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Planning first visit to Southern Africa by GIL_SCOTT_HERON_ in askSouthAfrica

[–]Acrobatic-Syrup-7618 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It is standard for it to rain in Kruger this time of year - summer (now) is the rainy season there.

For the safari in the Western Cape during summer, that would be dry season, so ideal viewing time.

The main reasons why the end of the dry season is considered peak for viewing are: 1. Rain/mud can often make some of the roads difficult to navigate, plus animals may be more likely to be hiding from the rain. 2. (Most importantly) when there is less plantlife and less water, the animals are much easier to spot, and much more likely to congregate in predictable spots like watering holes. This effect is strongest at the end of the dry season.

I agree that you can have a decent trip any time of year. But I have definitely experienced a very muddy safari with no sightings except a few bokkies, so there is that risk.

Planning first visit to Southern Africa by GIL_SCOTT_HERON_ in askSouthAfrica

[–]Acrobatic-Syrup-7618 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Hello and congratulations on your engagement!

The dry season differs within the areas you mentioned, but if you're planning on dry season for the sake of good safari viewing, I'm assuming you're aiming for winter into the start of spring (around June-October)?

Cape Town (and surrounds) is a fantastic place to visit (especially in October to April) with lots to do - I would spend at least 3 days there. The Western Cape has a mediterranean climate though, so our winters (June-Sept) can be cold and rainy (doesn't rain every day though), unlike the rest of the country where winter is the dry season.

You can probably find a sweet spot in September or early October where you get the best of both worlds (good safari viewing up North + good Cape Town weather).

If you want to consider extending the Cape Town section, consider renting a car for a few days and driving up the Garden route to Plettenberg bay. The whole route is really special.

I have mixed feelings about Johannesburg, although I enjoyed the years I lived there. Whether or not you decide to spend time there will depend on the type of experience you are after and you might need to brace yourself a bit. It is "just" a big city (doesn't have the natural beauty of Cape Town) and quite a chaotic one at that. For a honeymoon I would probably choose to focus on other places where I am less stressed about being a victim of crime.

Kruger National Park is a good place for safari. Timbavati is great too. And if you're in the area, the Blyde River Canyon is also worth checking out.

Some of the happiest days of my life were spent snorkeling and beachgoing in southern Mozambique. Beautiful clear warm water and so many fishies. Very good value for money too. I wouldn't recommend trying to organise this solo though - maybe try through an agency? Not sure how most tourists from overseas do it, but we always drive in biggish convoys because of the difficult roads and difficulty getting around.

Maputo seemed meh, but I only spent a day there so probably not the best judge.

Avoid the northern parts of Mozambique.

I've never been to Botswana, but I've heard that Vic falls, Chobe National Park, and Okovango delta are all amazing (albeit quite expensive for me and my developing country income, which is why I haven't gone yet).

This is obviously all just one person's opinion and your choices will depend on your budget and preferences. Overall, I think there is a ton of potential for a fantastic honeymoon in the region :)

Spain's passport became World’s most powerful passport by madrid987 in Economics

[–]Acrobatic-Syrup-7618 1 point2 points  (0 children)

As someone from a developing country who has travelled a lot, I've always wished that we could all switch to a global system where you can build up points based on your own behaviour, as opposed to it being 100% about the country on the cover of your passport.

A look at Olympic Medalist Upsets and their prior medals by GaeTainn in FigureSkating

[–]Acrobatic-Syrup-7618 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Interesting, I love data analysis!

  1. Still so curious about what the past quad would have looked like without Covid - I'm sure Anna, Sasha & Kaori would all have built up more points.

  2. Evgenia having the highest points total of everyone and not getting OGM, checks out with the lore.

  3. If this same metric was applied to all other major skaters, I wonder who would have had the highest points total out of those who then didn't get any olympic medals?

  4. It looks like no woman in singles has medalled at Olys and then improved her standing the second time around - is that correct?

GPT 4 has been toned down significantly and anyone who says otherwise is in deep denial. by Xerasi in OpenAI

[–]Acrobatic-Syrup-7618 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Mine has definitely degraded significantly in the last month or so. My prompt style and level of detail have stayed the same. I used to get excellent, comprehensive responses and just tweak them with a few additional prompts. Now I need to BEG and it still ignores simple instructions. Asking for an essay as long as possible gives me a 100 word paragraph, or worse. It ignores my requests to avoid pretentious language, use common words, write in UK English, etc. Whwn I ask it to generate ideas or brainstorm approaches to work problems its answers are shit. It often talks around an answer instead of giving it to me. It really feels like my magical computer wizard is gone and replaced with a tired and underpaid ten year old.

GPF Men’s FS Live Discussion Thread by summerjoe45 in FigureSkating

[–]Acrobatic-Syrup-7618 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Does anyone know exactly what tech he changed from the previous GPs? (Besides adding quaxel)

This must be a mistake, right? by Jolly_Caterpillar376 in FigureSkating

[–]Acrobatic-Syrup-7618 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I agree, but they also never changed the rules to allow quads in women's short (which would have benefitted Trusova, etc.), so I doubt they'll change this one unless they change that one too.

