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South Africa 2024
  • Bruno Helbert
  • Avron Avron
  • Bruno Helbert
  • Avron Avron

South Africa 2024

30-dniowa przygoda według Bruno & Avron Czytaj więcej
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  • South Africa 2024

    Cango caves

    19 lutego 2024, Afryka Południowa ⋅ ☀️ 35 °C

    Up in the "little dessert" is a hidden gem: the Cango caves.
    Only a tiny portion of this sprawling network has been explored, and revealed massive rooms that are quite stunning.
    It hasn't been preserved as much one would hope, and knowing that 99% is inaccessible it incredibly frustrating, but what can be seen is already a lot. Czytaj więcej

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  • South Africa 2024
    1
    22

    Ostriches!

    19 lutego 2024, Afryka Południowa ⋅ ☀️ 37 °C

    The reason we traveled inland is because that's where the ostriches are!
    And we were not going to miss out!

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  • South Africa 2024

    Map of Africa lookout

    20 lutego 2024, Afryka Południowa ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    This is a spectacular lookout in Wilderness called the Map of Africa. With some imagination the river courses around a mountain in the shape of Africa.
    This stop is on ALL the guides to the area.
    So we had to check it out.
    Bruno is yet unconvinced about the Africa shape. But what a beautiful view...     Czytaj więcej

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  • South Africa 2024

    Waterfall walk

    20 lutego 2024, Afryka Południowa ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Today is a scorcher, so we decided to walk to a waterfall.
    What's a 3 hour walk when you get to splish splash and cool down?
    We actually followed it up with a dive in the ocean back on Wilderness beach (the waves were a bit rambunctious and rode me instead of the other way around... I am a fresh-water man, definitely 🙄) Czytaj więcej

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  • South Africa 2024

    Knysna Heads

    21 lutego 2024, Afryka Południowa ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    We have reached Knysna, at the mouth of the Knysna river. It spreads there into a sort of bay before forcing its way into the ocean through a beach in the rocks called; the Heads".
    The view from the top of the Heads is stunning, and the jagged rocks at the bottom are lovely in their own way. Czytaj więcej

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  • South Africa 2024

    Knysna zip lines

    22 lutego 2024, Afryka Południowa ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    For a little change of pace, we decided to test just how far Avron has overcome his fear of heights. Turns out: quite a bit!
    6 very long, very high up zip lines. It was incredible fun.
    We have dozens of videos, it was difficult to just pick one... Czytaj więcej

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  • South Africa 2024

    "The Heads"

    22 lutego 2024, Afryka Południowa ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    The Knysna river curls on itself to form a wide, calm lagoon before pouring out between the "Heads" and clashing with the Indian Ocean.
    We had seen the view from atop the Heads, from the shores at the foot of the Heads, the last step was a boat trip through them.
    Our cheaper excursion was cancelled, so we got upgraded to the fancy catamaran experience later in the day.
    Perfect way to close our Knysna experience.
    PS: despite our best efforts, the pictures and video don't do justice to the dimensions of rock and water.     Czytaj więcej

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  • South Africa 2024

    Sea lion!

    22 lutego 2024, Afryka Południowa ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    Find-Penguin seems to believe that a 3 minutes video of a teenage sea lion being silly is too much.
    Some might even say that a whole post for a 1 minute version of this video is still too much.
    Both are wrong.
    Enjoy the video.     Czytaj więcej

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  • South Africa 2024

    🐘 Elephants!

    23 lutego 2024, Afryka Południowa ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    Even though we expect to see our share of elephants later in the Kruger park, we stopped at the Knysna sanctuary because it allows visitor to get up close and personal (in their own terms) with some of their elephants (the ones that aren't being prepared for reintroduction).
    It's adorable to see these clever giants line up behind a symbolic fence to get fed, and later let us get close for a photo.
    Tourists who get too close get a gentle bop of the trunk to teach them about personal space.     Czytaj więcej

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  • South Africa 2024

    I'm not crazy!

    23 lutego 2024, Afryka Południowa ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Ok, story time;
    When I was very little, I traveled to South Africa where my grand parents were living.
    We traveled a bit with them, and some blurred memories still remain.
    One of them was of staying at a hotel that looked like a cruise ship landed half on the shore, with portions of the dining room floor made of glass and overhanging above the crashing waves.
    It's a massive memory, but I couldn't be sure that it was real because I was really young.
    I tried hard to find this place when we prepared this trip, and finally found it in Plettenberg bay. Still looking like a cruise ship 40 years later. But no answer on the floor.
    So we made a detour on our way, waltzed in this very posh hotel as if we belonged there, straight to the furtherest room (now a lounge), but the portion of floor I remembered as glass was now carpeted.
    I needed to see that I didn't imagine the overhang.
    So we walked around into the pool area and there it was: it overhangs!
    Above rocks and crashing waves.
    I guess the glass floor became too much to upkeep...
    But it feels amazing to tic that box and complete the memory loop 40 years later.     Czytaj więcej

