Johannesburg

As the truck headed off towards Namibia, Mckenzie and I were left in Maun, having ended our trips. We were whisked off to the airport and flown on a nice little 16 seater to Jo'burg. Chris had organized a pick up and hostel, so soon were were settled in to the odd and rambling "Backpackers' Ritz". It was a strange, deserted feeling place, even when it was full. Situated in some squeaky-clean northern suburb, I felt as if I'd left Africa. The wide leafy streets bathed in hot autumn sunshine reminded me of Australia. The malls could have been in KL, but populated by the mix of people you'd find in London.

It was good to have a chance to shop for boring essentials and to see a movie (The History Boys - I'd recommend it to anyone who hasn't seen it), and of course to eat some excellent meals and sleep in a real bed. But I could have been anywhere.

Found a travel clinic where I saw the very expensive Dr Saner - shouldn't he have been a psychiatrist? - for a restock of deadly anti-malarials. Also showed him my legs which appeared to be being colonized by a rampant infestation of ringworm. See how much fun you can have a big city?

Went on a tour of Soweto, which was very interesting. Our guide Max was vigourous in his views, cheerful and positive in his outlook. Soweto looked on this sunny morning like a pleasant suburb full of smiling happy people. Even the squatter houses didn't look too bad - better than sqatter camps in Malaysia. Some parts were very well kept - apparently Soweto is home to a number of millionaires, and now that people own their homes, they are well looked after and improvements are being made. The population is still growing and building has yet to catch up. We hopped out of the van a few times for a look around and also spent some time at the Hector Pieterson museum. This gave a really good insight into the 1976 uprising. We also took a quick look at Mandela's and Tutu's houses (the latter a big place with lots of security). It was hard to believe, looking at Soweto, that it would be in the least bit dodgy to go and wander there on your own.

The next day, one of the guys from the hostel was mugged downtown. Seems he'd had a pretty grim experience, being strangled while another man held a knife in his face. A third man removed all his possessions. Eventually the French guy passed out and woke up on the pavement. All this while surrounded by hundreds of pedestrians and hawkers. As he bemoaned the loss of his lonely planet guide, I couldn't help thinking it might have been wise to have read it before setting off. He was in a real no-no zone, looking like a perfect tourist, right down to the "been there, done that" stickers on his daypack. Still, felt very sorry for him. I know it could happen to me too, and though I like to think I'd be more careful, there's still a lot of luck involved. Hey ho for Jo'burg!

Am now in sunny Nelspruit, on my way to Graskop. Have gone back and added photos to parts of the blog. Will try at least one more post before the course, then will leave you in peace for a while as the camp has no electricity.