Trip to Mauritius – Part 1 of 4 (Arrival)

Mauritius is an island in the Indian Ocean that’s 2000km from the southeast coast of Africa. It’s mainly French-speaking, home of the extinct Dodo bird, malaria free and it’s where we recently visited.

When we were first offered a family relocation to South Africa we had a lot to consider. At that time one of the less burdening variables was the potential to travel to Mauritius. Seeing as it’s close (4 hour flight) it was a good fit for recharging our immigration status as it’s a non-bordering country (required).

We flew out of Johannesburg on an early flight. We almost missed it due to passport control as my validating stamps differed from Jimmy and the kids’ (due to my constant travel) and we had to literally run to the boarding gate. Envision a movie scene where someone spastically runs to their plane in a panic; that was us!

After a mostly uneventful flight (the best kind), we hopped in our rental car and Jimmy drove us to Le Meridien Ile Maurice located on the island’s west coast. After an hours drive we checked in at the resort, found our room, indulged in a buffet dinner and generally got acquainted with our new home for the next few days. While we were all exhausted, excitement remained as the next day would be our first full day in tropical paradise!

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Southeast Gauteng Trip – Part 4 of 4 (Sterkfontein Caves)

In 1992, my family & I spent Christmas in Texas and New Mexico. During that trip we visited the Carlsbad caverns in New Mexico. The caves were gigantic and amazing to wander around in! Ever since that family trip I’ve loved exploring caves. Perhaps this early exposure led me to be a geologist in some sort of way…

The last destination on our long weekend trip was to the highly anticipated Sterkfontein Caves. They’re world-acclaimed as many fossils have been discovered in them. First discovered in 1896 by an Italian miner, they endured 40 years of mining activity before scientists started more serious archeological excavations in 1936.

We left Maropeng in the morning and made our way through vast farmlands to Sterkfontein. The visitor centre was very nice yet sadly the first thing you see is their gift store. This is not such a welcome sight when you have kids. Claire had a hard time with us saying no to a new stuffy so we bartered a purchase in trade for no-fuss during our hour long underground tour. Yes, sometimes you have to erm, ‘cave’ if you want to get things done as a parent.

I figured we would walk into the side of a mountain to get started but no, we entered by way of the earth down a very long & steep staircase, ducking at times to proceed. In fact, the entrance isn’t visible at a distance as it blends into the grassland so well. It was intriguing and the kids were amazing on the tour. I thought for sure they would be scared as it was dark and we had to crawl through few a few sections, but no. It was a hot day and the caves were a cool 18C which was soothing for us heat sensitive Canadians. After our unique tour through the dolomitic limestone depths we climbed out of the earth, squinting much of the walk back to the visitor centre.

After buying the promised stuffed animals (a giraffe and a hippo) we made our way back to our cooked car. Onwards back to Johannesburg.

We had a great little trip that provided us with plenty of memories and photos. Perhaps one of the kids will find future inspiration as I did with my geo work.

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Southeast Gauteng Trip – Part 3 of 4 (Maropeng – Cradle of Humankind)

With a drive time of one hour, our next destination of Maropeng was a breeze. The Cradle of Humankind was located right beside the boutique hotel we booked which was convenient. Upon arrival we noticed the turmoil of a large concert area being set up. Turns out it was a free concert the following day in honour of Heritage Day in South Africa. Sidestepping the descending swarms of people, we quickly made plans to get our visit to the Maropeng exhibition completed on this arrival day rather than fighting any chaotic crowd the next day.

Maropeng was very pretty and the surrounding grassy fields reminded us of the Canadian prairies during summertime. As I enjoyed the breeze and the kids slept with car doors open, Jimmy the Sherpa graciously unloaded our parked car. As it turns out, the hotel was pretty fancy and not really set up for kids as they had touted. They did provide an extra mattress that fit on the floor though and the kids enjoyed jumping from our generous bed to it.

The Maropeng exhibition wasn’t quite as scientific as we thought and rather it was set as part theme park/ part exhibition. We started our visit with a boat ride through air, water, fire, and earth (very fun for the kids!) then we walked through the exhibition centre which introduces major themes, such as evolution, the formation of fossils, extinction, DNA, and the birth of the Earth and the Cradle of Humankind.

We walked outside the centre in the warm sun and found a playground which was taken over by African teenagers. They performed a bunch of dances which were fun to watch. Rhys liked the dancing but thought they were too loud 😉 After tiring ourselves out we headed back to the hotel for a drink on the patio while the kids put their feet in the freezing cold pool. The view was fantastic!

After a nice bath for the kids and further fun jumping off the bed, it was time for slumber. All in all it was a nice visit to Maropeng. The next morning we planned to visit the Sterkfontein Caves then onwards to home….

