Here is a little peek at our home in South Africa, 8 Cheetah Crescent. We live in a gated complex (with a guard at night) in one of the northern suburbs of Johannesburg. There are 11 other units in our complex, and the neighbors we have met are great! (I have another post that details just how great some of our neighbors are...) This is the front door of our little abode.
So this is a front view of our unit. The garage is ours, and on the left is a carport where I park my Jeep! There are no windows in the front of any of the units, so from the outside it is quite boring to see with all the red brick. I am assuming the no windows in the front is a safety thing.
The complex pool and barbecue area. (Our braii area as they call it here in South Africa). Our unit is right next to the pool, so the brick wall on the right is actually our garden and master bedroom. Even though it is winter here, it's been warm enough to put on a swimsuit a couple times and lay by the pool and read, but the water is cold. So I am looking forward to when it warms up and I can go bask in the South African heat poolside!
Our house has two lovely gardens--they are easily my favorite feature of the place. The top two photos are of the gardens off of the kitchen/den area. I spend most of my time in this garden as it has the large table where I eat lunch, and a lot of seating. The sound of the fountain is also quite relaxing, and it is usually warmer outside than inside so I read, eat, etc out there during the day. The last two pictures are of the gardens that have entrances off the bedrooms.
And what grows in our garden, you may be wondering? We have roses, lilies, tomato plants, rosemary, basil, and some pretty purple flowers I believe to be zinnias.
The best part of the garden is that our complex gardener, Davey, comes once a week and tends to it. I am not really sure what he does besides mow and edge, but that is mowing and edging we don't have to do!
As they say, the kitchen is the heart of the home, so here is our HEART. I really like our kitchen, much more since the dishwasher came back from repairs about a month after we moved in. It is one of the more spacious kitchens for a house this size, and it has finishes and updates that a lot of houses in South Africa don't have. The oven is not in fahrenheit (duh!) but I have a glass cutting board that converts it for me so that makes recipes much easier. Not the clothes washer in the last picture; we also have a dryer (most homes in JoBurg don't) but it's tucked away in a hall closet and I have to use an extension cord when I need to dry clothes. I try to use the line that is kind of visible through the window.
Here is our lovely hallway...haha. This is where we play fetch with Jozi when it is dark outside. And since we weren't able to bring picture frames, I concocted a clothesline to hang photos on. Also, last weekend I realized that the plant was (once) alive house plant. I am now in the process of trying to revive it.
Guest bedroom and bathroom! COME VISIT!
I realized I don't have any photos of the master bedroom or bathroom. (they probably weren't clean the day I took all these pictures) They are very similar, just slightly larger, and then master bath has a shower while the guest bath has a tub. The closets are small here, so Alex and I use the closets in all three of the bedrooms. I guess it was a good thing that I didn't bring all my clothes as the ones I have barely fit.
There is a little peek of 8 Cheetah Crescent....I guess if you want to see the den, living room, and master suite, you need to book a ticket into O.R. Tambo Airport. :)
Eddie purred so sweetly anytime you touched him!
Eddie the Cheetah
It's a little frightening when the sleeping lion cub wakes up unexpectedly.
Alex holding the paw of an eight month old lion cub.
This sweet little lady looooved belly scratches.
Gemsbok
Cape buffalo
Female Gemsbok
Warthog (and ostrich and zebra in background)
