April 9, 2007 - Man v. Beast

Today we set off on our first touristy thing, the Pretoria Zoo. With only myself with an alarm clock we got on our way at about 9:30 or so and had Rixi Taxi come to take us to our destination. Like most foreign countries they have the smaller cars here, and not the gigantic gas-guzzler’s that we American’s take pride in purchasing. The driving here is also a little intimidating. I keep thinking that we’re turning into the wrong lane every time we go right or left, but obviously we’re not. There’s one sign in particular that I’ve yet to decipher. It’s a black S with a red circle and slash on top of it. Kind of like a No Parking sign but with an S. I’m thinking it’s a No Stopping but other suggestions were offered up such as No Scuba-diving, No Sashaying, No Sleeping, etc. I’ll let you know when I learn what it is.

I’m paying closer attention to the roads now as there’s the possibility that we may be driving here for one of our excursions. I don’t think I’d have too much of a problem as long as the car was automatic (I’ve yet to learn a stick-shift, something I’m longing to do) and I had someone to help me remember which lane to turn into on the corners. It’s also a little scary because apparently they’re not the most cautious drivers here. The news this evening stated that over the Easter weekend (Fri, Sat, Sun) that over 180 motorists were killed in car accidents due to the holiday traffic. That’s an insane number! Especially in three days. It averages to roughly 56 people per day as fatalities. So unfortunately not exactly a happy Easter for all.

On a lighter note, the zoo was really cool. It is gigantic as I stated it might be. We saw Kudu’s, which I believe is the official animal of this country. They’re a type of deer. I also got some great shots of the bigger animals…lions, tigers, rhinos, elephants, etc. And I was right, they didn’t have an American animal there! A Kodiak bear was our U.S. representative, though he wasn’t very lively. The zoo is deep within the city, so it’s a sort of oasis in the urban desert.

In one section there’s an aviary with all of these fabulous African birds, including these crazy pinkish-red things (not flamingos) which I never could find the name of. Alissa somehow managed to get attacked by this crested crane while she was trying to take a picture of him. She managed to get off a shot at the same time so the photo is hilarious, and she wasn’t seriously hurt. Maybe he didn’t think she was getting his good side…

The trip there ended with a stop at the Zoovenir shop (and no I didn’t make that up) where I stocked up on postcards to send home. Alissa also managed to have some difficulty with the Coke machine. For some reason it wouldn’t take her coins or the coins I’d switch with her but when I used it everything was fine.

The evening ended early with each of us crashing in our own apartments. Since we had groceries from the day before, we were able to fend for our own dinner. As the air cooled and clouds moved in, Pretoria experienced their first rain in a long time. According to some locals, we just missed a major heat wave that had been taking place here a few weeks earlier and now the weather is starting to turn to autumn. As the thunder and lightning crashed above me, I settled in to watch a few soccer matches on TV. Perhaps by the end of my trip I may understand that sport, possibly even cricket too!