Don Arcadia II Pretoria

... oth**s to discuss how to make brookside bett** including facilities for kids, getting more land to chill in etc. Aft**noon is a tea and cricket aft**noon, then in the evening anoth** dinn** but at a posh restaurant somewh**e...<br><br>Sunday is a barbecue aft**noon. and next week we have dinn** at the top gaff**s house. <br>Th**e is a park 40 mins away wh**e you can walk lions freely (a few rules apply like no eye contact, no bags) but oth** than that they let you just take ...

... again and went to the Voortrekkers Monument, a building (in the art deco style, Katie tells me) to commemorate the Afrikaners who made the Great Trek from elsewhere in South Africa to Pretoria, having been driven there by the English. I loved reading all the signs in Afrikaans and trying to understand them based on what I know of German. Afrikaans looks a lot like German, but sounds quiiiite different. But I was getting used to it...I was picking up more ...

... went pretty well. Jim made sure I was lined up in the correct lane on the expressway well in advance of changes to the number of lanes. Once I got on the rural roads it was more unsettling because in many case the road shoulders are loose dirt and are low compared to the roadbed. I only made Jim nervous a couple of times when he thought I was driving too far left and knew for sure his side of the car was going to slip off the edge of the roadway. I think Jim told me one time ...

... at a place just outside of Pretoria, and I'll probably do some outdoor climbing while in the Drakensberg area. I am sad, however, that my commitment to the Drakensberg means that I will miss out on a major cultural opportunity. A co-worker and friend is going north a few hours to the rural province of Limpopo, where he will be attending a funeral for his Aunt. He welcomed me to come, but I had already commited to the ...

... and memorable. The staff and the lodge really made the place... it was absolutly top nothc. Contrary to my previous beliefs, I left with a desire to see more. Next stop is a shuttle back to Joburg and then the Premium Class overnight train to Cape Town. I have always had an affinity towards train travel as it just seems like such a classic way to travel. Hopefully the 24 hour journey lives up to my romantic expectations. *** hopefully add some photos as soon as I can!

... so sad and lonely in it's pussy blood-coloured world. Poor little finger. I hope you will be fine and that you will still be able to feel your way around in the world, and that your nerves will be OK. 'Would you like me to hold anything?' I asked as the procedure came to a close. "Urm. Yes, thank you. Just hold that for me and press here." It was time for the bandage. 'There was a lot of puss already. It's a good thing that we removed it now before it ...

... a lovely woman named Grace to come in and teach the women of the Haven to cook. Before she arrived the meals here (we eat lunch here) were pretty poor. I mean I know that I am spoiled living in New York and I am definitely a slef proclaimed foody- but I wasn't the only who thought that food was bad. Grace is a wonderful woman and I won't forget her. She found out she was HIV positive when her husband was very ill and she took him to the docotor. She found out when she was ...

... tour guide treated my question seriously when I asked him if he thought she was at home! Accommodation in Soweto has improved immensely since democracy we were told and the shanty towns (or "informal settlements" as they're now called) are almost a thing of the past. A few still exist (they really are the pits - bits of tin with cloth rooves held on by rocks) however the government is apparently relocating all the residents into subsidised housing ...

... und viel zu weit weg vom Schuss. Und Kapstadt ist nicht gerade eine Stadt, in der man abends oder nachts alleine durch die Gegend laufen sollte. So entschieden wir uns fuer ein Hostel direkt auf Kapstadts Partymeile, mit Laufentfernung zum Hafen, vielen Geschaeften, Restaurants und Bars. Am Hafen tobte das Leben. Er war huebsch angelegt. Ueberall dudelte Musik, fuehrten Kuenstler Stuecke auf, wurde gelacht oder geschlemmt. Von hier aus machten wir eine Bootsfahrt nach Robben ...

... used to work for the government and even more interesting than that he was actually a foreign attaché during the apartheid years! So his job was to represent the worlds most racist and evil country since Hitler's Germany in countries which generally despised them. It was a very interesting conversation and he apologized a lot. An awful lot. Then we drove by the shanty towns where a lot of the black Africans still live. He started apologizing again surprisingly enough. <br ...