Chandler's Overseas

Diana experiencing life as a temporary 'lady of leisure'- cocktails and antipasto platter at Montecasino (little Italy)! Jen's cousin Diana visited us for 3 days as she flew home to Australia from Europe. It was wonderful having her here- we loved showing her around and ensuring she experienced as much as possible of South Africa. She got a taste of life in the northern suburbs and saw the tiny ramshackle tin housing and poverty experienced by some in the black settlements. A settlement near Pilansberg We went to Moyo's for dinner on Tuesday night. Moyo's is a modern African restaurant which combines earthy African decor with delicious food & entertainment. Included in this was the mandatory tourist facepaints. Diana tried ostrich fillets, biltong, pap and the compulsory dom pedro at the end of any meal out. She was even lucky enough to have the experience of eating by candlelight both nights that she was here (there was electricity load shedding across Job...

What a weekend... We neglected to check the weather forecast on Friday afternoon as we set out from Joburg to Pilansberg for a weekend of camping. We arrived at the camping ground, chose the perfect site and commenced setting up camp. The clouds slowly got darker and darker (the sky was black at 4.30pm) and the lightening and thunder got closer! First there was torrential rain and wind, then hail the size of large marbles, lightening and thunder directly above us in the sky and then more rain. We were scared the tent would fly away so we seeked refuge in it. We have never heard lightening so loud- was unbelievable! I was a little scared as to whether we would make it out alive from the tent, however luckily the storm passed in 20 min and we were able to witness the destruction. Our trusty little tent was fine (not even wet), however the camping ground looked a bit like a war zone. All foliage was lost from the trees, where there were roads there was now flowing rivers, and many tent...

We commenced the 94.7km 'race' (major sponsors are 94.7FM Highveld radio and Pick n' Pay supermarket) at 10am with around 30,000 other keen cyclists. It is the most popular cycle race in Joburg because all of the roads are closed for the duration of the race making it very safe. We rode down the M1 highway into the city, across Nelson Mandela bridge, then back through the northern suburbs into the surrounding countryside before finishing in Sunninghill . The course was incredibly hilly. Whilst there weren't many extremely steep climbs, nearly all of the climbs were long and felt never ending! The conditions were really good. There was a bit of wind which kept it cool plus occasional clouds to shelter us from the sun. We finished in under 4hrs with an average of 24km/hr. We were happy with this considering we have only ridden our bikes 60km over the last 3 1/2 months... Pete's top speed was 73.2km/hr whilst mine was 69.1km/hr- think that's the fastest to date...

The Afrikaans have developed some of their own interpretations and usage of the English language. Namely, using 'now now' or 'just now'. If a task is to be performed immediately, 'right now' is used. Otherwise, 'now now' or 'just now' is used- which can be translated to 'in a little while'. Apparently 'now' has no bearing... go figure!!

Below are some photo's we took today as we were driving to Sandton City (large shopping centre). BTW- the clothes shopping is really bad here. Could be a cheap couple of years! The Local Mechanic! Grass- sold at numerous spots around town L: The hawkers (at most intersections). It's a bit like running the gauntlet! R: Biltong shop. Biltong (dried meat) is a local delicacy of South Africa.

Unfortunately I (Jen) experienced firsthand the corruptness of some police in SA today. I was pulled over by the police at one of their roadblocks for a licence & registration check. The policeman then proceeded to say that I was driving illegally by using my Australian licence. This is absurd . Pete was pulled over for speeding a few weeks ago. Absolutely no issues or concerns with him driving with an Australian drivers licence. Anyway... to cut a long story short, we discussed the issue for 10-15 mins and I was getting no where. I insisted we must resolve the issue at the nearest police station... The policeman said that the only way to resolve the issue was to 'sort something out with him'. My options: 1. give in and pay a bribe (when I know I am completely innocent) 2. keep heckling in the hope that he will give up (bear in mind he had 2 other corrupt police officers doing their best to intimidate me and we had already been conversing for 10 min…) 3. drive off (not pos...

We live in an estate in Pineslopes . It is surrounded by a high fence with electric fencing. You can only access the estate from one entrance/exit which is manned 24/7 by security guards and has a remote controlled gate. Our street within the estate Our backyard (beautifully manicured by the gardener ) Bar area (indoor/outdoor) Living & dining room (kitchen to right) Our house also has a domestique /maid who visits two full days a week. Portia does an amazing job... she cleans everything, makes beds, washes & irons (and is keen to assist with anything else that she can)! You should see our underwear and sock draws.... This is a definite perk of living in a country like South Africa! Portia and I were having lunch one day and she said: "There aren't many blacks in Australia are there Jen?" I explained that it was probably the reverse to here in SA. She queried "then who does all of the cleaning and washing for the whites?" I explained that most peop...

Life seems quite 'normal' in the area that we live. There are however some notable differences we thought we should share with you in relation to traffic. Specifically: - Jen always stores her handbag in the boot. Leaving any valuable items visible in the car increases the risk of a 'smash & grab' instance (whereby a bystander at an intersection smashes the passenger seat window and steals visible objects); - car doors are always locked and you need to subconsciously be alert at all times of surroundings (something you get used to quickly); - every intersection is manned by multiple street vendors/hawkers selling anything from newspapers, coat hangers , umbrella's, packs of 20 garbage bags, identity case covers etc; - there is the occasional beggar at intersections, mostly who are either blind or in a wheelchair being led by a colleague; - beware of taxi's (old rundown and flogged mini-van's), apparently run by the underworld... they are literally a law ...

On Sunday, along with Speedy and Michelle (expat friends from UK) we visited the Cradle of Humankind- considered one of the world's most important palaeontological zones (where the oldest Australopithecus africanus fossils were found- ancestors of humans). We were a little naive and unresearched on the topic. We thought we were visiting one actual location... therefore after continually following signs to the 'Cradle of Humankind' out of Joburg, we found ourselves going in circles. Only then did we realise that we were in the valley of the Cradle of Humankind which is 47,000 hectares in size.... We visited Maropeng, Tswana for "returning to the place of our origins", which is a series of exhibits detailing humanity's progression and evolution. They also have some very old fossils (2-4million years old!!!) which were fascinating to see. The architecture of the building alone was unique. The facade is covered in grass however the rear is modern steel and glass- ...