Car, Couch and Career

September 25, 2013

This is a post I have been wanting to write for a long time. But, good things take time. And so, I am elated that I am finally able to write about the three things we thought might never happen. Or, at least, the things that took their time happening.

I also wanted to write this post is to provide some colour on the settling-in process and some of the "logistical challenges" we experienced with moving overseas. Because let's face it; while the travelling and exploring is amazing, at the root of it all is life, and while it might not conjure up the same feelings of excitement as seeing the desert elephants in Namibia or hiking in the world's third largest canyon, it is the reason we are able to do those things, and ultimately forms the total experience of living here.

Before arriving in South Africa M and I settled on the vehicle we wanted to purchase here: a Toyota Fortuner. We had heard horror stories about the poor condition of the roads here, and that an SUV would provide better safety for us driving around in a city that sells smash and grab protection for a reason. However; after arriving in Joburg and spending time in the city, we soon became aware of the other side of the coin: petrol is expensive, the roads are narrow, the parking spaces small, and the vast majority of people drive compact hatchbacks, putting a nice target on a giant shiny SUV. My company offers a car purchase program to facilitate the vehicle purchase process for expats, but, like most things that are new and not-so-well-oiled, there were some hiccups along the way. After over two months of living here and still without our own car, we decided we might need to consider changing course. Actually, I woke up one day so frustrated with the whole thing that in the (rental) car on the way to work I said to M, "Maybe we should just go out and buy a car ourselves." By the end of the week, he had found us an adorable hatchback, still under warranty, and it could be ours by the end of the week. Sold! You might be wondering why we didn't just do this in the first place? With all of the things that required sorting, it only made sense to utilize the few programs that are in place to help make things a bit easier. And besides, the important part of this story is that while it didn't work out as planned, it actually worked out better.

Given a two-year timeline we decided before we even touched African soil that it didn't make sense for us to ship our belongings over from Canada, and that we would find a furnished place to rent instead. In theory this seemed like the right approach. However; (there's always a however with these stories, isn't there?) we struggled trying to find a place that ticked all of the boxes: somewhere where I could go running from our front door, close enough to the office that I wouldn't be forced to get up before dawn and fight traffic everyday, a place with a nice outdoor space that would allow us to enjoy the incredible climate here and the outdoor braai culture (something that's a little tricky on a 10th floor flat), and was furnished. The long and short of it was that we were not going to find something that met all of our criteria, and was within our budget. And since the budget factor directly impacted our travelling fund, we were not willing to budge on price. The process of finding a place forced us to learn the neighbourhoods in the city, do our research, and become fast-friends with fellow-expats and locals in order to pick their brains for tips and tricks. We found the perfect unfurnished place, and after a few quick calculations (we are accountants, after all) we decided it made more sense to buy our own furniture rather than fork out the monthly rent for a suitable furnished place. While it took over three months before we actually had a couch, in the end we wound up with a lekker place that is perfect for us. 

When we set out on this adventure we knew that it was going to take a significant amount of time, luck, and patience in order for M to start his career here. In fact, we were not even convinced that it would be possible. We certainly hoped it would be though. Shortly after we arrived M had an interview that after a few weeks turned into a verbal offer. It was the perfect fit for him and would provide precisely the type of experience he was looking to gain here. And then the waiting began. For the written offer. For the work permit application to be submitted. For the work permit application to be approved. For the work permit application to be officially adhered to M's passport. We managed to use this time for M to tackle some of the administrative matters that go with settling in (see above car and apartment related drama), but there was still plenty of time for him to determine if he should forgo the workforce and join the pro circuit. When things were still in process (or limbo, depending on how you look at it), we decided to take a trip to Namibia, knowing that when (not if) he started work it would be awhile before we would be able to take time off together. This turned out to be one of the best trips M and I have ever taken. Seriously, Ever. And then, six months and three days from the day we landed in South Africa, M started work. It was the last piece of the settling-in puzzle for us, and represented a huge step toward the opportunity for this to be a game-changing experience for both of us, not only in life but also in our individual careers.

