April 3, 2010: Our last morning game drive here at the Mabula Lodge was a vast improvement over yesterday's, especially weather-wise. Rain was replaced by fog and mist, and it turns out if you drive through them quickly in an open-air jeep, dewdrops form on face and you look like you're sweating in a sauna. Better moist than soaked. TinTin was able to join us this time, sorta taking JunJun's place since he was feeling under the weather, w/c is apt since getting soaked yesterday from the rain was probably what caused it. (Unfortunately for JunJun, his roommate Roger joined us at the game drive but took their jailhouse-style room key w/ him and locked him inside.)
The animal sighting checklist was improved, as well, w/ better views/close-ups of giraffes, zebras, gnus, jackals (driver/guide Rudy said this was a rarity), wild boar, impalas and water buffalo. As a last resort we drove all the way to a separate reservation to find the lions and elephants, but Rudy only saw their tracks and path of destruction (by the elephant in the form of fallen trees). Being that far away from our lodge we got back an hour late, so we only had 1 hour to have breakfast (they have flapjacks!) and pack.
On our drive back on Johannesburg we had lunch at the Lotus Chinese restaurant and witnessed an odd spectacle. Behind the dividing wall a rowdy bunch of Chinese men (aka "Chonkers") called the Chinese manager over, then she in turn asked 2 black waitresses to join them. Next thing we knew the waitresses were kissing one of the Chonkers on the cheek and leaving w/ a nice tip. Seems Chonkers facsination w/ Blacks isn't gender specific.
After 2 hours on the road we were at the Gold Reef City Theme Park. For a Black Saturday (no pun intended) this place was packed. We were first treated to a brief film about the origins of Johannesburg's gold rush. The film shows a black kid talking to a "reflection" of an old white prospector in a small pond, who regales him w/ said history. (Wonder what would've been weirder: if the kid was really just talking to a puddle of water on the ground like an idiot, or that a creepy white prospector was behind him talking to the kid like an idiot.)
Afterwards we went 220 meters down a elevator to tour a decommissioned(?) gold mine. The section we were being shown at just the mining tip of the iceberg, as the whole mine went down as far as 3,700 meters, and I don't think park staff are keen to hand out oxygen tanks along w/ the hardhats and flashlights they already lent us. Speaking of hardhats, that thing saved my noggin at least three times from the low ceilings in this place. (Definitely fared better than my forehead when it got a slight cut 2 days ago from opening the Sun City Palace room cabinets incorrectly.) After the underground tour we saw a gold-pouring demonstration that form those large bricks we see on TV and a couple of Indiana Jones movies. Gah, those things are heavy.
Now we barely have enough time to try out a couple of rides in the theme park, mebbe one if we were lucky. As with my trip to Universal Osaka two years back, I was the only one willing to line up for their inverted roller coaster ride, The Anaconda. While at the queue me and others in line had to put up w/ a-hole line jumpers (who sheepishly walked to the back of the line after they were called out) and screaming riders who just finished their run after spinning around for 100 seconds at 55.9mph; but it was hard to tell if the screams were from the adrenaline rush or someone discovering they caught the vomit of the person riding in front to them. When I finally got on the ride it was 5pm on the nose, the park's closing time. "Kind" usher ushered me to the front seat to sit next to the guy who called out the a-hole line jumpers. (Bravo, sir.) Like myself he just lined up for this ride alone. Unlike myself he opted to leave his shoes behind for the ride, while I lost my Nokia cap mid-air after the first loop.
We left the park (missed out on the chopper ride for R240) and after a brief photo-op at Soccer City (currently undergoing renovation for the 2010 World Cup) we headed for the Carnivore Restaurant for a chance to sample some of those animals we saw during our game drives (take that, PETA). Cream of potato soup for starters, followed by a lazy-Susan 6 salad (Greek, Salsa, Sweetcorn, Three Bean, Baby Marrow & Coleslaw) and sauce (Garlic, Horseradish, Mint, Apple, Chilli & Cranberry) combo, cornmeal w/gravy on the side, and finallly come the waiters w/ their skewered meat. First one offered pork sausages (pass), then one came w/ roast beef (pass). Venison? Now you're talking. Impala was dry and tough, but the Blesbock was really juicy. Hey, other waiter, when are you coming to our table w/ those venison meat balls? (Not to be confused as Roger was when I said "Venison balls.") I passed on the crocodile meat, coz it was cooked like chicken and tasted like chicken. Sadly the more exotic zebra, giraffe and warthog were not in tonight's menu (false advertising, photocopied travel itinerary!), but we had ice cream for dessert.
Tonight we stayed at the Joburg Crowne Plaza, a 5-star hotel totally in love w/ it's European design roots, if the nightclub-ish lounge sofas surrounded by bead curtains and bubble designs on the walls are any indication. I half expect Lady Gaga or a Calvin Klein commercial crew to pop up any moment.
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