Mabula Private Game Lodge

We are coming close to the final portion of our current project at work - so the team management decided that people needed to get away from the work environment (of a million distractions) and uprooted about 40 people to a private game lodge about 200 Km away from Midrand.

Even though I have spent most of my life in Africa, I have never stayed overnight in a game lodge (or similar). It was not really what I was expecting - I have stayed overnight in a jungle in Peru - and this experience was a lot quieter. And although, we saw birds and a warthog in the lodge area itself, it was rather devoid of animals.

The reserve is quite big (20 000 hectares) and we did go on a game drive in the evening of the second day. Unfortunately no lions or leopards were spotted, but we did see 2 of the big 5 (buffaloes and rhinos) as well as other animals such as giraffes, zebras and numerous types of antelopes.

Beautiful Cape Town

On my previous visits to Cape Town this year, it had been raining. For the first time, last Sunday, it was a clear day - and it was a glorious winter day at that! I was in Cape Town for an early morning meeting on Monday, so decided to enjoy Cape Town and see a few friends etc.

My only aim was to go down to Hout Bay before meeting up with a few friends at Kennedy's in Long Street. On the way to Hout Bay, I decided to stop at Constantia Nek and take a short hike. I have really become unfit - even this short hike was a struggle - but the view of the snow capped mountains was well worth it.

Grilled Snoek and Chips at the Hout Bay harbour - more or less they only thing I eat here, but damn tasty, and damn good. Prices have shot up though - no more 20 bucks for fish and chips.

And there seems to be a new sport in town - paddling on a surf board ...

Oh, and it seems that car guards are venturing into other business these days. One of them offered me some weed (good stuff from Swaziland apparently) and another offered me cocaine too. No wonder Cape Town has a reputation ...

Movie: Wanted

There is only one real reason to watch this movie - the action sequences are one of the best ever. Apart from that, the story writing and dialogue was poor, the acting was ordinary and in general, the movie was rather stupid. But the action sequences - wow. That is the only reason to watch this movie - in fact, it could have been better without any dialogue whatsoever.

Movie: Hancock

Superheroes usually fall into two categories:
a) Nice guys, who get poers by some means, and then go out to save the neighbourhood, if not the world. And the plot often includes a number of different temptations and situations where the superhero is tempted by the dark side. Or,
b) Guys with evil intentions who get superpowers, who battle the nice guys.

Hancock is different - it is a superhero, who is neither a good guy or a guy with evil intentions - just a guy with a bad attitude (or as the kid in the opening scene calls him, an arsehole). And while the story plot is predictable in trying to change Hancock into a nice guy, the plot twist in the middle of the movie is impressive; and in some ways the movie does pose the essential question - shouldn't gifted people be allowed to pursue normalcy? The acting by Will Smith, Charlize Theron and Jason Bateman is nothing special; but the movie is more than anything, about entertainment. And for once, the superheroes do not fight evil bad guys as part of the central theme. That alone, makes this special.

Movie: Kung Fu Panda

Big budget animation movies are often written off as movies for kids. What I really appreciate about them is their ability to tell simple stories, well. They prove that it is possible to tell a story without resorting to blood, guns and sex. They are, above all else, fun.

Kung Fu Panda, is a story of a fat, lazy panda selected to be the special one, to fight the evil, brilliant ex-student. It is in essense a story about self belief - not about transforming a fat, lazy panda to a slim, active one - but rather teaching him the skills and the providing the self belief such that he can use his own (albeit limited) powers for his own advantage. The CGI is superbg, as is the voice acting and script - and is definitely a well told, funny story.

Perez CD Launch

The last time I saw Perez live was almost 5 years ago, on one of their last gigs, on their farewell tour, in Cape Town. They were a band that burst on the scene, almost out of nowhere, and very quickly became one of the best bands in South Africa; and all too suddenly, they split. Since the beginning of this year, they have reformed (still original line-up) and are touring once again - and last night; they launched their new album.

Their music has certainly changed - previously, they were very much a rock band; not a heavy rock and roll band. They have a slightly different sound now - more old school rock and roll, and a lot more interesting. Their music has certainly evolved - for the better. And they have kept two of the traits that really impressed me the first time around - great song writing and being good musicians.

Their ad on Powerzone stated:

It is their "Sgt Peppers", devoid of any pigeonholing and genre, an album not trying to be anything other than a truly great work of art.

Whether it becomes as great as "Sgt Peppers" (in terms of critical acclaim and sales) we will have to wait and see - but it is certainly an incredible album; with a great mix of songs. Their performance was brilliant, and they even squeezed in a few of their old greats. For R100 entry fee, you got the copy of the CD and a 90 minute set. Definitely great value for money too!

