For how many years had I wanted to go to South Africa on vacation? Too many.
But this year I finally got there - 22 days (group) round trip called "The Great South Africa Tour" with the travel company Studiosus to many of the typical tourist sights but also the odd place not so well known among tourists.
But this year I finally got there - 22 days (group) round trip called "The Great South Africa Tour" with the travel company Studiosus to many of the typical tourist sights but also the odd place not so well known among tourists.
So after a fun night out the night before in Nuremberg seeing a certain special person I was off to South Africa on the 13th November.
After a decent overnight flight, just over ten hours directly from Frankfurt to Johannesburg, we arrived at O. R. Tambo International Airport in the morning where our group (22 people, me by far the youngest, think the average was somewhere around mid 60s (and unfortunately therefore the speed of activities was VERY slow sometimes) were picked up by our tourist guide Hardy and that is where the tour started pretty much straight away.
First stop was the The Museum of Natural History in Pretoria, not so much for the public displays but for some more hidden ones, only to be viewed by special appointment as part of the museum's educational program, largely from what is known these days as the "Cradle of Humankind" e.g. a 2.3-million-year-old fossil Australopithecus africanus (nicknamed "Mrs. Ples"), found in 1947 by Robert Broom and John T. Robinson.
We were also given an introduction into the work with fossils - most interesting!
After the museum a short drive around the city seeing a few of the city's sights around Church Square. Too bad you didn't get to see them while walking around!
Next stop was the Voortrekker Monument, a huge granite structure prominently located on a hilltop, that was built in honour of the Voortrekkers who left the Cape Colony in the 19th century.
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| wildlife in the city |
Last stop was the Union Buildings, the official seat of the South African government and of the president of South Africa, with its beautiful garden in front of it and the massive Nelson Mandela statue. Unfortunately the buildings cannot be visited, even not the balcony in front of it anymore.
The night (and the following) was spent at the stunning The Palazzo - a beautiful 5* hotel in Fourways, just next to the Montecasino Entertainment Complex, where we were served a delicious 3 course dinner. Even the vegetarian dish was not the usual boring pasta or risotto.
