Filter coffee and air conditioning - I've arrived!!!

johnbartmann — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Whew! What a journey! I arrived at the Teamtalk parking lot just as the clock turned 1pm, and I was a little behind schedule. I was supposed to be inside the office and actually behind my desk by 1pm, but my co-worker Michael wasn't upset, because he himself been a bit late before.

The roads here are in good condition, considering the horror stories about African buses! I was fortunate enough not to have to rely on public transport. In fact, most of the locals drive cars in the cities of South Africa, so buying a cheap car was first on my agenda.

Now I ALWAYS name my cars. I met a local guy called Johan (he's Afrikaans, which actually means 'African', even though he's white). I mentioned that I was looking for a name for my new car in one of South Africa's 14 local languages.

After brainstorming car names which would reflect a local flavour, we decided to call him 'Oupa' the Opel! So meet, Oupa, which means 'Grandfather' because he's so old! Oupa (like, 'oh-par') will be assisting me with my travels around Cape Town for the duration of my trip, precluding the need to test out the African roads - I don't care what the guidebook says, I'm not taking any chances!!!

On my way to the CBD!!!

johnbartmann — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Hi! I'm John Bartmann, a 27-year-old guy from Cape Town. Let me introduce the purpose of my travels to you!

For a while, I've been planning a massive, year-long trip around the city, one that would ignite my passion for travel and leave a wake of inspiration for others to follow, while following in the awe-inspiring trips already performed by other brave souls.

It all began 17 minutes ago when I performed my final check - car keys, wallet, phone - grabbed my compact 5kg shoulder-bag and hit the famed M3, which connects the Southern Suburbs of the region with the city of Cape Town proper.

As I will be in Cape Town for the next year, I managed to organise part-time work through a web publishing agency called Teamtalk, ironically owned by a British company! Travelling from Claremont to Teamtalk will be the main challenge. I'll keep you updated as things pan out.

Here we goooooo!!!!!

Claremont to the CBD - johnbartmann

Filter coffee and air conditioning - I've arrived!!!

On my way to the CBD!!!