Sometimes in Africa, you will find that things are done a little differently… My parents were visiting us in Jo’burg and detoured North to join an old family friend on a trip to Kruger and surrounds for a few days. One of their outings was to Africa Silks, a weavery and showroom with high quality, locally… Continue reading Africa After All 4. Getting a Bum Deal
Author: Expatorama
From dodging stray bullets in Lagos, to dodging stray cats in Istanbul, we are now getting cosy in Jozi. Far flung travels and further fetched tales of expat life.
Africa After All 3. Hands Free
In urban areas of Johannesburg, pushchairs (strollers or buggies) are often impractical. They probably would not be welcome on precarious mini-bus taxi rides, neither are they suited to some of the non-existent pavements or uneven roadside verges. I also imagine that for many, the cost of pushchairs is prohibitive (if you had to choose between buying a pushchair… Continue reading Africa After All 3. Hands Free
Africa After All 2. Here the Wild Things Are
South Africa absolutely embodies the techni-coloured Africa of fable where savage beasts roam, the venomous scuttle and slither and the birds kick off with a riotous party in the treetops every morning. Everything is bigger, the birds, the bees, the bugs, the spiders and the snakes. I take The Cheese Thief out for a little stroll. The… Continue reading Africa After All 2. Here the Wild Things Are
Africa After All 1. Local Advertising
“What does it say on all those posters? Please slow down so that I can read one of them.” This is just what you want your mother-in-law to point out when she’s visiting isn’t it? I’m talking about the mini posters stuck on lamp-posts and roadside electrical boxes citywide in Johannesburg. The Abortion number plastered… Continue reading Africa After All 1. Local Advertising
Africa Lite
Plenty of expats constantly roll their eyes, and chant T.I.A., (This Is Africa), when things don’t function as they should do here in South Africa. But for those of us who have lived elsewhere on the Dark Continent, we are a little more sanguine. In fact, we smugly role OUR eyes and reassure them that… Continue reading Africa Lite
10 Ways to Avoid Being Struck By Lightning
Here are 10 ways to avoid being struck by lightning for anyone living in a lightning hotspot. As well as often giving us a four seasons in one day and the occasional crazy hail storm Johannesburg is one of the unofficial lightning capitals of the world. It’s not something I’d not thought too much about until… Continue reading 10 Ways to Avoid Being Struck By Lightning
Four Seasons in One Day
Being British, it’s long overdue that I conform to my cultural stereotype and talk about the weather. Despite living here in the Rainbow Nation, I think rainbows are just about the only weather phenomenon we have not yet experienced. We have shivered on cold and frosty mornings. We have sizzled, like sausages on a braai, under the baking… Continue reading Four Seasons in One Day
Johannesburg Living: It would be a Crime NOT to Tell You
Johannesburg: The Bad Apple Are you thinking of moving to or visiting Johannesburg? A lot of people have plenty of concerns about doing so, after all, it has a pretty rotten reputation. If New York is the Big Apple, Johannesburg is perhaps perceived more as the Bad Apple. Much of what you hear in the… Continue reading Johannesburg Living: It would be a Crime NOT to Tell You
The Dark Continent
In the 19th century, maps of Africa charted the coastal areas, but the interior, as yet a mystery to European explorers, was left blank…or dark. The romantic name ‘The Dark Continent’ was coined and is still used to this day although in our case we use it in a different context….. Earlier in the year, after… Continue reading The Dark Continent
Expatorama 