Urban Decay

March 9, 2014

Tonight we went on a tour of Yeoville. When I told friends at work of our plans, I got very questioning stares, followed by the following two questions: "you're going where? Why?" Yeoville is not exactly somewhere that anyone not from Yeoville would generally spend much time. 

Having lived in Johannesburg for almost a year now (I know!), I have been feeling lately like there are some parts to the city that I think I am ready to see more of. And while these places might not be spots I feel comfortable venturing on my own (or that our South African friends would be caught-dead visiting on their own free will), I couldn't help but think that by not making an effort to see more of the city, I would be missing out on understanding Jozi better. 

Yeoville was a lot of things. Busy, vibrant, loud, smelly, colourful, and alive, to name a few. Scary was not one of them. Don't get me wrong, we stood out like sore thumbs, and I probably would have been much more apprehensive if I was alone. But, I would say we were noticed more out of curiosity than anything else.

Yeoville is a community of migrants- from all over the country and the continent at large. A quick and dirty history of Yeoville, as I understand it: Yeoville used to be an artsy, hip suburb that attracted musicians, students and political activists to it's funky cafes and urban lifestyle. In the 90's, a major demographic shift happened and the population of Yeoville went from being 85% white in 1990, to being 90% black by 1998. With the end of apartheid and the political instability that came with it, banks "red-lined" the area, meaning they refused to grant mortgages in the area. Expensive rental prices in a poverty-stricken area meant over crowding of infrastructure, neglect of upkeep, and property damage. Over time this lead to significant urban decay. The 2000's brought with them a whole-hearted attempt to restore and rebuild Johannesburg's inner city (including Yeoville); to make them safer, improve urban management, and enforce bylaws. These things take time, though, and for many Joburgers Yeoville is still considered a no-go zone.

Dlala Nje is an organization run by former Joburg suburbanites who now live in Ponte City, African's largest residential building that sits smack in the centre of three of Joburg's most notorious suburbs: Hillbrow, Yeoville and Berea. In a nutshell, Dlala Nje is "..a games and cultural emporium at the base of Ponte City in the heart of Hillbrow". Recently they have started offering walking tours in an effort to challenge the negative images associated with these suburbs. These guys know the people and the area, and going with them is like being invited in, rather than charging through as an intruder.

M, G and I joined Nick (the Co-Founder and Cultural Director of Dlala Nje) for a foodie tour of Yeoville on Sunday night. The tour started in the early evening, so we had a chance to see the Joburg skyline at dusk and spend some time eating and drinking in Yeoville at night. Anyone who has spent any amount of time in Johannesburg knows that sight-seeing and night do not generally go together. This was a rare opportunity to experience the vibrancy that comes when the sun sets and see another side of dear Jozi.

Graffiti inside Dlala Nje. Love this. 

Ponte City: the highest residential building on the continent of Africa. 

Ponte's a little rough around the edges these days, but getting some much needed love to uncover and rediscover the magic of this unique place. 

Getting down low to try and capture the whole tower in one frame (the DSLR came out later...but I never miss an opportunity to play with M's iPhone). 

At the base inside the Ponte City tower- looking up 54 stories.

It wasn't exactly a walk-in-the-park to get to the base of the tower...

Kids playing inside Ponte City. 

View from the 7th floor of the tower. 

Admiring the view from the Yeoville heath. 

Jozi has an incredibly distinctive skyline: this is probably my favourite view of it to date.

Stunning view.

 On Sunday evenings the heath in Yeoville is a sacred place where people come to pray.

Strange to see such beautiful buildings in such serious disrepair.

Water tower.

Locals on the streets of Yeoville.

New meaning to "street meat". This guy's set-up was truly impressive.

Enjoying drinks Congolise-style. 

The chef at the Cameroonaise seafood restaurant where we had West African grilled fish for dinner (it was so fresh that M even ate it with virtually no complaining!).

We bought a mango and a papaya from these guys; the mango was honestly the best I have ever tasted. Woolies has nothing on these guys.

G ordering a round with the locals. 

Streets of Yeoville by night. 

Celebration in the Garden

March 8, 2014

On Saturday two very good friends of ours celebrated their recent engagement, and we had the honour of hosting R and C together with their families and friends in our garden. We are so grateful to have met these two and to have them be a part of our experience here in South Africa. We are very much looking forward to sharing in your special day next year guys!

