SOUTH
AFRICA
12
May - June 7 , 2001 Written by Aaron
The Rainbow Nation, one of the most humanly dramatic places on earth. The British put more troops on South African soil than any other foreign country in the history of their empire. The scenery is as striking as the people, whether they be Xlosa, Zulu, or the Afrikaaners who are so similiar to Americans. For many people, South Africa is their favorite country to visit. You get an African experience with First World comforts, but those comforts come at a price. The barbed wire and private security industries are booming. But whether you go for the beef jerky or the wine, there is something for everyone in South Africa.
The notes for this page were put together by Laura while we were still in South Africa, but I typed them in and I added some of my own thoughts. It's a day by day, blow by blow experience of South Africa, so be warned.
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Johannesburg
Saturday,
May 12, 2001
Woke up from a great night sleep in our A/C room on Mahe, Seychelles.
There had been a bad storm the day previous but it didn't matter
because that had been our day off.
Ate the breakfast buffet, got the taxi to the airport and checked in. Aaron bought some cigars and we luckily caught the movie review show on BBC TV at the airport. We were nervous on the plane about our arrival in South Africa, or SA for short. Five hour flight went great, saw "What Women Want" and a very funny Friends episode. The woman in front of us was laughing so hard, it was as much fun to watch her reaction as to watch the show.
Went through customs great! Got a 3 month resident card for free. Aziz picked us up at the airport with his son. We got a cell phone (great price) and off we went to the hotel. Learned all about what it was like to be an Indian in SA. "During apartheid I wasn't white enough and now I'm not black enough."
Checked in at the hotel and off we went to shop for camping eqiupment. We had been light for only 24 hours, after giving the computer stuff to Steve. Walked to the mall across from the hotel, only cool hip young adults buying clothes, no camping equipment stores. It felt like Sunnyvale! Asked around and found there was another mall in Rosebank, not far away. Hopped a cab from a nice Zulu man and learned a little about his history and he agreed to pick us up and take us back to the hotel. We only had an hour and a half to get our supplies! Luckily, there were two stores (Cape Union and Drifters), so we compared prices and quality a bit and then bought it all: two sleeping bags, a tent, cooking utensils, cooking pot, stove, gas, two headlamps, socks, two hats, new backpack cover, dried food, all of that, high quality, for $700. After a quick soup and salad we got a ride back to the hotel. I went to talk with some friends and Laura stayed in and did laundry and called her mother! Talked to her for twenty minutes on the cell phone.
Later we watched Voyager and some bad movie then went to bed in our safe, guarded, fenced in, barbed wired, gated, hotel. Loved the hotel. Very posh.
Sunday,
May 13, 2001
Woke up to the best breakfast we have had to far on our trip.
So many choices, all so good. Fresh, hot, baked muffins! We were
amazed. We then met Willie at 8:30, off to Gold Reef City we
went, the old Crown gold mine. On route we talked about the daily
living restrictions and conditions for blacks during apartheid,
and he showed us John Foster's Square, the police building that
was used too much during apartheid. It was worse than I thought:
no freedom of movement, these stupid passbooks.
Got to Gold Reef City, and it was like Disneyland. It was full of white SA families, and it was also Jo'burg day so it was extra busy. Visited the mint there, very interesting , while we waited for the tour of the mine. Our black female tour guide was fantastic! She loved her job and told us about current mines things like working conditions, wages, that she wasn't supposed to talk about. A Czech doctor and her daughter were on the tour with us. Then we watched some African dance, awesome, then ent to the place where they melt and pour gold bricks. Very cool, was well worth it. Incidentally, we ha to park our tall vehicle with other fall vehicles because the shorter onees could be broken into more easily if it was parked behind a big truck. All the huge cement walls topped with barbed wire around each and every house was disturbing. High, high crime.
All through the day, talking with Willie was great. he is so full of love, and so we became full of love and hope too.
Then we went to Soweto. Saw the area where the school children were shot in the 70's, when the action really started. A monument is being built. We also met up with Stanley, a resident of the shanty town "Mandellaville" in Soweto. He gave us a 10 minute walk through tour. Many little kids followed us. Some people asked for monety , and we got to go inside one man's house. He had built it himself 15 years ago, all was corruaged metal with newspaper plaeted to the walls. I took a picture of his garden. Lots of small, winding passages, getting lost would be all too easy. Very trippy, but we felt very safe. We drove through the middle class area, saw Nelson Mandela's house, very moving. It was a small house, and I felt so lucky to get to there on such an intimate tour. That can't last for long. We then went to a local restaurant, where many mothers were eating for Mother's Day! Had an awesome buffet include a paste made from corn meal (pap).
Willie took us back and we were pooped. We still chatted some more inthe parking lot. All three of us got teary eyed that day. It was one of the most moving, and hopeful, experiences of our trip. You can't do SA without Jo'Burg, and you can't do Jo'Burg without seeing Soweto.
Watched
a bit of bad TV in our room, walked across the street for some
falafels, ate and went to bed. Our last night in our posh, cheap
hotel!
Scene down through the winding passages
in Mandellaville in Soweto
Us with Willie at Nelson Mandela's former home
Take me to Kruger National Park