Top 5 for Joburg.

Top 5 list of Johannesburg.

1. OBSERVATION: Guys selling random (yet fantastically well timed) items at traffic light junctions - Get a flag for the game, fluffy socks for cold weather, or for sudden unexpected, unprepared downpours, you'll even be able to get your hands on an umbrella!

2. ACTIVITY: Virgin Active Gym:  Never worry about remembering your towel when you work out at this jeez-louise flash-ass gym, they give you one on arrival! There is a room with all this fruit and cucumber water to max on, plus 2 saunas a steam room and a spa. No Biggy.  Also, our personal trainer Mario is.. Super

3. ANIMAL: My first Camel: At a random outdoor expo - you saw the pictures

4. FOOD FIND: Cranberry/Kiwifruit juice by Ceres - its delicious!

     5. PET PEEVE:  tbc

1 week to go!

One week until we leave for the big trip!

The hardest thing I am going to struggle with in this final week is handling my excitement! 

Every time we are out about organising things for the trip, we always end up discussing our exciting plans with the latest staff member.  People are so fascinated and often openly jealous, and quite frankly I don't blame them :)

Just one wee note for now. (ooo good pun Mez).

This afternoon we popped into see some South African friends of Fiver and Stuart's - Paolo and Daniella.  They showed us some fantastic pictures of places we must see and people we must meet along our way.  I found out a bit about the Zimbabwean dollar and its troubles and decided to look it up a little more.

Paolo showed me a Zimbabwean dollar note.....a 5billion dollar one!  Due to inflation in just one year (07-08), the $10 dollar note skyrocketed to a 100 billion dollar note (around USD .64, which wasn't quite enough for a loaf of bread).

I was also told some people could afford a taxi to work in the morning, but by the end of the work day they wouldn't be able to afford to get home again.  For others, when they did have money, they would rush out to buy bread or other basics before the unmeasurable prices soared once again. 

  In feb this year, ZWR300Trillion was equivalent to 1USD. 

People use old notes for toilet paper.

Mothe Fiji! ..Howzit South Africaaa! ......................(I'll miss you NZ)

Country transfers in minor detail:

Flew out of Fiji 25th May. Stayed in the lovely Bay for 5days. 

Said goodbye to Milly for a year.

Flew out of Auckland 30th May.  Luggage misunderstanding of no sporting allowance = no dive gear = running to the gate with an entourage of Qantas check-in staff due to being late for flight after trying to shuv everything into one bag. 

Didn't work. Dad sent it via NZpost - still waiting.

Stayed in Melbourne (Narre Warren) for 3 days. 

Uncle Aidy's 50th. 9 letters, one word... FANTASTIC!

Visited Phillip Island and the township of 'Cowes'.

Flew out of Melbourne 2nd June. Caught the sky-high express along with all of the commuting businessmen to Sydney. 

Our flight was delayed 7 minutes, they were not happy. 

Plane observation: I have never heard so much newspaper rustling on an aeroplane before.

Flew out of Sydney same day.  One very long flight, 6 trashy chick flicks, and one painfully crooked neck later....I arrived in Johannesburg 3rd June.