Yesterday I flew over Joburg in a helicopter.
This experience was so crazy and unexpected – I hardly know how to explain it. But here’s how it went, briefly:
Last week I was invited to participate in a mysterious “Instawalk” hosted by Vodacom. (If you don’t know what an Instawalk is, read here.) The invitation was shrouded in secrecy. I signed on right away, sensing something extraordinary.
Fifth in my series of Sandton Snapshot posts, leading up to the publication of SandtonPlaces. Read posts 1, 2, 3 and 4.
UPDATE (2018): Yada Yada is now closed. But Cobi, the owner, has opened a cute pet supply shop – Ziggy’s Pet Pamporium – in its place.
I dropped the ball on my Melville Snapshot series. I wrote the first post in the series six weeks ago, promising to publish a new Melville Snapshot every week or so. I’m just now getting around to post #2. Oh well. Better late than never.
Fourth in my series of Sandton Snapshot posts, leading up to the publication of SandtonPlaces. Read posts 1, 2 and 3.
I have a confession to make: I know a lot about Joburg, but I know nothing about Joburg’s public transportation system.
Give me a car and a set of directions, and I’m off. I’ll get lost a few times, but I can find anything in this city by car. Take those car keys away, and it’s another story. Don’t ask me to get on a bus, board a train (not counting the Gautrain, which is easy to ride but has limited reach) or signal for a taxi. I don’t have a clue.
On New Years Day, my friend Michelle and I paid an impromptu visit to Golden Gate Highlighnds National Park. We were staying nearby in Clarens and thought we’d check out the park, which I’d heard was beautiful. We were tired from our recent strenuous hiking in Lesotho, and Michelle had a bad blister. So a long hike was out of the question. We thought we might take a brief stroll.
Third in my series of Sandton Snapshot posts, leading up to the publication of SandtonPlaces. Read posts 1 and 2.
I think Yeoville is the most interesting suburb in Joburg. I’ve been there many times – for meals, boxing tournaments, and tours – and yet I always feel like I should be going to Yeoville more. Once home to the city’s bohemian intelligentsia, Yeoville is now the center of Pan-African culture in Joburg – where Congolese, Ghanian, Mozambican, Ivorian, and Cameroonian immigrants flock.