2012/06/10

Johannesburg and nearby

I am a bit late in writing this, but after Cape Town, I was lucky to be able to spend a weekend with my college friend and his family in Johannesburg. This was the first time in over 17 years since I saw him last.  It was great to see him and his family. And - they really took me around!

First, we drove to the Rhino and Lion Nature Reserve,.  It was like a safari and I saw many wild animals roaming around.  The below are some of the pictures from the interesting place.

It was a feeding time for the Lions.

Rhinos and deer-like creatures.

Zebras.

We then went to The Cradle of Humankind - a World Heritage Site.  

The skeleton of Lucy - the oldest human known.  We learned that its name came about because the excabators were listening to the Beatles song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds".


I also went to Soweto - the largest of townships close from Johannesburg.

This is a wall on the Vilakazi Street depicting Winnie Mandela, Desmond Tutu, and Nelson Mandela.

Inside the Mandela House - the actual house where Winnie and Nelson lived.

A typical house in Soweto - the Mandela house looked very much like this one.

A momorial right outside of Hector Pieterson Museum - a facility dedicated to the 16 June 1976 uprising against Apartheid that bears the name of the 12-year old boy that was shot to death on that day.

The statue of the most famous and popular person of South Africa at the Nelson Mandela Square.



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