The Ripple Effect

May 21, 2014

There are plenty of side effects of living abroad. Excessive paperwork and additional administration, missing special moments in the lives of friends and family back home, and permanently feeling like the awkward new kid on the block, to name a few. While none of these would be considered positive, there are some awesome things that happen too. In addition to all of the incredible experiences we are gaining here, there is a ripple effect when we have the opportunity to share this with visitors from home. We hosted my parents in SA earlier this year and helped them check a few things off of their life-long bucket list. And just a few short weeks later, we had the opportunity to host M's parents as well. They never dreamed they'd set foot on the continent of Africa, let alone see a lion in the wild or ride an elephant. Yet, when M and I broke the news to them over Christmas in 2012 that we had accepted an offer to move to Johannesburg, their reaction shocked us more than any other, when they were the first people to tell us they would come visit. And I must admit, I'm not sure either M or I believed them. How wrong we were.

M's parents spent six weeks exploring southern Africa, using Joburg as their home base. It was extremely fulfilling to see them having the experience of a lifetime, and to show them around a place they never in a million years imagined they would see (and maybe never thought they wanted to, before we moved here). Here are a few shots of some of the highlights from their time in the city of gold. 

 Starting off their visit in Jozi with a visit to the legendary Nelson Mandela Square. 

In addition to purchasing the essential Jozi Giraffe, M's parents also purchased a gorgeous lion to start off their beaded collection.  

If they could have tapped the kegs at the entrance, I'm certain they would have. 

The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, evidently.  

SAB World of Beer. While beer is not generally (or ever) my beverage of choice, I was out-numbered on this one. It actually was a very cool tour of the brewery with plenty of cider tastings to keep even the non-beer drinkers happy! 

 A bunch of happy coconuts in Maboneng on a Sunday afternoon. 

This is becoming something of a tradition for M and I to take visitors to "I was shot in Joburg". They even had props this time! 

Funky graffiti in Maboneng. 

M's Dad and I got our shoes shined at The Zone in Rosebank; I think this is the first time I've ever had my shoes shined...aside from when my Dad does it or when I take my shoes in to get fixed. Needless to say my boots needed it!  

Montecasino Bird World. 

This guy was eyeing me. 

While a bit chilly by Joburg standards, it was a lovely sunny day at Bird World. 

Just like when M was a kid, his parents came to watch his soccer game. 

No matter how old we get, there's nothing like a visit from Mom and Dad. Thanks for making the trek to SA to see us and explore this incredible part of the world!

South Africans Make Their Mark

May 7, 2014

What Google in South Africa looked like on May 7 this year. 

For the first time in our little blog-world history, M is guest posting for me. Take it away M...

When we first got to South Africa we knew nothing about South African politics. Okay, maybe a little, but I am pretty sure the whole world knows that Nelson Mandela brought South Africa out of Apartheid and into a democracy as the first president. And if you didn’t know that, well, now you do.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the mention of "South African politics" seems to be closely associated with "corruption" these days. I'd be lying if I said it wasn't here and we haven't seen it over the past 14 months of living here. From President Jacob Zuma's daughter getting a nice cushy public job, to Mercedes' being handed out left and right to politicians, to million dollar upgrades of the President’s personal home in the name of “security”, one could easily question the moral compass of the South African government. The icing on the cake is that when Zuma was charged for rape, in addition to claiming innocence and that it was consensual, he also went on record justifying that he was not concerned with contracting AIDS as a result of having unprotected sex, because...wait for it...he showered afterwards.

Okay, now that we've established the context we're working with, the question begs, "how on earth could this guy get elected?" But first let’s go back to the beginning. The African National Congress (ANC) is the party that Nelson Mandela helped build. Throughout the majority of his life he was ready to die for this party and their ideals, and went to prison for most of his life because of this. The ANC was the first party to rule the South African democracy, and has held firm ever since. Interestingly, in South Africa the people vote for the party, and the party chooses their leader. And you guessed it, Mr. Zuma is part of the ANC. Slam dunk, right? Well, given the ANC's current troubles in paradise, the door seems to have opened, if only slightly, to other options. 

