South Africa

Jessica:

With the change in plans after having to cancel out trip through Mozambique, we arrived 4 days early in South Africa and did not have any set plans on where to stay or what to do. Leaving Musina where we camped the first night in South Africa, we decided to spend our second night in Bela Bela, that's claim to fame are hot springs, but the region had endured some epic floods earlier this year and the resort where we wanted to stay was not yet open for business. So we decided to head to Pretoria since the B&B we were booked at later that week had room for us.

We arrived at the Richtershuyz Guest House about midday. It's a beautiful place with very nice staff and we were told to make ourselves at home because they did not have other guests for the weekend. We ended up staying for 6 days.

Relaxing in the backyard of Richtershuys Guest House
with some delicous South African cheese and red wine

On Sunday we went to the church Danie attended when he lived in Pretoria and then out to lunch with with his friend Christo and his family. It was a beautiful afternoon and we had lunch in a garden. The freezing cold South African winter I'd been warned about had yet to materialize, but I would experience it a few days later when we went through to Potchefstroom. Danie had Rhino's spare shocks fixed and she was given a tune up for the second leg of the journey. I went in to have a consult about getting my amalgam fillings removed and ended up scheduling an appointment to have them removed on Wednesday and Thursday.

An example of the colourful creations of South Africa's creative artist. 

Shopping for presents for my girls. The ladies
were going through the key rings looking for a beaded M and J

We both got haircuts at Danie's old barber, saw a good movie, "Belle," shopped a bit in a few of the many malls in the Pretoria and Johannesburg area, ate amazing stakes at The Butcher Shop, and had dinner with Danie's friend Marsha and her family.

Mandela square in Sandton, Johannesburg. 

Shoes nailed to the ceiling of one of the shoe shops

With my big day coming up a girl is allowed to dream a little. (Danie wrote this caption!)

South Africa's shopping malls are littered with jewelry stores.
We made use of the opportunity to try on a number of rings. 

I haven't actually seen much of South Africa, just the highway and big cities. But the people I've met so far have been wonderful. With all the preperation done for the second phase of the journey, we were ready to go through to Potchefstroom where I would meet Danie's family.

Daniel:

By the end of the day on Saturday Jessica had my family convinced that she is the best thing since sliced bread. They even turned sides and started teaming up with her against me. I would not have it any other way. She fitted right in. While the girls were enjoying the baby shower, the men all gathered around Rhino as everyone helped with a few changes. The rail system I have built and the roof top tent both needed minor modifications, or as we would like to call it, improvements/advancements.

As much as I was looking forward to starting the second phase of the journey,  I was not looking forward to Sunday as that meant that Jessica had to fly back to Nairobi. Malawi, Namibia and Botswana were my main destinations for the 9 week journey through Southern Africa. I'm thankful for all that Jessica and I have experienced together on the route south, and would have loved for her to share the experiences in Namibia and Botswana.

God blessed us beyond our wildest dreams. We saw and experienced some of Africa's most beautiful countries together. We saw the most amazing and memorable sunsets and sunrises in every single country we visited. The snorkeling in Diani in Kenya was breath taking. The Boabab forest in Tanzania was incredible. The fig trees growing on hugh boulders in Malawi was mind blowing.  The view from Mushroom Farm on the top of the escarpment in Malawi was spectacular. We had no issues with the car, and all the border crossings went without any hiccups. We did not experience any of the horror stories we have heard about corrupt officials making life difficult for overlanders, on the contrary, most of them have been professional and very friendly. And I was blessed to share it all with an amazing woman. All in all, we have so much to be thankful for.