Movie: Son of Man

In "A Prayer for Owen Meany" Irving recounts the story of Owen Meany, a boy whose "father" claims is born of a virgin mother - and basically concludes that we would reject the family as lunatics. Son of Man takes a slightly different line - it tells the story of Jesus, if it were to take place in modern Africa - in the country of Judea, ruled by the dictator Herod, and later conquered by an occupying force (who claim to want to enforce democratic rule), and off course the local anti-herod forces, who later cosy up to the occupying forces. In this world, Jesus is born, grows up, and later leads a non-violent passive resistance movement against the occupying forces.

If it were not for the fact that Jesus performs a fwe miracles (healing a sick child, raising a man from the dead and an excorcism) - the story would have been a political drama - and in my opinion, far better. In fact, on the whole, the story is about African strife and the need to stop it - because it is fueled by selfish greed at the top of the chain who whip up their supporters to do their bidding.

Filmed quite a bit in the Cape Town townships, it is amazingly stylish and brilliantly told and filmed - with song and dance. It is the best South African movie I have seen since Tsotsi, and is definitely worth watching. A great pity, that there were only two people (including myself) watching it ...

Movie: The Incredible Hulk

Most superhero movies feature a social outcast (usually a brilliant nerd/geek type person) who gets incredible superhuman powers and then step out to save the world, especially their love interest. The Hulk is somewhat different - yes, a scientist ends up getting superhuman powers, but
a) does not actually want the power
b) does not really save good guys from the bad guys
c) loses his intellectual capacity to the point that he can't actually speak

Off course every movie has a bad guy, but it is not really clear who we should treat as the bad guy - the career focussed general who wants his "property" back or the eventual bad guy - the soldier who wants to get the power so that he can be an even better soldier. The fact is, the bad guy is not really the focus of the movie - but rather the pain of being a superhero, and trying to accept the cards that have been dealt. It is a much darker movie, and although many cliches remain (the lover that can't really be with the hero, the big fight scene) it is different.

This movie is certainly not the best superhero movie made (that honour still rests with Batman Begins); but it is a good superhero movie - particularly because it is different. So different that there is no scene after the credits. :(

Seether Home Coming Tour

It has been a long time since I have watched Seether live - more than 2 years in fact (first Coke Fest). So I was eager to see them live in their current home coming tour - but seems not eager enough to get a standing (i.e. golden circle ticket). This was the first time I have been to a rock concert sitting down - and while the view was damn good (and definitely less tiring), it was certainly not as exciting. That said, the venue (Standard Bank Arena) was quite well organised, and the event flowed very smoothly.

Support Act: My Epic

It was a horrible act - simply because the mixing at the sound deck was so horrible. You could not hear the singer, so it is very difficult to judge their music. On the show front, they had a very energetic bass guitarist; but there was nothing special.

Support Act: 12th Avenue

12th Avenue proved that the sound guys knew how to mix - and of the three support acts, they were certainly my favourite. I have seen them before, and they have certainly improved since then. The music was good (although not exactly in the same genre as Seether), and they had a great show. The singer is also very good - maybe another Parlatones/Prime Circle in the making?

Support Act: Stealing Love Jones

I saw this band at last year's coke fest, and I commented that I would love to see a full gig from them. Well it has been a year, and although they have some cool songs, they did not seem too special. In fact, apart from being fronted by a woman, they did not strike me as anything different. Their music was good though, but again not really of the same genre as Seether. In fact, it was too poppy ...

Seether

Seether proved once again why they are an international band - they were a class above the rest of the support acts. When I saw them last, I commented that Seether did not seem to have much in the way of a "show" - it was very laid back, stand up and sing delivery. No longer! The band is a lot more energetic, a lot more interaction with the crowd - all in all, a much better show.

They played the whole spectrum - songs from the Saron Gas days (such as 69 Tea, Gasoline), Karma and Effect and the latest album. If I had a criticism, it is that they did not play too many songs from the new album - but it was a 90 minute set, so not much to complain really.

Also very commendable was how the line-up was arranged - how the old songs and the new songs were mixed together. It was a truly rocking show.

Hiking in the Magaliesberg

I have driven past the Magaliesberg a number of times now (on my way to Gabarone) - and it has not struck me as a particularly beautiful place - after all, it is mostly yellow. On Sunday, I hiked up the mountain with some "locals" and I must confess - I was completey wrong. The Magaliesberg, one of the oldest mountains in the world, is also quite beautiful.

Off course it also has to do with where you go hiking in the Magaliesberg - it is a sizable mountain range; and the location (near Rustenberg) had a surprising amount of greenery and water - and the small water falls and rock pools were beautiful! We did not go to the highest point on Sunday, and apart from the path to the river bed, we did not follow any hiking trails (there were none) - so there is a lot of scope for exploring and hiking. I think I will return many times ...