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Southeast Gauteng Trip – Part 2 of 4 (Harties Cableway)

Offering panoramic views from the top of the Magaliesberg Mountains, Harties Cableway was our next destination. Thankfully, the somewhat overcast weather burned-off lending us hope and excitement for the views to come.

After a nail-biting ascent (Deanna) we reached the top of the mountain. We walked around finding a pizza joint -always a favourite (Jimmy) and a well placed playground got some mileage (Claire & Rhys). It’s safe to say that the playground may own the best view of any playground anywhere!

Having spent an hour at the peak running amuck, getting sun baked and snapping photos we felt spent. We then made our descent to start our drive to the more educational Southeast region of Gauteng Province.

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Southeast Gauteng Trip – Part 1 of 4 (Elephant Sanctuary)

In a past blog entry we profiled the monkey sanctuary located in Hartbeespoort. That particular visit to this area was a short one and we quickly realized there was a lot to do in this town. A resort nearby had a skatepark and that roused curiosity, an elephant sanctuary promised pachyderm interactivity and a UNESCO Heritage site were both close by. The Cradle of Humankind certainly sounded scientifically intriguing. With this all summed up, we started planning an eager return trip.

Our Jo’burg doctor recommended staying on site at the elephant sanctuary as opposed to staying elsewhere. She praised her own experience doing more with the elephants as a result of sleeping there. Although it did end up nice for us, it turned out we were the ONLY guests on our specific night of stay. This meant our customary “fend for ourselves” style got overwhelmed by over eager (tip-hungry) employees. Shrugging off our keen staffers we settled into our sundowner drinks and met our guide. After a walk up some breathless hillside stairs we earned our reward; for the adults a nice view of the Magaliesberg Mountains, for the kids blowing bubbles in their water glasses through “elephant trunks” (straws). Prior to sunset we dined at a fire-lit Boma meal which was nice but the kids’ patience wore thin due to the long day so we called it a night.

We woke the next day for breakfast then onto the touted elephant activities; a brush down, a trunk-held walk around, feeding, and learning all about them. It was a fulfilling two hours albeit Claire and Rhys did scare at times due to the elephants overwhelming size. We enjoyed our time at the elephant sanctuary and we were excited for our next stop on our three day adventure…..

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Tunney Industrial Area

Prior to being a terrain-hungry skateboarder, urban industrial areas attracted my attention. As a child my Mom would take me to greasy spoon restaurants in these areas. I think she liked the early-hour start and hustle and bustle of it all.

Recently while scouting around, I discovered a massive dump truck bed that had just been manufactured. It lay lonesome on the roadside awaiting transport to its buyer. I can only imagine the cost of it; as monstrous as its size I’m sure. Taking mental note of the location I promised myself I’d bring the kids back to check it out. Like most boys, Rhys loves trucks and machinery. Claire enjoys them too. Our visit was obviously a hit!
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Manufacturers website: http://efficient.co.za/
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– Jimmy
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Art on Four – family funday!

As we’ve mentioned in previous blog posts, we drive A LOT here in Jo’burg. On our travels we often pass an art studio that appears too cool not to visit. Unfortunately, every call we’ve placed ends up unanswered or with no booking spots available. Not this time though!

Art on One is a unique place for families where you paint for social fun rather than instruction. You pay by canvas size and are given two hours to complete your painting, drink coffee, eat treats or go outside and play on their great playground.

It turned out to be a beautiful and warm sunny day for our visit. Claire & Rhys love being creative so we knew this would be a big hit with them. Jimmy even joined in the painting fun. We spent a very fun and leisurely two hours painting several canvases, leaving us plenty of time to run around outside with the kids while the paint dried. What a great Saturday!

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Gold Reef City

When it comes to family fun time, a visit to a traditional amusement park is near the bottom of our to-do list. The thought of enduring long line-ups and rude people, etc. is not appealing to us.
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Recently, my company’s CEO showed me pictures of HIS visit to a local park and it looked really fun, in contrast to our preconceptions. Knowing he brought his daughter and she enjoyed the rides coaxed us into giving it a go.
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Built upon an old mine site, Gold Reef City offers a glimpse into history as well as traditional amusement. Restored older buildings still stand, mine shafts can still be toured and a museum touts vintage equipment, etc. Nestled between all the education are rides suited for both the tame and the daring. An adjoining little kids area proved perfect for avoiding energetic hordes of thrill-seekers. The line-ups were manageable and although Claire & Rhys were timid at first they ended up having a lot of fun testing out rides just their size… even a roller-coaster. Our kids are becoming quite courageous in their adventuring! We imagine we’ll end up visiting Gold Reef City again as the kids sure enjoyed it –maybe even as much as us adults.
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