Return to Jo’burg
Monday, December 8th, 2008Day 252
Besides being a comfortable room with a fantastic view one of the biggest benefits of staying at the Monte Carlo hotel was the location. Our Translux bus to Jo’burg left just up the street, a 5 minute walk away.
We arrived at the bus office, international buses leave from their own offices and not the chaotic bus station. We actually booked our tickets online and easily checked in for the bus and boarded. We sat in the front row of the doubledecker bus which afforded us great views of the road. The a/c was turned on and off we went back to South Africa. The border crossing was quick and easy on both sides. We passed the gates to Kruger, through Nelspruit and through some beautiful countryside before arriving in Jo’burg late in the day.
Park Station is located in the centre of Jo’burg, one of the areas that gives the city its reputation for being dangerous. We are planning to stay out near the airport at a hostel named Shoestrings, but first we needed a taxi. we met two girls from New Brunswick on the bus who were also flying out the next day. I recommended Shoestrings to them and we all split a taxi there to save on the cost.
Two days ago when we decided to leave Mozambique early we bought a flight from Jo’burg to Livingstone, Zambia, home to Victoria Falls. We fly out in the morning so that’s why we are staying across the highway from the airport at the Shoestrings. We arrived Shoestrings hostel, which was in a residential suburb. It was a nice place with a swimming pool and for $23 we had a decent room with bathroom. Two nights ago that much cash got us a grass hut with sand floor.
We made dinner at the hostel and met a couple from Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. They were in Jo’burg shopping because of the severe shortages in Zimbabwe. It was interesting to talk with them about life in Zimbabwe and they tried to convince us that Zimbabwe was the better side to view the falls. Maybe so, but with food shortages and hyperinflation I wasn’t so sure of that. We spent the rest of the evening on the internet and chatting with the friendly owners, who were black. A rarity here, to my knowledge the first black owned South African hostel we stayed at. I went to bed that night excited about seeing one of the most beautiful sights in Africa and to finally be moving north of South Africa.
Michael Coroneos