Chandler's Overseas

The road we ran along... Camps Bay in the distance with Lions Head (L) & Table Mountain (R) Mum and Dad were shipped to Cape Town on Wednesday, whilst we followed on Friday evening. We stayed at The Glen apartments again- how could we not! Nice, spacious & modern 2 bedroom apartment in Camps Bay with views of the ocean, Table Mountain & the Twelve Apostles. We were greeted with cheese & wine which set the tone for the weekend. On Saturday we visited the Waterfront for some mandatory shopping time. Lunch was at the Kirstenbosch Gardens with stunning views of Table Mountain and the suburbs of Cape Town. The weather was perfect for roaming amongst the protea garden beds and the avenue of established camphor trees. Then to Constantia which is the oldest wine growing region in South Africa & on the eastern slopes of Table Mountain. We tasted 5 of the red wines (true to Smith/ Rounsevell tradition!) at Groot Constantia and bought a few bottles to compliment dinner th...

This is a road, or maybe more appropriately lack of road, that we saw in Cape Town. The freeway overpass comes to an abrubt stop. No signs, no warnings & the paint for the line markings even looks fresh!!

Female leopard- resting after an impala kill We packed and left Joburg for a long-weekend of luxury and relaxation at 12.30pm (as is customary and acceptable in SA offices on a Friday!) and headed along the N14 to Graskop . Even though we had left at what we thought was a reasonable hour, we were caught standstill on the freeway for at least ½ hour… the traffic can get unbearable! Graskop , our stop for the night, is a small town built on the forestry industry but surviving on the bandwagon of the tourism generated from the picturesque Drakensberg Escarpment. As always dining amongst the locals was an experience at the local Mozambique and Portugese Tavern for the pricely sum of R440 on Friday night (ridiculously cheap for 4 people by Australian standards). Stu amused us with his devouring of the 1kg skewer of ‘blue’ beef… the beef is surprisingly good here. The drive along the Blyde River Canyon was stunning, especially the viewpoint overlooking the Three Rondavels . The impressi...

Jackie & Stu at gardens at Union Buildings, Pretoria Jen's parents Jackie & Stu arrived on 14 March & are here for 3 weeks. They are seeing the sights of Gauteng for a week, then off to Kruger NP for a game safari, Cape Town for sun & wine tasting , then to Victoria Falls (this is the well trodden route for visitors to South Africa).

The last two days (well... ever since Jen's parents, Jackie & Stu, arrived...) have seen a complete change in weather. We knew the end of summer rains was approaching, but we did not anticipate a complete turnaround from 28c & sun to 10c & constant rain (in two days!). Yesterday it was a maximum of 12c and rained ALL day. Today it is maximum of 10c and again drizzling all day. These scenes amused us as we were driving through Hartebeesport on the weekend.... Clearly no longer an accessible stairway to shops & restaurants... Waterfall out of a residential front fence ????

A crowded school during apartheid On Saturday we decided to fully entrench Jen's parents, Jackie & Stu, into South African life, culture and history. First stop, Soweto and the Hector Pieterson Museum. The Hector Pieterson Museum commemorates the life lost of individuals during the Soweto uprisings. On 16 June 1976 Soweto students were apparently peacefully protesting against the compulsory use of Afrikaans in black schools. Police opened fire on the student march, which in turn resulted in the commencement of nationwide demonstrations, stikes , mass arrests and riots that over the next 12 months took more than 1,000 lives. Since this action, a generation of young blacks committed themselves to a revolutionary struggle against apartheid. The students subsequent action was instrumental to the unification of the race to assist in the abolishment of apartheid in 1990. Like all new tourist attractions and museums we have seen to date in South Africa, the architecture is intere...

Patience and tolerance is a virtue. This has never been more pertinent than now, by living in Africa. To date, my work VISA application has taken 131 days to process (and still counting...). My future employer, Charles Orbach , engaged a specialist VISA consultant to assist with the requirements of obtaining the relevant work permit. We were originally told that the work VISA would take between 30-90 days to process. Ahhh ... sometimes you just have to laugh! Anyway, after a lot of hiccups and delays I should be a working woman at some stage during April. Lack of competence by the VISA consultant appears to be the reason for one of the delays, otherwise it is just a lack of urgency and priority by the Department of Home Affairs. Unfortunate when there is a major skills shortage of professionals in the country. In the mean time I have kept myself busy with normal day-to-day activities, visitors, and also for the past couple of months by volunteering my accounting expertise to Nomusa . I...

Jen's uncle Phil is in South Africa at present, therefore it was a perfect opportunity to escape the busy and vibrant Johannesburg and visit the quaint and scenic town of Clarens . Whilst Clarens is only a 3 hour drive south of Joburg , the contrasts between the two cities could not be greater. Clarens is a small town (population Quasi tour agent Jen found the Troll Cottage and booked it for our stay. It is a lovely little sandstone cottage with breathtaking views of the surrounding mountains and countryside. After the hectic few weeks we have had (including a quick trip to Australia) it was so nice to relax on the verandah, enjoy the views and read the newspaper! Phil was yet to visit the Drakensberg Ranges, nor Golden Gate Highlands NP, therefore we spent Saturday driving through the scenic countryside. We enjoyed a leisurely picnic and stroll at Royal Natal National Park and Phil got to test the capability of the Audi (for those who care easily got to 190 km/hr before Jen comp...

Being the multinational expat community that we are in Joburg , it was fitting that we celebrate St David's Day on 1 March with the Welsh Gareth and English Sophie. There was a yummy spread of Welsh food and the dress code of anything Welsh made for lots of laughs... Pete the Welsh Leek Warrior & Soph the Red Dragon Dabbo as Captain Morgan and Fireman Sam ( Keithy ) & Welsh Guard (Gareth) Superman Tim (apparently now Welsh!) & the irresistable Loz Bonnie Tyler The leeks! Mandatory spa time when visiting Gareth & Soph