Well we survived our flights! Didn't sleep much, but that was expected. We arrived in Johannesburg at 6:00am yesterday and took a 45min taxi to our cute little guesthouse in Parkview area - Cottage Kilkenny. The taxi ride was eye-opening. To avoid traffic and an accident, we drove through some little neighbourhoods. Trash littered the streets; some street corners had piles of trash. Many buildings were crumbling away. Most buildings had some sort of fence or wall surrounding it, topped with spikes, barbed wire, or electric fencing. Bars covered windows as well. People would just be walking down the middle of the road asking for change from the drivers. The driving was not what I was used to either. Everyone cutting others off, horns being used constantly, people crossing in between vehicles wherever there was a quick break in traffic. I never felt unsafe though, as our taxi driver was very good. He laughed and joked with us.

Once we pulled into Parkview, the feeling changed. The streets were clean and lined with massive trees and beautiful gardens. Though bars still covered windows and walls surrounded the properties, this was considered a safe neighbourhood. We arrived at our cottage to be welcomed by our host, Sean, and his two dogs. We were given a tour and our keys and he was on his way. After napping for a few hours, we decided to go for a little walk down to Zoo Lake. I was in Heaven. The birds! Geese, Sacred Ibises, Hadeda Ibises, Egrets, a few parrot-type birds - just amazing! Even at our cottage, we had our own mini jungle in the courtyard. An African Masked Weaver pair had "weaved" their dangling basket nest in a palm tree. Lizards would dash near the pool going from one hiding spot to the next. And I have yet to see any spiders bigger than my pinkie nail yet, so I would call that a success!

By 6:00pm it was dark, so we settled in for the night and caught up on some much needed sleep!