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Published: April 14th 2006
You guessed it, at the mall again.
This is Menlyn Mall which is the largest mall in the Southern Hemisphere. A funny thing about this picture is that we were trying to find someone to take a photo of us when this asian lady asked us to take a picture of her.This past weekend I went on Safari to Kruger National Park. This massive wildlife refuge (it's bigger than the Netherlands) was created in 1898 in response to the poaching and encroaching associated with the South African gold rush. It's hard to use words to describe my experience in this amazing preserve, so instead I will use mainly pictures. I would like to describe one experience I had on the way to the park, though, as the pictures don't really seem to do it justice. We left Pretoria at the god awful hour of 5 am so that we could make several stops along the way. One of these stops was at a zipline that stretched over a waterfall and the Blyde River Canyon. Now, I have been skydiving before so I didn't expect that a mere dangle 1000 feet from a harness would do much for me. I was wrong. As we walked up to the little outpost hugging the rocky cliffside, my heart started beating out of control and I suddenly became aware of everything that I had eaten in the past 24 hours. So, after a quick retreat to the bathroom, I made my approach again. I stood in
The Barter Zone
Sidewalks are lined up with vendors like these at every tourist stop. What one starts to notice is that they all sell the exact same masks and figurines. Yet when questioned they each insist that their uncle joe or aunt sally carved them by hand up in the hills of Mpumulonga. In my search for something unique, I ended up buying this rather rudimentary mask that looks like it has fetal alcohol syndrome that obviously was not made in a factory. line to buy my ticket, shivering more out of nerves than chill, and made the necessary small talk with the attendant. I was "freezing" in the shade of the ticket stand and was relieved to get out into the sun with my little ticket of death. I was fitted with the harness, a real wedgie trap, and stood in line as I was one of the last ones to go. As I stood there, my brain raced through some of the most esoteric topics on the planet (like what does life mean, if I were dying of cancer would I waste away in a hospital bed or take a flying leap off a bridge, why do they still have Tab in Europe and South Africa, and countless others) but everytime I opened my mouth my speach became more rudimentary. I found I was only capable of a series of caveman like grunts, the thumbs up sign, and a Pauly Shore-like littany of "that's awesome, was it awesome, so awesome". As I approached the sloping wooden planks that served as runway for us human 747's, I went into primal mode. Much like my skydiving experience several years before, my movements became
Goin Jamaican with the South Africans
Jayson, Clay, and I hanging out with some Vaales (term used for the pale white people of this area) at Cool Runnings. The two Africans are Nardus (a senior medical student) and his girlfriend Toinette (a future medical student). I was introduced to the world of Absinthe in the form of the green goblin shot here, but sadly unlike Hemingway, was not inspired to write a masterpiece afterwards. robotic without any thinking. The only part of my brain working was that animalistic region designed for action (and sniffing butts, but luckily the opportunity never presented itself). And then I slowly built up my speed, taking in the slack of the rope before making my acceleration so as to avoid the jerky recoil I had seen with my comrades and then I threw my arms open, kicked my legs back and yelled "geronimo" as the ground beneath my feet disappeared. I soared over the canyon as gracefully as an intoxicated chicken and then reached the other side with my own momentum. As I was pulled back across by pulley, I had a birds eye view of the gorgeous waterfull that fell by the takeoff point. I have a handheld video of the whole experience, ask me someday and I'll show you. Now, on to the photos.
My only other comment was on the way that South Africans approach the park. There are rest areas where they get out and grill their pork bangers (sausages) and chat and act like they are at a family reunion or something. Yet there are no barriers preventing the wildlife from getting out
The Drakensburg Mountains
Some scenery on the way to the park in the province of Mpumalanga. and charging. A stories abound of leopards pulling people off of bridges, crocs attacking in shallow waters, and lions eating groups of tourists. Still they barbeque. And some of my friends here like to go to the private reserves because they feel the Kruger has regulations that are too strict. They just go camping in tents while hyenas ect come sniffing up looking for free meals and stealing tennis shoes left lying around.
They say that a picture is worth a thousand words so here is my Tolstoy.
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Brenda
non-member comment
This is fantastic!
Such an amazing experience. Thanks for sharing. :)