Tag Archives: South Africa

A Quick Safari Fix at Pilanesberg National Park

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Mankwe DamMankwe Dam

Pilanesberg National Park is a Big 5 reserve about 2 hours north of Johannesburg. This is a great park to visit if you are in the Joburg area and maybe don’t have enough time to get over to Kruger. In the past year, we have made a couple day trips as well as a weekend camping trip to Pilanesberg. Sightings haven’t been all that great for us (the cats have eluded us completely on all trips) but of course it is always the luck of the draw when it comes to wildlife. We are always happy to just be out on safari and to see whatever we have the chance to spot so our time in the park has always been enjoyed.

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AAD 2014 Africa Aerospace and Defence Show

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A couple of weekends ago we attended the Africa Aerospace and Defence Show or AAD 2014. The show was held at Waterkloof Air Force Base near Centurion from September 20-21 2014 and while we were initially quite noncommittal about attending this event (we feared huge crowds, too hot etc) we had a fantastic day and we were both so glad that we went, even if we did end up a bit sunburned.

AAD 2014AAD 2014

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Stepping Inside the Villa Arcadia for Joburg Heritage Weekend

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Today, Sept 24th is a public holiday here in South Africa called Heritage Day. This holiday was created in order to celebrate the varied cultures and traditions across the nation. It has also more recently come to be known as National Braai Day (BBQ) but for purposes of this blog post, I am going to stick with the more traditional meaning.

This past weekend the Heritage Portal of Johannesburg organized a series of tours and walks to various heritage sites across the city. This was a great chance to explore some places that are not ordinarily open to the public. Everything sounded really interesting so it was a difficult decision but we decided to do the Villa Arcadia tour on Saturday afternoon.

Villa ArcadiaVilla Arcadia

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A Walk Through the Old Jewish Neighborhood of Doornfontein With Ancient Secrets

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If you have already been following my blog, you probably know that I am a big fan of Ishvara Dhyan’s Ancient Secrets walks. As still a relative newcomer to Joburg, I really enjoy getting to know the fascinating neighborhoods that Ishvara has chosen for his walking tours. This has given me the opportunity to learn about many places that I probably previously would never have thought to step foot in. Doornfontein was the third walk we have done with Ishvara after the Troyeville Walk and the Jeppestown Walk.

What I find especially captivating about these walks is that each neighborhood is packed with a varied history and Ishvara is a master at relating the path of evolution these neighborhoods have taken through the years. It is often said that Johannesburg is a city that is constantly reinventing itself and I found this to be particularily true of the Doornfontein neighborhood.

Ellis ParkEllis Park

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An Artsy Afternoon at the Turbine Art Fair

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The 2nd annual Turbine Art Fair was held from July 17-20 2014. This was a fantastic opportunity to view the talented work of a selection of South Africa’s top emerging artists. One of the emphases of the fair was accessibility of the artwork and for those attendees looking to add to their art collections or to get one started, all items were priced under 30,000 ZAR.

Turbine HallTurbine Hall

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