Welcome to South Africa!
I've been so nervous to even attempt to write about my trip to South Africa as it was such an incredible experience, and I'm not even sure I can give it justice through a blog post.
I was sent to Johannesburg for work for two weeks. The first week I was accompanied by Bret, Nick, & Brett. Bret & Brett are both originally from Kansas so it was really ironic that all of us ended up in South Africa together. Even more crazy, Bret went to K-State (Brett went to KU... no comment :p ...). Brett was only there for the first week and then Justin came the second week but all of us were able to go to the game lodge over the weekend. We all work in the same group in London and are all originally from the U.S. While I'd say I knew everyone fairly well at that point, a two week trip with coworkers can definitely allow you to get to know someone better! Little did I know at the start of this trip that I would come to really enjoy and appreciate each of them. I honestly laughed more in those two weeks than I had in a very long time.
Bret and I flew out together Sunday, 14 July, 2019. We took an overnight flight and arrived in Johannesburg around 11 am. Customs went smoothly, and we had a driver waiting for us who took us to our hotel.
Nick had flown down around the same time but flew a different airline so he beat us to the hotel. Once we all arrived we decided to venture our for a late lunch and went to an African restaurant called Moyo Zoo Lake. The weather was great so we sat outside. It's technically winter there but their winter is still warmer than most days in London. Once we were seated and served our drinks, the waiter came over with a pitcher of warm water and a bowl and washed our hands before we received our meal. It was a little awkward at first, because we didn't know what was going on, but we quickly caught on. The boys ordered ostrich and lamb. Since I don't eat red meat, I stuck with the peri peri chicken. All of the food was great and very colorful.
After lunch we visited the Apartheid Museum. They also had a special exhibit over Nelson Mandela. I have to be honest and say that I had little to no knowledge over this history, but I found it so very interesting and now have greater appreciation for all that Nelson Mandela did to end apartheid. And, of course, since I managed to accidentally call Nelson Mandela Liza Minnelli (see prior post), my co-workers continued to remind me throughout the trip!
When we got back to the hotel it was about 4 pm. We debated each going back to our hotel room to rest before dinner but we all agreed we would crash and not get back up so instead we went and watched the end of Wimbledon at a nearby restaurant, had a couple of beers, and ate pizza. I can't speak for the boys, but I crashed so hard that night.
Monday morning we were picked up at 8:30 am and taken to work. It became a well known routine where we were picked up the same time every morning and dropped off around 6:30 pm every night. We were instructed to not wonder out on our own and to not really leave the hotel area unless accompanied by a local. Luckily, our hotel was connected to the Rosebank Mall so there were lots of restaurants to choose from within walking distance, and we didn't have to walk outside to get there. We frequented Fishmonger and The Grillhouse during our stay - both of which were great. We all enjoyed the local fish, Kingklip.
That week at work we also teamed alongside a girl from Dublin, Ireland, a guy from Toyko, Japan, a guy from Toronto, Canada, and another guy from Houston, Texas (but originally from York, England). What I really love about my job here is that I'm constantly interacting with people from all over the world. In just my short time here, I have already learned so much and have expanded my knowledge about different cultures, people, and places. I always ask people I meet that I know travel frequently one question: what's your favorite place you've ever visited?. I love to ask this question, because I always get a different answer, and it helps me create my own list of places I hope to visit. It also just amazes me to hear all of the places people have visited. I'm hopeful I'll get the chance to do the same, but I've been surprised at how fast time is flying since I've moved and it's proving challenging to find time to fit in the trips. My goal is one place a month, but even that can be tricky with the unpredictability of work sometimes.
At the end of the week, we had arranged to be picked up mid-day on Friday so we could meet Justin at the airport when he arrived. Justin had rented a car, and we were all going to drive to the lodge together (it was about a 2.5 hour drive). Mad props to Justin for being willing to drive! We were expecting to have a pretty small car for the 5 of us so it was suggested that we leave our large luggage at the hotel in Johannesburg and only bring what we really needed. I don't really have any small bags with me so I packed a small gym bag and stuffed as much as I could in it. It's always hard to know exactly what you'll need, so I also brought a very fashionable plastic grocery bag to hold my shoes I couldn't fit in my gym bag (ha).
