11.2-25.2 i took 2 weeks vacation from work. And with a 15 hours trip, 2 planes and a change in Cairo I landed in Johannesburg on Sunday here I was met with my friend who is from there and recently moved back there, so of cause I had to visit her.
And bonus it’s summer down there in February and generally much better weather that here in Ireland, sorry. And another fact when traveling there, the plane ticket might be a bit spicy at very long but hey it’s to the other side of the globe, but it is super cheap everywhere especially for people living in north Europe.
Roodepoort
So I was based for the first week at my friends house in Roodepoort a city in Jo burg. And first thing I noticed driving from the airport was how black people were walking on the side of the highway and crossing, now this is something I never see in Denmark except if extreme situations, but down there completely normal no one bats an eye.
A good idea for your trip rent a car or travel with a tourist group, as public transportation sucks. There is a train going from Jo burg airport to mid town Jo burg but if you want to see the city, go to Pretoria (one of South Africa’s capital cities) by car. You can take Ubers but price for renting a car would be cheaper in the long term.
I also went hiking on the geological trail at the botanical garden here in Jo burg, a 3,5 km walk to the view over Witwatersrand and a waterfall at the beginning of the trail. In the garden you can enjoy a picnic or go to the restaurant.
I visiting the very big casino, Monte casino, where you can win or loose your money at the game area, or if you have kids go to the arcade or watch at movie at the cinema and then find some food at one of the many restaurants around. It is like a city in a building, very beautiful.
We went bowling, without shoes, weird. But in their defense it was at a bowling center where pro come train and bring their own equipment. And then a night out in the local area, a very nice trip getting to see where my friend grew up.
Pretoria
In Pretoria we saw the Voortrekker monument and the union building where a statue of Nelson Mandela stands
On May 10th 1994 with a crowd of 100.000 people, the inauguration of Nelson Mandela, South Africa’s first democratically elected president after the end of apartheid, and his vice-presidents Thabo Mbeki and FW de Klerk heralded the beginning of a new era in South Africa
After seeing the views here and saying hello to the nelson Mandela stature, we went to explore the Voortrekker monument. And people that walked from Cape Town to Pretoria for a very long time and with wagons fighting with the Zulu’s. It is an wild story showed amazingly on the walls as a timeline and in the basement you can go see more artwork about the journey they had to take
Cape Town
I then flew to Cape Town, where I had 3 days of exploring, table mountains, cape of good hope, penguins and a day driving around town
1 day I spent hiking the table mountains, a 1000m climb on a stairway made of rocks (surprise). On the top there is a big national park where you can walk a bit higher and enjoy the views all around Cape Town. And a restaurant/bar.
For those of you who don’t like climbing you can take the cable car both ways or one way if you just want to hike one of the ways
I then went with the hop on hop off tour bus to see and hike the cape of good hope and see the penguins, very cute animals but watch out they bite (didn’t test it just trust the guides). At the cape of good hope a baboon was walking around, who by the way does like to steal your food. I walked to the light house and enjoyed the views of the two biggest oceans meeting while getting some very clean Antarctic air. And then walked to the other point seeing some ostriches on the way and lastly the seals.
And my last day there I took a chill time just driving around with the hop on hop off route buses and getting some stories and saying more of Cape Town. It drove by a very nice fishing theme restaurant, the mariners, where they had great service and food. And then to the beach and hotel area where I enjoyed a hurricane at the hard rock (had to buy the glass, I mean).
For traveling around in Cape Town I do recommend using the hop on hop off buses as you get around, and hear some great stories about the place. There is also a wine tour that I didn’t have time for. It is also a cheaper way to see Cape Town.
Finally I also recommend the long street backpackers hostel, it is cheap, close to every and with a great atmosphere to meet new people. If you want to go for a more luxurious time the Nelson Mandela hotel. But no matter what hotel you choose i am sure you will have the best time here and I will definitely go back