Before we moved here we were well aware (and aptly warned) that things in Africa take time. I've heard my co-workers and fellow expats mutter "T-I-A"  many times: This Is Africa. I'm certainly not saying this as a slam by any means (I did spend two years trying to make this move happen, after all), but more as a reminder of the fact that we knew in advance that we could not come here expecting things to happen the way they do in Canada, since, well, this isn't Canada. And let's be honest, an international move to anywhere is a mission. So, the fact that we've been able to settle into our life here without any major mishaps and even gain a few good stories along the way, is a resounding success in my books.

National Braai Day

September 24, 2013

South Africans are serious about their braai (BBQ). So much so that "Heritage Day" is known as National Braai Day. That's pretty serious.

So a little bit about Heritage Day first: it was initially endorsed as a public holiday in 2008 with the purpose of bringing about a greater unification, understanding and respect for the diversity of cultures, beliefs and traditions that make up the nation of South Africa. I think this Desmond Tutu quote from the inaugral Heritage Day sums it up really well:

"We're going to have a wonderful thing on the 24th of this month...when we all gather round one fire...it's a fantastic thing, a very simple idea. Irrespective of your politics, of your culture, of your race, of your whatever, hierdie ding doen ons saam (this thing we do together)...just South Africans doing one thing together, and recognizing we are a fantastic nation."

They actually fit together quite nicely- heritage and braaiing, that is. While there are many cultures, religions and races in South Africa, everyone has one thing in common: "When we have something to celebrate we light fires, and prepare great feasts" (quote and image from the National Braai Day website).

While we didn't braai on Braai Day this year per se (as we were travelling back from Swaziland), we have embraced this South African pastime with open arms. We made a point of buying a proper charcoal grill here (as opposed to the propane variety we are more accustomed to), and M has become very well-versed in the art of braaiing. With year-round weather that was built for being outside, it'd be hard not to want to adopt this bit of South African culture. And hey, what better way to celebrate life here than by lighting a fire?

World Rhino Day

September 22, 2013

They are one of the Big Five, putting them on every tourist's "must see" list when they come to Africa for a safari. And yet they could become extinct during our lifetime. 

And so, rhinos have their own special day to promote awareness and conservation on a global scale. Being in South Africa, where apparently 73% of the world's population of wild rhinos live, World Rhino Day is a big deal. I received a company-wide email at work promoting the day and encouraging support, and have seen posters and campaigns all over the country advertising the poaching statistics and the bleak future of these animals. Having had the opportunity to see many-a-rhino throughout southern Africa over the course of the last six months, I thought for my contribution to World Rhino Day I would dedicate a post to them. This one's for all the rhinos of the world.  

A few of the rhinos we've seen around southern Africa: Madikwe Game Reserve (South Africa), Pilansberg National Park (South Africa), Etosha National Park (Namibia) and Mkhaya Game Reserve (Swaziland); Centre image source: World Rhino Day

Alright, so why are they going extinct? Everything I read lately seems to tell the same story: rhino horn is believed in China and Vietnam to have medicinal properties, and when ground into a powder the horn is believed to be a cure for everything from bewitching nightmares, fever, dysentery and anxiety all the way to an antidote for poison (side note: contrary to popular belief, it is not considered to be an aphrodisiac). As a result, rhino hunting has been around for centuries in order to supply this highly saught-after medical ingredient. The sad part is that these beliefs are based on tradition Chinese medicine (TCM) practices dating back to the 1600's, and research has never been able to prove that rhino horn is actually effective.  

In order to address decreasing populations of rhinos worldwide, in 1987 the 100+ member countries of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) agreed to shut down trade completely of all rhino products. However; the belief in the horn's healing properties created a huge market for poaching and illegal trading of the horn. The significant increase in poaching over the last five years is believed to be the result of illegal trade routes established through increased globalization. Given the steadily declining number of these creatures left on the planet, the market price per kilo of rhino horn is currently estimated to be more than double the going rate for gold (making poaching that much more appealing during economic hardships). 

