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Jozi

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I grew up thinking that the Kruger Park was in our backyard – that’s how many times we went. One of my most vivid memories was seeing lions for the very first time. I remember pressing my nose flat against the window in the stationwagon to get a better view of these better cats. My parents loved going to the Kruger Park and I still do, but I can’t just pop over there… its far!

I was elated to be introduced to the Rhino & Lion Nature Reserve just 2 shakes from our home. Not only do they have lions, but they also have a bunch of other cats and animals to look at.

Once you enter the park adrenaline starts pumping. Just after the gate the very first watering hole with animals, then up and down a hill a gate will be opened that keeps the predators away from the herbivores.

We didn’t get to do the animal interactions as we were at the Rhino & Lion Nature Reserve for an easter egg hunt and the children were kaput! Next time we’ll do that…

When the driving gets too much you can always go to the Thatch Café for a snack or take on the bicycle ramps. You can also go to the Thatch Cafe and bike park without entering the rest of the park – which means it’s a free place to go! You can also rent bicycles here.

Get more details on www.rhinolion.co.za.

What to do with kids while in Gauteng

When you end up in a place because of a childhood fantasy, you just gotta tell the story.

I’m not from here. I also am not from where you think you know I’m from. I’m from way up north when it was still the Transvaal. A place where I jokingly say hell is right underneath because it is so damn hot there.

The first almost 8 years of my life we lived on a farm 60km from Ellisras near Stockpoort border post. I went to the same primary school my dad, all his siblings and my sister went to – right across from the highschool my mother was a teacher at.

Then we moved to a farm just outside of Duiwelskloof and Tzaneen. I matriculated at Ben Vorster and then I moved to my Jozi.

…but wait, I’m skipping the story of why I ended up in Jozi.

My mom is from an area called Rikasrus just outside Randfontein. My grandparents lived in a smallholding in a double story home they built. We would visit every holiday and the whole family always seemed to be there.

They had a lot of kids who in turn had kids and somehow we all fitted around an extra long dining table. 5 children had 10 children between them (at that stage). All hands had to be there to peel peaches on holidays… and I still love peaches. Breakfast around the dining table was always Weetbix and dinner ended with “huisgodsdiens”.

The younger cousins had to go to bed early but we were allowed to sit in the livingroom on the floor. This is where my obsession began…

A big glass window and door gave me the perfect place to sit and stare out over what I thought was the most magical place in the world that never stopped or slept. The lights in the distance twinkled like little fireflies in different colours. I would sit there just wishing I lived in that place.

I thought it was Johannesburg, but it wasn’t. It was Soweto or Krugersdorp. My magical place was even better when I finally arrived.

I barely had a big suitcase full of clothes when I arrived, but I was determined to live in the biggest city. I knew exactly one person, my godmother and then I made 2 friends and then it became home.

I lost touch with all the people I knew way back then, but now I see the beautiful lights of Jozi from my house and they are more beautiful than when I saw them the first time.

The lights brought me here and kept me here. This is home.

Dear Jozi,

We need to talk. It is not you, it really is me. I want more.

You know that I love you. I have loved you the very first moment I saw your beautiful lights in the distance. You know that I left my family and friends behind to live with you.

I think we have just grown apart. I never noticed that you didn’t have a beach or that your streets drove me nuts during peak hours. I just loved soaking up your energy. Now I want more beach, less cars and a slower pace. I don’t know when this changed, I just know that it did.

I don’t know when I will leave you – or even if I will leave you, but I just wanted to let you know that things have changed in my heart and mind.