Firstly, while listening to the radio on the way in, the presenters played a short montage of various interviews and old archived radio/TV broadcasts, from around the time of  Mandela’s release, and all the unrest before and after. After some quick googling, I came across http://www.mandelahistory.org/, and from there found NPR’s “Remembering Nelson Mandela’s Pivotal Moment”, which contains some of these excellent and very, very interesting audio montages. You’ll hear Mandela himself, Dr Verwoed, Winnie Mandela in a telephone interview (while under house arrest), live recordings of police dispersing riots, and numerous other, very familiar voices. A lot of work as clearly gone into these, and I highly recommend you fire them up (they are streamed), and listen to them while you’re at your desk. I find it’s amazing how much of the detailed memories during that time come flooding back, with a little reminding.

Also, check out Madiba’s Release Remembered, and perhaps most vivid of all, IOL’s gallery here.

Only free men can negotiate; prisoners cannot enter into contracts. Your freedom and mine cannot be separated.

– Refusing to bargain for freedom after 21 years in prison, as quoted in TIME (25 February 1985)

So in a little over 126-odd days, I’ll be heading off to the Green Point Stadium to watch Uruguay thump France! Yeah!!

Anyway, to the video! This is very cool (although not exactly “improv”), but I’m sure you’ll enjoy it…

Today, on my way home, I had yet another run in with some twit, who managed to exhibit tendencies of nervousness, aggressiveness, and lack-of-foresighted-ness (forgive me, I’m ranting), all in the space of about 15 seconds. I won’t go into the details: you all probably know exactly what happened.

So please consider this a public service announcement. I am now going to lay down the very-uncomplicated rules of traffic circles in one easy page for my intelligent readers to distribute amongst their less fortunate friends.

Herewith, Baldric-Man’s Traffic Circles for Dummies

1. Traffic Circles are NOT confusing. I promise. It’s a road. It’s round. You drive around it clockwise (that’s important). You don’t crash into anyone. (Also important)
2. Traffic Circles are NOT 4-way stops. Official Legislation quite clearly states that a driver should slow when approaching (just like any intersection, actually), yet need not stop (unless necessary obviously, just like a standard Yield)
3. Yield (wait) for vehicles in the circle, to your right (i.e. approaching). When you want to enter a circle, you need to wait for vehicles to your right, who are already in the circle, and who you will be obstructing if you join at that moment. Think about this: it’s just like any other time you turn on to a road, change lanes, etc: if, by doing so, you’re going to get in someone’s way, or cause an accident, you probably shouldn’t go just yet. (Mind-blowing, I know). If the other car has not entered the circle yet, you’re allowed to go (but be sensible: if they are *just* about to enter, and are travelling quite quickly, which they’re entitled to do, you should wait)
4. Some people find it helpful to write a little “R” on their Right hand, to remind themselves of that tricksy little gem.
5. When you want to leave a circle (which, presumably, you do) you Indicate Left as soon as you pass the exit *before* the exit you want to take. Now, that might sound confusing, but again, if you think about it, it’s exactly like any other time you turn off a road: You indicate as soon as you can, as long as your road or exit is the next one (with no others before it) Also: If you are taking the first exit of a circle, then you are supposed to indicate left before you even join the circle. Now, there is a modern trend of indicating Right when in the bigger, “proper” circles (actual “Roundabouts”), and you are intending on taking the 3rd (or later) exit, but personally I think its confusing, illogical, and generally daft (I’ll explain another time) – I may be wrong on this, but I’m about 99% sure that it isn’t a traffic law or requirement.

There are a lot of comments out there on the web about the confusing differences between full-blown Roundabouts, and the baby-brother Mini-Circles. Although there are some differences in the descriptions and wording, I can assure you, the fundamental basics of yielding, approach, and indication are all the same, and based in common sense. (Which is specifically why I have not made any distinction – because I don’t see any practical difference)

And if you find this still too confusing, Baldric-Man’s Quick Reference Summary of a Traffic Circle:

It’s *exactly* like any road, except it’s like a bit curvy and stuff. When you join a traffic circle, it’s like joining a normal road from another road with a Yield sign – a Yield sign just reminds you not to be an ass, and to wait for other cars who have right of way (i.e. they are already on that road, stupid). When you want to turn off the road, you indicate, and then turn off the road.

Honestly, I can’t think of anything simpler.

Ok, now for something more serious. Seeing as there is a chance you might think I’m missing something, or making stuff up, etc, here are a few links to sites you’ll hopefully regard as reliable. Otherwise, you will just have to take my word that the information above is taken from my experience in learning the K53 (many moons ago), in reading up the official legislation and guidelines, and perhaps most notably, in an online forum debate with a local Traffic officer about 3 years ago.

