Garden Court Milpark Johannesburg

... another came out with a quad bike and a few people coming out of the shopping centre to see what was going on. It seemed that the car backfire might have been a gunshot after all. I was just stood there with the thought of being shot out in the back of my head - Nice :-)

The shopping centre what exactly just that so I did not hang around too much and decided to walk back to the hostel through the residential area. I actually spent the rest of the day sorting the blog and pictures out.

... up to the counter and they handed him a ticket for the first flight out in the morning and a hotel voucher without conflict. Apparently the homeless looking backpackers are not given first priority.

At this point, we decided to divide and conquer. Brittany went to find an Ethiopian Airways representative to find "Jenny." Sarah and Lindsey went to the ticket counter to see if they could get on a flight the next morning. The ticket counter said we had to ...

... friendly? Due to the recent history, level of poverty and huge problems like HIV/AIDS, some say it is difficult to blame South Africa (or any country from the South) for not focusing on saving energy and reducing their carbon footprint. But when you know that South Africa is accountable for more than 70% of the carbon emissions in Africa, you can't really close your eyes and wait for them to solve their other problems. Most South-African are ...

... the coast from the escarpment. South Africa is famous for its sunshine. A subtropical location, moderated by ocean on three sides of the country and the altitude of the interior plateau, account for the warm temperate conditions so typical of South Africa - and so popular with its foreign visitors. It's a relatively dry country, with an average annual rainfall of about 464mm. While the Western Cape gets most of its rainfall ...

So, I have almost reached the end of my trip - we have driven just over 6000km and have had a ball. I spent today sorting photos - I now have a collection of over 2000! I can see the crew going through the gate so it won't be long now. My toe is strapped up so it should be fine until I get home - I have plenty of plasters just in case! This trip has been fairly inexpensive (especially if you ignore the flight!) in monetary terms, but it has been one of my favourite trips! We have ...

... years earlier in SF. The movie examines the role of protest music in apartheid and is a must see for anyone interested in South Africa. After finishing up at the museum, we were shuttled over to Nelson Mandela's house, where we took a short tour of the home he lived in just before and after his 27 year prison term. It was a very small and simple home, decorated with many incredible pictures and awards that the Mandela ...

... the heat!! Excuse me - couldn't you wait until we checked out? Fortunately we had been awake, but that's just ridiculous. So after discussion with the manager, we get free breakfast, internet, and a big discount on the room. Then we head off for Kruger National Park - 5 million acres of wild animals in their native enviroment. After our evening, we were really sensitized to South Africa and felt a little uncomfortable stopping in some areas. We knew of the tension between the ...

We drove the 40 minutes from Johannesburg to Pretoria very quickly. My head was swiveling from side to side to see the high flatness of the land (about 2,000 feet) and the dry red soil with almost sage like bushes and it seems paper and other unused items thrown or blown along the sides of the highways. There are many, many African people walking, walking, walking along the roadsides, some with loads on their heads or in their hands, selling papers, fruit ...

... wine area). I strolled in in my beachwear to come face to face with some extremely elegant looking people in what turned out to be one of the top restaurants in SA and owned by a famous South African chef Frank Swainston. The food and wine were fantastic and Frank was a really lovely old guy who reminded me of my old mate Richard Attenborough... bless him! David had convinced me that it was worth getting up before sunrise to stroll along the beach at Camps Bay ...