Together at last, and time to explore!
Having been apart for 5 weeks, Annemarie at last arrived in Johannesburg On Sunday. She could have come Saturday, but thought better of it when she learned that I was going to the Springboks v All Blacks match……
The project that brought me out here was finally completed last week and the team just felt exhausted. Working here has been fascinating, challenging and a privilege, and the most enjoyable part has been working with a truly great group of colleagues. With my role as project manager effectively over, it was time to take a holiday with Annemarie,
and where better to do so than here in SA.
So, where to go? With only a vague idea in mind, I owe a real debt to Jackie who set about planning a route, listing suggestions as to where to stay and places of interest, supplemented by a whole host of personal favorites from the rest of the team. Thank you all so much, and you will hopefully be able to read about how we progressed here over the next couple of weeks.
Up early to meet Annemarie at the airport, collect the car and then rush back for a 5 minute breakfast before heading to church at St Martins in the Veld. Visiting this lovely place with its loving congregation is special, (to the point that a parallel blog is being prepared to cover the journey of faith – watch this space). Then off to buy a Tomtom (much cheaper than renting from the car hire co), lunch and a drive out to visit the Sterkfontein Caves, part of the Cradle of Humankind. Listed by UNESCO as one of the wonders of the world, this is where the earliest hominids were found, dating back 2 million years ago.
its a shame that the only reason that one of them is famous is because he had a real bummer of a day. When you go for a walk and fall down a hole, it really is not much consolation that you will be famous for that in 2m years time! The other one found has a bit of a gender issue. Called Mrs Ples for decades, they are now not sure if she was a he…
Anyway, Tuesday saw us drive to Cathedral Peak, another World Heritage site. Stunningly beautiful, even on a cloudy day, its true magnificence only became apparent the next morning when full sun showed its full glory. The walks here are fantastic, and make it a place to come back to.
Arriving at the hotel, we were met by a male and female porter. To our astonishment, Annemarie’s horribly heavy, shipping-container sized bag was picked up by the tall woman whilst the man just carried my overnight bag. After doing an unaided powerlift, the crippling weight was settled on her head for the walk to our chalet. By the time she got there, her height had very visibly reduced………
Freebooter 