It is worth noting that wifi has been very spotty, which is why I am several days behind on updates. Sorta frustrating...

The first full day of our trip contained an important history lesson. Though we had come to South Africa to see animals, we began with a healthy dose of perspective on how the country has changed over the past 25 years. 

We started by taking a trip into Soweto, which stands for South West Township because it was the big township that was located Southwest of Joburg. There is something remarkable about the shanty towns that exist here – some of them were as dilapidated as you can imagine, little more than 4 fragile walls and a tin roof that probably leaks when it rains; while others seemed remarkably well-maintained and perhaps even fancy. None of the huts were very large and they were all crammed on top of each other, but it was clear that some folks had made an effort to turn a horrible situation into something more reasonable. Still, most of what we saw were people who, even decades after apartheid, were still living in horrible conditions.

By the way, the picture next to this text was a power station (not nuclear, though it looks similar to a nuclear plant) that has strung a bridge between the two cooling towers. They do bungee jumping from that bridge – we did not bother to try it out.

In Soweto we visited the Regina Mundi church, which was a central meeting place during the student uprisings against apartheid in the 70s and 80s. It was a beautiful church, despite the bullet holes that still dot the ceiling from the numerous times South African troops fired on the church to ferret out student protesters. The windows include some gorgeous stained glass art work, including this picture of Mandela finally being freed from prison.

Perhaps the most interesting visit on the day was to see the place where the ANC and other leaders came up with the Freedom Charter back in the 1950s. The charter is a remarkable document outlining the rights of the people. Naturally, the White government rejected it but when the two sides got together to create a new national constitution in the early 1990s, many aspects of the Freedom Charter were included. There is a beautiful monument to the Freedom Charter that we all admired. Some of the aspects of the Freedom Charter are quite controversial, including one that calls for all the land and resources of the country to be shared among all the people. 

Just outside the Freedom Charter monument is a small market. Our first experience being tourists! It was amusing to note that one of the women working the market had a baby on her back. Laurie bought some stuff, but most of us just looked around and began to see what kind of stuff we might get on our journey.

It is worth noting that wifi has been very spotty, which is why I am several days behind on updates. Sorta frustrating...

The first full day of our trip contained an important history lesson. Though we had come to South Africa to see animals, we began with a healthy dose of perspective on how the country has changed over the past 25 years. 

We started by taking a trip into Soweto, which stands for South West Township because it was the big township that was located Southwest of Joburg. There is something remarkable about the shanty towns that exist here – some of them were as dilapidated as you can imagine, little more than 4 fragile walls and a tin roof that probably leaks when it rains; while others seemed remarkably well-maintained and perhaps even fancy. None of the huts were very large and they were all crammed on top of each other, but it was clear that some folks had made an effort to turn a horrible situation into something more reasonable. Still, most of what we saw were people who, even decades after apartheid, were still living in horrible conditions.

By the way, the picture next to this text was a power station (not nuclear, though it looks similar to a nuclear plant) that has strung a bridge between the two cooling towers. They do bungee jumping from that bridge – we did not bother to try it out.

In Soweto we visited the Regina Mundi church, which was a central meeting place during the student uprisings against apartheid in the 70s and 80s. It was a beautiful church, despite the bullet holes that still dot the ceiling from the numerous times South African troops fired on the church to ferret out student protesters. The windows include some gorgeous stained glass art work, including this picture of Mandela finally being freed from prison.

Perhaps the most interesting visit on the day was to see the place where the ANC and other leaders came up with the Freedom Charter back in the 1950s. The charter is a remarkable document outlining the rights of the people. Naturally, the White government rejected it but when the two sides got together to create a new national constitution in the early 1990s, many aspects of the Freedom Charter were included. There is a beautiful monument to the Freedom Charter that we all admired. Some of the aspects of the Freedom Charter are quite controversial, including one that calls for all the land and resources of the country to be shared among all the people. 

Just outside the Freedom Charter monument is a small market. Our first experience being tourists! It was amusing to note that one of the women working the market had a baby on her back. Laurie bought some stuff, but most of us just looked around and began to see what kind of stuff we might get on our journey.

It is worth noting that wifi has been very spotty, which is why I am several days behind on updates. Sorta frustrating...

The first full day of our trip contained an important history lesson. Though we had come to South Africa to see animals, we began with a healthy dose of perspective on how the country has changed over the past 25 years. 

