South African Adventure - week 1

My trip to South Africa honestly didn’t start out the greatest. It kind of came of out of the blue. An opportunity to do some work with a multi-country KPMG team from the US, India, UK, and South Africa (and now Australia) came up through a former co-worker and friend from Chicago who was already part of the project in South Africa. Within a few days I had talked to the engagement lead and was offered a role on the team – I just had to clear everything through Australia. I was a bit torn from the very beginning – I had only been back from Broome for 3 weeks, it would take me away from my honey, it seemed like a hard-core hours type of project, plus my health hadn’t been great over the last week or so. But it was a free trip to South Africa, which was Number Two on my travel list!!!! After some discussion, I decided I could make it work on Thursday, was notified of my flight on Friday night, and left on Sunday night. Not much notice!!

Chris was great enough to give me a ride to the airport – yet AGAIN – but he said the next time he sees me he’s going to attach a bungee cord to me so I can’t go too far away. At the airport I had a bit of trouble because the company only purchased a one-way ticket (a no-no when going to another country!) because we aren’t sure the exact date I’d be done. They let me on the flight, but gave me quite a scare that I may not be allowed into SA on arrival – either being turned away after an 11 hour flight or be required to pay a “fee”. At this point, I honestly wanted to walk out of the airport. Not my normal reaction for a trip - and it hasn't been the last time I've felt like that.

After all that, arrival in Johannesburg was actually a breeze. They barely looked at my US passport and didn't have customs that I could see. My driver picked me up from the airport bright and early at 6am after my overnight flight. One of the funniest moments of my trip so far was finding a pretty bra in the backseat of my driver’s car. He almost died of embarrassment. He was very glad I found it and not his wife!!! (He said his last passenger to the airport was repacking her suitcase in the car.) My first impression was that I couldn’t believe how hilly and green everything was. I know it seems stupid, but I didn’t expect “Africa” to look like that. I also couldn’t believe the hotel I was booked into, which is absolutely stunning. I'll be here until Friday when I can join the rest of the team in serviced apartments.

After a little nap I was showered and ready to go to the office by 10am. Too bad they weren’t ready for me until 4pm….slightly (very) annoying. But now the chaos has started. Now I’m based at my client site and it is quite hectic. I was able to catch up with my 2 Chicago girls on Tuesday night for a great dinner in Melrose Arch and then with a larger group from various projects on Thursday.

On Wednesday I had to attend a meeting out at one of the main platinum mine sites. I was a bit nervous to go, as there has been some unrest with workers’ strikes and police retaliation. But on the way there I got to see some shanty towns, which are a site unbelievable to most eyes. We drove up over this beautiful lush hill, and then there was a shanty town as far as the eye could see. I saw multiple versions of the same sadness and then of course near the mine site there are many places to live that the Westernised world would have a hard time calling a “house” – most of the ice shacks in my hometown were more liveable. Another concerning thing is because of where these shanty towns have been built, thousands of people run across the freeways on foot everyday and there are many accidents and fatalities.

Over my first weekend I was excited to do some sightseeing around Johannesburg, hoping it would raise my spirits and remind me why I actually chose to come here. However my plans quickly changed when 3 of us received an invitation to a private game farm with the family of one of our South African co-workers. It was such a fabulous weekend of seeing African wildlife (Giraffes! Ostriches! Worthogs! Impalas! Elands! Wildebeest!). It definitely deserves a more detailed blog post but I’m not sure I’ll get to it. For now, it’s the end of my first week and weekend in South Africa, and I have the typical “Sunday Night Panic” that I was so familiar with in Chicago. I miss Perth, my friends, my free time, my freedom in general - it is quite a dangerous place and not ok to be outside much. Feeling like a caged animal. And I mostly miss Chris (awwwwww). Now off to sleep, to dream of giraffes and beautiful sunsets.

Giraffe

Blue headed lizard on the tree

The real world rears its head

I wanted to post one last blog about Broome before I backtrack and talk about several trips I’ve taken over the year that I haven’t yet written about (I'm overwhelmingly behind!!). The last week of Jawun was hectic, followed by a week of lovely non-hectic time.

After we all finished up our projects, the “Broome group” flew back over to Kununurra to debrief with the entire Jawun mob who were spread between Kununurra, Halls Creek, and Warmun. A few of us got up early for a scenic flight over the Bungle Bungles, the Ord River, Lake Argyle and the Argyle Diamond Mine. The Bungles (official name Purnululu National Park), is a World Heritage Site to the north of Halls Creek and is famous for its orange and gray striped sandstone domes. Although I wish I could’ve done some camping or hiking in the vast park, I was glad I at least got to see it from the air – which was quite a spectacular sight.

Purnuluu

Purnululu (Bungle Bungle)

The debrief with the whole group was a long day, but actually more interesting than I was expecting and I enjoyed hearing what everyone did for their projects and the experiences they had. After the debrief, our last bit of group fun was a BBQ Boat ride and drinks on the Ord River. The following day (Friday), it was time to say goodbye to everyone at the airport and make my way back to Broome for a relaxing few days.

On the Ord

Last day with Jawun

Chris came up from Perth to spend a long weekend in Broome. You may have noticed by now that I’ve met someone pretty cool who is, to my family’s dismay, Australian. I don’t usually mention this type of thing in my blog, so please don’t harass him on Facebook! We had a great time doing some of the touristy things I didn’t do while working there…..camel ride on Cable Beach, guided stargazing (awesome!), sampling various restaurants, lounging by the pool, outdoor cinema; and I also got to show him a few of my favourite Broome things. Chris also planned a whole day out for me that included a massage, a scenic flight over Broome, and a nice dinner. I was impressed :)

Scenic flight view of Gantheaume Point and Cable Beach

Camels on Cable Beach

On a camel

Now that I’ve been back in Perth for almost a week, I’m starting to feel less overwhelmed by the people, the cars, the constant motion. And just think, this is Perth, not exactly NYC or Chicago. It was great to get away from it all and it has been a little hard to come back to normal life. I have to get dressed up for work again and wear normal shoes instead of my casual attire and flip-flops that were fine for work in Broome. I also blew-dry my hair for the first time in months and thought my head was on fire. But it is also a good thing to come back to normal life, too (since my life is pretty cool). I have to keep reminding people that I was not on vacation while I was in Broome, with the exception of a week at the end (a very annoying comment I’ve heard multiple times). My tan doesn’t help my argument though. Bring on the next adventure!