2-14 thru 2-17

Today, Wednesday, we went to the South African Tourism office, which had no tourism literature! We visited Soweto, the township where Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu once lived. We went to the Hector Pieterson and Apartheid Museums, both very informative on the history of the people of SA and also very sad to see how blacks were mistreated in the past. Johannesburg was developed due to the mining of gold found in the area. But, the clashes between black and whites has shaped South Africa for a long time. In 1990, apartheid ended after much turmoil, especially in Soweto.

We had lunch at the Singing Fig restaurant in Jo-burg. Had lamb shank, butternut squash soup, cheese puff pastry and beer-all for only $40. Dessert was wonderful-ice cream with Turkish figs. Doug finally got the TV to work in our apartment, but we only have 3 channels. Went to a local casino in our neighborhood called Monte casino. It was bigger and nicer than the one in Sun City. Doug lost $13 at the craps table and I lost $6 on a penny slot machine.

Thursday, we visited the Voortrekker Monument outside Pretoria. The monument is dedicated to the Boers who left Capetown in the 1830's for the interior to escape British rule. It has a religious bent, like the Mormons trek to Salt Lake City, and the monument is high on a mountain and very scenic. The Boers were defeated by the English for the last time in the 1890's and as a minority, they were anti British for many years. We as Southerners have much in common with the Boors. They listen to music in their own language or we hear US country music on the radio. They finally took control of the South African government in 1948, and held it in strict segregation until the end of 1990, which was the end of apartheid. Sorry to say the Boers or South Afrikaners, as they are called today, were of the Dutch Reformed denomination, the same church we were members of while living in NYC.

Went to see the play "The Suitcase" at the Market Theatre in Newton-near downtown Jo-burg. Had dinner at Gramadoelas again, where we enjoyed a buffet of traditional South African dishes. There is lots of security in SA and the crime rate is quite high. All the houses in Jo-burg and other large cities have high walls around each one and electric wire or razor wire or broken glass on the top of the brick walls. People live in their own compounds! Also, wherever you go and park your car, someone is nearby who watches your car for you while you go about your business. You then pay this person 50cents or a dollar for watching your car. We have not encountered any dangerous situations yet!

We left Jo-town on Friday and headed to Kruger National Park to go on safari. We spent the night at a wonderful lodge in Sabie River called Jock's Bushweld Lodge. Jock was a famous dog who lived in Kruger Park and many children's books were written about him. We had our own two bedroom chalet with a spectacular view of the mountains. We watched a lightening storm in the distance over the mountains.

On Saturday, we drove on to Kruger and stayed in Phalaborwa at the Royal Game B&B. We got two very nice rooms for $70 total. We even had a a pool to swim in. We drove through Blyde Canyon and saw the Lisbon Falls, Pinnacle Point and Pot Holes-all spectacular scenery in some very rugged, big mountains. It reminded me of Australia, but more lush and green. We saw baboons crossing the road in front of our car. Also, signs that instructed us to watch out for elephants on the road! We're not even in the zoo. The money used here is the "rand" and 7.2 rands equal a US dollar. The cost of things is very reasonable. We had lunch at a pub in the country-steak, chips (french fries), chicken kabob and beer and soda-only $16. Had dinner at Buffalo Pub & Grill in Phalaborwa-recommend it, especially the "Mushroom Surprise." It is baked shittake mushrooms with cheese and garlic sauce-$27 for appetizer, two meals, dessert, coffee and beer. They serve a lot of mushrooms, even fried. Also, butternut squash is very popular as a soup or mashed as a side dish.