Leaving O.R. Tambo

After our tour of Soweto, it was time to go. Here is video of the scene at the international departures terminal at O.R. Tambo International Airport. It was a vibe unlike that of any other airport I'd ever been to. They put on one last-ditch, tempting effort to get us to stay.

Quick historical tidbit: the airport is named after Oliver Tambo, friend and law partner of Nelson Mandela. The two founded the ANC Youth League in 1943 and the first black-owned law firm in the early 50's. The government banned him for five years in 1959, so the ANC sent him to London to mobilize international opposition to apartheid. He didn't return to South Africa until 1991--over 30 years in exile. He died in 1993.

Bill and I were satisfied that we extracted all that we could have out of this particular trip. However, there were many, many stones left unturned. Just a few possible future trip ideas:

• Cape Town + Robben Island + wine country + big game parks + Garden Route coastline
• Kruger National Park
• Free State battlefields commemorating the Boer wars and Zulu Nation
• Sun City
• Diamond mines of Kimberley