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  • South Africa 2024
    21

    Stormsrivier hanging bridges

    23 lutego 2024, Afryka Południowa ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    Another stop on the garden route, at the stunning hanging bridges over the north of the Stormsrivier.
    The path led to a narrow gorge with a handful of canoes, I think that Cameron would have HAD to paddle through it 😄

    PS: bonus picture of a strange creature that we decided was a Quok-ombat, because it has the butt of a wombat and the head of a quokka. We found the name... It's a Rock Hyrax (Dassie) and it's the closest relative to the African Elephant.     Czytaj więcej

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  • South Africa 2024

    Avron's old primary school

    26 lutego 2024, Afryka Południowa ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    Trip down memory lane: we're exploring the area where Avron grew up, starting with his primary school.
    We tried to take picture without too many kids, but when we arrived it was bustling with hundreds of kids in school uniforms.
    Like most things in SA, it is both cared for, and in desperate need of upkeep and investment.     Czytaj więcej

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  • South Africa 2024
    3

    Avron's old high school

    26 lutego 2024, Afryka Południowa ⋅ 🌩️ 31 °C

    We didn't want to barge into a high school, so we asked at the door if we could have a peek, and got immediately received by the headmaster in his office!
    Sandringham high school used to be famous for its level of education and its sports teams, but all fell apart after the apartheid, all the students and teachers left and were replaced by black students and staff. But with high levels of corruption and embezzlement, the school just disagregated.
    The last headmaster was kicked out for stealing funds ten years ago, and since then the school has survived, rudderless, with no headmaster, until last year, when the young one that we spoke with tackled the impossible task of raising it back from its ashes.
    Like often, it is a mix of perfect cleanliness, impeccable behavior and uniforms, over old and tired bones in dire need of investment.
    The headmaster is hoping to lean on the help of some alumni from the good old days, so he jumped on the occasion to give Avron the sale speech.
    Like often in SA, I am getting a feeling of fiercely determined people facing impossible odds with eyes wide open and no interest in quitting.     Czytaj więcej

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  • South Africa 2024
    11

    Red bus through Johannesburg

    27 lutego 2024, Afryka Południowa ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    The center of Johannesburg being too dangerous to navigate on one's own, we decided to do a guided tour that took us from the wealthy northern finance district to the southern suburbs, through the dreaded center.

    Much can be said about Johannesburg history (it is only 150 years old), so I recommend reading about it. It is fascinating.
    To summarise it, there was a system of oppression from the white people of the blacks, "colored", Indians, Asians, etc, with strict enforced segregation in which you were told where to live based on the hue of your skin (mixed blood people having to live in other neighborhood than their pure blood parents) and on your language. All this came to a crashing end, with the white people pushed out of power and key positions, and the black ones stepping in with next to no preparation and expertise.
    White people fled the country, and those who remained fled to the rich white suburbs that they fortified (literally) to protect themselves.
    The center of the city became a no man's land quickly claimed by violent gangs, and the rich north became the new financial district.

    So when we took the bus, we expected a lot of history from the audio guide.
    What we got instead was quite surreal:
    Imagine a dystopian sale pitch born of the 80s starry-eyed capitalistic ideals, full of buzz words and blind-eyes euphemisms.
    So as we drove next to gutted buildings, we were told about the gorgeous architecture and brilliant future...
    I had to capture some of the most outrageous euphemisms:
    -The fact that the inhabitants of 1.5% of South Africa own 30% of its wealth was called "economic diversity".
    -People living in slums were "street entrepreneurs" (I couldn't make this one up if I tried).
    -The fall of the CBD to gangs was "a serious slump"
    -The acid leaking from mining refuses and permeating the ground of the Townships was "a bit of a health hazard"...

    As I said, surreal.

    I would be dishonest if I didn't say that the efforts of reconciliation after generations of oppression were not mentioned, but always as a done deal, where "South Africa is the only country in the world that managed a transition of power with almost no violence (!!!)", And this said in such an artificially happy voice, you'd think we were being sold adult diapers on tv.

    It all strongly reminded me of a very famous line in "Avatar, the last air bender".     Czytaj więcej

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  • South Africa 2024
    1

    Soweto, the SOuth WEstern TOwnship

    27 lutego 2024, Afryka Południowa ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    From the big red bus of delusion, we hopped onto a smaller bus headed for Soweto, the very famous township in which Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu, amongst others, lived.

    The tour was fascinating, our guide was awesome, we learnt much more than what a single post could convey...