When we got to the airport, Justin had actually managed to get us a nice Toyota Fortuner. We don't have them in the States, but I'd totally buy one if we did. I loved it.
We all jammed into the SUV and headed out for our adventure! Bret was totally prepared and had the Lion King soundtrack ready for us. He synced up his phone, and we listed to it for most of the trip.
....next up, our weekend trip to Bakubung Bush Lodge....
I was sent to Johannesburg for work for two weeks. The first week I was accompanied by Bret, Nick, & Brett. Bret & Brett are both originally from Kansas so it was really ironic that all of us ended up in South Africa together. Even more crazy, Bret went to K-State (Brett went to KU... no comment :p ...). Brett was only there for the first week and then Justin came the second week but all of us were able to go to the game lodge over the weekend. We all work in the same group in London and are all originally from the U.S. While I'd say I knew everyone fairly well at that point, a two week trip with coworkers can definitely allow you to get to know someone better! Little did I know at the start of this trip that I would come to really enjoy and appreciate each of them. I honestly laughed more in those two weeks than I had in a very long time.
Bret and I flew out together Sunday, 14 July, 2019. We took an overnight flight and arrived in Johannesburg around 11 am. Customs went smoothly, and we had a driver waiting for us who took us to our hotel.
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| It was Bret's first time flying business, so I took a picture of him to capture the moment! |
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| My attempt to take a blog-selfie... still working on the selfie thing. |
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| Peri Peri Chicken + Veggies |
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| Bret ready to eat his ostrich (not pictured - Nick & his lamb dish) |
After lunch we visited the Apartheid Museum. They also had a special exhibit over Nelson Mandela. I have to be honest and say that I had little to no knowledge over this history, but I found it so very interesting and now have greater appreciation for all that Nelson Mandela did to end apartheid. And, of course, since I managed to accidentally call Nelson Mandela Liza Minnelli (see prior post), my co-workers continued to remind me throughout the trip!
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| Apartheid Museum Johannesburg, South Africa |
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| One of many quotes I read at the museum but this one really stuck out to me. I had to read it twice, so it's okay if you do too. |
When we got back to the hotel it was about 4 pm. We debated each going back to our hotel room to rest before dinner but we all agreed we would crash and not get back up so instead we went and watched the end of Wimbledon at a nearby restaurant, had a couple of beers, and ate pizza. I can't speak for the boys, but I crashed so hard that night.
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| Our first introduction to Castle Lite... but it wasn't the last. |
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| Our yummy appetizers at Fishmonger. Fried squid + escargot. The picture doesn't look so appetizing, but I promise they were! |
At the end of the week, we had arranged to be picked up mid-day on Friday so we could meet Justin at the airport when he arrived. Justin had rented a car, and we were all going to drive to the lodge together (it was about a 2.5 hour drive). Mad props to Justin for being willing to drive! We were expecting to have a pretty small car for the 5 of us so it was suggested that we leave our large luggage at the hotel in Johannesburg and only bring what we really needed. I don't really have any small bags with me so I packed a small gym bag and stuffed as much as I could in it. It's always hard to know exactly what you'll need, so I also brought a very fashionable plastic grocery bag to hold my shoes I couldn't fit in my gym bag (ha).
When we got to the airport, Justin had actually managed to get us a nice Toyota Fortuner. We don't have them in the States, but I'd totally buy one if we did. I loved it.
We all jammed into the SUV and headed out for our adventure! Bret was totally prepared and had the Lion King soundtrack ready for us. He synced up his phone, and we listed to it for most of the trip.
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| ....and we're off! Front seat left to right: Justin & Brett Back seat left to right: Bret, me, & Nick |
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