We started by taking a trip into Soweto, which stands for South West Township because it was the big township that was located Southwest of Joburg. There is something remarkable about the shanty towns that exist here – some of them were as dilapidated as you can imagine, little more than 4 fragile walls and a tin roof that probably leaks when it rains; while others seemed remarkably well-maintained and perhaps even fancy. None of the huts were very large and they were all crammed on top of each other, but it was clear that some folks had made an effort to turn a horrible situation into something more reasonable. Still, most of what we saw were people who, even decades after apartheid, were still living in horrible conditions.

By the way, the picture next to this text was a power station (not nuclear, though it looks similar to a nuclear plant) that has strung a bridge between the two cooling towers. They do bungee jumping from that bridge – we did not bother to try it out.

In Soweto we visited the Regina Mundi church, which was a central meeting place during the student uprisings against apartheid in the 70s and 80s. It was a beautiful church, despite the bullet holes that still dot the ceiling from the numerous times South African troops fired on the church to ferret out student protesters. The windows include some gorgeous stained glass art work, including this picture of Mandela finally being freed from prison.

Perhaps the most interesting visit on the day was to see the place where the ANC and other leaders came up with the Freedom Charter back in the 1950s. The charter is a remarkable document outlining the rights of the people. Naturally, the White government rejected it but when the two sides got together to create a new national constitution in the early 1990s, many aspects of the Freedom Charter were included. There is a beautiful monument to the Freedom Charter that we all admired. Some of the aspects of the Freedom Charter are quite controversial, including one that calls for all the land and resources of the country to be shared among all the people. 

Just outside the Freedom Charter monument is a small market. Our first experience being tourists! It was amusing to note that one of the women working the market had a baby on her back. Laurie bought some stuff, but most of us just looked around and began to see what kind of stuff we might get on our journey.

The Journey Begins (aka: the loooong plane ride)

We have arrived in Joberg! We'll be here for 3 days. Getting here... well, let's just say that it took a while.

Meeting all the LA, DC, and Atlanta crew in the Atlanta airport was a piece of cake. No one was late or had any problems. The moment we were all together, Jeff and Laurie dropped a gift on everyone -- matching safari hats that read Grandma Gail's 75th. Africa Escape! Here's a pic of Drew and I modeling the fine chapeaus. 

Next stop was boarding the plane. But something funny happened on the way to takeoff. First, the airline said they had not loaded enough meals for everyone on the flight (the plane was full!). Then, once they got the meals on board, they told us that another plane had pulled up behind us and stalled. Well, that's a delay reason you don't hear every day. We had to wait while they towed the other plane out of the way. We took off roughly an hour and a half late...


...and thus began our 15 1/2 hour flight to Joberg.



 As you can probably imagine, the flight was all about sleep. How do you get comfortable and how do you get some shuteye. Gail had really come through with the seats, We were in 2 consecutive rows with 5 seats in one row and 9 in the next. Plus, she had scored us Economy Comfort seats which meant extra leg room and a little more recline. Thank goodness because every inch counts when you are trying to sleep on a plane!

Most of us got at least a couple hours. Some got even more... and then there as Brian. He vowed that he was going to stay up the whole time. Though some folks say he may have shut his eyes for a few minutes, the way he looked upon landing sure made it seem he had stayed up the whole time. He was totally drained, practically a zombie.

Meanwhile, the other exciting thing that happened on the flight was the way Delta treated Gail like a princess. For some reason they kept on wishing her happy 75th birthday. The stewardess even made an announcement to have everyone on the plane sing happy birthday to her... even though the actual date of her birthday isn't until December. They brought snacks for us to eat in the airport and brought a big bottle of champagne for mom to drink. Great service!!

Well, tomorrow we go to Soweto and Mandela's house as we will see the history of Apartheid. Our journey really begins in earnest then!

     -Jason

It is the day before the big trip. Obviously, there is not much to say at this point. Tomorrow evening all 14 of us board a flight and head to South Africa. Here is who is going:

Atlanta Evanses - Gail, Jason, Kathy, Drew, and Alec
DC Evanses (Caplans) - Greg, Julie, Norah, and Jojo
LA Evanses - Laurie, Jeffrey, Sarah, Brian, and Eric

 Cameron, Luckie, Prince, Faith, and Murray Sparkles all have to stay home.

 Gail has planed everything. The only real decision the rest of us had to make was do you want to do this...

... or this ...

Cheetah rescue or shark cage? Jeff, Drew, Sarah, Brian, Eric and I are going for the sharks.

Keep checking this blog for more posts including actual pictures of us on safari and other stuff!

-Jason