The Start Of Some South African Adventures...

OH EM GEE!!! It's January 7th!

Guess what that means?!?!

Well it means a few things actually...

One, it means that Christmas is done and over with, as is my fun-filled vacation and adventure with my friend Anita (sad face), as well as my amazing week spent with my family (sad face times 2). Two, it means 2013 is OVER! Which is CRAZY! And three, it means I have a LOT of catching up to do with this blog!

I just took my family to the airport this afternoon, and they are currently on the 19 hour-long leg of their trip...most likely flying over central Africa right now if I could guess.

But I thought I'd try to write a quick update now and then hopefully finish the rest within the next few days or so!

SO here's a quick re-cap of the last three weeks or so:

I left on the 12th of December to head towards Johannesburg. I made it after a very, very long bus ride. I arrived tired and dirty and basically went straight to the hostel where we would be staying. I had a few hours to kill before Anita would arrive at the airport, so I made a few friends with some of the fellow-travellers staying there. We swapped stories and impressions of Africa over a few Savannas (a South African Cider...). And of COURSE Anita's flight was delayed. So she FINALLY arrived after midnight! Which meant we had time to say about two words to each other and then head for bed!

But the next morning we woke up and started to do a bit of exploring! We checked out a local market (and bought a bit too much..or errr, I did at least), and then we spent the afternoon at Lion Park! Read about it here. Basically it's a large sanctuary for lions, cheetahs, wild dogs, and other game, giraffes and ostrich...it was quite the day! I've never SEEN so many lions! And so close! And we got to pet some of the lion cubs! Which was super cool! (But probably would have been cooler if they hadn't been sleeping.....)

We finally made it! So excited to start our adventures! 

A shot of one of the lions at Lion Park! 

A baby Zebra! So cute! 

The mommy Zebra....

Cheetah! 

Look! It's Simba and Nala! 

Meerkat! A.k.a. Timone.

Giraffe Tongue. Insane. 

Just lazin' around...

They did a lot of laying.... 

Antelope! I think these are kudu? 

Springbok! Also the National Animal of South Africa! 

He's tall.......

Really tall.....

Baby giraffe! AND he's sticking his tongue out at me! 

Anita petting the cubs....

Just hanging out with the lion cubs you know...normal day to day stuff...

They were just too cute, I couldn't resist taking more pictures...

Then after our day at Lion Park we spent a day touring the city and one of the most famous townships in South Africa, Soweto. We also spent a good three hours at the Apartheid Museum. I learned a LOT. My brain was on over load for sure...but I feel like I have a little bit better handle on some bits of South African history. Plus it was cool to see the Mandela family home and how many people turned up there as a memorial to him (I was there the day of his family burial). 

Anita and I in front of the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg (used in 2010 for the world cup, it was where Mandela's State Funeral was held).

Soweto. Short for South Western Townships. Outside of Johannesburg.

Some market stalls in Soweto. SO colorful! 

This is Mandela's House (obviously....)

And these are some of the flowers mourners have piled up outside his house...

Then we stopped at Desmond Tutu's Johannesburg residence (where he stays when he's not in Cape Town, which is right down the street from the Mandela family home).

The children in Soweto were singing as we walked by....

Anita and I being tourists! (on the bus!)

 After touring Soweto and the Apartheid Museum, we stopped at Constitutional Hill, home the the Constitutional Court (highest court in South Africa). It was pretty cool. They have a flame of democracy that has stayed lit since the ending of Apartheid.

Then from Joburg we hopped on a [somewhat long] bus ride and headed south to Durban, a city known for it's curries and it's beaches. Anita and I were only able to spend one night in Durban but we had a good time! AND I was able to try Bunny Chow. A curry served in a hollowed-out bread bowl type thing. (NOTE: Durban Bunny Chow is VERY spicy. Be warned).

Some MAGNIFICENT views on our bus ride...I guess being stuck in a bus isn't so bad when outside the windows looks like this? 

On the bus! 

The bunny chow! Oh yeah! 

From Durban we headed west along the coast to a little place called Coffee Bay...but I'll have to save those stories and pictures for another blog post! Coming soon! Time to call it a night! I hope everyone had a happy and festive Christmas and New Years! Can't wait to share the rest of my stories!

Lots of love! Until next time....