Parktown, South Africa Travel Journals & Blogs

Traveler Weltreise
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- Oct 7, 2019
- ⛅ 26 °C
- Altitude: 1,751 m
- South Africa Gauteng City of Johannesburg Parktown University of the Witwatersrand -26.189947, 28.03161626°11’24” S 28°1’54” E
Day 6
Johannesburg
October 7, 2019 in South Africa ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C
Johannesburg ist meiner Meinung nach keine schöne Stadt. Die Häuser sind ziemlich veraltet und somit auch kaputt. Es gibt ‚reichenviertel‘ wo man durch eine Schranke muss, um erst mal in das Viertel zu kommen. Dann haben alle Häuser riesen Mauern mit Stacheldrähten oben drauf. Die meisten haben auch zwei Wachhunde. Vor den Fentern befinden sich (manchmal sogar doppelte) Stahlgitter.
Der Straßenverkehr ist katastrophal. Man benötigt für 5km ca. 45min.
Somit ist diese Stadt meiner Meinung nach nicht zu empfehlen.Read more
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Welt-Traum-Reise - Lock-Down
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- Mar 29, 2020, 9:08 AM
- ☀️ 16 °C
- Altitude: 1,751 m
- South Africa Gauteng City of Johannesburg Parktown University of the Witwatersrand -26.189947, 28.03161626°11’24” S 28°1’54” E
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Day 14
Johannesburg / Südafrika
March 29, 2020 in South Africa ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C
Johannesburg - hier kommen Erinnerungen hoch. Zum ersten Mal waren wir dort 1993. Unsere erste große Reise.
Wir hatten damals eine Rundreise durch Zimbabwe gebucht. Heinz konnte leider nicht mit. Überbleibsel aus der Apartheid waren überall noch zu sehen, z.B. Getrennte Toiletten.
An dem ersten Abend hatten wir unsere erste Flasche Wein unseres Lebens zusammen. Nederburg Special Late Harvest - wir haben immer noch eine Flasche zu Hause.
Auf dem Rückweg hatten wir noch einen Tag in Johannesburg. Alle Warnungen ignorierend sind wir mit dem Bus in die Innenstadt gefahren. Sehr seltsame Eindrücke - an jeder Ecke eine eine Gruppe Schwarzer Jugendlicher. Zum Ende - in einer Nebenstraße sind wir dann auch überfallen worden. Mit Brotmessern wollten sie unsere Taschen - wir denen eine Tasche über den Kopf und gerannt ... nicht passiert.
Wir waren dann noch oft dort, auch zum Arbeiten. Südafrika wist einfach ein tolles Land.Read more
Traveler Fast so leere Straßen wie mit Corona.
4/14/20Reply
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TiniWini Endless Summer
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- Dec 1, 2018
- ⛅ 25 °C
- Altitude: 1,751 m
- South Africa Gauteng City of Johannesburg Parktown University of the Witwatersrand -26.189947, 28.03161626°11’24” S 28°1’54” E
Day 81
Goodbye Jeep, Goodbye Friends
December 1, 2018 in South Africa ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C
Wir sind in Johannesburg (oder auch Joburg oder Jozi, wie die Locals sagen) und genießen die letzten zwei Tage mit unseren so arg lieb gewonnenen Freunden.
Charly hat uns für diese Abschiedstage eine Deluxe-AirBnB-Wohnung gebucht. Nicht nur mit Dachterrasse, sondern auch noch mit einem Whirlpool darauf.
Mit Sekt in der Hand und Blubberblasen um sich herum lässt sich der Busch-Großstadt-Kontextschock ganz gut aushalten.

Auch wenn wir den Busch und unseren Jeep jetzt schon vermissen, genießen wir das Baldachin-gesäumte Kingsize-Bett, die Regenwalddusche, die Riesenküche, den Netflix-Sofa-Abend und die Elektro-Club-Nacht in vollen Zügen.

Schweren Herzens müssen wir uns dann aber viel zu früh von Daniel und Charly verabschieden.

Doch wie hat der schlaue Konfuzius doch gleich gesagt?

Leuchtende Tage.
Nicht weinen, dass sie vorüber.
Lächeln, dass sie gewesen.