Chris Rock

Went to see Chris Rock's final show in South Africa at Carnival City on Sunday night. As expected, it was absolutely brilliant - and Chris Rock certainly does not hold back. There was certainly no "safe" subjects - gays, fat people, George Bush, Hillary, petrol prices, xenophobia, Iraq, terrorism, sex - and off course race. Definitely one of the best comedy shows I have been to.

Gold Reef City

So the trip to Gold Reef City ended up being postponed by only one day. Gold Reef City, is the only tourist attraction I knew off in Johannesburg, before I actually came here; mainly because of the "go down the mineshaft" tour option. I did not really know that it was also a theme park until very recently.



It is actually a very interesting theme park, and I think, over all, better than Ratanga Junction in Cape Town. The main roller coaster - Anaconda - is quite scary, and very impressive. But all of the roller coaster rides are interesting - especially the Golden Loop - which is the first roller coaster I have ridden that goes backwards. But I did not go to the really scary ride - the Tower of Terror, which features a vertical drop of about 40 metres. The queue was long, and I really did not feel like it, when I got there towards the end of the day.




As for the underground, mine shaft tour - it was certainly very interesting. The tour takes place in a real gold mine shaft, about 250 metres below ground, featuring the technology and techniques of gold mining. The shaft features many original implements and technologies, including a 100 year old AC-DC converter in the underground electric substation.


At R110, it is a bit on the expensive side; but there is a lot of other attractions including touristy attractions such as traditional dancing, live bands, restaurants (though quite overpriced) theatres etc. And, it is a load of fun.

Apartheid Museum

Museums usually tell stories - about the past, be it in terms of culture, an event, nature etc. Very rarely, is a museum in itself an experience - where it is constructed to specifically give you a feel and sense of being part of something. The Apartheid Museum, next to Gold Reef City, is possibly the best museum that I have ever visited - not only because of its depth and breadth in the coverage of its subject matter, but as an experience itself.

As its name suggests, the museum explores the Apartheid period of South Africa's history. But it is not just a straight tale of what, who, where and when. Instead, it tries to take the visitor on a complete journey - not only on the many different facets of discrimination (including a small exhibtion on the gay and lesbian rights, conflicts between the Bantu nations and the San); but also tries to give an experience on how it must have felt to discriminated.


It is a museum of great symbolism, and much thought has gone to every display. From the passage of mirrors symbolising the migration of people to Johannesburg to the maze exploring the various legal underpinnings of apartheid.


I spent over 3 hours in the museum - so much so, that the planned trip to Gold Reef City had to be postponed for another day. And I did not even cover every panel, see every video, examine every picture. It is the best 30 rands I have spent in a long, long time.

Central Pretoria

I first visited central Pretoria about three weeks ago, when I had to go to the Pretoria High Court for a work related issue (can't really talk too much about the specifics). I thought it was beautiful, and I went back to explore it in a bit more detail.


The first thing that struck me was how much many more people seem to enjoy Pretoria - there were children playing, people having picnics etc. And the old buildings are beautiful, and you can even go inside the Ou Radsaal, which used to be the old parliament of the South African Republic (ZAR) before the Anglo-Boer war, and now is the city council offices - very lavish offices at that.

Voortrekker Monument and Skanskop Fort

It is probably one of the most well known monument in South Africa, yet it seems to be almost exclusively visited by Afrikaners and tourists. I think that is a shame for many reasons - a) the Voortrekker monument is a monument and museum that pays homage to the pioneers of one of South Africa's major "races". Understanding the history and culture of South Africa's diversity is key to understanding and respecting other cultures and peoples. and b) it is a fascinating monument and museum.


Granted, some of the panels in the monument could be construed as bias - but history has happened, and cannot be undone.


Skanskop Fort, which is also part of the general reserve, is a Anglo-Boer war era fort built to protect Pretoria. The fort in itself is rather unimpressive - but the documentation and displays about the war is worth the trip. Especially, the concentration camp display - Hitler was not the first, although the scale of the Nazi regime's brutality will hopefully never be repeated.

There are also some awesome views of Pretoria from the top of the monument and for that matter the fort.

Movie: Confessions of a Gambler

As a story, it is brilliant, and one of the best South African (or indeed African) stories I have seen/read where apartheid or colonialism does not play a role. It is very much a story about modern life vs tradition: a muslim woman, who struggles against a gambling addiction (gambling is a sin in Islam). On top of that, she has a gay son dying of AIDS and is in love with her brother in law. It makes for some great tension, and is also an amazing exploration of the Cape Malay culture.

However, technically the film is very amateurish - it almost seems as if the movie was filmed with low end consumer video cameras. There are also some problems with lighting and just general cinematography. Cape Town should have made one of the best cinematographic backdrops for a movie, but it is not well portrayed in the movie. It probably boils down to funding, but I think a more established director could have probably done a much better job.

