Blogs from Gauteng, South Africa, Africa - page 72

Having found costumes, a recording of the call to prayer and the white taj, I set about to identify the narrators and actors for the celebration program. I wanted to utilize young and older people as well as a variety of races, which would be in keeping with Bahá’í­ principles. After asking several people to play various parts, I realized that it would be difficult to find Africans who would be willing to act out what I had written. Fortunately, the Persian Bahá’í­ community in South Africa exists in considerable numbers and they were more than willing to accept a variety of parts. Unfortunately, however, none of them had anything in the way of traditional Persian attire that could be used in costuming. Which, as I thought about it, made sense as many of them ... read more

GREETINGS! SO here I am in South Africa! We left Tofo last Tuesday to head back to Maputo, where we just stayed for one night then headed for Sabie in South Africa the next morning. So got another funky stamp in my passport thanks to antother thrilling border crossing! We've been in Sabie for the last 5 nights, staying at a really nice backpackers and doing loads of adrenaline type stuff which has been exciting! We did river tubing which was amazing and i didnt fall in once! Despite a vertical backwards drop down a small waterfall! Skilled or WHAT. Obviously Rob fell out a few times cos he's an imbecile. Also on this tubing trip i jumped off a 12 ft rock into a waterfall pool thing - REALLY scary but fun. we also did ... read more

About the third week of March, the Johannesburg Spiritual Assembly sent Sherri and I an invitation asking if we would be willing to organize a program for the First Day of Ridvan celebration. The First day of Ridvan is held annually on April 21. Ridvan is a Persian term that means “paradise” and was the name given to the garden in Baghdad where Bahá’u’lláh spent 12 days in 1863 preparing for his departure to Constantinople. It was during those 12 days that Bahá’u’lláh revealed to his followers that he was a Manifestation of God and that He was the Promised One of God for this time. During that time, He also said farewell to all of His followers and taught them the principles that would distinguish the Bahá’í­ Faith from what had been, until that time, ... read more

Maputo entliess uns am 28. Maerz mit einem herrlich krachendem Wolkenguss in Richtung Suedafrika und dem Kruger Park. Nicht weit voneinander entfernt und somit ein Katzensprung, rollten wir schon am gleichen Abend in den wohl weltweit bekanntesten Tierpark ein. Wer wollte bei all' den TV-Dokumentationen zum Kruger Park nicht schon mal Ranger hier sein...?? Neben vielen, vielen (normalen) Tieren, bleiben zwei Erlebnisse erwaehnenswert. Auf einer (mal wieder...) dirt road, auf der wir (mal wieder...) komplett alleine unterwegs waren, hatten wir endlich das Vergnuegen Bueffel zu sehen. Immerhin einer der Big Five!! Das lange Warten hatte sich gelohnt. Die ganze Herde, schaetzungsweise 200 Tiere, passierte nicht weit vor unserem Auto die Strasse. Ruhigen Schrittes und, v.a. die Bueffelkuehe, immer mit einem wachen Auge auf unser Auto. Wir hatten zwischendurch Sir Henry ein wenig nach... read more

Woke early to say goodbye to Marius and Linka who were driving to Cape Town. They had been wonderful hosts. We are driving to the Paarl and Stellenbosch wine areas today which is about 100km south east of Langebaan. Although I’m 6ft1” and Kirsten is 5ft3” I seem to travel in the back. Oh well! Only joking! On the way just outside Malmesbury we stopped at the Swartland wine estate where we sampled some wines. They were not the best and all seemed to be slightly acidic. We then traveled onto Paarl a very attractive town with a really long main streetwith Cape dutch houses set back from the road. We visited Boland cellars where we again sampled some wine. We liked the blended Chenin/Sauvignon, the Chardonnay and Chenin Blanc and the Muscadel and vintage ... read more