Finally a minute to write something down. We are posted up in a hotel in Joburg, our first night of indoor sleeping since arriving here. We were looking forward to the security of having our things in a locked room, until we ran into a guy staying in the next room. He had checked in half an hour before us, and gone to get lunch, came back about 30 minutes later to find his room completely cleaned out, everything stolen (world cup tickets and passports included). So I suppose we will rethink this a little bit.
Anyways, the trip this far has been absolutely amazing. We left Accra (Ghana) at 1130 p.m. after a two and half hour delay, and having been issued hand-written boarding passes…I don’t think we even needed the tickets. This is Africa, as they say. Landed in Johannesburg to find a very different Africa. South Africa seems almost European. We rented a car for the first six days originally, but after realizing the convenience, and relative inexpensiveness as compared to bussing place to place, we have extended the booking for the rest of our time here. We spent the first couple of hours in Joburg taking care of some errands, mainly buying a tent and getting grub. We then headed to Pilanesburg, a national park/game reserve set in the crated of an old volcano. By far the best way to start this trip. We arrived on a Thursday night, and woke up at six to get in the park right when it opened. We spent nine hours driving around the park, seeing some of the most amazing and beautiful sights I have ever seen. We managed to see rhinos, elephants, a male lion eating a zebra, zebras, some female lions, giraffes, gazelle, antelope, wildebeests, hippos, and the list goes on and on. It was so cool, and never-endingly entertaining.
We then headed to Rustenburg for the Ghana vs. Australia game, which was amazing. The stadium was set in the middle of a bunch of mountains, and the sun set beautifully above the colorful crowd. We were lucky enough to land seats in the middle of the very small but rowdy Ghanian contingent, so it was loads of fun. We slept (camped) that night at the Hodge Podge lodge, which was a nice little joint. We woke up early the next day to head to Joburg, where we paid an absurd fifty dollars each to camp (200 bucks a spot). We went and watched Ivory Coast vs. Brazil in a great game at Soccer City stadium. It was loads of fun, and I managed to meet up with a good friend from Gainesville to go to the game, Julie H. It was a great time.
Next morning we went to the Apartheid museum, which was really moving and well put together. From there we headed to Blomfontein for the South Africa vs.France game, which was loads of fun. Everyone here is so friendly and proud to be hosting the Cup. We hitched a ride into town from the place we were camping with two friendly South Africans, who were just very grateful for us being there and being comfortable in their country. It was an excellent experience the game was amazing, and the crowds and vuvu zelas were amazing. After the game we went to dinner with a friend of Aleksis’ dad, which was really nice, and then we hit the bars for some South African entertainment, which turned out to be great.
This morning we woke up and took the 4 hour drive back up to Joburg, and checked into the hotel. Luckily at this point (the end of our first night), nothing has been stolen from our room! After checking in we hit the mall to watch to US game, which they won in the 91st minute, to great celebration. We then went back to the hotel, locked up our stuff, and headed to the stadium with some rum in tow. The game was great, and although Ghana did not win, it was a win-win, with both Germany and Ghana making it on to the next round. The game was fantastic though, and the crowds were loads of fun. After the game we hitched a cheap ride back to the hotel.
The games have been so amazing to actually attend. The crowds are so much fun and we have all caught the World Cup bug all over again. Today we went and got round 16 tickets to see the USA vs Ghana game, and we also have Germany vs England coming up soon as well. More to come soon. Pictures too hopefully!
Peace
Kai
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