100 Shades of Black and White

March 1, 2014

This marks my 100th blog post. 100 posts is a lot of posts. So what the heck am I posting about? Great question. 

I've had a few questions lately about the "real" South Africa. Whether what I show on this blog represents all aspects of life in South Africa, or if there is more to it that I haven't yet tapped into.

As my goal for my 100th post, I thought I'd attempt to shed a bit of light on this (or perhaps confuse the issue more…I'll let you be the judge) and attempt to answer both of these questions simultaneously.

I find in some ways Johannesburg could be any city in the world (it has most every amenity you could want, modern buildings, well-maintained parks, decent road structures, etc), but in other ways it is very much Africa and very much a developing country. As an example, I know of two different South Africans that got married this past year at roughly the same time; one was a couple who met at work who had a modern wedding in a hotel, and the other was an arranged marriage and strictly obeyed their tribe’s traditional dowry system. Both were equally openly discussed and celebrated, despite being from very different cultures and living very different lifestyles. I notice on a day to day basis that there are high-end shopping malls with street vendors out front selling oranges and avocados, there are major townships located less than ten minutes from very posh residential areas, and there are newly mandated highway toll fees put in place by a president who openly has at least six wives. The sheer contrast is probably the biggest cultural aspect for me, and I think it is one of the most interesting things about living here. 

Now for the blog. How does one capture so much contrast: so many differences, disparities, and anomalies? My aim is to capture the whole picture on this blog over time, bit by bit, rather than attempting to contain all of the aspects at once in each individual post. 

The diversity of the country comes through when you compare amazing al fresco dinners to townships, unapologetic love to a very troubled history, and even the bush to the beach. The true colours of South Africa's juxtapose comes when you see the stunning scenery, impressive entrepreneurship and incredible ingenuity of the country all alongside appalling administration, scary statistics and enough bad publicity to scare people to their graves before they even set foot in the country. 

As someone who currently calls this crazy astonishing city (and country!) home, I feel a twinge in my heart to stand up for it. I feel as though the rougher side of Jozi and South Africa is already plenty on display that there's no need for me to rub it in. And so, I focus on the sunshine rather than the razor barbed-wire electric fencing. The appreciative gestures rather than the homeless mother with her two babies begging in the middle of the intersection. The blooming jacaranda trees rather than the piles of rubbish on the sidewalk. The interesting places worth visiting rather than a stolen steering wheel or a smashed window.

And, let's not forget the travel. That is also part of the country. South Africa is filthy rich when it comes to places worth seeing, and it has the added bonus of being neighbours with some pretty fantastic countries too. Blogging about these places shows more of Africa, and more of this experience as a whole.

And so, piece by piece, this blog is helping to build the mosaic that is my experience in this amazing part of the world. Here's to another 100 posts and another 100 shades of South Africa... 

Champagne Valley

February 28, 2014

No, this is not Ireland. Or New Zealand. Or British Columbia. 

Welcome to the Drakensberg in the summer. Compared to our first visit to the Berg, it doesn't even look like the same place (or the same continent for that matter!). The sun-burnt grass and dry straw earth have been exchanged for a massive blanket of lush greenery covering every corner of the Berg. 

Our first visit to the Berg included more of the northern parts of this famous mountain range (in the Royal Natal National Park), while this visit we decided to head to the Central Berg area, otherwise known as Champagne Valley (within the uKhahlamba-Drakensberg Park). Within the valley are three main peaks: Monk's Cowl, Champagne Castle and Cathkin Peak. This trip we opted for a more relaxing adventure (as opposed to a three-day hike); we stayed in a gorgeous resort right at the foot of the mountains and spent our weekend doing a short half-day hike (to the "Sphinx"), driving around the Midlands Meander in the Natal Midlands, and zip-lining through the tree-tops on a canopy tour. As expected, the Berg did not disappoint!

It felt like a scene from Lord of the Rings.

Even M couldn't resist taking pictures of the scenery.

Can you see the Sphinx?

Heading back towards the valley. 

The view from our room.

Relaxing at the Champagne Castle Hotel.

I'm not the biggest fan of baboons, but they are cheeky little suckers. You gotta give them that.