The International Union for Conservation of Nature has added all five remaining species of rhinos to the "redlist" of highly threatened species, with three of the five species being classified as critically endangered. If the poaching continues at the rate it is going, it is believed that the number of deaths will overtake the number of births in the next three to five years, meaning that rhinos could very well become extinct in the near future.*   

*Source of graph, facts and statistics: Save the Rhino (data published by South African Department of Environment Affairs in 2013)

While this post was initially meant to be a tribute to the rhino, it also turned out to be a startling reality check for me of the very real possibility that if things do not change, and soon, these animals will only be found in photos. 

Kingdom of Swaziland

September 20, 2013

One of the things I've really enjoyed about being in South Africa (and writing this blog!) is expanding my (meager) knowledge of African history and politics. Case in point: while I knew that the Kingdom of Swaziland is a monarchy, I didn't understand how it is different from say, the United Kingdom. And alas, Wikipedia came to the rescue: the difference is that Swaziland is an absolute monarchy, whereas the U.K. is a constitutional monarchy. What this means is that Swaziland is one of only a handful of countries left in the world where the king has unconditional political power. I was asking M what this meant in real terms when we were in Swazi, and he said that if the king wanted to make me marry him, he could. Or, if he wanted to make all tourists hand over all of their assets to him, he could do that too. Awesome. Thanks for the lesson on political power, M...

While we did not meet King Mswati III during our stay, we did see his mug proudly displayed all over the country: his photo was reverently displayed behind every reception desk and above every bar, and sarongs with his portrait on them hung from clotheslines and were wrapped around local ladies galore.

We spent an extra-long weekend exploring the Kingdom that is Swaziland...

The Ezulwini Valley is known for its local craft shops; given that it poured rain all day on our first day in Swazi, I declared it a shopping day.

One of the main reasons I wanted to go to Swaziland was to visit Mkhaya Game Reserve; while it isn't home to all of the big 5 (there are no lions), it is known for its natural beauty, and for the number of rhinos that thrive here. 

Antelopes! Clockwise from top left: common waterbuck (male); white blue wildebeest (the white fur is due to a recessive gene: we were told this is very rare, and judging by the fact that we've never seen or heard of this before, I'm tempted to believe it's true); nyalas (female).

Male Nyala: perhaps he's looking for the lady nyalas at the watering hole in the previous photo?

I think these two were posing for me: this turned out to be one of my favourite buffalo shots to date!

White rhino spotting on our first game drive through the gorgeous landscapes of Mkhaya.

While we did not see any black rhinos this trip, we did see loads of white rhino. Mkhaya actually does not publish the number of rhinos living in the park as they are undergoing significant conservation efforts and want to protect the rhinos as much as possible from poachers.

Rhino road block.

Walking safari: We spent some time hiking through the plains, and got up close and personal with a few giraffes and a pair of rhinos. While we've seen both of these from the comfort of a 4x4, it provided a new perspective to be on the ground without a giant vehicle between us.

Rhino daycare at the watering hole: each of these pairs includes a mother and her young.

Hello horn.

It took a couple of days for the sky to clear after the rain; I love the dramatic clouds this created. I took this shot en-route from Mkhaya to Piggs Peak.

We spent our last night in Swazi at an eco reserve on the edge of the Phophonyane Falls in the north-western part of the country. We went for a hike to the falls followed by a swim in a natural pool fed directly from the falls. We loved this place.

The view, the falls, and the blossoming jacaranda trees. 

Before heading back to South Africa, we paid a visit to the teeny-tiny settlement of Bulembu. Before leaving for Swazi a friend at work suggested we include it in our itinerary, and arranged for someone to meet us there and explain the history of the town and the efforts being made to revitalize it through a community tourism project. Ironically, the children's choir from Bulembu had left the day before for a three-week trip to Alberta, Canada!

The road from the Bulembu border crossing through to Barbeton, South Africa provided stunning views of the surrounding mountain ranges for our drive home.

