Broadband connection - not so easy

Trying to get a decent broadband connection to our apartment in Cape Town was harder than imagined. After searching the net for xDSL providers in Cape Town, I soon figured out that no matter where you buy you broadband-connection, you have to pay Telkom. Telkom seems to be the largest (and only) telecommunications-supplier for landlines to private homes in South Africa. To make a long story short, 1Mb ADSL-line from Telkom costs about R1500 (€179)/month. That's 1000% more expensive than in Norway(!)

Bank transfer and renting a Flat

We finally found an apartment that we could rent in Cape Town. After many hours of searching, mailing and looking, we found a "Garden Cottage" in Rondebosch. It’s very close to UCT where Anne will be attending, and the price was good. But, before we can move in we have to pay a deposit to confirm that we are actually staying there, and to pay for any damages we make to the cottage. (US!? Damage???)
Trying to transfer money from Norway to South Africa though, is not easy. My usual bank (Skandiabanken) did not have any ways to this, neither did my credit card company. I also have an account in DnB NOR, and after spending 20 minutes looking up IBAN/BIC/blabla codes I finally got the bank to accept my money transfer. I wonder when it will arrive, according to their web page, it could be as much as 10 business days. Gawd!

UPDATE: I got confirmation today (20. aug) that the money had been received by our lovely host Lorraine. That's 3 days for transfering a manual money order from Norway to South Africa, not bad!

Blogging from flickr

Picture by fanz

I’ve now connected my flickr photo page to this blog, and to make sure it works, and that the design is good i'm posting this to see what it looks like.

Buying an apartment before leaving

At the same time as we are preparing all the papers needed for visa and trying to get the stay in SA to go as smoothly as possible with regards to my employer, we are also looking for a new place to stay. We have pretty much given up finding one, but this looks very promising and it will be the last apartment we will consider before we leave.

The apartment is 86m2 and the view from the roof is great. We only have to climb/walk 1 floor to get to the top, as the apartment is on the 3. floor.

Bought a Safari Lens

Today, I bought a new lens for my digital camera. It’s from Sigma and is a 135-400mm lens. The primary use will be for safari and other moments where a big zoom is needed, but as I experiment with it at home I find it funny to take “macro” photos with it too.

I have only taken just under 100 pictures with this lens, but so far I’m very happy with it. If you’re on the lookout for a “Safari Lens” please don’t hesitate to contact me, as I have done extensive research on this subject for some months before this purchase.

Blog created, plane-tickets booked

This is my very first post in the blog called “6 Months in South Africa”. Both Anne and I will post in it, and hopefully there will be lots of pictures and updates. We’ll se how that works out…

We have bought tickets to Cape Town, and will arrive 14. December 11:20 with Lufthansa flight# LH576.

South Africa, here we come!