Snapshots – Johannesburg Faces

South Africa, 2012

Primary School, Soweto Township

Soweto Township

Our charming hiking guide

Snapshots – Johannesburg Landscape

South Africa, 2012

Zoo Lake

Zebra

The Beloved Country – Crying Out For Leadership

My piece on South Africa – written for MercatorNet and published on July 05, 2012

Soweto, Johannesburg

Last year I spent five months living in Johannesburg, South Africa. I left Australia with warnings still ringing in my ears – the concerns of friends who told me about Joburg’s crime rate, the murders, how you couldn’t even stop at a red traffic light for fear of being mugged. But what an amazing country I discovered.My first impressions: the unbelievably cloudless sky (which continued throughout winter), beautiful leafy suburbs with massive gated houses, and a real sense of community among locals. Twenty-four hours in and I had seen the most brilliant sunset ever, eaten typical African dishes, and met South Africans with accents varied enough to represent the 11 official languages. I was even living with a dog that had a Swahili name – Mrembo (beautiful). Awesome.