Joburg Day

September 14, 2013

What do you get when you combine 30,000 people, 16 South African bands, 12 hours of non-stop music, and 30+ degree-weather? You get a sold out Joburg Day; one of the biggest music events in the country, and a symbol of the freedom and youthfulness of the city of Johannesburg. A sampling of some of the artists we saw: an all-girl folky-band (Blackbyrd), an Afrikaans rapper (Jack Parow), South Africa's own Nickelback (Prime Circle), a one-man-band (Jeremy Loops), the winner of Idols South Africa (Elvis Blue), and an acapulco beat-boxer (Morgan Beatbox). A mixed bag indeed, which attracted a mixed crowd of spectators (and made for some fantastic people watching...); overall a very entertaining day! 

FOB...We're Famous

September 7, 2013

JHB Live is a website I use often to find out what's going on in the city and to read reviews of events and restaurants. When the page loaded on one of my usual perusals, it took me a minute to realize I recognized some of the faces in the cover photo. Awesome. 

And so, clearly we went to the Festival of Beer (FOB). With the arrival of spring in Joburg, it's never a bad idea to spend the day outside at a picnic table drinking beer (or cider, in my case). And even though we didn't get a chance to test out the giant beer pong, I'll still give them points just for having it.  Fun times in Jozi!

Namibia Part 7: The Salt Pan

August 29, 2013

Zebra in Etosha National Park

A trip to Nam would not be complete without a visit to Etosha National Park. At least this is what we were told, and who are we to argue with the locals? And so, Etosha made our itinerary. The name means "Great White Place of Dry Water", as there is a massive 5000 square kilometre salt pan in the middle of Etosha. One of the incredible things about Etosha is that unlike other places where you strain to see a zebra here or an elephant there, the herds are hundreds strong, and they all congregate together at the water holes (think Noah's ark, except rather than two by two they come by the dozens/hundreds). Because the environment is so dry and barren, the watering holes are the life-lines of the animals here. Here are a few of the highlights of our Etosha experience:

Black-backed jackals- these two came running from opposite directions and seem to be greeting each other as if they hadn't seen each other for awhile. 

On the off chance that you're still interested in seeing pictures of elephants after Damaraland's play-by-play... here's one in Etosha. 

One of the coolest things about Etosha is the fact that so many different types of wildlife come together at the watering holes.

 It was as though there was a stand-off between the giraffes and the elephant...then all but one of the giraffes decided to move on, leaving one the fend for himself!

Between the cover shot and this one, I couldn't decide which one I liked better (and this guy appeared to have both ears in-tact, unlike the poor soul in the cover image). 

 Making his way across the plains...it's not often that I'm able to get a clean shot of a giraffe as they are often obscured by trees and bushes, so I felt the need to share this small victory.

Playing with the late afternoon light (me, not the giraffe).

We stayed at a rest camp inside the reserve, and they have a little watering hole that visitors can sit at 24-hours a day. Visitors are not generally allowed to wander about game reserves after dark for obvious reasons, but the viewing spot here is tucked away and the animals would have to work pretty hard to get to it, so it seems they make an exception. It was a cool spot to sit and wait for whatever happened to come by...we saw several black rhinos over the course of our two days here (note the token black rhino in the photo, above), so we weren't complaining!

We cracked open a bottle of wine and watched the sun set over the watering hole...

I couldn't get enough of the Namibian skies...so many colours.

This family of white rhinos came by for a drink shortly after the sky turned black (I struggled with taking photos of moving animals in the dark...these two images are the closest I could get to clear shots).

Three spotted hyenas trying to see what they could scrounge up in the early morning.

One kazillion zebras all trying to drink from the watering hole at the same time. 

Putting my telephoto lens to the test!

Clockwise from top: the "beach" on the horizon is actually the ginormous salt pan Etosha is named after; zebra crossing; these clocks were at every rest camp and gate to the reserve, as they only allowed self-drivers into the reserve once the sun was up, and everyone had to be back out by the time the sun set; how could I not capture M and I in our ridiculous ponchos? It was a cold game drive...; watch out for pumbas; and in case we ever forget which reserve we were in....

Having a few German beers in Nam's Capital city, Windhoek (English: the Corner of Wind) before heading back to Joburg! So long Nam, it was an absolute pleasure!