Bromhof

Johannesburg is the gateway to South Africa for most overseas arrivals. It also served as our base for a few days, allowing us to catch up with my sister, Penny, ease onto Africa time and, for the unfortunate others in our party, finish the work that couldn't be done before they left Australia. July may be the best time to see the animals, but it's not the best time to be away from work for several weeks when you're a teacher, or you own your own business.

While in town, we took the opportunity to visit the Ann Van Dyk Cheetah Sanctuary. This amazing place has been running for more than 50 years, and also provides rehabilitation programs for Hyenas, Vultures, Meerkats and African Wild Dogs. Together with our entertaining guides, Sam and George, our safari vehicle trundled past all of them. It was a bit like Jurassic Park without the Hollywood trimmings...or the dinosaurs. But visitors support their conservation work, so we were happy to do our part. It also allowed P&J to get their first mini-safari experience, which was fun.

It had been 8 years since Mel and I were in South Africa, and it was interesting to see what had changed. Firstly, the level of connectivity was about the same as it was at home. This made it very easy to settle in, since pretty much everything could be arranged over the internet (thanks, Uber). Secondly, the offline version of Google Maps had now taken the place of satnav. Finally, it seemed like every second set of traffic lights was broken. Apparently, this is because people steal the electrical cables so that they can sell the copper.
That reminded us that some things hadn't changed. There was still a lot of wealth inequality, which led to a lot of crime. And the minivan drivers were still as mad as ever.

Our other goal for Jo'burg was to collect our 4x4s. This adventure would be a self-drive safari, so we needed vehicles that would be well-equipped and capable. We chose to use a different company from our previous trip, and the decision was immediately vindicated when our Uber dropped us off to collect the cars. Bushtrackers was clearly a competent operation, and our vehicles were awesome! P&J's Hilux had less than 4,000km on the clock, and ours wasn't far behind it. The entire depot was filled with these high-end vehicles, and I'd rank it close to my favourite shed (behind Dan Murphy's and Bunnings, of course). After a quick user briefing, we were on our way. Africa, here we come!Read more