Jo'burg

evertony · January 12, 2014

Any one been who can offer any tasters? Working out there for a week or so and keen on a few pointers,

cheers in advance

TigerLily · January 12, 2014

Just go to Sandton City.
I think it's about the only nice place there.
Will ask my friends where the nice clubs are. We stay in Pretoria, so never drive through to Johannesburg for anything but work.

dholliday · January 12, 2014

evertony said:
Any one been who can offer any tasters? Working out there for a week or so and keen on a few pointers,

cheers in advance

Be prepared for the shock of how black people live in townships in the middle of the city. And how rude some middle-class white people are in restaurants to the black waiting staff.

Other than that culture shock, I had a great time there...most of the people (the good folk of either colour) are a happy reasonable lot.

TigerLily · January 12, 2014

dholliday said:
Be prepared for the shock of how black people live in townships in the middle of the city. And how rude some middle-class white people are in restaurants to the black waiting staff.

Other than that culture shock, I had a great time there...most of the people (the good folk of either colour) are a happy reasonable lot.

Well looks like you got the nice side of South Africa, didn't you?

dholliday · January 12, 2014

TigerLily said:
Well looks like you got the nice side of South Africa, didn't you?

what side do you know about, Tiger?

TigerLily · January 12, 2014

dholliday said:
what side do you know about, Tiger?

All of them. I live in South Africa

dholliday · January 12, 2014

TigerLily said:
All of them. I live in South Africa

Fair enough, kidda. I was only there for 2 weeks during the World Cup. Then a day and a night in Bloemfontein. Stayed mostly with my mate's relatively well-to-do black family, who lived in a gated community mostly housed by white people.

One positive aspect I remember was how the teenagers are mixing a lot, you see them working in shops or just going out shopping, and are all colours of the rainbow, and laughing with each other (and lots of random dancing).

Hopefully they're the future, as there's a lot of bitterness around still too.

WA Toffee · January 13, 2014

Is Pilanesberg national park worth a visit? I have one and a half days stopover in Jo'burg coming up and want to see animals but don't have enough time to get to Kruger?

Fensta · January 13, 2014

Watch out for the Prawns

Elong · January 13, 2014

Car jacking central. I'd swerve.

bflefc · January 13, 2014

If you get chance, give Carnivore restaurant a try. And there's a lion park close to it and they let you play with the little cubs. A great experience.

Don't go to Hillbrow....

fatshark · January 16, 2014

WA Toffee said:
Is Pilanesberg national park worth a visit? I have one and a half days stopover in Jo'burg coming up and want to see animals but don't have enough time to get to Kruger?

WA Toffee, Pilanesberg is very worthwhile if you can't make it to Kruger. Its about 2 hours drive from Joburg, less if you're in the northern suburbs. I'd be disappointed if I didn't get decent sightings of elephant and rhino, croc and hippo virtually guaranteed. Good chance of lion too. You'll prob strike out on buff and leopard though. Also seen cheetah a few times, and wild dog and brown hyena once. Very scenic park.

Will be pretty hot though, expect 35deg+. Recommend an early start, game view till about 10am then head over to Sun City next door. Loads of activities there including a decent water park. Then head back into the reserve from about 3:30pm when it gets a bit cooler.

Couple of lion parks just outside Joburg, much closer than Pilanesberg. Lions in big enclosures that you drive through. Not my thing.

Oh if you are hiring a car and self-driving in Pilanesberg, give the elephants some room. Youtube is littered with clips of them flipping cars, there were two incidents in the past month from Kruger and the ones in Pilanesberg have done that a few times too. Can't post links yet though as I have too few posts.

WA Toffee · January 17, 2014

fatshark said:
WA Toffee, Pilanesberg is very worthwhile if you can't make it to Kruger. Its about 2 hours drive from Joburg, less if you're in the northern suburbs. I'd be disappointed if I didn't get decent sightings of elephant and rhino, croc and hippo virtually guaranteed. Good chance of lion too. You'll prob strike out on buff and leopard though. Also seen cheetah a few times, and wild dog and brown hyena once. Very scenic park.

Will be pretty hot though, expect 35deg+. Recommend an early start, game view till about 10am then head over to Sun City next door. Loads of activities there including a decent water park. Then head back into the reserve from about 3:30pm when it gets a bit cooler.

Couple of lion parks just outside Joburg, much closer than Pilanesberg. Lions in big enclosures that you drive through. Not my thing.

Oh if you are hiring a car and self-driving in Pilanesberg, give the elephants some room. Youtube is littered with clips of them flipping cars, there were two incidents in the past month from Kruger and the ones in Pilanesberg have done that a few times too. Can't post links yet though as I have too few posts.

Thanks mate, much appreciated. I arrive in the afternoon and leave the next evening so dusk and dawn safari is probably the go since the animals usually sleep during the day. Had a look at the hotels in Pilanesburg and most offer complimentary safaris, happy to let someone else do the driving.
Heat shouldn't be an issue - I live in Western Australia and will be coming back from Brazil so I'm pretty used to it

fatshark · January 17, 2014

WA Toffee said:
Thanks mate, much appreciated. I arrive in the afternoon and leave the next evening so dusk and dawn safari is probably the go since the animals usually sleep during the day. Had a look at the hotels in Pilanesburg and most offer complimentary safaris, happy to let someone else do the driving.
Heat shouldn't be an issue - I live in Western Australia and will be coming back from Brazil so I'm pretty used to it

U in mining, by any chance? Most of our platinum mines incl Marikana are on the Pilanesberg road.

Enjoy the trip and hope u get a chance to return and visit Kruger someday. Pity u can't stick around to see Mitchell Johnson and co get crushed ;-)

WA Toffee · January 17, 2014

fatshark said:
U in mining, by any chance? Most of our platinum mines incl Marikana are on the Pilanesberg road.

Enjoy the trip and hope u get a chance to return and visit Kruger someday. Pity u can't stick around to see Mitchell Johnson and co get crushed ;-)

Sort of - support services for the mines, but Brazil is leisure - World cup. Kruger was the first choice but just don't have the time to get there. Maybe next time (y)