Brooklyn Lodge Pretoria

... them. It was very impressive! We also got to visit his cheetah, who he brought out her enclosure in order to take pictures with us. She didn't seem too interested in us, but she's used to this kind of thing and was purring the whole time!

Well, off to the supermarket with the other volunteers to buy some food for dinner. By the way, there are 7 of us, all women -- 3 English, 2 American, 1 Dutch and 1 Italian. Not surprisingly, I am by far the oldest.

... couldn't miss (even if I had consumed ALL the champagne on off**!! - they just top up before asking (Pam - I might have to get you this ticket just so you can sample the entire range of reds :p )

A tinted window people carri** whisped me away from the forecourt before getting on the highways. The route to Pretoria was mainly dual carriageways, The traffic and structure similar to the UK highways. The sun was shining and I was eag** with anticipation to get to my new home ...

... small it housed 20,000 people!). It was a bit of an eye opener for us being that we had only just arrived in Africa but it was also an amazing experience as although the people are living in poverty they still remain very happy, particularly the kids. We also visited the apartheid museum which was a great experience but also very sad. Unfortunately Mandela´s house was not open to the public on our visit so we only saw it from the outside.

... dept but maybe when the FGASA (field guide assoication of South Africa) student have completed their final exams I can pay Tom (19) to help me. We'll be spending quite a bit of this week providing practice for them as "clients" for their practical exam. Subjects covered last week included reptiles and fish and astronomy and weather. We made rope out on the bush (strands of "string" from Mother in Law's tongue which you then plait together - it's ...

... finally understand what people had told me about South Africa being more organized and developed. The fact I was on a 6 lane highway pretty much says it all, since throughout East Africa and the rest of Southern Africa we were always on 2 lane roads and mostly filled with potholes. The next day after waking up in the hotel, ahh it just feels good to type that, I arranged a visit with a local taxi driver ...

... laughing at the whole roller coaster ride in the boat! What a laugh and it certainly woke me up! Got to the island and had a really good tour, the guides were ex inmates or guides which made it all the more real and I got a full history of the Island. Won't bore you with too much detail here but I have plenty of pictures which can probably tell more of the story than I can. Didn't get to go into Nelson Mandela's cell as it is currently being renovated ...

Hooray for workers strikes, my commute has been expedited dramatically. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/67470 61.stm ...except for one morning when a rally blocked the road for a few minutes. Though that was neat to see, several hundred teachers, dancing and singing "songs of liberation". I must say, protests here are much more soulful than in America. Every morning, after more important issues ...

... about how a "Horny Elephant" had come into the camp a few nights ago resulting on all the Danish girls being held in the concrete show blocks. *******n. A Horny Elephant - I know how he must have felt. After this story I heard a squeal from one of the girls in the Kitchen, apparently a mouse had got in to the kitchen tent (a very common occurrence to be fair). Now this was the sort of animal I could handle so I got up to rescue the damsel in distress, my hand ...

... safari with though Doug became unbearable after half an hour. I fantasised about re-inserting his zoom lenses and wandered if anyone would notice if i accidently kicked his head while trying to extricate myself from the landrover. Instead, in a rare glimpse of mature adult behaviour i decided to overcome my frustration by getting to know him better and try to understand the source of his many and obvious failings. It was going great until he decided to show me the amateur ...

... be together in a large group or smaller groups most of the time. 3. I am adventurous and fun-loving, so I fit the general profile of a Drifters tour group participant. 4. I have arrived prepared, am experiencing all of this for the first time, and am brave enough to do it alone. After I settled my anxiety, I reviewed the 18-day tour itinerary so I could orient myself with the path of our journey to map out mentally where we are ...