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Published: August 12th 2008
Well, we made it out of India and the next stop was South Africa. We arrived in Johannesburg (Jo'burg) and were greeted by my old musical friend Cindy Alter. She took us out for a wonderful afternoon of lunch and catchup. Cindy was the lead singer for a 12 million-album selling band in the 80's called Clout. She gave us an update on her career and some brief warnings about South Africa 15 years after apartheid has ended. The country is as beautiful as ever and the people amazing, but as the newly-governing leaders have made some strange choices about how to run the country, many experienced workers have left. The country has slowed its growth and high crime, joblessness and power outages are now the norm throughout the land.
A big chunk of our time was spent in S.A. on a cultural and nature safari. We visited Kruger National Park and immediately saw four of the "Big Five" (the five animals, we were instructed, that were traditionally the hardest to hunt because if you didn't kill them immediately they would kill you). Of the Big Five, we saw rhinos, water buffalo, elephants and a lepoard with his kill up
in a tree on the first day. In addition, all of the less-threatening but still exotic animals abounded: zebra, giraffe, impala, warthogs, all in beautiful procession. We were only missing the king of the jungle: the lion.
On the second day, we were informed there were only four spots available for the nighttime safari and there would be a drawing to see who could go. Sticks were drawn and Ashley and I both won spots. That night, we drove up on an entire lion pride (family) lying by the side of the road: a huge daddy, six mommas, four teen males and two baby cubs. It was one of the highlights of my life, and more than a little heartpounding as our car stopped 10 feet away from the entire clan.
The cultural portion of the tour included a stop in Swaziland. We saw several performances in this tiny kingdom. If you have heard the band Ladysmith Blackmambazo, you know South Africa is known for its singers. That morning, we went to a village and witnessed a cultural demonstration by Swazi orphan boys and girls and their chief mother. They taught us ancient traditions including how they slept,
ate, danced, and sang. That night, we were treated to another performance that included high-stepping dances and great harmonized singing. Drums were not prominent but two large bass drums kept pace with the singing and dancing.
After our tour ended, we were greeted in Durban by Ashleigh, a friend we met in India two years earlier. Her folks put us up and made us feel right at home. Thanks Ashleigh!
Finally we headed down to lovely Capetown, what South Africans call their 'mother city'. It was a nice day when we arrived and so we immediately headed up to the top of Table Mountain, as nice weather this time of year can be rare. Sure enough, as soon as we got some gorgeous views of the bay, the clouds rolled in and blocked the view. On top of the mountain, we were treated to an impromptu performance by a classroom of South African students singing traditional songs at the top of the their lungs.
It made for a great moment and a fantastic ending to our wild stop in South Africa.
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gabe
non-member comment
hippo
Hey guys! That hippo shot of the one with his mouth over the railing is really interesting. Aren't they the 2nd most man-eating animals on planet earth? I wish you two the most eye-opening of times in the travels to come.