Gauteng
Province,for those who don’t know, is the most crowded province in SA with the
worst traffic and a reputation for crime and craziness. Its also the most
wealthy, happening and exciting place in SA ( possibly in all of Africa) and
home to many of our friends and family. Maizefield (the farm) is in the Free
State and we support the Cheetahs; I come from Kwa Zulu Natal with the best
beaches and lifestyle; the Perdeput ( beach cottage ) is in the Western Cape,
which has all the beauty and grows all the wine; we go to Mpumalanga for trout
fishing and game reserves and to the North West for golf at Zebula; but we come
home to Gauteng! We arrived home in time to enjoy Carol and Megan’s 50th
Birthday Bash, then dashed off to Sabi and Dullstroom for fishing and Kruger
Park. We had one of the best single days in the Park ever, with sightings of
cheetah, lions twice, 5 different encounters with rhino, far too many ellies to
count and various herds of buffalo numbering 100’s each. We saw a martial eagle
catch and eat a rat and spotted the secretive African Finfoot. We have spent a
few weeks/long weekends at Zebula and quite a bit of time at the farm; catching
up on a lot of chores and maintenance work. Neil enjoys a little farming and is
improving his butcher's skills when it comes to turning a sheep carcass into
roasts, chops, ribs and other sundry cuts. He also enjoyed a day at the
livestock sale; selling enough sheep to pay for a new engine for the old farm
bakkie. We have been back to Dullstroom a few more times and have quite a few
trout in the freezer now. Neil and his bike mates went on a great trip too; an
overnight train trip to Queenstown; travelling all the way back from the
Eastern Cape by bike - via Barkly East, Rhodes and Clarens. Some mountain
passes proved a bit of a challenge with the heavy BMW 1200, prompting the
purchase of a new Honda 250 off-road-ish bike, which should also come in handy
around traffic-logged Gauteng.
We went to
Winex with Carol, Jane, Ann and Linda and enjoyed another typical Gauteng
experience, getting a ride home with Goodfellows, a company who drives you home
in your own car . In the 90’s none of this was necessary but the new Metro
Police are always on the prowl these days; mostly looking for late night bribes
rather than keeping drunken drivers off the roads. We have discovered new
“haunts” like the Fairway Hotel for music and drinks and Die Blou Hond ( Blue
Dog ) for wacky Afrikaans live music. We still hang out at the old favourites like Col Cacchios
Pizza, the Baron on Main and Montecasino. We have enjoyed many evenings and
dinners at so many of our wonderful friends’ homes too. That’s another tick for
Gauteng - everyone is so hospitable. We have not spent one night “in” in 6
weeks! We have only been in Gauteng on and off over the last 12 years and I do
think this affects our attitude to the people and the place. We love the
diversity but we don’t feel as “invested in” life here as our friends. It’s a
fantastic lifestyle but it comes with a price - you don’t just end up here -
you choose it and you have to live with your choice. So everyone makes it
work for them and, consciously or unconsciously, this affects how people live.
Can you feel a bit like a visitor in the place you call home? We do. It’s about
experiencing all the great things about a place without having to deal with any
of the tough stuff!
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