Antique Market day Dennis...the photography and your prose are both exquisite. I travelled there again after taking in the colors and the people and the boneless cat. Thank u! Chris Simon
Aha, the famous story teller of SA You should read some more of his stories on SA history and wildlive on his webpage! He swears that they are true, but I know for a fact that President Kruger did not fly to New York in 1872 to See President Clinton for financial help, (Africa Aid) to fight the invading British!
However, we rolled around laughing.
If the url is removed, just google amanzimloti bush camp around the Kruger Park. www.kugertours.co.za
Surprise! I read all the way through, thinking this was you, talking about your daughters. Surprise ending. So then, do you have daughters? Or sons, for that matter? Just wondering.... Terrific script! Was it a one-man play, a monologue all the way through?
Delicious writing! "Their effort is almost lackadaisical, casual, like they just ate a huge meal and are unenthusiastically wandering around the dessert trolley."
"begin to wander away and eventually disappear into the bush, leaving behind a dark boulevard of footprints"
"There are enormous piss stains, splatters that look as if ten-gallon water balloons have been dropped from second story widows. The subsequent runoff is as wide as a small creek. It’s impossible not to notice, but I wonder about my fascination."
I am so there with you, shouting "fuckfuckfuck" at the carnivores and dazzled by the beauty of the herbivores and terrified and delighted and full of wonder. Vivid, memorable writing.
Brilliant writing! Damn, you write well. And I love your pictures. You've just done a bang-up job with this blog. I see why you might have noted more "self assurance" among the Swazi than among South Africans, but I would hazard a guess that your subjects for observation are more male than female. Swaziland is not a country where I would want my girl children to grow up. You hit on it (excuse the term) with your introductory quotation. At least in South Africa rape and woman abuse, while common, are not condoned. Swazi women have a hell of a time.
A balanced report It is so difficult to write truthfully about South Africa, catching the nuance and the imbalance, respecting the hardship and the transcendence without glorifying, exaggerating, minimizing, or sentimentalizing. I know. I've been trying to write about it for years. You do a terrific job here. You get it all. Yes.
It changes you These were 2008...is that the last time you were there? What a rich, wonderful country. I lived in Lesotho 92-95 and in ZA 95-99, and I was able to go back for a visit in October of 08. I was there for Mandela's time, as a professor in a formerly-white university making its transition. I felt I was like a line in a poem by Adrienne Rich, "On the first page of the end of despair." It turned out not to be the end, after all. But why should we be surprised?
Protea trail Wow that hike sounded cool. I have been growing Proteas here in California all my life and what I would give for a trip like that. Did you go on a trip to South Africa from elsewhere? Anyhow great trip.
Protea walk in mountains Real cool walking up the mountains and viewing all the proteas, I grow them all around my house in California and a fantastic plant.
cold nights I leave for Swaziland on sunday and i'm thinking i may not have packed enough clothes. I have no room left in my rucksack though! Is there plenty of clothing available locally?
Thanks! Your eloquence and artistic vision conveyed through words and photographs have transported me these many months to your rare and wonderful world. I will miss them, but I miss you both more! Hurry home safely!
wow.... not ever as eloquent as you both.... I am amazed at your experiences and how you can share them thru photos and your writing (both are a true talent)
Get home safely so we can hear about this all in person!
xoxox
daydreaming with a cup of coffee Hey Dennis! I raise my cup to you and "herself"...
Spent a brief moment seeing thru her eyes, Beautiful!
Thank You for my (too quick) journey, Hugs, Clare Dalton
Fantastic writing Loved your blog...it was sad, funny and insightful all at the same time! The sad part is the continuing problems in South Africa. People in America such as myself tend to think freedom, democracy, whatever you want to call it brings instant success. Look to Russia, Iraq and South Africa and you see that freedom is illusionary and more often brings chaos. Regardless, apartheid was evil and had to go. Mandela is still my hero and always will be! And, no country is entirely free. Americans are chained to THINGS!
Botswanna III & videos With a dusting of snow in this part of the world (Boston), a trip to South Africa is a welcome respite!
What a wonderful 5 minute journey you have given me that includes lions on the prowl.
A huge grin is sprawling across my face, my heart a little lighter.
Thanks Dennis!
Kaysey
Christine Simon
non-member comment
Antique Market day
Dennis...the photography and your prose are both exquisite. I travelled there again after taking in the colors and the people and the boneless cat. Thank u! Chris Simon