Chronicles of My Life in Joburg

Meeting Uncle Chris, Beer, and Hailstorms

OK, so Uncle Chris actually my dad’s cousin, but it seems appropriate to call him an uncle. I only came to learn of Chris’s existence through Facebook back in 2010. Having known that he lived in Johannesburg, Uncle Chris was very integral in my decision to move to Johannesburg, as well as my overall transition to life here. We had been in touch via Facebook and e-mail, but I only had the chance to actually meet him and his lovely wife Lindi last weekend here in Joburg.

Chris and Lindi took my friend Zoe and me out for an incredibly fun-filled day here. Chris knew of my interest in wildlife, so our day started with a visit to Croc City, which is a crocodile and reptile park founded by a couple of passionate herpetologists. In addition to crocs, Croc City had a bunch of indigenous and “imported” reptiles from all over the world (some of which I was able to hold). Wonderful time!

A lovely display of reptilian affection…

Holding an albino Burmese python… I almost toppled to the ground while holding this thing with how heavy it was!

This is a Chilean Rose Tarantula… one of the least harmful tarantulas around. However, rumor has it that if you blow on, or aggravate in any way, this little guy, his defense mechanism is to shed and “spray” his hairs out, and if those hairs get into your eyes you will soon be learning to read braille and walking with a cane… Serious stuff!

We then migrated over to the Lion and Rhino Park nearby… The park was basically a “mini safari” where you can drive through some protected game lands and view the wildlife from your car, but also contained an animal “creche” where you can walk around some animal habitats, and even snuggle with some baby lion cubs 🙂 We also had a “braii” (aka a South African barbeque) while at the park, where Chris and Lindi cooked us up some sausage and steaks (pleasantly accompanied by HP sauce!!!)

Our wonderful fun-filled day of wildlife exploration ended with a lovely evening at the famous Montecasino in Johannesburg. Montecasino is a well-known tourist destination here, which contains (obviously) a casino, as well as a bunch of restaurants, shops, a movie theatre, and a comedy stage. We grabbed some much needed coffee before moving on to see a comedy show. I was pleasantly surprised with how funny the comedians were at this show. A lot of the South African specific humor may have gone right over my head, but I was still blessed with an abundance of laughs and smiles from the 4-5 comedians that performed.

…overall, an amazing day! I think my pal Zoe would agree 🙂 Thanks Chris and Lindi!!!

So what else is new in the world of Kirby? Umm, as per usual, too much to write about. But one VERY important aspect of my life here worth sharing was my first BEER FESTIVAL here in Joburg 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

OK. Let me preface this story by reiterating the notion that South Africa is not known for having good beer. This seems to be known by everyone in the world except South Africans. It’s ok… they haven’t really had much opportunity to try good beer from Belgium, Germany, or AMERICA!!! So, they think they are quite good at beer (sorry natives, you aren’t quite there yet, but you get an A+ for effort!).

You all already know — I’m a snob when it comes to beer. I’m sorry. And I’m not sorry. I’ve found something in this world that I can appreciate more than a lot of people, and I’m not ashamed to say that I think my opinions could be valued in the world of beer. So, when I say that I didn’t expect much from South African beer, most would concur.

HOWEVER (and this is a big ‘however’), I was pleasantly surprised to try a multitude of pretty decent beers at the Sandton Beer and Music Festival this past weekend…. lots of good beer, PLUS a colleague who performed as a musician at the festival. He’s a very talented guitarist capable of finger-tapping and generally being an incredibly successful one-man-band. Truly impressive! There was a good turn-out of fellow coworkers, so it was a wonderfully social, fun, and somewhat ‘business’ related gathering! And most importantly, my mind has finally been opened up to the possibility that maybe South Africa has some decent brews to sample!

In other news, I was delighted to have had my first taste of a Johannesburg storm right after the beer festival… I had heard some stories about the hail that plagues Johannesburg weather, but I didn’t really take it seriously until I was caught in my first storm this past Saturday night.

…HOLY. MOTHER. OF. GOD.

I have never experienced such a frightening hailstorm until then. One minute Zoe and I were driving along to meet a friend of hers for dinner in beautiful sunny and warm weather, and the next minute we were pulled over on the side of the road praying to some God that this hail didn’t shatter the windshield of my car or that the flash flooding didn’t carry me off the road…. See for yourself…

…quite an experience, to say the least.

Well everyone, I’m sorry for the delay in blog posts… Unfortunately, the internet at the B&B I had been staying at was quite faulty, so it has been difficult for me to connect and keep in touch with the cyber world. However, this internet connection issue is actually one of the lesser faults that I can attribute to the said B&B… But that, my friends, is a whole different story in itself. You will just have to stay tuned for the next post to hear all about that one.

Peace out beautiful people. I will be in touch soon enough!