Arrive Alive has this to say…

and RoadSafety.co.za has this helpful page…

And finally, the official regulatory statement for the Roundabout sign is stated as follows:

The roundabout regulatory sign R137 imposes a mandatory requirement that drivers entering a roundabout shall turn to the left and shall travel  round the roundabout in a clockwise direction, and it imposes a mandatory requirement that drivers entering a roundabout shall yield right-of-way to traffic approaching from the right, within the round-about, where such traffic is so close as to constitute a danger or potential danger.

That nugget can be found here: http://www.transport.gov.za/library/legislation/roadtraffic/Command_Signs_Detail.html#r137

It’s an expensive outing, make no mistake – as lowly Adults we had to pay R88 each, even though we’re South African (which is a rant for another day ), but we quickly forgot about that once we were inside. We spent about an hour and a half in the aquarium, and saw things such as the Giant Spider Crab tank, the “Nemo” exhibit (clown fish, always a hit with the kids), the Kelp Forest (pic below) which is just beautiful, and of course the Predator Exhibit, where we were lucky enough to see feeding time. (You can also feed the sharks, by getting in the tank with them, scuba-style, no cage. And you have to pay for this…..?) The aquarium also has two galleries to contrast the sea life in the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean, with helpful identifier cards next to each window, to help find the little critters (and learn a little interesting fact about them too).

The aquarium, however, doesn’t limit itself to sea-bound creatures. There is quite a range of birdlife (including the ever popular penguins), and a great River Meander exhibit, which includes fresh water creatures and describes a river’s journey. Also, not to be missed, is the new “Frogs Beyond the Pond” gallery, which has been very carefully and beautifully constructed, with sections making you feel about as big as a frog as you wander through, great lilies and garden taps looming above you.

Anyway, if you have kids, you definitely want to take them there – Wifey and I quite enjoyed watching the kids, some of whom were completely beside themselves with excitement, and the rest completely enchanted and wide-eyed. And if you don’t have kids, you might just find yourself feeling like one anyway…

Enjoy!

So we made a Chickpea and Courgette Pie. It had some other stuff in it too (like a lot of Basmati rice, of all things), but the main point of interest was that it was made using phyllo (filo) pastry, in a spring-form pan. Anyway, the meal was a success, I thought, and it was great to try out something we wouldn’t ordinarily have eaten.

Here are one or two pics of the masterpiece, in the making:

Phyllo Pastry Preparation

Mmm, Filled with Filling!

For as long as I can remember, Allen has been passionate about everything in the night sky (except perhaps clouds), and his enthusiasm certainly rubbed off over his younger two brothers. But now, he finds himself in deepest, brightest suburbia, with little time for astronomy… But he says:

How to keep the passion alive in a suburban backyard, with no telescope, trees blotting out most of the sky, and bright security lights drowning out the stars?  Check my updates regularly and find out how I do it!

Now I know I may be biased, but I have to say, I’ve found the site and its articles very interesting, as well as quick and easy to read (perfect for at-your-desk browsing). It is one of the most consistent and engaging sites on the topic I have seen, and it is written in a manner that is completely non-threatening to the amateur or aspiring astronomer, no matter how “un-scientific” they may feel. And yet, (and this is my favourite part) you’ll be hard-pressed to find any bias, nor any irresponsible over-simplification and outdated information that most sites (and even a few books) are just too lazy to explain properly, verify, or update with new theories or research.

But seriously, take a look at it, bookmark it, whatever, if you’re even the least interested in science, astronomy, or the universe.

My best (and yet insufficient) excuse for the lack of reading material for you, is that Wifey and I were visiting my family in Natal. And this time, to spice things up, we decided to retrace our steps, as it were, in another road trip. We drove up 2 years ago (I think it was), and enjoyed it just as much this time, as we did then.

We left on the 17th of December, close to sunrise, and headed out on to the N1 (for as short a spell as possible). When driving any real distance, our philosophy has for a long time been to avoid major routes (most notably the N1 and N2), and try to stick to the good quality back roads, as far as possible. In doing so, we enjoy near stress-free driving due to the almost complete lack of traffic, speed cameras, tolls, and roadblocks. But perhaps best of all, we get to explore and experience certain timeless parts of South Africa such as those Karoo towns that, much like their specialty apricots, peaches, and figs, seem to be drenched and preserved in syrups of unassuming heritage.

I am honestly quite sad that it took so long for me to begin to appreciate the astounding beauty of certain parts of South Africa, such as the Karoo, with it’s surprisingly green towns made all the more striking and memorable in contrast to the hot surrounds. Hot and arid and dry and boring…. or so I used to think, no doubt as so many people still do, tearing past in air conditioned cars, music blaring, terrified and panicky, in their race to get to the comfortable cool coast.
And then, there’s the Free State! My oh my, how unfounded childhood impressions last! The Orange Free State, after all, must be orange (my least favourite colour as a child, after brown) Boy, have my eyes been opened. In my opinion, nowhere else in the country will you find landscapes to match these pretty vistas of gently rolling hills, bright green in the sun, dotted with tall dark poplars and topped with strange sandstone formations.

