After 2 years in Brazil it was time to start a new adventure. But first
a nice long holiday was in order!
Deciding to go on holiday was the easy part, agreeing on a destination
was much harder! The pull of new places is always strong but we decided that
after 4.5 years of living abroad it would actually be nice to spend some time
in our country of birth. Since the people we wanted to see live in 4 different
corners of the country and we had some time, we decided we would transverse the
country by car visiting family and friends along the way. And so the idea of
the SA Road Trip was born.
Our intended route and the places we planned to visit on our SA Road Trip
The trip started with trying to fit all our variously collected things
from the last two years into 2 suitcases each and getting from Brazil to SA
without feeling like pack donkeys! In the end the trip was smooth and we
arrived tired but safely in Johannesburg on a sunny winters morning.
In Jozi we were hosted by Bron’s brother Dazz and his girlfriend
Claudia. Thanks so much for having us guys! Thanks for making us feel so
welcome and for the flowers and treats waiting for us on our arrival. A jam
packed weekend ensued full of fun stuff and seeing family and friends. We had a
really great time. Thanks to everyone who was involved for making our time in
Jo’burg so special and for making the time and effort to see us.
Our first night in Jozi and SA! With Darrell and Claudia.
Lego Art of the Brick.
T-Rex armies!
Nelson Mandela Square at Sandton City
Activities and highlights of the first few days in Jozi:
- A special catch up dinner on our first night with both Bron’s brothers
Craig and Darrell, Claudia and Bron’s 4 1/2 yr old niece, Micaela.
- Lego Art of the Brick Expo at The Zone in Rosebank.
- Having lunch (followed by an evening of drinking, let’s avoid the traffic
they said) at Craig’s restaurant, Bohemia Beach Blanket, in Rivonia.
- Open house on Saturday afternoon in Jozi catching up with Jacqui and
Mark, Mike and Nicola, Barbara and Graham, and Mark and Carol. Thanks for
coming everyone, was so lovely seeing you all, catching up and meeting your
children.
- A little bit of shopping at Sandton City including Justin’s dream of
owning a Canon 5D Mark III finally coming true. Hope you have lots of fun with
it Pookey =)
- A fun family braai on Sunday with the best ribs ever. Thanks for
coming Uncle Hilton, Lloyd and Kristijan, and Craig and Koi. Was super fun.
- Overdosing on our favourite much missed SA goodies such as sterie
stumpie milkshakes, biltong, appletiser, and romany creams to mention a few.
- Applying for SA police clearances on the first day we arrived (this
should be under the necessary rather than fun activity list).
Family gathering on Sunday
A tired Mickey Moo
Cousins! Bron, Lloyd and Kristijan.
Darrell and Claudia
Outside area at Darrell and Claudia's home
Bron and Micaela
Rib braai time!
The party continued into the night
And then the road trip officially began!
Bright and early on Monday morning in Jozi traffic and all, we set off
for the Drakensberg. We decided not to have too many full days of driving but
rather to break up the driving as much as possible and also include some of our
favourite SA places along the way that we don’t get to go to very often. The Berg
is one of those places. Justin grew up having many family holidays in the Berg
but this was only Bron’s second time there. We found a lovely little
self-catering cottage right in the mountains of the Central Berg with many hiking
opportunities nearby and Justin’s parents joined us for the 3 night stay. It
was Justin’s 35th birthday while we were and it was wonderful to
spend it in a place special to him and with family. We had a wonderful 3 days
in the Berg with lots of hiking, good food and lots of fun catching up with
Justin’s parents.
Sunset after a perfect first day in the Berg
Beautiful scenes from hiking in the Monk's Cowl area of the Berg.
Boibs at Monk's Cowl
Beautiful flowering aloes were everywhere
Vulture spotting at the vulture restaurant near the cottage
(Cape?) Vulture
Beautiful scenes hiking from the Drakensberg Sun
Cheerful and bold Robin
Winter foliage
Dam at the Drakensberg Sun
Beautiful mountain scence on a gorgeous day
The next stop was Durban for two nights to catch up with friends there.
On the way we were fortunate to go past the Nelson Mandela Capture Site
Memorial near Howick on the N3. We have seen so many pics of the memorial and were
really pleased to have the opportunity to visit it ourselves. The memorial marks
the site where Nelson Mandela was finally captured by the apartheid police in
August 1962 after 17 months on the run. His capture led to the Rivonia Treason
Trial and was the beginning of his 27 year imprisonment. The sculpture replaced
a simple plaque to mark the 50th
anniversary of the arrest in 2012. A winding path representing the Long Walk to
Freedom leads up to the 50 steel columns which line up to form Madiba’s
portrait when viewed at the correct distance and angle. We enjoyed our visit to
the memorial and it was really great to see so many South Africans from all
walks of life visiting the memorial peacefully and respectfully. That is
probably the best fitting tribute to Madiba.
Boibs at the Nelson Mandela Capture Site Memorial
Highlights of the Drakensberg and Durban:
- Wimpy coffee and toasted sarmies kicking off the road trip!
- Two lovely long walks in the Drakensberg mountains with Justin’s
parents.
- Braaing every night we stayed in the Berg.
- A lovely cooked breakfast on Justin’s birthday.
- Enjoying lots of wine, biltong and chocolate while catching up.
- Visiting the Nelson Mandela Capture Site Memorial.
- A wonderful dinner with Martin and Kirsten and meeting their beautiful 7 month old daughter Skyla.
- A wonderful dinner with Ken and Wallace.
- A great breakfast with Lisa and Rob, and Martin overlooking the ocean
at Moyo at Ushaka.
- Walking up the 500 steps to the top of the arch over the Moses Mabhida
Stadium.
- A visit to the Imbizo in Ballito displaying Duarte artwork.
- Having chest x-rays taken for the health check part of our Australian
visa application process (Again, this should be under the necessary rather than
fun activity list. Fortunately it was quick and painless).
Justin climbing the 500 steps to the top of the arch over the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban
Bron with views of Durban from the top of the arch
The Moses Mabhida Stadium
Proof that we did it!
A wonderful dinner with Martin, Kirsten and Skyla
Breakfast at Moyo with Lisa, Rebecca, Rob, and Martin
Very sadly Bron’s Uncle Stuart passed away on the Saturday morning we
were in Durban. He had been in ICU for about 8 weeks with an incurable lung
disease. His passing is a huge sadness and shock for the whole family. Our
thoughts and prayers are with his wife Elaine and son Lloyd as they mourn a
wonderful husband, friend and father. You will always be in our hearts and may
you rest in peace.
We had a wonderful but busy time in Durban seeing friends and doing some
of the tourist sights well. From Durban our journey continued to Justin’s parents
in Uvongo for more family fun, braais and waffles! More to follow in the next
post!
Back in Perth we have found temporary furnished accommodation while we wait for our furniture to ship from Rotterdam. We are close to the city and Justin can take a bus to work. Justin did a tour of the offices on the East Coast last week to meet and connect with people there. He was able to squeeze in a weekend in Sydney for some sightseeing at the end of a busy week. A Sydney post and photos coming soon! x
Back in Perth we have found temporary furnished accommodation while we wait for our furniture to ship from Rotterdam. We are close to the city and Justin can take a bus to work. Justin did a tour of the offices on the East Coast last week to meet and connect with people there. He was able to squeeze in a weekend in Sydney for some sightseeing at the end of a busy week. A Sydney post and photos coming soon! x
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