I have just returned to the States from my trip to Africa, which lasted from the 3rd to the 27th of January. During this trip I had the opportunity to get a first person perspective of the beauty and struggle of South Africa, Botswana, and Zimbabwe. I will segment and attempt to summarize my experience below, but I hold the caveat that I cannot possibly do full justice here to the wonderful experiences that I had.
The first section of our trip was what most people think of when they think of tourist in Africa: Safari. We certainly experienced some of the best that that part of Africa had to offer, and for that I'm grateful. From stalking a white rhino on foot (and getting a little too close for comfort when it bolted), to riding on the back of an elephant in Abu's camp (Randall Moore, the camp founder and director, is a great man with a fantastic dream), Africa was, well, intense. I especially enjoyed getting to know the interaction here between the bushman and the white Africans, those eccentric and yet integrated Europeans who have now made Africa their home. I asked a couple who had moved down to Africa after the Second World War (did I mention they were German?) if they'd ever go back. The man laughed, and said in a heavy German accent, "we aren't European!"
The other thing I enjoyed about the bush was seeing the intersection between man and the wild. We were blessed with the opportunity to watch a young female leopard walk around the back end of our Land rover (I could have touched her), and one could not help but feel invisible,as if we were some rock or tree. The picture is of her (keep in mind my digital camera does not have zoom). I also had a pair of hyenas who slept under my hut to get out of the mid-day sun. Even though they could literally break my bones in their jaws, a simple "shoo!" would cause them to bolt.
As soon as you step out of the world of man, you suddenly re-integrate yourself with nature; our guide had stepped out of the vehicle to check on some tracks, only to spot a pride of lions. When we approached them they were very agitated, and he said it was precisely because the illusion of the lifeless jeep had been broken when he had stepped out.Man is also prey to nature, as one of our mahouts reminded us when here told a story about a male lion chasing him high into a tree,intending to make him lunch.The second phase of the trip was focused on the people of Africa. As an interlude we took a side trip to see Victoria Falls, which were a little over rated. We did not get a chance to see the falls in their full power, as it was the dry season, but despite this we could not really see much of the falls at one time because of the mist. That same mist has actually given birth to a unique micro-climate around the falls, creating a miniature rain forest on the far bank with several unique species. I say, however, that the falls were over rated because of the experience in Zimbabwe. It's no mystery that Zimbabwe is having its fair share of problems, but the destitution was just staggering… and it created an environment that really was not friendly to tourists. There is much that Mr. Mugabe could do for his country,but the nation formerly known as Rhodesia is not fairing too well.
Our next stop was Isandlwana Lodge, in Zulu land. Isandlwana is the site of the famous battle between the Army of Shaka Zulu and the British. The story of the battle is that basically the British messed up: They split their forces in two, were too far away to help each other effectively, the Zulu army moved so fast (our guide said they could run at a top speed of 14 miles an hour, he might have meant kph but that's still fast!) that the British did not have time to strike their tents when they were attacked (a normal signal that distant observers could key in on). The most amazing part of this battlefield for us though was that our guide, Dalton, was an in-line descendant of one of the local land-holders (an InKosi), and he showed us the Zulu chants, their weapons, how they fought, and gave us an amazing perspective from the Zulu's point of view. We were also fortunate to catch a performance of traditional tribal dancing from the local children's dance team, fresh off their victory at the national dance competitions.
We stayed in Durban, which was essentially unremarkable.
Cape Town on the other hand, was incredible. I would move there in a heartbeat if I could. The weather there is essentially Mediterranean in style, part of the reason why Europeans actually settled there before any native agrarian societies moved in (this according to Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs, and Steel). The weather there was beautiful and as I've said before, I'd love to go back.
But it's not all roses. There was plenty of natural beauty, and some of the more developed areas that we saw in South Africa, but there were also the worst slums. It was here that we met Helen Lieberman, an amazing woman who gave up her privilege (she is white) during apartheid to live in the shanty towns and help the local African people. She had to seek refuge at one point because the apartheid government was actively trying to arrest and imprison her. After the government was overthrown, she worked with others in the community to establish ikamva labantu (The Future of our Nation) and they continue to do her amazing work today. With a $1,000,000 operating budget they are able to touch over 500,000 people and run 1,000 programs simultaneously (http://www.ikamva.com/). If anyone reading this would ever like to go and help people in Africa, this is one organization to do it with. She took us on a first-hand tour of the shanty towns, and there are no words to describe them beyond "utter desolation." It was one of the more touching parts of our trip, to visit the people and yet know that all we could leave behind was the hope that people outside of their community were aware of their plight and were working to help them.
We also had the opportunity to visit another organization called the"Peace Parks Foundation" (http://www.peaceparks.org/). They have a very interesting and successful mission; to set up transnational peace parks. The peace parks have shown a remarkable increase in stability and relations between the nations whose boarders are straddled.
Lastly I went with my cousin's family to the Cape of Good Hope. It was a little ways out from Cape Town, but well worth the drive. I hope this has piqued at least some one's interest, go out and visit Africa!!!
Hamba Kahle (Go Well),
-Traveler
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