Danke für diese spektakuläre Zeit!Read more
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Traveler Adventure of a Lifetime
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- Aug 9, 2018
- ⛅ 11 °C
- Altitude: 1,751 m
- South Africa Gauteng City of Johannesburg Parktown University of the Witwatersrand -26.189948, 28.03161626°11’24” S 28°1’54” E
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Day 41
Dae in Suid Afrika (Afrikaans)
August 9, 2018 in South Africa ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C
Days in South Africa (English)

South Africa is amazing us in so many ways. We have spent time with friends, introduced children to children, seen lots of sights, got up close with some animals and tried some local beer. This visit has quickly become much more than just a place to visit but rather a home away from home. AMAZING!Read more
Traveler OMG I bet that conversation was interesting
8/16/18Reply
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Die Weltreise
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- Oct 6, 2021
- ⛅ 21 °C
- Altitude: 1,699 m
- South Africa Gauteng City of Johannesburg Parktown -26.185305, 28.02870626°11’7” S 28°1’43” E
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Day 69
Hello Johannesburg
October 6, 2021 in South Africa ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C
🇩🇪
Südafrika wir kommen!
Moni und Julian zwischen Linksverkehr, super gesicherten Häusern, schuluniformierten Kindern, mega Haarfrisuren und großartigem Essen. Es ist wie im Film🤩
🇵🇱
RPA nadchodzimy!
Moni i Julian między: ruchem lewostronnym, super bezpieczne domy, dzieci w szkolnych mundurkach, mega fryzury i świetne jedzenie.
To jak w filmie🤩Read more
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Traveler sieht cool aus 😀
10/9/21Reply
Traveler danke 🤩 waren nur kurz dort
10/9/21Reply
Traveler Fährt ihr auch nach Bethlehem? Ist das diese berühmte Bethlehem?
10/9/21Reply
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Die Weltreise
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- Oct 8, 2021, 12:00 PM
- ⛅ 18 °C
- Altitude: 1,698 m
- South Africa Gauteng City of Johannesburg Parktown -26.185429, 28.02831326°11’8” S 28°1’42” E
2 1
Day 71
Auf dem Weg zum Krügerpark
October 8, 2021 in South Africa ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C
🇵🇱
Po prostu chcesz zrobić szybki postój, i potem umyć ręce. A przed oknem są nosorożce, bawoły i inne zwierzęta 😃🤩😆 i martwy nietoperz😳

🇩🇪
Da will man nur kurz einen Boxestopp machen und sich dann die Hände waschen UND da stehen vor dem Fenster Nashörner, Büffel und andere Tier 😃🤩😆und eine tote Fledermaus😳Read more
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Traveler Hoffentlich kein neuer Corona-Klon 🙈
10/12/21Reply
Traveler Ist das etwa "Nasi" ganz rechts?? 😃🙈🤪
10/12/21Reply
Traveler Ja, ganz viele
10/12/21Reply
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Traveler South Africa
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- Feb 24, 2019
- ☀️ 29 °C
- Altitude: 1,751 m
- South Africa Gauteng City of Johannesburg Parktown University of the Witwatersrand -26.189948, 28.03161626°11’24” S 28°1’54” E
Day 16
Johannesburg
February 24, 2019 in South Africa ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C
Last day in South Africa. This evening we will take the plane to go back home.
We wake up at 8.30, take showers, fix the luggages and go for breakfast. The breakfast is painful, there are a lot of great options of food but what I can manage is to eat some yogurt with fruits.

The plan for the day is to take the Citysightseeinng bus and see the city by bus. We don’t have energies for doing more than that and also the city doesn’t seem safe enough to go around by ourselves. The bus tour is composed of two different busses.
Both tours are not particularly interesting, we pass by the zoo, some museums, and different monuments and buildings. The guide tells stories about the city and the different people living in it.

We decide to stop in an amusement park to take an icecream and to try to win some random stuff. That’s the highlight of the day.

After the tour we go to a shopping mall that is big and cheap and has a lot of interesting dresses. Here I find the dress for the wedding of Anni in April.

After the shopping center is time to go to pick the luggages and go to the airport.

The journey is more complicated than expected and takes a lot of time. We arrive at the airport just in time for the check-in. We manage to change clothes, do the check-in and and buy some food and souvenirs before is time for me to go to the gate and take the plane.

