Virtual Reward: Madiba Jive Virtual Cache
Virtual Reward: Madiba Jive
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The statue was commissioned in July 2002 and completed in February 2004. It was unveiled in the square on March 31, 2004 and was sculpted by Kobus Hattingh and Jacob Maponyane. The square was originally named Sandton Square after the surrounding area of Sandton and its direct link to one of Africa’s largest retail complexes. At the unveiling of the statue the square was renamed to Nelson Mandela Square.
This was the first ever public statue of Mandela. It stands 6m high and measures 2.3m from elbow to elbow and weighs 2.5 tons. The statue depicts Mandela in his trademark Madiba shirt and the pose is of him in full swing of the “Madiba Jive” as his dance became known.
Almost ten years later another statue was unveiled at the Union Buildings in Pretoria. It was unveiled on the Day of Reconciliation, 16 December 2013, 11 days after Nelson Mandela passed away. That statue is the tallest of Nelson Mandela, standing at 9m high and weighing 3.5 tons. This statue caused a furor in early 2014 when someone noticed that a small rabbit had been sculpted in Mandela’s right ear (see background image). This was done as a “secret trademark” by the two sculptors Andre Prinsloo and Ruhan Janse van Vuuren. The powers that be would have none of it and the rabbit was eventually removed.
Note that occasionally the square has functions which may limit access to the statue, but these are rare and one can normally still reach and view the statue when these are on. The square is surrounded by restaurants, hotels, and shops, and can be quite busy at times. Tourist busses sometimes stop and a long queue may form as they await their turn to catch a photo of themselves with the statue.
The Date placed of the cache listing 18/07/2018 marks what would have been Nelson Mandela’s 100th birthday.
Logging Tasks
- Post a picture with your log of yourself and the statue (face not mandatory) performing your best impersonation of the Madiba Jive.
- Post a picture with your log of one of your feet measured up against one of the statues feet.
Virtual Reward - 2017/2018
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between August 24, 2017 and August 24, 2018. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards on the Geocaching Blog.
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)