Once again we were using maps, but this time we had on our side the fact that this game reserve was located just off the road we had already traveled the other day on the way to Rustenburg for USA/England. There was only one turn that was different, and with Joe calling the safari outfit as we made that one different turn, we arrived just in time to grab a coffee at the lodge and pile into the truck for our animal viewing experience. Another victory for maps!
Anyone who knows me will know that I'm not that interested in looking at animals. I know it's de rigeur when you're in Africa to do so, but I wasn't convinced. However, I had a great time on this little tour. There were some other Americans with us, as well as some folks from New Zealand who were still brimming with pride from the fact that their team had played to a thrilling draw with Slovakia the day before. Our guide was a man who introduced himself as either Sanele or Benjamin (one was his more traditional tribal name and the other his English name). Sanele was very knowledgeable about the animals, earnest, and funny.
We got to see lions, kudu, impalas, wildebeest, hippos, giraffes and a whole host of other animals. It was much better for me than being at a zoo (also known as an animal prison). For my money, the most impressive animals were the lions (we only really got a good look at the females as the male we saw was obscured by brush) and the giraffes. Our guide also showed us some giant bones of 2 separate giraffes that had been struck and killed by lightning. Due to the high iron content in the rocks in the area, there is a lot of lightning, and giraffes are especially susceptible to strikes because of their height. According to our guide. when an animal is struck and killed, no other animal will eat it due to the stench of sulphur on the carcass.
the giraffes were very impressive in person
Joe with a lion in the near backgroundSo, having had a good time on our safari, Joe, Fawzi and I headed back to the apartment in Johannesburg. While we passed through Magaliesburg, we saw a police escort helping the Portuguese team bus out of town. I'm a bit surprised that Portugal would stay in a smallish town like Magaliesburg, but with the police helping you get around, the lack of major freeway access is probably not as tough to swallow.
When we got back to our neighborhood, we grabbed some pizza at a small place called Jolly Roger in the Parkhurst suburb and watched everyone's tournament favorite Spain lose a thrilling 1-0 to Switzerland. The football is definitely starting to improve.
In the evening's match, Bafana Bafana (something they say in South Africa that means roughly "The Boys," a nickname for the national soccer team) played Uruguay in their second match of the World Cup. We watched on in a small restaurant called Espresso with a very patriotic group of South Africans as the national team played poorly and was beaten by a better Uruguay side 3-0. That result left South Africa's chances of qualifying for the knockout stages hanging by a thread, with them needing to beat France in their third match and needing help from the other teams in their group.
I will be disappointed if South Africa do not proceed. For as much as the games have been a major hassle to get in and out of, all the people we have met in South Africa have been fantastic, and a nice run for Bafana Bafana could be really uplifting to everyone here.
The good news was that while we watched the game, our cars were being guarded by none other than New York's finest, the NYPD! In the nicer neighborhoods, there is always someone watching your car while you park, and you should give them a small tip (I've been giving the equivalent of about ¢75). In Parkhurst, the car guards all wear NYPD vests. I took a photo with one of them much to his bafflement, and he had not heard of the New York Police Department. Until next time...
NY's finest guarding our wheels while we ate in Parkhurst
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