South Africa - December 2014 - The frist 5 days!

We've just returned from a 3 week trip to South Africa, which I spent all year planning and looking forward to, and now I can't believe it is over.

We had the most amazing wonderful holiday, stayed in some really awesome accommodation and overall had a wonderful time seeing friends and family and reconnecting. 

This time there was only one thing that pissed me off and that was the fact that whenever people mention the fact that you are travelling on Euro's and because the exchange rate favor's the Euro we are so rich, well firstly people don't seem to understand that unlike everyone else I have not had an increase since I came to this country almost 14 years ago now.  

In that time South Africa has become so expensive, accommodation, eating out etc.  After I have spent most of my money on Airfare, accommodation, gifts - I cannot afford to pay for your meal, also it would be nice to be treated seeing as we made the effort to come over and spend our well earned vacation time with you.

But besides that little gripe, most of our friends and family were most hospitable and we are grateful to them.

After flying 6000km's to Johannesburg, we then did over 4000km's by road our trip was absolutely amazing.

Day  1:    Arrived in Johannesburg and as it turned out due to load shedding, we could not get through to Fourways where we were staying to we did a detour past the South where Sylvia was hosting a party for all the kids in the South.

Day  2:    Met our friends and family members at the Indaba Hotel for Breakfast, Thank you Gwen, Shemila, Larissa, Trevor, Kirsten, Paul, Denise, Joe, Carla, Carol, Shannon, Daniel, Candice and all the Rowe Family.  After Breakfast we took a drive through to the folks and then met Gwen and John at Monte Casino for dinner.

Day  3:    Drove through to Kwandabele to see my old mom Johanna and Monde - we tried to get her some shopping but due to power outages, the shops, banks and everything was closed.    We stopped in Pretoria on the way back hoping to see my Niece and Paul and Elliott, we met up with Paul & Elliot in a shopping centre for coffee, always good to see them.  We then met the family for Dinner at Tony's in Randparkridge.

Day   4:    We left at 10:00 on our journey to Cape Town, we negotiated our way out of the city and onto the highway, glad to leave Johannesburg and her load shedding behind us and the city and head to the open Country.  This was a road I had only ever travelled along as far as Klerksdorp, which was also a very long time ago.  So it was exciting seeing new scenery and seeing all the old mines, some which I had been to and some not.   Travelling through Wolmaransstad was quite a challenge as we hit a major downpour and could not see 2 feet in front of us.  Jhb - Potchefstroom - Klerksdorp - Wolmaransstad - Bloemhof - Christiana and finally Kimberly.  Our first stop Kimberly the town where Diamonds were discovered in 1866.  We were staying in the Protea Hotel which over looked the "Big Hole" It was great to get out of the car, Emily went for a swim and we sat and had a drink at the pool!   We had a good old South African Braai, with Pap and sous and as much meat as you could eat.

Day   5:     We had breakfast in the dining room which was a bit of a rip off at R130 per person, but we had to eat and we wanted to get to the "Big Hole" and the museum before leaving for the next leg of our journey to Oudtshoorn which was a good 800 km drive.  We headed over to the museum and then managed to leave by 11:00.   The Kimberley road to the Cape was very good considering it was only one lane traffic either side.   We stopped at a little side road café to replenish our drinks and buy some Biltong, a road trip is not a road trip without biltong.    We finally arrived in Oudtshoorn at about 7PM, thank goodness it was still light.  We checked into the Protea hotel where our room was a Rondawel next to the hotel and headed out to the town in search of somewhere to eat.   We found a lovely restaurant / beer hall and I had a wonderful "Ostrich Salad" which was to die for and then back to the hotel for a good nights sleep.

A tale of two Cities

After recently returning from a trip Home, I remembered I had written this post about the 2 cities I have lived in one for over 3 decades being Johannesburg and now in Dublin, I did not publish at the time so am posting it now.

A tale of 2 cities – Dublin / Johannesburg

I love History and sometimes wonder why I didn't take an interest earlier in life, but they say it’s never too late to learn new things.

I love reading stuff about Dublin as it’s the city where I now live; it is so old and interesting the city is over 1000 years old, and compared to the city where I grew up, Johannesburg is not even 200 years old yet.  However I think Johannesburg in its short life still has a BIG history.

DUBLIN – 988 A.D.

