Pilgrims Rest to Johannesburg

The penultimate day before flying out of Johannesburg and the last scheduled day of travel on our itinerary. It was a casual start to the day with a 9.30am checkout followed by some last minute accumulation of souvenirs from the shopaholics. A pool of cooler air settled over the region overnight bringing a distinct change in temperature and some light drizzle. The best way to describe Pilgrims Rest is to think of Hill End in NSW with the trendiness of Blackheath to give it that mountain freshness. We climbed out of the town and struck light fog immediately and this stayed with us pretty much all the way to Belfast, the start of the high Veld. There were several lashings of quite heavy rain at times but mostly it was misty drizzle all the way to Dullstroom. 

The town's of Lydenburg and Dullstroom were notable for their upmarket appearance and this was probably related to their rich agricultural hinterlands. In relation to Dullstroom, it also had trout ponds for city fisherman and the pub we stopped in for lunch was called the Duck and Trout. We tried the duck and cherry pie, the contents of which were excellent but the pastry wasn't cooked. The old problem of service was still there and those who ordered pizza had to wait until the pies were ready before they got it and then it was cold from sitting around. Apparently these towns are trendy weekend lunching spots for Johannesburg residents. The rose gardens in front of many buildings were magnificent.

The run into Johannesburg on the high veld (they've dropped the "t") was characterised by coal mines and maize crops of both yellow and white varieties for human and animal consumption respectively. Coal mining is a major industry and provides coal for the nearby power stations and for export. This the flattest landform we have seen in South Africa and there was little change all the way to the Airport Grand Hotel. A distinctive feature of the Johannesburg landscape is the high mounds of white sand which are now becoming vegetated. These are the mining dumps from the numerous gold mines that put Johannesburg on the map. The poorer dwellings started about 20kms from the city centre and housing and employment are obviously problems for many people. The city has had to accommodate 4 million extra people in the last 10 years so there are major challenges for the government, especially since 40% of the population pay no tax and this results in a reduced service base.

Tonight is the farewell dinner and tomorrow a ride on the Gau train before packing and departing for the airport. I have attached a few photos, some from the bus showing the changing landscape of the veld. If you are reading this, thanks for sticking with the blog