Exiting july ahead....

Everything is still very well here.. The last few days have gone with various daily duties for Jensen-Safaris.
Had a beautifully cooked lunch the other day when visiting the family who makes the hunting-trophies for Jensen-Safaris. They were all very nice people and had a wonderfull huge property about an hours drive outside Pretoria and the entire family is living there. The whole setup and the people reminded me a bit of "Dynasty".. ;-)

For the last week we have had a group of very talented musicians and maestros from all over the world staying here. Some of them quite young. Has been an experience to hear them play the piano etc at The Manor House when praticing. And they surely like their wine&beer and a good chat in the evenings. So Ive managed to get some good tips from the south africans for my travel around the country in august where my good friend Andy from Manchester will join me. Always good to speak to locals to avoid the classic tourist-traps..
Holger an I have been invited to a galla-dinner and concert in Johannesburg thursday night to hear them play. And friday night we are going to another concert at the massive University of South Africa here in Pretoria.

July is pretty packed with exiting stuff. We have some new guests arriving and next week Im going on a 4 day hunting&safari in the Limpopo-region. Really looking forward to get out in the bush! And with the same guests Im going to the Drakensberg mountains to relax at a wonderfully situated lodge and there will be a bit of trekking to some waterfalls as well. Should be quite a spetacular region of SA. Im gonna pay The Pilansberg Reserve a couple of visits too as it is only a couple of hrs drive from here and the chances for wild-life spotting etc should be great. In mid-july Im going with a couple of guests to the famous Soweto (south western township ) outside Johannesburg and from the 22nd-29th I will be visiting Zambia, Mugabes Zimbabwe and Botswana...

Good to hear that the summer weather back home in Denmark is fantastic at the moment.
Hope you are all well..

Happy days!

Pretoria and Voortrekkers Monument

Yesterday Holger and I drove about 70 km outside Pretoria to pick up the trophy of the moose that he and his manager shot in Alaska back in september. Its a giant and we were quite a few people to get it on and off the truck. Drove very slow on the way back and everyone were turning their heads when we were passing. A guy came up to us on a petrol-station asking "What is that? ". He had obviously never seen that kind of animal before.. And what a destiny for an animal that walked the woods of Alaska not long ago....

During the drive I saw a few townships which was a sad reminder of the poverty under which a great part of the south african people live! It is indeed a land of contrasts when it comes to that... Next month I will be visiting the massive township Soweto situated outside Johannesburg. Looking forward to that..

Today I borrowed one of Holgers cars and spend the day sightseeing in and outside Pretoria. Its still a bit strange driving in the left side of the road, especially in the busy city-centre of Pretoria it got quite interesting, but everything went well and I got used to it. I went in and saw the central square - Church Square which is surrounded by some nice looking buildings, among these The Palace of Justice where the Rivonia Trial that sentenced Nelson Mandela to life imprisonment was held. From there I just took a stroll around taking in the atmosphere of the city. Didnt see any other tourists so felt a bit exposed at times..
After that I drove outside the city to see The Voortrekker Monument which was built to commemorate the achievements of the Voortrekkers ( groups of Boers that were dissatisfied with British rule in the Cape colony trekked off into the interior in search of freedom ). In particular the monument commemorates the Battle of Blood River in 1838, during which 470 Boers, under the command of A.Pretorius, defeated approximately 12.000 zulus and the monument still remains a powerful symbol of the " White Tribe of Africa " and their historical relationship to South Africa. From the top I enjoyed a nice panoramic view of Pretoria and the highveld and inside the monument there was an impressive bas-relief which told the story of the trek and of the Battle of Blood river.

Made a few wrong turns on my way so got to see a bit more of Pretoria than originally planned :) And on the way back I was caught in a massive traffic-que because there was a big rugby game on. Would have liked to have gone to that..

Hope you are all well...

Getting settled in SA

Everything is well here in Pretoria. Have been helping out with various stuff around the
property etc. We have a few guests staying these days. Taking Holgers two nice labradors
Bruno III and Thor for a walk/run every morning and afternoon. Allmost every house around here have tall fences around them, survelliance cameras and last but not least some nasty dogs guarding the properties. Thats a constant reminder of the high crime-rate here in South Africa. The police is also very vissible at the moment because of the Confederations Cup in football. But besides their presence two football-teams have been robbed. The brazilian team one of them. The crime-problems here are one of FIFAs main-concerns with the World Cup 2010 in South Africa. Anyway thats just bad stuff. It seems like a wonderfull country which Im looking forward to experience more of and I really like the south african accent...
Yesterday we went for a short drive doing some shopping. Gave me the opportunity to see some areas around Pretoria. The city has a population of about 1.65 mio. Its situated about 1300 m above sealevel and is surronded by a few mountains ( for a dane its mountains...). You can also feel the altitude a bit when you are running. If there is time for it I will go into Pretoria in the weekend and experience the sights there. Among others Im planning to see the court building where Mandela was sentenced to life imprissonment and The Union Building where the new president Zuma resides etc.
Best regards here from Pretoria...

Day 1 & 2 at Jensen-safaris.

Arrived yesterday at Johannesburg airport where I was picked up by Holger whom Im gonna work for as an assistent until end of august. Living in a nice area at the outskirts of the capital Pretoria. Yesterday afternoon Holger took me to the State Theatre in Pretoria experincing my first operette "The merry widow ". Its winter here which means bit chilly mornings and evenings but clear, warm and pleasant weather during the day. At least more stabile weather than the danish summer.. :-)

Have been helping out around the property today. We have been rearranging and cleaning the impressive trophy-collection at the Manor House. Looking forward to see all the animals a bit more alive when we go on tour out in the bush. And Ive taken Holgers two nice labradors for a run in the morning and late afternoon...

All for now...