Mense Regtedag

Yesterday was Human Rights Day. It’s a public holiday here in ZA, so we have the day off. HR Day commemorates the Sharpeville Massacre of 1960, when blacks protesting the passbook laws were gunned down outside the Sharpeville Police Station. 69 people were killed and more than 200 wounded, and this was a watershed event during the Apartheid era. In the new era of the Rainbow Nation, it’s a holiday, so no school or work for us. As Veronica so aptly put it, “It’s a day for the family to be together”.

We decided to take the car out to Groenkloof Nature Reserve, which is just a little south of Pretoria. My best transliteration of the pronounciation is “hhrrrrrrunkluf”. We drove in to find many mountain bikers, and set off for a hike of undetermined length. The girls were quite intrepid, especially Violet as she demanded portage (“Up, up”) for most of the way. We had heard tell of the wildlife to see in Groenkloof, including zebras and wildebeests, but we only saw some rock dassies, which are something like a rabbit-sized guinea pigs. They’re most closely related to elephants, if you can believe it (see bottom pic)

Our march took us up and down, with views of Freedom Park, the University of South Africa (UNISA, not our university), and the Jacaranda Tower. Veronica was a real trooper, marching most of the way with only brief portage, rest and water breaks.

We had an afternoon swim with V’s good buddy Beth, whose little brother Jamie is about Violet’s age. Hooray for Human Right's Day, I believe next month we get Freedom Day off as well.