Johannesburg

Joburg was our striven aim on June 3, 2009. Armed with a city map in form of a book in a DIN A4 format and with high spirits we hit the road at 8 o’clock, driving along the N4 towards Gauteng, our neighboring state. Once we’ve reached our destination the Jacaranda Backpackers has become our home. The Jacaranda tree, by the way, belongs to the trumpet-creeper family, has preponderantly crimson to mauve colored blossoms and one of our local radio stations is named after him. During our four day stay we have been to the SAB (South African Breweries) World of Beer tour, the Apartheid Museum, the Hector Pieterson Memorial Museum, the old house of Mandela, the headquarters of Soweto TV, the Carlton Centre (highest building in Johannesburg), the play Umoja and the Lions Park. If you ever happen to be in the Lions Park take the yellow information boards serious. Because if, say for example, a playful young lion comes up to your car and takes your number plate, you won’t get your money back. So now, take a good look at the gate with the many lions lying in the entrance. I was driving through there :). The traffic was a little gooey and we really lost our number plate to a playful young lion, but it was an unforgettable adventure. Closing up I will end my report with the words of my volunteer colleague Jan Ekkert “There’s lion slobber” (on the plate).