Heading into the Blue Grotto forest to fly through the trees and learn all kinds of interesting facts.

Interesting Canopy Tour Fact 1: each zip is called a "slide". This tour has 12 slides in total.

Interesting Canopy Tour Fact 2: The longest slide is 170m.

Interesting Canopy Tour Fact 3: The Blue Grotto forest is home to over 150 species of birds (including the uncommon Bush Blackcap- we did not see it, but apparently it lives in there somewhere).

Interesting Canopy Tour Fact 4: The highest slide is 60m. We were told this is the highest canopy tour slide in all of Africa.

Interesting Canopy Tour Fact 5: The Blue Grotto forest is over 10 000 years old. The platforms for the slides "hug" the trees but do not damage or puncture them. 

 M and I together with the rest of our tour group.

Gorgeous sunny day in the mountains.

Random cool mural in Champagne Valley. 

Going for Gold

February 23, 2014

One of the downfalls of being an expat is that sometimes it makes it harder to celebrate your home country's successes. When the 2014 Olympics were happening in Russia, South Africans barely blinked an eye. And really, can you blame them, given that there was not even one South African in the winter games? 

While we don't have a TV here, we did manage to keep in touch with how Canada was doing throughout the two weeks of the olympics by catching an event a friend's house (mens moguls) and watching the day-after highlights online. But, that just wouldn't cut it when it came to the gold medal hockey game. And so, a system was fashioned with the assistance of my parents in Nova Scotia. It involved Google+, a thick telephone book, and a fair amount of squinting. The result was totally worth it: cheering along for every one of the three goals Canada scored against Sweden, and celebrating the victory virtually with my family. 

Given that the game was on at 2pm here, it meant it was 5am in Alberta. Naturally though, that didn't stop anyone from getting up, going to the pub, and having a beer and some chicken wings while Canada worked their way to the top of the podium. And of course it was all perfectly legal, as Canada changed the liquor laws in order to allow bars to open early and serve alcohol for the game. That's one way to go about it, eh?

Team Canada in Joburg cheering along with Nova Scotia.

Thanks for helping us be a part of this moment in Canada's history, Dad!

Now that's commitment. Not bad, Alberta, not bad.

Paris or Parys?

February 16, 2014

Parys is the Afrikaans word for Paris; and well, I can tell you, it is really nothing like the real Paris (I'm told there is even an Eiffel Tower somewhere in the town, but I still don't think that would change my mind).  That being said, Parys does have a few redeeming features. 

At less than an hour from Johannesburg, it makes a lovely escape from the city. The quaint little town is a popular spot for Joburgers (yes, that really is what they are called) to visit on a Sunday afternoon for lunch on the river and to browse a few of the antique shops. 

But, the main claim to fame of Parys is the world's largest meteorite impact site. That's right, Vredefort measures about 200km in diameter, and is the oldest (2,000,000,000 years old) and largest in the world. Hence, it is now considered a Unesco World Heritage Site. 

I must admit that it sounds cooler than it actually was. But, standing on the rim of the "crater" did lend itself to great views of the valley and surrounding area. Not to mention the fact that we got to go on a very quirky and random "4x4 safari" up the steep ridge to the viewing point. I'm always up for a random adventure (shocking, I know). 

And so, on this Valentine's Day weekend, I dedicate this post to my husband, M, for enduring these experiences in the name of amusing his wife. Love you to the end of the world's largest meteorite impact site and back. 

4x4ing to see the view of the world's largest meteorite impact site.

 Learning all about the "meteorite".

"You see, way over there?"

View of the meteorite impact site.

 Cool bridge in the town of Parys. Not quite the Arc de Triomphe.

 Golden sunflower fields on the way back to Joburg.

Braai Culture

February 9, 2014

A sunny day. A cold beverage. Crackling coals. The smell of meat on the grill. Sharing a few laughs with family and friends. These are all part of a good braai, and just some of the many reasons why South Africans take their braai so seriously.

We've been fortunate to have been invited for braais on several occasions over the past eleven months, so now, it was our turn. And while we still have many a-braai to host, this one was particularly meaningful as our guests were a big part of us coming to South Africa in the first place. Thanks for letting us test our braai skills on you and helping us put our garden to good use!