Museum Africa

I love going to museums, and have been to many museums, in many different cities. Most museums have the same approach to presenting to the public, and it is usually the content that draws the public - like the Space Shuttle or Concorde (or many other original aeroplanes) at the Air and Space Museums in Washington DC, or the Pergamon Museum in Berlin.

Museum Africa, in Newtown, has one of the most interesting ideas, that is certainly unique amongst the museums I have visited. One of the main displays, is about the Treason Trial - a fore runner to the Rivonia Trial (see here for more details), where over 150 people, including well known figures such as Nelson Mandela, Albert Luthuli and Walter Sisulu, were charged with treason; and no one was convicted.

In the first part, (as far as I know), every defendant has a portrait (either photograph or drawn) and a small plaque giving some brief biographic details. But, here is the really interesting part - under each portrait, is a little red book, and the public is invited to write down comments and facts about that person. For some well known figures, there is actually no real information - just a lot of praise from the public - a sort of public, buut anonymous, thanks giving. But it is for some really lesser known figures, that commentary shines through. Even minute details, such as the name of the family dog, or how the person lived in their daily life. Some of the accounts are truly mesmerising. There are other parts to the display also - a discussion of what is meant by treason, a collage of press reports, photography from journalists, profiles on the lawyers and judges involved; etc. But it is the first part that truly shines.

The other parts of the museum are also interesting - there is a display of Gandhi's time in Johannesburg; a small display of South Africa's human past (Taung child etc) - a display I think should be really expanded; a display on the history of some of Gauteng's townships, a display of music in South Africa (no actual music played unfortunately) and then an amazing collection and display of photography and history of photography.

Museum Africa is a definite visit, if you have time in Gauteng - and since it is free entry, I don't see why there should be a reason not to.

Newtown and Downtown Johannesburg

So, I finally got to exploring downtown Johannesburg for a while on Saturday. I parked at a parkade on Rissik Street, and then walked to Newtown and back. as I have noted before, Jo'burg is quite a lively place, and although the traffic levels were low, there were still a lot of people around.

There are some really beautiful old colonial style buildings around - but, as can be expected from a city that is barely 100 odd years old, there aren't too many of them around. While, some buildings like the City Hall are restored and still functioning, one of the buildings on the corner is as good as demolished, while the Old Post Office is being restored.

Perhaps, the most interesting part of the Jo'burg trip, was the small, but vocal, demonstration against the recent xenophobic attacks. I am however a bit confused by the demonstration itself. I picked up one of the flyers which criticise the government for doing nothing (and in some ways, of flaming the attacks); while the songs being sung by the guys on the truck praised the ANC and the freedom movement. In the morning, the demonstration was being held outside the Beyers Naude square, outside the library (another grand old building - should go inside sometime) and later on in the afternoon, it moved to outside the Home Affairs offices. The crowd numbers didn't seem to have grown in the meantime though.

Newtown, one of the oldest parts of Jo'burg, has been recently redeveloped as a cultural area. There are a number of theatres, and cultural activities - and is quite a beautiful area with parks and statues (such as one of Brenda Fassie outside Bassline) littering area. For example, streets in the Newtown area have funky decorations like the one below.

One thing that did strike me as odd, was that there weren't as many people as I thought there should be. And perhaps, it is to do with the fact that it is not really a family area - after all, while there are museums, it is not really a place where kids can hang out - it is almost too much focus on the adults (theatres, clubs). That said, Newtown is fascinating, and I think more people should visit it.

Movie: 21

21 is based on a fairly famous story of card-counting teams based at MIT, who went to Las Vegas on weekends and play blackjack. While it is based on a true story, the fiction just goes overboard. While it is entertaining, it is hardly brilliant.

Movie: City of Men (Cidade dos Homens)

City of God (Cidade de Deus) was an amazing movie, and any follow up would have a lot to live up to. City of Men, does not really live up to those lofty heights (although it is not really a sequel) - but then, the movie is very different. City of Men is slower paced, and concentrates more on the struggles of two young men (who turn 18 over the course of the movie) and their struggle to make something, out of nothing.

Still set in the favelas (shanty towns) of Rio de Janeiro (although parts of it seems to be filmed in Santa Teresa, where as far as I know, there are no favelas); it is a story about the friendship of two young men, who are caught up in a gang war. There is also a touch of Romeo and Juliet (one of the guys, who happens to be the cousin of one of the gang leaders, is in love with the sister of the opposing gang leader), a commentary on the difficulty of leaving the known environment, regardless of the dangers.

Rio naturally lends itself for beautiful cinematography, and while the movie is good, it is not in the same league as City of God.