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2010WorldCup 2010 World Cup in South Africa The trip of a lifetime! Good friends Nate & Jeff. Nate's nephew Eddy & Jeff's son Jack. Following the US Men's National Team and some great side trips!
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(Click on any image for photo pages, or Click Here to view a single slide show of ALL of pictures.) |
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 Tue 6/15 |
Let's Go! Nate, Eddy and I depart on Tues June 15. Red-eye to London. Then Wed overnight to Johanessburg. |
 Thu 6/16 |
South Africa! In Joburg, we join Jeff & Jack at the Rutland House B&B. A few minutes from USA Friends & Family hotel. 30 minutes from Ellis Park Stadium. We hit the ground running and saw Argentia beat S. Korea, 4-1, at Soccer City, the main World Cup venue! Rutland House web site, Google Map |
 Fri 6/18 |
USA 2 - Slovenia 2 First, we join the USA team Friends & Family group for lunch at Moyo Zoo restaurant. Then a police escort bus to the stadium. Followed by Michael scoring the tying goal right in front of us near the end of a 2-2 victory for USA. What more can I say? Just check out the photo's! |
 Sat 6/19 |
The group splits up. Nate & Eddy leave for Kenya. Jeff, Jack and I head to Madikwe Game Reserve for two days and three nights. Madikwe Safari Lodge web site, Google Map |
 Sat PM Drive |
Madikwe Game Reserve - Sat PM Game Drive First drive out and we see two young male lions next to four very nervous giraffes. Lucky for the giraffes the lions were more interested in napping! We then saw a very rare African Wild Cat. Our guide Justin, was so excited, even he got out his camera. Weather is clear, sunny. Short sleeves in afternoon. But very cold when sun sets. Incredible first safari experience for me. Jeff & Jack have done it before but still thought it was great. Madikwe Safari Lodge web site, Google Map |
 Sun AM Drive |
Madikwe Game Reserve - Sun AM Game Drive Early morning drive - started out quite chilly - then warmed up as sun came out. Saw a mix of wildebeasts, birds, baboons, giraffes, impala, zebra, a warthog, jackal. . . |
 Sun PM Drive |
Madikwe Game Reserve - Sun PM Game Drive The midday sun was hot. Short sleeves to start the ride. More birds, a bull elephant and a herd of rhinos at a watering hole. Still no wild dogs, but we tracked them. |
 Mon AM Drive |
Madikwe Game Reserve - Mon AM Game Drive & Lodge Photo's Many giraffes, another lion and more birds. Followed by some pictures of the lodge itself. |
 Mon PM Drive |
Madikwe Game Reserve - Mon PM Game Drive Not many pictures. But incredible sunset shots. Heard some angry elephants. Justin, our guide, did not even stop the truck when we caught a glimpse of them in the brush. Then a mother rhino and baby surprised us and almost ran into us. Finally, we had to wait out a herd of water buffalo coming down the narrow road towards us at dusk. They finally gave up and turned around to walk in the same direction we were heading. The pictures don't do it justice, but we saw the International Space Station pass overhead. We knew it was supposed to pass at 6:30 and at about 6:25 we stopped the truck to look up. There it was, like a huge shooting star that crossed the whole sky. We waved and I think it made a little wiggle back. :) |
 Tue AM Drive |
Madikwe Game Reserve - Tue AM Game Drive & Time To Leave A bull elephant right next to the truck and four lions were the highlight of our last drive. |
 Wed 6/23 |
USA 1 - Algeria 0 - On to the round of 16! On to Pretoria and our stay at The Wardrobe House B&B. Our game experience began with lunch at the US Embassy. Then it was a short walk to Loftus Stadium. Incredible atmosphere. US flags & fans everywhere. An intense, nail-biting 90 minutes. We knew England was winning and we needed a victory. In the 92nd minute US broke the ice and the crowd erupted. |
 Thu 6/24 |
Magaliesberg Zip Lining Always wanted to do it. They modeled this after the Costa Rican zip lines which Claire will do in 2 weeks. Great time. But, when is the next World Cup game? |
 Fri 6/25 AM |
Dewildt Cheetah Research Center First activity of the day was a run to the FIFA ticket office to find that Spain vs. Chile (the local Pretoria game) was sold out. No problem. We had other places to go and things to do. We drove 40 minutes to the Cheetah Center to see cheetahs, wild dogs and some other African animals. Not in the wild, but great to see the animals up close and in open space. Dewildt Cheetah Center Web Site |
 Fri 6/25 PM |
Spain 2 - Chile 1 OK, enough animals. Lets see some soccer. We watched unfulfilling Brazil - Portugal in our room and then headed to Loftus stadium. Drove to the lot we discovered near the US embassy. Full, but we took one pass around and a spot opened right in front of us. Walked 5 blocks to stadium and noticed a mounted police line on other side of street keeping back crowd. We stood at curb as Chile and Spain buses, with full police escort, drove right past. Bought 3 tickets (under face value) from 3 Australians who had won two sets through the lottery - 12th row, just outside penalty area, at end where all 3 goals were scored! The game was awesome, crowd electric & Chile impressive! |
 Sat 6/26 |
USA 1 - Ghana 2. The end of a great run by the US side. Once again we had the excitement of riding with the US Family bus to and from the game, complete with police escort! In a hard fought game, the US came back again to tie the score. But we could not overcome Ghana's overtime goal. I was proud to be in South Africa as a US fan as the US side impressed everyone I spoke to. Bob and Michael both did an awesome job, even if it was not enough to advance to the quarterfinals. |
 Sun 6/27 |
Last Full Day We started the day watching the US game again on TV. (same result as last night. . .) We then headed to a local mall to buy souvenirs. Headed to a Fan Center to watch Germany dismantle England, 4-1. The day ended watching another blowout - Argentina 3 - Mexico 1. Some pictures of our B&B, The Wardrobe House, and the Fan Center viewing area. Wardrobe House web site, Google Map (Look for stadium, which is walking distance northwest of our B&B!) |
 Mon 6/28 |
I return home via London. |
 Jeff Shots |
Jeff took lots of shots. Many of me for a change. Many of things I missed. Thanks Jeff! Click here for some awesome shots and the best picture of the bunch - Bob & Michael after Slovenia match. |
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