Africa 2012: Johannesburg to Victoria Falls

Forgot to mention a couple of good things in the last post.

Highlights:

1. The view from the plane on the way to Victoria Falls. I saw what I thought was a vast lake, then realised it was dry coz it had hills. A desert or a dry salt lake maybe? It was the Kalahari Desert.

2. A game of golf. Yes, golf. I didn’t play, but walked around the course with Geoff as he played, photographing all the wildlife. Talk about a cheap, great walking safari! I saw herds of impala, dozens of warthogs, troops of baboons and vervet monkeys, got close to quite a few waterbuck, and saw a pair of bushbuck and a herd of kudu. All in nine holes at dusk!

3. Margaritas on the terrace of the hotel.

Observations:

1. Flying over South Africa – they have circular fields, all with coloured stripes. It looks a bit like an alien invasion. Is this a dutch tradition?

2. Johannesburg – we stayed one night between flights in a safe middle class suburb, in a gated community. Even then, all the properties had electric fences and signs promising “Armed Response”. Our Bed and Breakfast also had electronic gates and night guards. There was no one on the streets in our leafy suburb, and we neither saw nor heard children. However, the lady happily sent us off to walk to the shops, where we had a lovely meal and wine for a very good price. The $A is very good against the Rand at the moment.

3. South African airports are the only airports where I’ve seen an area for “Firearms Check In”. All those horrid game hunters, I guess. South Africa is also the only place I’ve seen with ads for taxidermy (those trophies for hunters) and for thatchers, (traditional roofs, mostly for tourist venues, including the Kruger airport).