Tuesday, May 1, 2012

The Roamin’ Randalls arrive in Jo’burg.


I left Cape Town on the morning of 26 April and travelled as far as Colesberg, where I spent the night in the Guinea Fowl Lodge, a lovely homely place with a warm clean bed with 3 different shades pink sheets on the bed and piping hot water in the shower. Tea and homemade rusks on arrival. The evening meal I enjoyed at “The Plattelander” Restaurant where Karoo Lamb, in various forms, is the main attraction on the menu,. Clearly the Lamb Shank is the favourite , as I observed many a portion being brought to the tables surrounding me.
If day one was spent travelling with Roadworks and “stop/go” as the main attraction, day two was spent travelling in RAIN through the Karoo and a great deal of the Free State. Thank goodness it was a Public Holiday on the Friday that I arrived in Jo’burg, which meant that the traffic was less hectic than normal. I met Dick and his group at the Mondior Hotel at the Emperor’s Palace where we spent the night before he dropped off the group at O.R.Tambo in the morning and we were off on our way to start our holiday.
We have set up our home base at the Country Park in Muldersdrift.  There is a permanent camping area, much like Hardekraaltjie in Bellville and then the lovely campsite, which seems to be used largely by private Overland vehicles and by the sounds of it largely German or Dutch. It is very peaceful and there are lots of birdlife around.
On Saturday morning we set off on our first “touristy” outing. A few months ago there was an article in the GO! Magazine about a guy that does walking tours through the Inner city of Jo’burg, Dick thought this might be the best way to revisit the city and booked us on a tour. Well what a lovely experience that was.  Over the last 10 years there has been a big effort towards the Revival of the Inner city of Jo’burg. The main area at present is around Newtown and the South Western part of the city. We walked through areas of the city where I am sure it was pretty unsafe a few years ago. Now there are coffee shops and restored Power stations and wonderful street art and a general feeling of pride in the city. There has been huge investment from the private sector, and the local government has also come to the party. I mean buildings that were falling apart and were filled with squatters not too long ago (2009) are now show pieces and stand proud in the inner city once again, as Head Quarters and office space to a large Gold Mining Company and a Multi venue Function facility.
Chancelor House today - 2012

Photo of Chancelor House taken in 2010 (through a window)


















We spent the whole day walking the City, taking pictures, drinking coffee and ending up in Braamfontein where we were treated to the most magnificent sights and views from Randlords. A 22 story high-rise where the very top floor has been turned into an entertainment area with a balcony that gives you a 360 degree view of Jo’burg. It is absolutely awesome. Randlords is where they film the TV program Carte Blanche every week. The loos have the best views that I have ever experienced. Our last stop for the day was the Saturday Market, this is the same concept as the Biscuit Mill in Cape Town or the Slow Market in Stellenbosch.  We were really tired and hungry by then, but that was soon fixed with a splendid burger and a glass of good old Cape wine. What a fantastic day this was.
Mens Urinal - Randlords - What a view!
A view of Jo'Burg from Randlords









On Sunday we were off to the Cradle of Humankind to check up where our real origins were!  Maropeng   is a very informative experience with interactive displays of good and understandable information from the origins of the universe through to the origins of man. It is very child friendly and judging by the general crowd around on the day, a well supported and well loved outing for many families. We ended the day with the visit to the Sterkfontein Caves. This is also a worthwhile experience, going underground to see the actual area where the first hominoid fossil skeletons, dating back 2.16 million years ago, where found in 1936. The area where the Paleontologists are still working to extract the fossil of “Little foot” is closed to the public, all we see is the locked iron gate. 
On Monday we were back into the city to visit the free museums only to find they are all closed on a Monday. What to do! Walk around, explore some more and different streets and take photos of the buildings and just generally enjoy the city.



Another view of Jo'Burg also from Randlords

The best is to return to our “holiday accommodation” in Mulderdrift where we are entertained by the birds; Crowned Lapwings, Fiscal Shrikes, Grey Louries and lots of other “Little Brown Jobs”. We have been enjoying the lovely sunsets and braais at night.

More Photos to be added once we have sorted them out!

No comments:

Post a Comment