There were so many parties running in this year's election that I actually lost track of all of them. There were hundreds. Case in point: they played a game on the radio in the morning where they made callers guess whether the acronym was a party running in the elections or not- AMP? CIVIC? CD? COPE? CV? ERF? F2000? GEMINI? GOD? ID? IAM? MUM? PAL? PAP? BIG? STOPP? WASP? Yup, these are all parties running in the 2014 national elections (check out the Electoral Commission for a complete list). Despite the lengthy (and sometimes entertaining) list, the attention seemed to be on three main parties: the ANC led by sqeaky-clean Jacob Zuma, The Democratic Alliance (DA) led by Helen Zille, and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) led by Julius Malema. It's worth noting that Julius Malema was kicked out of the ANC for racial slurs, and has also been charged with fraud and money-laundering. Awesome. 

Since you already know the history of the ANC, and that the EFF's credibility is questionable, let me fill you in a bit on the third party: the DA. Forgive my lack of political incorrectness, but the DA is known collectively as the "white party". Every white person I've spoken to about the election was voting for this party. Helen Zille was a white Apartheid fighter, and the party has a solid resume in the Western Cape (the province where the city of Cape Town is located). The DA has won in the Western Cape in the past and were hoping to gain some ground on the ANC in some of the other provinces in South Africa. Earlier in the year the ANC enacted "E-tolls" in which they spent millions of Rand to put in place a system to electronically charge every driver on the major roads in the province of Gauteng (where Johannesburg and the capital city of Pretoria is). This did not go over well with almost everyone who drives a car, and the DA was hoping this could help them gain an advantage over the ANC as their platform was based on fighting corruption and E-tolls.

This brings us to May 7^th, 2014: Election Day in South Africa. 

How it works: First you vote. You are actually voting three times: municipal, provincial and then federal. The parties are the same, so you can vote for the ANC in municipal, provincial and federal. Then the votes get counted. The party with the most votes gets to pick the people they put into the Nation Assembly (Federal), Provincial Legislature, and Municipal Council. If one party wins a majority of at least 66.6% of the votes they win the ability to change the constitution any way they see fit. The results: with a 73.5% voter turnout (down from 77.3% in 2009), the ANC won 62.15% of the votes (down from 65.9% in 2009) and the DA came second with 22.23% (up from 16.66% in 2009). The EFF took third at 6.35%. The ANC also won every province except the Western Cape, where the DA won again. 

After another five years of democracy the ANC is still dominating the elections, but it does appears they are losing some followers to the DA. It looks like slowly more and more citizens of South Africa are making known the limits of what they are willing to put up with when it comes to poor policy decisions and a government testing out just how invincible it really is. But what does the future hold for South Africa? With an economy always on the brink of cracking and a depressing Rand (South Africa's currency), it might initially appear bleak. But, one of the things we have come to love about this country is that South Africans never give up hope. No matter what, they "make a plan", and have the patience to see it through. Does that mean it works every time, the first time? Absolutely not. Does it mean there is reason to keep fighting, keep believing, and keep taking steps in the direction of true freedom? Absolutely.  

The In-Between Times

May 5, 2014

While we managed to cram in a huge amount of exciting, news-worthy travelling and sight-seeing while Mom and Dad were here, sometimes it's the "in-between" times that make the best memories. It's the times we sat out at the patio table eating breakfast or drinking wine, lounging on the couch reading, grabbing an impromptu lunch at a cute cafe, or stopping at the giraffe guys to pick out the perfect souvenir that are the times I remember most from their visit. I thought I'd commemorate their six-week long trip around southern Africa with a few photos from the in-between times.

 Backyard breakfast- freshly reunited and freshly off their 25+ hour trip journey.

 Mom relaxing in the garden.

 Selfie at Zoo Lake on Mom and Dad's first day in SA!

Sharing wine with friends and family.

 Our flight's delayed? No problem. 44 Stanley here we come!

 Taking a walk over to "Art Under the Sun"- a monthly outdoor art gallery in a nearby park.

Chillaxin' on the couch. It's a rough life, but somebody's gotta do it...

 Pit stop lazy Saturday lunch at Fresh Earth.

Mom in heaven (aka Africa souvenir land in Parkview).

Negotiating for Mom's giraffey.

 I adore this photo- Dad doing the stare down while Mom's posing happily with her new friend!

 Lunch at Vovo Telo.

The last selfie of the trip- at the airport.

All packed up and heading home...thanks for letting us share our little bit of Africa with you guys!

Mauritian Life

April 24, 2014

The view that will always be Mauritius to me.

While Reunion is know for its stunning greenery, jaw-dropping hikes, active volcanoes and jagged rocky cliffs, Mauritius is know for its stunning beaches, crystal-clear waters, year-round glorious weather, and some of the most luxurious resorts in the entire Indian Ocean. It only made sense to combine the two islands into the Connell-Smith Indian Ocean Tour itinerary, right?