Dublin (pron.: /ˈdʌblɨn/; locally /ˈdʊbᵊlən/; Irish: Baile Átha Cliath, meaning "town of the hurdled ford", pronounced [blʲaˈklʲiə] or Áth Cliath, [aː klʲiə], occasionally Duibhlinn) is the capital and most populous city of Ireland. The English name for the city is derived from the Irish name Dubhlinn, meaning "black pool". Dublin is situated near the midpoint of Ireland's east coast, at the mouth of the River Liffey and the centre of the Dublin Region.

 Originally founded as a Viking settlement, it evolved into the Kingdom of Dublin and became the island's principal city following the Norman invasion. The city expanded rapidly from the 17th century; it was briefly the second largest city in the British Empire and the fifth largest in Europe. Dublin entered a period of stagnation following the Act of Union of 1800, but it remained the economic centre for most of the island. Following the partition of Ireland in 1922, the new parliament, the Oireachtas, was located in Leinster House. Dublin became the capital of the Irish Free State and later the Republic of Ireland.

Dublin was established as a Viking settlement in the 9th century and, despite a number of rebellions by the native Irish, it remained largely under Viking control until the Norman invasion of Ireland was launched from Wales in 1169. The King of Leinster, Diarmait Mac Murchada, enlisted the help of Strongbow, the Earl of Pembroke, to conquer Dublin. Following Mac Murrough’s death, Strongbow declared himself King of Leinster after gaining control of the city. In response to Strongbow's successful invasion, King Henry II of England reaffirmed his sovereignty by mounting a larger invasion in 1171 and pronouncing himself Lord of Ireland. Around this time, the county of the City of Dublin was established along with certain liberties adjacent to the city proper. This continued down to 1840 when the Barony of Dublin City was separated from the Barony of Dublin. Since 2001, both baronies have been redesignated the City of Dublin.

FACTS ABOUT DUBLIN

Population:   1.3 Million (2011)

Area:                 115 Square kilometres

Location:        The city is sited on the estuary of the River Liffey. This river empties into Dublin Bay which opens onto the Irish Sea.  To the south, Dublin is bordered by a low mountain range.

Climate:        Average summer temperatures: 16C to 20C

Average winter temperatures: 4C to 7C

Average annual rainfall: 840 mm / 33 inches

How many cities called Dublin are there in the world?                   

19 – There are 12 cities called Dublin in the USA, 6 in Australia and of course 1 in Ireland.

JOHANNESBURG – 1886 A.D.

Johannesburg was formed almost 900 years after Dublin ...

Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg, Joni, eGoli or Joeys, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa. The city is one of the 50 largest metropolitan areas in the world, and is also the world's largest city not situated on a river, lake, or coastline. It claims to be the lightning capital of the world, though this title is also claimed by others.

Gold was discovered in the 1880s and triggered the gold rush. Gold was initially discovered some 400 km to the east of present-day Johannesburg, in Barberton. Gold prospectors soon discovered that there were even richer gold reefs in the Witwatersrand. Gold was discovered at Langlaagte, Johannesburg in 1886.

Johannesburg was a dusty settlement some 55 km from the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek (ZAR) capital which was Pretoria. The town—named after two surveyors employed by the ZAR, Johannes Meyer and Johannes Rissik—was much the same as any small prospecting settlement, but, as word spread, people flocked to the area from all other regions of the country, as well as from North America, the United Kingdom and Europe. Like many late 19th century mining towns, Johannesburg was a rough and disorganized place, populated by white miners from other continents, African tribesmen recruited to perform unskilled mine work, African women beer brewers who cooked for and sold beer to the black migrant workers, a very large number of European prostitutes, gangsters, impoverished Afrikaners, tradesmen, and Zulu "AmaWasha," Zulu men who surprisingly dominated laundry work.  As the value of control of the land increased, tensions developed between the Boer government in Pretoria and the British, culminating in the Jameson Raid that ended in fiasco at Doornkop in January 1896 and the Second Boer War (1899–1902) that saw British forces under Lord Roberts occupy the city on 30 May 1900 after a series of battles to the south of its then-limits.

FACTS ABOUT Johannesburg:

Population:   2.4 Million  

Area:                 1,100 Square kilometres

Location:        Johannesburg is 2,000m above sea level.  Nearest Major Harbor is Durban some 600 km’s away.

Climate:        Johannesburg has an average of 12 hours of sunlight a day.            Summer temperatures range from about 25 degrees centigrade up to a max of about 38.

