My Mother’s Report on Family Trip to S. Africa

Wed., Dec. 5:  Departed Tampa 9:10 a.m.. on United #1572, on time and arrived at Dulles 11:19 a.m.  It was blowing snow lightly at first, then heavier and heavier.  We had a five-hour layover in order to insure we would be able to catch our flight on South African Airways #208 at 5:20 p.m.  We took a trolley to our gate then had to board another trolley that drove us for ten minutes to the other side.  The plane was very new, clean, could handle about 600 people and it was nearly full.  It was 30° and ice was forming on the plane so the machinery came out to de-ice which took 20 minutes.  Apparently, it was decided that wasn’t enough so they did it again causing a total of a two-hour delay before taking off and two hours late on arrival. Good food but was slow to serving us as we were on Aisle 65.  So many young people and babies on board because the whole month of December is a holiday and schools are out through January – their summer.  Naturally one baby was crying almost the entire trip.

 

Thurs., Dec. 6:  We arrived at Johannesburg airport.  I had requested a wheelchair for Mother when I purchased the tickets so they met us, showed us exactly where to go, got our bags, took us through Customs and delivered us into the waiting arms of Carole and Ron who were quite concerned because we were almost the last ones through.  Our bags apparently were loaded first but took off last.  That night we stayed at a bed and breakfast near the airport.  The lady had six or seven rooms on the block which she rented and then she would fix any kind of breakfast you wanted.  The rooms that Mother, Jamie and I stayed in were beautifully decorated in antique.

 

Fri., Dec. 7: Jamie was the first one up and started taking pictures of the beautiful pool and garden area.  The lady threw out food for the birds so Jamie saw many unusual birds.  Africa has 2,000 bird species.  Breakfast was huge.  The coffee was served in a glass container with a plunger that you pushed down to strain out the coffee grounds.  Jamie gently was trying to push but it seemed stuck and then cracked the glass sending coffee and glass on the table, floor and particularly in Jamie’s plate so she got another serving of food.  The mess was quickly cleaned up.

 

The expensive homes have large yards that are beautifully fenced with decorated walls, lights, ornaments and curled barb wire on top to discourage uninvited guests.  The landscaping is gorgeous with soft-looking grass and many beautiful flowers and lots of fruit trees.  Johannesburg, like all large cities, is very crowded with fast-moving traffic which is very stressful but Ron maneuvered us safety through all the aggressive and crazy drivers.  The further north we traveled towards their home in Louis Trichardt, it thinned out and we enjoyed the beautiful country.

 

We crossed the Tropic of Capricorn which is one of the five major circles of latitude that mark maps of the earth. It lies 23° 26′ 22″ south of the Equator and marks the most southerly latitude at which the sun can appear directly overhead at noon. This event occurs at the December solstice, when the southern hemisphere is tilted towards the sun to its maximum extent.  The other circles are Tropic of Cancer, Equator, Artic Circle and Antaric Circle.  There were several interesting sites along the way where we stopped and took pictures.

 

Jamie has enough camera memory for over 1,000 pictures.  That evening we had Debonos Pizza.  In the homes, every door and window has iron bars with separate keys for each lock.  No screens – you just open the windows and let the fresh air in along with any bug or bat that wants in.  Jamie photographed a dung beetle on the kitchen floor and then scooped it up with a paper towel and gently dropped it out the window onto the ground outside.  They say mosquitoes aren’t a problem in that area but I saw a couple in the house and had several welts on my legs.  December is t