilos of really bad road. As camping at Sesriem was going to cost R750 we opted to stay about 30 kilos before Sesriem at Betesta lodge. It was so nice to arrive early in the afternoon and to have to time to read and ...

... a book. Tuesday 13th: Today I went to the Lion park just outside Jo'burg, I got slightly lost on the way there - I nearly ended up in Pretoria!! But when I did finally arrive I fed the giraffe and played with the lion cubs - they were sooooo cute!! Just 2 months old and soooo soft and fluffy!! Then I went for a game drive - I saw various antelope types, zebras and a few other animals and there are 4 lion enclosures which I drove through. After the lion ...

... another capital. The Union Buildings are pretty magnificent and seem to stretch for miles in both straight and curvy architecture. The two wings at the sides represent the Boerish and the English part of the population. The building's name comes from the time of the South African Union, which was only changed in 1961 to the current name, the Republic of South Africa. Since the first free and common elections in South Africa in 1994 the Union ...

... to buy fresh seafood and veges and cooking with what we had for 4 days (Tofo, Mozambique) 31. Microlighting over Victoria ...

... struck but you can only pocket your own colour. If you pocket the other player's colour, one of your counters is removed from a pocket and placed in the centre spot. If the green counter is pocketed a counter is also removed and placed in the middle. If you pocket all your colours then you have to pocket the white. If the white is pocketed prematurely, then it and one of your counters is placed in the middle. Hours of fun. I was provided with added ...