It is time to say goodbye! A brief hug and I find myself on the plane surrounded by French people. The trip goes very fast, with a big stomach ache and no hunger.
Tomorrow I will be back in Goteborg to meet Carlos and nothing could make me happier in the moment.Read more
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Jay Rossiter Southern Africa May 2016
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- May 21, 2016
- ☀️ 16 °C
- Altitude: 1,750 m
- South Africa Gauteng City of Johannesburg Parktown University of the Witwatersrand -26.189948, 28.03161626°11’24” S 28°1’54” E
Day 11
Johannesburg
May 21, 2016 in South Africa ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C
We arrived in Jo'burg and checked into our hotel in the Melrose Arch area. The rest of the afternoon was free so we ventured out and did a bit of browsing in the neighbourhood stores. Melrose Arch is clearly a high end district as evidenced by the Porsches, Audis, Mercedes and the occasional Ferrari. Several of us got together and went out for dinner at a place called Pizza and Vino. The food was delicious and we had a great time!

The next morning was a bit of a sleep in as we didn't leave until 8:00 am. Our itinerary for the day consisted of driving by Nelson Mandela's last residence followed by a drive through Soweto. After that we stopped outside of Desmond Tutu's home followed by a walk through of Nelson and Winnie Mandela's home. This is where he lived prior to his arrest and where Winnie continued to live and be harassed by the police while he was in jail. After that we went to the Hector Pieterson museum and then went to the apartheid museum.

It was a pretty somber day as South Africa has only started to spread her freedom wings in the last 25-30 years.

Hector Pieterson was one of the first casualties of the youth protest against apartheid on June 16, 1976. He was 13 years old. The protest was organized by students and was meant to be peaceful but the police opened fire with tear gas and bullets.

Afterwards we went through the Apartheid Museum where we were randomly segregated so that we could see what it felt like to be in that position. Claude was classed as non white and I white, so we had the enter throughly separate entrance lines. It's hard to believe that only 25 years or so ago, this was how things were here. During apartheid 3.5 million blacks and coloureds were forcibly removed from their homes and resettled in the townships on the outskirts of towns. They lost everything and were persecuted and oppressed beyond belief. They were issued pass cards and had to present them whenever asked. If they didn't have it with them, they were arrested and beaten.

We finished with a stop at an artisan market and then had dinner back at the hotel and said goodbye to several of our group as they were not continuing on to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe with us the next day.Read more
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Brico Adventures 10,000 miles away from home
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- Nov 25, 2015
- ☀️ 81 °F
- Altitude: 5,741 ft
- South Africa Gauteng City of Johannesburg Parktown University of the Witwatersrand -26.189948, 28.03161626°11’24” S 28°1’54” E
Day 6
Johannesburg, South Africa
November 25, 2015 in South Africa ⋅ ☀️ 81 °F
We visited the Apartheid Museum in Joburg. It chronicled the country's history from the bushmen to colonial occupation, through the oppressive apartheid (segregation) policies put into place following the second World War, and finally establishment of the new constitution in the early 1990s. The museum contained lots of videos, personal accounts and artifacts providing a rich experience of this important era in history.

Next up was a visit to Africa's tallest building, the Top of Africa, which was 50 stories tall. From there, we had views of the World Cup stadium, Ghandi square, Nelson Mandela bridge and other sights in the bustling metropolis of 6 million which is Africa's economic powerhouse.

For the remainder of the evening, we enjoyed dinner and wine at our Protea hotel near the airport. At a price of around $7/bottle and with great selections of Chenin Blanc and Sauvignon Blanc from the Western Cape, the wine was flowing quite freely.Read more
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Traveler South Africa
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- Feb 16, 2019
- ⛅ 22 °C
- Altitude: 1,751 m
- South Africa Gauteng City of Johannesburg Parktown University of the Witwatersrand -26.189948, 28.03161626°11’24” S 28°1’54” E
Day 8
Day 3 in Kruger
February 16, 2019 in South Africa ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C
It is the day of departure and even if it feels like we have seen a lot and it is time to move on, it is a bit sad to leave this incredible place where we got so spoiled and we saw so many incredible things!

The game in the morning goes fast and even if it is incredible as always, it is a bit disappointing because we didn’t manage to see the Buffalo that was the last big5 we were missing. On the other hand we managed to see a big group of cheetahs relaxing in the grass!

After the ride and the breakfast is time to checkout. We buy some souvenirs, say goodbye to Texan and jump on our car. We have a long drive back to Johannesburg in front of us.

The drive goes smoothly and soon is time to say goodbye to our first car. It is now dirty and we got attached to it. We leave the car at the airport and we go to the hotel.
Tomorrow we have the flight to Cape Town.Read more
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