As I mentioned in my previous post, I am really f-ing lucky.
A couple of weeks ago I spent the weekend at Leobo Private Reserve, one of the most amazing lodges in South Africa (in my opinion at least). I traveled to Leobo in my colleague Theresa’s brand-new Landrover, which was pretty luxurious. But as if I weren’t already lucky enough, I got to travel home from Leobo in a helicopter.
My new mates – Gaye, Kirsten and Lin – and me, ready to take off in the chopper.
The drive to the Waterberg, which is in central Limpopo Province, took 3.5 hours. The helicopter ride home was just over an hour. I had my camera lens glued to the window for pretty much the entire ride.
Other than a very short ride at the Grand Canyon a few years ago, this was my first trip in a helicopter. What struck me the most was how much we saw. We flew low enough to see all kinds of details – people, houses, animals, etc. (By the way, giraffes look really cool from above.) It was a great cross-section of South Africa.
Here are some photos.
Airborne. Our pilot was the charming David Simelane of UltimateHeli.
Wild hills. Unfortunately I didn’t get any shots of animals, although we saw lots.
Copter-shadow Instagram.
Farm.
Small town.
Sprawling township.
Graveyard.
Soccer game.
Power station.
Train station outside Pretoria.
Waterfall in the Wonderboom Nature Reserve outside Pretoria.
Gautrain station. Not sure which one. Hatfield?
Church Square, Pretoria.
Downtown Pretoria Instagram.
Jozi.
Grand Central Airport in Midrand, north of Jozi. I was a little airsick by the time we landed, probably from looking too hard through my viewfinder.
I’m f-ing lucky.
On another note: My luck ran out yesterday. I dropped my camera on the pavement and broke my beloved 10-22mm lens.
This was very unlucky.
I’m not sure yet if the lens is repairable but the prognosis is not good. So my pretty wide-angle shots might be missing from the blog for a while.
I’m still f-ing lucky though.
How have I never blogged about 44 Stanley Avenue, the coolest shopping and dining complex in Joburg, which is only five minutes from my house?
I guess it’s wrong to say I’ve never blogged about 44 Stanley; I’ve mentioned it countless times over the years (see here and here) when writing about specific restaurants or shops that are there. But I’ve never written a dedicated post about 44 Stanley as a destination and it’s about time I did – especially now, with the holidays upon us.
I’ve been dreadfully uninspired lately, struggling to think of anything I want to blog about despite having a long list of great ideas (many of which you, my readers, provided in September). I’m finding it hard to feel positive about life at the moment. But on Saturday Thorsten and I got the chance to visit Indwe Park, an indigenous garden and sculpture park in Braamfontein, and I knew I had my topic for today.
Given this week’s political nuclear bomb blast, it feels like a weird time to publish a light-hearted post about my recent (pre-election) jaunt through the United States. But I’m hoping you’ve have had enough of the U.S. election horror show – I know I have – and are ready (at least temporarily) for some wholesome American travel adventures. If so, please read on about my four-day visit to Maine, the northeastern-most state in the lower 48, with my sister, Susanna.
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It makes me smile, when I see it.