While most people who come to Mauritius tend to stay in one of the all-inclusive resorts and spend their week eating buffets and lounging on the hotel's sun beds sipping mai tais, we decided on a slightly different approach.

First, we opted for a self-catering suite on the island so we could have our own private balcony, sea views, and access to make the occasional brunch and/or braai if we were so inclined. We loved having our own space, and made a habit of having sundowners overlooking the ocean on a nightly basis (staring out at the view in the picture above).

Second, we explored a lot of the island. Which, as it turned out, was actually not as easy as I thought it would be. There is really only one main highway on the island, which cuts through the island on a diagonal, so you're forced to take secondary roads the majority of the time to get anywhere, most of which are not along the coast (we were spoiled by Réunion's stunning coastal ring-road!). We saw parts of the island beyond the beautiful beaches: from the capital city chaos, the rural towns and villages inland from the coast, to the everyday going-ons of Mauritian life. We were surprised by how much some parts of the island felt like India- the colours, the sounds, the smells and the rituals. Which makes sense, really, given that over 80% of the population is Indian (something I didn't know before we went to Mauritius).

Of course, we also managed to fit in plenty of leisure and adventure along the way. From cruising in a catamaran to the secluded northern island of Île Plate, parasailing off the eastern island of Île aux Cerfs, swimming with wild dolphins in the early morning off the crystal clear western shores, meeting giant ancient tortoises at Île aux Aigrettes in the south, to exploring sugar cane fields/rum distilleries/tea plantations scattered throughout the interior of the island. And while it might go without saying, there was still plenty of beach time to be had to fully qualify it as a beach holiday!

And like all things beautiful, Mauritius begs to be photographed. Enjoy a *few* of my favourite shots from the island. 

Walking to dinner: a 15 minute walk down the beach to the Bay Hotel. 

Sundowners on the beach. 

The sun, the water and the sand. It doesn't get much better than this.

A busy stretch of beach from Trou aux Biches to Mont Choisy. At least you can team up your afternoon of tanning with some hand-bag shopping...right?

Okay, so the hand bags and jewellery I could pass up, but fresh pineapple and coconut on the beach? Now, those I couldn't resist (and when they are served by a guy making a living on his bicycle who speaks at least seven languages, I'm sold). 

Random fact: this out-of-the-way beach in Tamarin (on the southwestern side of the island) is the scene on the cover of Lonely Planet's travel guide for "Mauritius, Reunion & Seychelles". 

Locals coming in from their morning fishing trip.

Love the colourful boats.

Meeting Big Daddy!

This guy is 95 years old. M doesn't think he looks a day over 94.

Monday market in Mahebourg.

So many colourful dresses (yes, we both bought sundresses).

"Hawkers not allowed" hmm...

 The capital city of Port Louis at Le Caudan waterfront. 

18th-century salt flats of Tamarin; the last place in Mauritius where salt is still produced.  

Mauritian life away from the beaches.

And since one can't stay away from the beaches for long on such a tiny island...Point d'Ensy on the south-eastern side of the island made an excellent snorkel stop.

Driving around the southern coast of the island at sunset.

View of Coin de Mire.

Living the life!

#wishyouwerehere.

The fam- after a solid day of Catamaraning and beaching.

Paradise found.

Ice cream from the Yum Yum truck.

Just another day swimming with wild dolphins...

One of these things is not like the others...yes, that's my husband swimming in the middle of the pod.

Admittedly, he was very good at keeping up with them!

Snorkelling at Crystal Rock- easily one of my favourite places and favourite days of our entire trip.

Hanging out with the Rock.

The water was so shallow and warm!

Sorry for the belly shot Dad, but I love how this looks like you're swimming in an aquarium.

M in his snorkelling glory.

I love how the water and the sky are the same shade of blue...

Terre de 7 Couleurs (Coloured Earths). Not exactly somewhere I would seek out in terms of interesting sights on the island, but a lovely afternoon exploring with M all the same!

Chamarel Waterfall.

Coconut drink, anyone?

Sugar cane fields on the eastern side of the island.

Showing off our new Helios sunglasses...by the end of the week every single one of us was the proud owner of a new pair of "made-in-Mauritius" sun glasses.

Parasailing! Yes, we all did this.

View of Île aux Cerfs from above.

M and I having an absolute blast. 

Last supper in Mauritius.

We could get used to this. 

Damn Africa, you know how to make a sunset.