On that note, if you haven’t paid a visit to the Golden Gate Highlands National Park, do yourself a favour, and take a drive through it as soon as possible. It’s not big, but boasts some amazing sandstone cliffs that positively glow at the right times of the day… The 3 pictures below were all taken within the park (like all pictures in this post, you can click on them for the full-size version – at your own risk).

Some people have shown mild interest in our specific route, so I have detailed it as best I can (largely from memory, with Wifey’s help) in a separate post over here.

But moving on… My parents and brother now live in the small agricultural town of Howick, where we joined them for about 2 weeks or so of great catch up time and relaxation. It was brilliant just spending some un-rushed time with them, and my two grandmothers, drinking copious amounts of tea, watching the cricket, and educating them in the subtleties of Settlers of Catan (check out Deems’ review here - the bugger beat me to it…)

For New Year’s Eve (and my Dad’s birthday), we managed to squeeze in a few days at our favourite holiday spot, the Cumberland Nature Reserve (just outside of Pietermaritzburg). I don’t really want to say to much about Cumberland, in case some of you take it seriously and start visiting there often. Selfish? Yes. Very. But I don’t care. I will, however, share some pictures with you, of this amazing little haven, that feels so completely secluded and undeveloped.

Here are another 2 pictures, one of a view over the Kranz, and one of our humble abode:

To summarise our route, for anyone planning a similar trip, you start out on the N1 from Cape Town, and after going through the engineering marvel that is the Huguenot Tunnel, turn off onto the R60 at Worcester, heading through Robertson, then Ashton, and Montagu, at which point you’re on the R62 . (Route 62, as it’s known, is a must-drive for any trip heading vaguely West-ish. Trust me on this ) So anyway, on the R62, you pass through a few places like the Barrydale (if towns could be pretentious…), Ladismith, Calitzdorp (Port capital of South Africa, or so they say…), and finally Oudtshoorn, which boasts many decent B&Bs, and makes a great base for those wishing to explore the world famous Cango Caves (another must…one we missed on this trip unfortunately)

In Oudtshoorn, be sure to head out North on the windy N12, taking you through some very interesting mountains, and through the very pretty town of De Rust, at which point you change roads again and go North East on the N9, toward Willowmore. Keeping on this road allows you to visit places such as Graaff-Reinet (where we stayed in decent B&B on the return trip). Anyway, your destination is Middelburg, because here you yet again switch roads, on to the R56, towards Steynsburg. And, yes, yet again another switcheroo (after Burgersdorp somewhere) you choose the R58, towards Aliwal North, which is at the border between the Eastern Cape and the Orange Free State (on the Gariep River, previously called the Orange River, downstream of Gariep Dam) We stayed at Marlyn’s B&B in Aliwal North, which is a comfortable and very affordable stopping point. (You may notice that this is beyond halfway, perhaps about 11 hours into the trip of 17 or 18 hours: This is because we like to get more driving done on the first day, so that when we arrive we aren’t completely buggered!)

From here on you strike out North along the N6, through Rouxville, and turning East on to the R726, heading for Zastron, then to the R26 towards Ladybrand (also called the N8 for this stretch) We found the potholes in this area quite atrocious, but the traffic was light enough and the road straight enough, to allow for easy swerving to avoid the not-so-little buggers. So anyway, you go through or past Ficksburg and Fouriesburg, after which you take the R711 towards the well known, artsy (and often over-priced) town of Clarens, and thereafter the R712 through the magnificent Golden Gate Highlands National Park (as mentioned earlier). After you have driven through the park, you really have 2 options left: either, you can continue along straight for Harrismith and then the N3, or you can branch off South on the R74 after Puthaditjhaba, down Oliviershoek Pass, and to Bergville, Winterton, and finally the N3, for the last few hundred kms of Gauteng drivers, large trucks, and speed cameras every few metres. Fun times. And finally, you’re in the heart of the Natal Midlands, with green valleys, hot curries, tall waterfalls, and *proper* lightning storms. Bliss. And while you’re there, you can spend a few afternoons touring the local attractions part of the Midlands Meander.

The total distance for the trip described above was 1768 kilometres, and I think we did it in about 18 hours or so (if memory serves, which it seldom does), which included all petrol, bathroom, stretch, snack and lunch stops.

To return home to Cape Town, simply retrace your steps back along the same route. We’ve done the return trip in 3 days before, simply to give us time to explore things like the Cango Caves and Valley of Desolation. If you’re travelling that far, why not do it properly?

On a final note, I have to recommend a certain site for any route planning you’re doing in South Africa. Check out www.routes.co.za for an incredibly detailed and intuitive site offering all sorts of information on pretty much any route in the country.