We are up early to finish packing and enjoy fresh farm eggs for breakfast and set off at 9.30. It’s a nice drive through rich farmland, green and lush, past big surf at Jeffries Bay. Ted is nervous about time even though we left earlier than planned. Rain is heavy at times, but we drop our Hertz car and simply cross the road into the departure area. It’s a full plane but I’ve paid the $3 extra for preferred boarding and $7 for a seat! We are in 3B/C so easy on-off.
The 1.5 hr flight to Joburg is uneventful, cloud prevents us from seeing much of the Karoo land beneath us. This is the area where Trish’s family grew up on what was an Ostrich farm, later cattle and crops, where her brother still runs the family home as a BnB.
The guest house shuttle meets us for the 10 minute drive there. It’s a modest, unfussy place (C$67 a night!) with a nice garden and pool in a residential area that caters to ordinary people who need a night near the airport. The food is mediocre at best but it’s not the reason we are there. We have heard enough about Johannesburg to know we don’t want to venture out for the evening. We are quite happy to read by the pool, have a light meal and get to bed early.
I juice up my ipad and iphone as we will have no power, water or communications at the bush camp for the next week.
Next morning, our driver Pete picks us up at 9am and drives us off, through huge gold, platinum and chromium mining operations, the reason this city of 14 million is a magnet to so many Africans.
First we pass fertile agricultural land corn cattle, chickens) then rocky sandstone outcrops before they give way to bare mining areas. Interestingly, we pass the sign to Worley Parsons office there! (An Australian engineering firm with offices in Calgary and Chiswick!)
We make a stop at Sun City (or Sin City) as it is known, a gambling Mecca out in the outskirts of Joburg about 2 hours out. It’s 11am and 31 already. Stinking hot but cool in our AC car.
Passing through small towns and settlements we see people in their Sunday best walking to and from church, small markets along the road, white-clad nuns, weekend activities abound.
The last 57k is dirt road so we travel at a reasonable 40kmh. A new road is being constructed in parallel to our track, which will eventually link the main road to Botswana.
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