South Africa

I have gotten into Facebook so much that I haven’t been updating the blog! (for those of you that haven’t joined yet, go join now!! I find it an excellent & addictive way to keep in touch with friends & family from home)

As I mentioned in the last post, and you may have seen from the photos, Anthony, Toby & I went to South Africa in May. We flew into Johannesburg, stayed the night & visited Soweto, and then flew to Capetown to meet up with Renee. We stayed at her place the first night, and then finally got into my friend and colleague Ken Miller’s brother gorgeous flat. That was our base for the next four days as we Renee trekked us around Capetown, visiting Robben’s Island, Cape Point, the waterfront, and shopping malls. It was wonderful but very cold! Their winter started early – basically just as we got there. So we dashed out to buy jackets and sweaters, bundling Toby up in blankets in the meantime.

We had rented a car to drive up the coast to Durban – it was a tight timeframe, as we had 1600km to cover in about 3 days! Easy enough to do in Canada, but although the roads are excellent in South Africa, they are twisty and turny, and we got lost more than once. We stopped the first night in Mossel Bay, the beginning of the Garden route, and stayed in a backpackers. I must say, backpackers are excellent in South Africa! We got double-ensuites every time, and the only budget concession is that you usually make your own breakfast in the morning. We had amazing South African food and wine at Jazzbury’s, and headed off to Knysna Heads in the morning – simply gorgeous! The coastline and mountainous landscape is just jaw-dropping.

We made it to Cinsta, just past East London and a horrific car accident, the next night and stayed at the Buccaneers backpackers. This is where Bryan, Amrita, and I stayed for my first African Christmas in 2002 – it’s just lovely, overlooking a fantastic beach and lagoon, and they make terrific breakfasts! The next day we headed through the Transkei in KwaZulu-Natal – where Anthony was fascinated to see how the South Africans lived in their rural ‘upcountry.’ We stopped at Nelson Mandela’s youth centre in his hometown, and managed to make it all the way to Durban. We finally located our hotel, the opulent Durban Manor, built around 1900 and reminiscent of the Lord Nelson. We shopped till we dropped the next day, and flew back to Joburg for the night. We were exceptionally exhausted after the long days of driving, so just rested before our flight back to Nairobi the next morning.

Toby was mostly an excellent traveller, but he did get annoyed at being stuck in the backseat for so long during the road trip. He’s definitely harder to restrain on the plane – I can only hope that he travels well when we fly to Norway & Canada !

I am in Sudan now, finalizing an electrical project that my department completed this week to re-wire the entire Yei Hospital. The Hospital looks smashing - all lit up like a small city at night. We also installed an internet VSAT, which was cause for more than a few cheers! We celebrated last night with a party that drew people from far & wide. I’ll stay in Yei for a few more days for meetings, then travel by road to Juba, only about 3 hours away on a half-decent road. Back to Nairobi on Friday, then in the office for a week. Toby & I will head to Norway on June 20th where we’ll visit the Norwegian contingent and then to the head office for 3 days before we depart for Canada. We’ll be gone for just over a month – I feel bad for taking Toby away for so long, but he needs to see the rest of his family – as do I!