Chandler's Overseas

Well... how a couple of months can change a country. We perhaps complained a bit prematurely in December about having to experience load shedding. In the new year, load shedding has a whole new meaning. Jozi went from being a kind of civilised western city (with a mix of first world and third world charms) to one of confusion and anger. Load shedding is the topic of the month and dominates all conversation. The main question asked and pondered by everyone is how long is this going to last? Is it going to get better or worse? Unfortunately no one will answer the questions as neither the government nor Eskom , the electricity provider, is willing to take the blame. Load shedding dial: The dial is displayed on the internet & occasionally on the TV. It indicates the state of the electricity network. As the dial moves towards brown, probability of load shedding increases. Once in brown, load shedding is in progress. Timetable of loadshedding ( ie . NO electricity supply to our subur...

Last night Lauren hosted a vodka bucket party with the usual suspects. The night started off quite civilised , however after a few too many vodka's we finished the night in the wee hours of the morning on the dance floor at Manhattan, the local nightclub in Rivonia . Leslie & Loz making the Vodka bucket (every bucket consists of 1 bottle of vodka, 1 cup of sugar, the juice of 8 lemons & lots of ice)- very drinkable! Skye, Jen, Sophie, Jen A, Loz & Leslie A patriotic Dabbo with Loz & Sophie Temptation.... Chris, Leslie, Damo , Maaik & Skye mmm ... pizza.... Don't ask me what this was about.... clearly later on in the evening! Soph & Gareth (posing it Posh & Becks style)

De Wildt Cheetah & Wildlife Centre Cheetahs feeding Cheetahs are distinguished from leopards by the spots on their fur (leopards have rosettes), smaller stature to enable running at fast speeds and black 'tear drops' running from the eyes. Constitution Hill Constitution Hill is the site of Johannesburg's notorious old prison complex and is now home to the constitutional court and a museum. The constitutional court is the protector of basic rights and freedoms for all South Africans. It rules on constitutional and human-rights matters, emphasising equality. All cases are heard in all 11 official languages with the ruling determined by majority agreement of the 12 judges. When the judges decision is tied ( ie . 6/6), the president of RSA decides on the ruling!! The architecture of the court was fascinating and reason enough to visit. It symbolised the past, present & future of RSA . The foyer of the constitutional court 'Constitutional Court' in the eleven...

As a lasting memory of our holiday together Bin, Pete and I decided to get tattoo's.... Don't worry..... of course they arn't real... just henna tattoo's (only last 5-7 days) and part of the dining experience at Moyo's! Also included in the entertainment was a range of live music including drums, saxophonist, African gospal singing and African rap dancers. After dinner Bin, Phil & Nelson experienced the (poor) nightlife of Joburg at Billy the Bums- what more needs to said! Never the less, it was fun. It's been a lot of fun sharing our holidays with Bin, Phil & Nelson... we're sad to see them go!

Cockails on the beachfront strip in Camps Bay- very fashionable place to be seen and for people watching! After our New Year's celebrations in Joburg of way too much beer, spirits, wine and a little karaoke, we flew to Cape Town for 4 days of relaxation. We were very excited about the visit, having seen so many photo's. Cape Town surpassed all expectations- the scenery of 'The Cape' region is stunning. The city is sprawled along the ocean with lovely white sanded beaches and the rugged and imposing Table Mountain is in the middle. Unfortunately as you drive into the CBD from the airport you also realise that it really is a city of extremes. Black settlements line the highway (they were forcibly moved here during apartheid from their homes in the CBD ), whilst there is extreme wealth in the bay side suburbs. I guess not really different from any other city in South Africa. Wednesday We drove along the rugged coastline to the Cape of Good Hope, the most south-western po...

Pretoria is just 50km north-east of Jozi and is the administrative capital of South Africa. Since the abolishment of apartheid the government has changed several town, street and city names to make them 'more African' (only to cause confusion amongst the locals!). Pretoria is one of the cities to undergo a name change. Pretoria is now merely the central zone of the City of Tshwane ( ie . the CBD area only). Signs are slowly being changed around the area however I suspect it may take some time before the area is known as Tshwane . By 2025 it is expected that Tshwane and Jozi will form part of a megalopolis of 20 million people! At the moment there are some paddocks separating the two cities. The city has a very different feel to Jozi , partly due to the architectural influence by Afrikaans . Jacaranda trees line nearly every street in the city, old Victorian buildings are plentiful and there is fewer modern sky-scrapers. What also remains in Pretoria is a lot of ugly, co...