My research takes me to all sorts of places.
Those of you who stop in here often will recall my last research/holiday adventure in
Namibia.
This time, I traveled through my own country, making sure I took the scenic and historical routes.
The first stop on my journey was
Mossel Bay, a historic city that dates back to 1488 when Bartolomeu Dias sailed into the bay.
It’s a lovely town with many historical buildings, museums and a very smelly seal island.
I then drove through spectacular Frontier country on my way to 
Grahamstown to look at skeletal collections housed at Albany Museum. I don’t really like Grahamstown. I love that it is steeped in 1820’s Settlers history, has an amazing cathedral and fantastic university but the town itself is dodgy. Accommodation is very expensive and fairly crap and the locals, although colourful, can be quite unfriendly. I am, of course, in the minority when it comes to disliking the place and this comment is sure to be met with scorn and contempt by ex-Rhodes University groupies. The drive north through the Eastern Cape towards my next stop, Bloemfontein, was breathtaking. I can’t say the same for Bloemfontein itself. Granted, I did not stay there long enough to enjoy the sights of the predominantly Afrikaans city because I was located at a research centre in Florisbad (it’s about 50km away from Bloem where only jackals, rats and mosquitoes keep you company), but most people have only good things to say about the apparently funky city.
A short drive from Bloem took me to Kimberley. What a nice place! Lots of diamond mining history (the Big Hole really is huge!), rock art sites and friendly people in an amazing flat Karoo landscape trampled by predictable afternoon thunder storms that you can see coming from miles away. I then made my way to Johannesburg via the farm lands of the North West.
Johannesburg, my home town, is still a fantastic, bustling city but I was more than pleased to make my way back to Cape Town two weeks later. Perhaps I was tired of the research and the traveling or perhaps I just missed the mountain and sea.
My research takes me to all sorts of places. Those of you who stop in here often will recall my last research/holiday adventure in 
Grahamstown to look at skeletal collections housed at 
A short drive from Bloem took me to 
6 comments:
Interesting that you still call Johannesburg your home town - thought you would have been indoctrinated by those Capetonians by now! I like Kimberley, but it's a pity you didn't do Bloemfontein properly. It's bigger and more interesting than you think. And it has a historic public orchid house! You do make Grahamstown sound grim - did the Albany Museum make up for it, at least?
Bloem has a public orchid house? next time i'm there, im SO checking it out.
i think i could use a dunk in the local history. i've been to all these places, but i've never gone to see the sites..
great pix, btw!
Great pics, Wendy! One continent I've never been to is Africa (actually, there's quite a few continents I've never been to - in fact, it would probably be easier for me to name the one's I HAVE been to) - maybe someday ...
You have it made.
I get all juiced just looking at, reading, and thinking about where you go and what you get to do.
Maybe in another life I will get to do your kind of thing.
What is the story with that hole?
Made from mining? Natural sinkhole? Cave?
Let me know if you have time.
Merry Christmas!
Happy Christmas x
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