Winters are temperate and dry with no rainfall and crisp, clear days. The winter runs from May – August. Evenings and early mornings can get quite cold with temperatures ranging from 0 degrees centigrade up to a max of around 22. Daytime temperatures average at around 15 degrees centigrade.

How many cities called Johannesburg are there in the world?                

There is 1 other city in the world called Johannesburg, and quite freaky how similar names pop into this bit of information from Wikipedia

Johannesburg is a census-designated place (CDP) in Kern County, California, in a mining district of the Rand Mountains. Johannesburg is located 1 mile (1.6 km) east-northeast of Randsburg,[3] at an elevation of 3517 feet (1072 m).[2] The terminus of the Randsburg Railway was here from 1897 to 1933. The population was 172 at the 2010 census, down from 176 at the 2000 census. Johannesburg is divided from the neighboring community of Randsburg by a ridge. The town is frequently referred to as "Jo-burg" by locals and frequent visitors to the northwest Mojave.

So seems to “Not be” the only Jo-burg in the world, with or without the apostrophe J

Another Interesting Read: 

http://www.ghosttowns.com/states/ca/johannesburg.html

http://karakullake.blogspot.ie/2010/02/johannesburg-california.html

Facts about Johannesburg

 1.            Even though Johannesburg is well over 120 years old (founded on 4 October 1886 during the gold rush), it is still one of the youngest major cities in the world.

2.            There is only one other city on the continent that is bigger than Joburg, and that is the bustling metropolis of Cairo in Egypt. Johannesburg is the second biggest city on Africa.

3.            The Chris Hani-Baragwanath Hospital is the largest acute hospital in the world, with 2 964 beds, is the only public hospital serving the 3.5 million people in Soweto, Johannesburg.

4.            Johannesburg is the world’s biggest man-made forest, with over 10 million trees. This number is set to grow, as City Parks launched the Greening Soweto project in 2006, with the goal of planting an extra 200 000 trees in the famous township. Not only do Joburg’s trees combat the greenhouse effect, they help reduce noise in this ‘urban jungle’.

5.            Johannesburg is the world's largest city not built on a coastline, or on a lake or river. That’s why Joburg is also called the world’s biggest ‘dry port’. More than half of the cargo that arrives through the ports of Durban and Cape Town arrives at the container terminal at City Deep.

6.            With the rich archaeological site known as the Cradle of Humankind on the outskirts of the city, it’s not surprising that 40% of the planet’s human ancestor fossils have been discovered in the Jo’burg area.

7.            At 269m high, the Hillbrow Tower is the tallest structure in Johannesburg. It used to have a revolving restaurant at the top, before it was closed down in 1981 for safety reasons. It is a prominent feature in the city’s beautiful skyline.

8.            The Johannesburg Zoo based in Parktown, is over 100 years old, and houses the only two polar bears in Africa – Geebee (who came from Canada) and Wang (who came from Japan).

9.            OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg – named after the famous former leader of the African National Congress – is the biggest and busiest airport on the continent of Africa. It is estimated that 28 million passengers pass through its terminals every year.

10.          While Johannesburg has a reputation as one of the most dangerous cities in the world, it takes an average of only 60 seconds for police to respond to a crime scene in the central business district (CBD). There is a CCTV system that covers every street corner and scanning vehicle licence plates.

11.          There is also a Johannesburg in California, although it only has a population of 176 people (2000 census). It was named by miners who had worked in the gold mines of Johannesburg, South Africa.

12.          It takes one-minute longer to boil an egg in Johannesburg than it does in the coastal cities of Cape Town and Durban. This is because Joburg is 2000m above sea level, and the air is not as dense.

13.          The Shaft of Terror, located at the popular amusement park of Gold Reef City, is a vertical-drop roller coaster that has the distinction of being the tallest and fastest roller coaster in Africa. It has a 47-metre drop, and a G force of over 6 Gs!

14.          Johannesburg is the home of Kwaito music, a catchy genre of African house music that was born in the 90s and has become a South African phenomenon. It is most famous for its catchy lyrics that embody post-apartheid township culture.

15.          While Johannesburg is also known as the City of Gold, or ‘eGoli’ because of its beginnings as a gold-mining town, it is known fondly to locals by the shortened ‘Joburg’, or now more popularly as ‘Jozi’