    Soweto started as an area designated for black people only, and then merged with other local townships for Asians, for coloured, for Indians, etc.
    Interestingly, each township is subdivided in classes, because wealthy black people still couldn't live anywhere else than in black neighborhoods...

    Nowadays, the segregation is over, and people can move freely.
    Also, the post-apartheid government keeps on building thousands of tiny houses to host as many people as possible, following Mandela's dream of "one house for everyone", so Soweto keeps growing. It is massive, check on a map, it is a vast city of its own, with supermarkets, the largest hospital in Africa, a university, etc...
    But with the massive influx of African immigrants, shantitowns of corrugated metal and cardboard still pop up and grow in the empty areas.

    It is a confusing gradient from middle class to poor to extremely poor.

    But the locals are very proud of it and organise their own infrastructure, their own security patrols, and create bubbles of safety around the carefully planned visits of the tourists.

    This fascinating melting pot is rich in history as well, as it is where the political struggle for equality took roots and grew. And so there are many little museums and famous houses to see and visit.

    It isn't somewhere a tourist should explore on their own, but I am glad to have experienced a little of this side of South Africa.

    Also another one of Avron's sphere view at Hector square in Orlando West, Soweto: https://photos.app.goo.gl/kk1K1Ui9WVgve4mr8     Czytaj więcej

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  • South Africa 2024

    Safety and self reliance

    27 lutego 2024, Afryka Południowa ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    It is impossible to talk about South Africa, and especially Johannesburg, without talking safety.
    For example, there are areas that one "just doesn't go to". We once took a wrong turn into a township and within a few meters, we were driving on refuse, surrounded by free roaming cows and chickens. It was daytime, we turned around swiftly, but those mistakes can quickly become costly.
    Another quirky thing, in Johannesburg only, is that, at night, one does not stop at a red light but slows down and crosses when possible. To stop is to invite car jacking, a very popular type of assault in the city. So red lights are more of a suggestion, really. And also, roughly 25% of the lights do not work at all anyways, even in the CBD.

    But the most noticeable example, for me, is the fences. Especially in Johannesburg, each building block is surrounded by high walls, topped by spikes and a LOT of electric wires.
    I have taken a few pictures from the super posh area we happened to stay in, to give you an idea.
    On top of that, you have private security companies paid to roam the streets in their heavily armed vehicles... It is a bit daunting.
    The house we are staying at has walls, gates, wires, then a second layer after the parking with more gates and wires, then motion detectors in the backyard, bars on all doors and windows even inside the gates... It feels like a lot but this is the minimum required to insure your house.

    So inhabitants organise their own safety, either in their own or as a community.

    But that is not all they provide from themselves:
    -Most well to do houses come with their own bore water and filtration system.
    -Most houses and businesses have solar, batteries, or generators for the times of the day when parts of the grid are switched off for what is called "load shedding" because there just isn't enough electricity for everyone. These periods can last for 2 to 4 hours a day, each day a different time...
    -Some neighborhood even take care of their own roads because it is useless to hope that the government will fix them.

    Overall, it feels like the people of South Africa have to fend for themselves on many fronts, and if money helps, it doesn't fix everything.     Czytaj więcej

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  • South Africa 2024

    Mawusi lodge

    28 lutego 2024, Afryka Południowa ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    Out of the metropolis and into the bush.
    We have arrived at Mawusi, near Hoedspruit, the lodge run by Avron's uncle's wife.

    We haven't had much time to explore, but already the animals are everywhere.
    (Expect many grainy, heavily zoomed in pictures in the next few days).

    So far, hour tally is this:
    Termites (yes, insects count)
    Duiker (Google them, adorable)
    Impala
    Hornbill birds
    Squirrel
    Warthogs (these ones we were walking down the streets, I was not feeling too proud with no protection at all).     Czytaj więcej

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  • South Africa 2024

    Moholoholo reabilitation center

    29 lutego 2024, Afryka Południowa ⋅ 🌙 25 °C

    This morning's adventure took us to Moholoholo, a rehabilitation center who specialises in rescuing hurt, poisoned, or captivity-bred animals.
    Those that they can save, they strive to reintroduce into the wild, and the tourists never see them.
    The rare few that can never return to the wild remain in the park as ambassadors for the tourists. Those include animals who have lost key limbs, or who were raised in captivity and never learnt to hunt.
    The tour is an emotional wringer, as the idea is to impress onto the visitors the horrific treatment of these animals. But all well worth it.

    As we were returning to our car, a local couple was bringing in a big bag grunting ominously, and it turned out to be an orphaned baby hippo! The size of a small Labrador, it had apparently drifted down the river and into their property...     Czytaj więcej

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