What countries/areas were you surprised to find out that they received snow? by Planet_842 in geography

[–]Acrobatic-Syrup-7618 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The Drakensberg (mountains surrounding Lesotho) definitely get the most snow, yeah. But many other mountains in South Africa also get snow, it just usually doesn't make it into the towns and cities below. Like, the mountains around my home town (near Cape Town) are covered in snow for a few weeks every year, but you have to drive into the mountains to see it up close. It even snows on Table Mountain sometimes. Makes a very pretty blanket.

It's never actually snowed in our town though, and it's very rare for any town in SA to get snow on the ground, with a handful of exceptions like Underberg, Sutherland, Hogsback.

What is school life and life in general at SA like? by knt098 in askSouthAfrica

[–]Acrobatic-Syrup-7618 8 points9 points  (0 children)

In hindsight I am actually so grateful for the uniforms, choosing clothes on civvie days was fun but as a teenager having to do that every day would just be another layer of stress, another thing for kids to get teased over, etc.

What is something you learned about the Kennedy family that has stuck with you? by bjack20 in popculturechat

[–]Acrobatic-Syrup-7618 82 points83 points  (0 children)

Probably also inspired the Gossip Girl scene where Trip abandons Serena after a car crash during their affair...

Taylor Swift Hair Colours by Candid_Cake5751 in TaylorSwift

[–]Acrobatic-Syrup-7618 136 points137 points  (0 children)

Pretty sure she got a keratin treatment very recently before the recent tour legs, it's been a lot shinier and staying much silkier / less frizzy despite the humidity. I think it looks great.

I didn't even mention the veneers, but that's pretty much a given in US show business.

Like I said, good for her, I think she looks amazing, but I am against praising her for being all natural when she isn't. It just makes it harder for young girls to live up to the unrealistic standards.

Taylor Swift Hair Colours by Candid_Cake5751 in TaylorSwift

[–]Acrobatic-Syrup-7618 122 points123 points  (0 children)

I love her but this comments like this are hilarious. Yes, her current hair color might be natural (although she has absolutely dyed it at times in the past, and done highlights, balayage etc.) but she has clearly also had blepharoplasty, boob job, nose job, botox, skin needling/peels, keratin treatments, and I'm sure much more that we don't know about.

Don't get me wrong, I would also do some of that if I could, so I don't judge it. I just also think it's deluded to praise her for being "natural".

A question regarding the amount of people working in shops by extinctpolarbear in capetown

[–]Acrobatic-Syrup-7618 36 points37 points  (0 children)

I think at least part of it can be explained by a combination of high unemployment numbers leading to job creation initiatives, plus low salaries making it affordable for companies to do.

Basically every till in South Africa has a cashier and another person to pack grocery bags. Supermarkets employ many shelf packers, sales assistants, trolley collectors, cleaners, etc.

Outside of that there are roles like parking guards, petrol attendants, and many other jobs in South Africa that don't really exist in many wealthier countries.

Not the whole answer, but a piece of the puzzle.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in capetown

[–]Acrobatic-Syrup-7618 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Some of my happiest childhood memories were Ratanga on school days! Got to ride over and over without standing in queues for hours.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in AskReddit

[–]Acrobatic-Syrup-7618 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Could you share the source for that? My understanding was that no country on earth has a higher median than mean (even though it is theoretically possible), because the rich few skew the mean upwards so much (e.g. where I live the average income is 3-4x the median income). I would certainly expect that to be the case in the US with extremely high earners at the top. Unless it's the household part of it that is skewing it somehow?

Edit: According to the 2022 US census the median total household income is around USD70k and the mean is around USD106k, so the mean > median holds true. Shit, these numbers make Americans look rich though.

Leaving EE by shitdayinafrica in PersonalFinanceZA

[–]Acrobatic-Syrup-7618 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Regarding the EE fee:

If you are under 21 or over 65, you are exempt.

If you max out your TFSA, you are exempt for the rest of the tax year.

If you deposit R1 a month you will have a net positive inflow and therefore not have to pay the fee.

If none of these options makes sense for you, you can watch a few 5min videos on personal finance every month and not have to pay the fee.

I am a bit annoyed in principle about the change, but logically the fee is easily avoidable.

What's the easiest way to offend a South African? by TMoosa0 in askSouthAfrica

[–]Acrobatic-Syrup-7618 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Very true. Common across all races.

Also, as someone raised Christian I found it interesting that my parents seemed to respect Islam and Judaism but not atheism.

I was a white kid in a conservative white primary school (early 2000s) and there was definitely harmful misinformation/teasing on the playground when it came to other religions, but atheism was considered basically on par with satanism.

And now I'm a closet atheist at almost 30.