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Other entries in Johannesburg

The lap of luxury in the nations capital

Ok so its been ages since my last entry but here goes.
Since returning from Zimbabwe I spent a few days in Cape Town just getting in some R&R. Some highlights were climbing Table Mountain and a trip to the Cape of Good Hope National Park - the most Southwesterly point of Africa very cool and full of cheeky baboons that like to trash people's cars.
The hike up the mountian was cool because when I began the hike cloud cover had begun to move in over the top. There are 2 local explanations for this - one is that God is putting a table cloth over the mountain, but the one that I prefer is the one that involves an old Afrikaner man having a smoking competition woth the devil. When I got to the top of the mountain it was socked in with fog so the view wasn't great but as I walked huge rock formations would suddenly loom out of the fog like giants - they seemed almost otherworldly.
When I got to the part that looks West over the sea the cloud was thick as well and just as I was beginning to thinl that I had wasted my time climbing up the wind began to howl and blew the clouds off the top suddenly giving me the most spectacular view of the coast and the city. Looking south I could actually see where the warm air rising up the mountain side was meeting the cool air off the top, it looked almost like steam boiling over the lip of the mountians - hopefully some of the pics below give you an idea of what I'm talking about.
On the 3rd I got a cheap flight to Johannesburg and arrived at my aunt and uncle's house for some time with my cousins and my grandmother. So far I've been to my cousin Jenna's swimming galas and my other cousin Greg's school rugby matches and been treated to some excellent meals by my uncle and looked after very nicely by my aunt Kim, who's patience and willingness to drive me around is quite amazing.
Last Saturday after an early morning run my uncle Clive and I went for shaves and haircuts at an old Italian barber he likes to go to - always a neat experience to get your haircut while enjoying an espresso!
Then it was off to my uncle's box at Ellis park for a little Super 12 rugby action. The Cats versus the Hurricanes - very cool and after 11 beers all the Afrikaners in the box began singing old driking songs, I understood none of it but it was a wild time nontheless. Later on, after the game had finished I went down onto the feild and stood on the Stransky spot. For those of you who don' follow rugby (most of you probably) in 1995 South Africa hosted the rugby world cup - their first major sporting evnet after the ban imposed during the Apartheid era was lifted. In the final of SA versus New Zealand Joel Stransky kicked the penalty that won the match - hence the Stransky spot (well I thought it was cool). Incidentally for all those Xeroids - guess who the major sponsor of the stadium is - that rigght Xerox! signs bloody evewrywhere, some times I think I am cursed by photocopiers!
I've also visited the Apartheid museum which was very interesting but felt very heavily sanitised, while impossible to defend apartheid it conveniently glosses over some of the more unsavoury details of the black struggle for freedom. For instance the infighting between the various anti apartheid groups like the time Winnie Mandela said that the ANC would put burning tires around the necks or their black opponents or the fact that Nelson Mandela actually went to jail on criminal charges associated with sabotage and for planning acts that resulted in the deaths of civilians and that he was not just a political prisoner. Also no mention is made of the whole host of new problems that have arisen since the end of Apartheid like the increase in violent crime and poverty. On the positive side you get a very positive picture and a optimistic outlook on the future for South Africa - at any rate it was worth a look.
Another highlight was seeing my uncle in action at one of his auctions - he and his brothers run a compnay that auctions items that have been liquidated in bank forclosures, they sell items seized by the bank and attemp to recover money for them. Apart from my uncle's truly awesome skills as an auctioneer the highlight was the people - the whole spectrum: armed Afrikaners, couples looking for family cars, dealers and resellers from muslim men in traditional dress to Iranians in odd clothing with Jerri curled hair (a la Rick James in the 1980's - hilarious).
Other than that the highlife is good, and I leave for Oz on the 18th when I think my free ride is over!

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