Joberg: moonlight, hills and a noisy weaver bird

O R Tambo International airport looked desolate in the middle of the night. But once outside, Johannesburg appeared mysterious and enchanting. A bright moon beamed from a clear sky as we rolled over the undulating hills of the city. It is at quite a height and the beautiful landscape is what strikes you most.  The moon appeared closer, its light ethereal. The town seemed quiet and in shadows. Cars zipped by, their tail lights glowing red like rubies and I didn’t see a single pedestrian in the half hour it took to reach the place we stayed in.

Johannesburg is a society of gated communities. It means most of the affluent people live in compounds with high walls and gates. As you drive around you see a lot of signboards outside gates which scream ‘armed response’ and ‘no thoroughfare’. The sheer number of such signs do not take away the threat behind the words. The people don’t trust its police force. Hence, private security agencies call the shots and everyone is armed to the teeth…apparently. That was the most scary thought.

But it is a very developed city with beautiful roads and elegant buildings. The low hills and the undulating skyline give it a unique appeal. It’s also very green and gets a good share of rains. We were there in December which is the South African summer and it rained almost every day. In the suburbs it is as quiet as the countryside.

In my first morning I was woken up by the cacophony of a weaver bird right below our window. I’d never seen one before and till the day I left it had me hooked by its antics. Quite an eyecatcher our weaver bird was a bright canary yellow and green and had woven two exquisite nests on a bare branch. Not satisfied with either it spent the whole day pulling them down and starting a new one from scratch. I never really figured out if the bird was a perfectionist or just plain crazy but it sure made me forget the screeching DTC buses that hurtle down the road below my flat in Delhi everyday. And it was a sight for sore eyes! Well, I was always a sucker for good looks.