Road Scholar The Best of South Africa: Safari, Culture and the Garden Route February 16-March 3,

2018

We had an awesome trip! The country is beautiful, having the majestic mountains, beautiful beaches on both Atlantic and Indian Oceans, farmland and vineyards, majestic wildlife and a diversified population from all over the world. We traveled with the same four from our New Zealand trip: Sue’s girlfriends since grade school: Mary (Ruprecht) and Larry Larson, Bev (Ruhland) Mueller, and Rosie Lieser (Bev’s friend and now our friend too!). The country is rich in natural resources: gold, diamonds, etc., a lot of fruit, fish, meat, wine, sugar and coal mining, most of which is exported to Asia and other countries. We saw some very beautiful maize, wheat and sugarcane farms and vineyards. Prez Jacob Zuma was ousted the day before we arrived for his many scandals and corruption; the country is very hopeful that new Prez Cyril Ramaphosa will address the issue of so many still living in poverty. We started our tour in Johannesburg. After arriving in late afternoon, we had time to freshen up and then had a meet and greet and dinner with our tour guide, Helen Malisan and the three couples that were part of our 16-day tour: Doug Beattie and Linda Eichengreen from Northhampton, MA; Andrea and David Long, living in Malagas, France but lived in California for many years; and Genevieve Leslie and Norman Zlotkin from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. A nice mix of people from varying walks of life and we all got along great.

We visited The Apartheid Museum which tells the complete story of the Apartheid. It also honors Nelson Mandela. He was arrested by the apartheid government in 1962 for conspiring to overthrow the state and sentenced to life imprisonment. He spent 27 years in prison for his ‘crimes.’ When he

was released he realized he needed to work with the white population to unite the country and became the first black President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999.

In the afternoon we toured Liliesleaf Farm where Nelson Mandela attended secret meetings of the liberation movement that occurred in 1961-1963. We toured the room where the papers were found by the apartheid regime that extended his prison time. We flew to Port Elizabeth to start the 8-days enjoying the beautiful Garden Route. First to Tsitsikamma National Park. Here we traveled by the rugged coastline and saw deep gorges from the mountains. We also were exposed to the unique fynbos vegetation. It means ‘fine bush’ and are beautiful flowering plants that grow in very poor soil. It is very important to the survival of small animals in South Africa. We visited the Storms River Mouth were we walked the suspension bridge across the river. We saw Hyrax (they look like little guinea pigs) eating near the path. We then spent the next two nights at the Wilderness Hotel in Wilderness.

We visited the Knysna Township. Townships are low income areas with mostly African populations. The housing situation is such that a person can be placed on a waiting list for years before they can get a government built two room house. Many people wait longer. Meanwhile they live in roughly built shacks, often without running water or electricity. These places are made with corrugated metal walls and plastic sheeting for window covers. The houses are lined up right next to each other with shared outhouses. Yet, hope pervades as numerous non-profit groups have developed support and training programs. We met Ella, a local resident and business owner and Xhosa specialist,. She gave us a tour of the area. She does a lot of great things for the community, working on lots of local projects to make the life better for the township people. Parents pay a small fee to send children to public school. They have metal shipping containers for stores within the township. Animals, dogs, pigs, cows, goats and chickens roam freely in the township.

Knysna Forest – we learned about the ecology of the forest, history of gold mining and flowers. Diamonds (thought to be a transparent rock) were found in 1867 by a 15 year old, Erasmus Jacobs on this father’s farm. Gold was found in Witwatersrand by Jan Gerrit Bantjes in June 1884. Bartolomeu Dias Museum - named for the Portuguese man who was the first explorer to set foot on South African soil on February 3rd, 1488 on what is now Mossel Bay. We saw a replica of the original Caravel sailing ship. We saw the famous Post Office Tree, also South Africa’s first post office, so named as explorers used shoes or iron pots to leave important letters for future explorers. This area was also the first site of Christian worship. St Blaize Cave – one of South Africa’s earliest archaeological excavations (late 1800s) inhabited by the early San (Khoisan) people. Great whale and dolphin watching. Rock pools were built in the Indian Ocean to prevent shark attacks on swimmers.

Seafood Braai (Braai means BBQ in Africaan) – Restaurant/seafood shanty was on the shores of Indian Ocean. What made this ‘experience’ so memorable was the atmosphere of the beachy dining with picnic tables and no silverware and a beautiful view right on the Indian Ocean. Food was cooked over hot coals and a bell was rung whenever another course was served. We had two or three wonderful types of fish, and mussels as an appetizer which we then used the mussel shells for our silverware. Also enjoyed fresh baked bread, rice dishes, seafood stew, meatpot, sweet potatoes, dessert. No one left hungry!

We left Mossel Bay and traveled by the Outeniqua Mountains to Oudtshoorn, the Ostrich capital of the world. We stayed at Mooiplaas Guesthouse on a working ostrich farm. Mooiplaas means ‘beautiful farm’ and it was that indeed. We learned more about the world’s largest bird species. The penguin and the ostrich are two flightless birds, yet uniquely special in the world. While the penguins are protected, the ostrich are bred for their eggs, feathers and meat. In the early 1900’s Oudtshoorn

was a booming center of ostrich feather commerce run by Jews. Most popular was the use of the feathers for hats. When automobiles became popular especially convertibles, the feather market was blown away! We were served ostrich steak and scrambled ostrich eggs. One egg will serve 13 people. One ostrich egg is equivalent to 24 chicken eggs.

We did a walking tour of Oudtshoorn to see the homes of the owners of the first ostrich farmers. They were Dutch and British. There was some beautiful architecture in that town. The British homes had a crown built atop their homes. The churches were made out of sandstone. The Gables on the homes were a sign of wealth. Headed to Hermanus, Grootbos Nature Reserve. There we saw Protea, the stunning national flower. The Reserve has a training program for future garden workers. The Green Futures Life Skills College trains unemployed and unskilled people from the surrounding villages in the science of horticulture and preservation of the fynbos vegetation. Our group planted a buck ironwood tree to promote

friendship and future growth. We received the coordinates from our tour guide in case we have friends or family that want to visit our tree!

We drove through scenic wine lands country to Stellenbosch and saw some historical landmarks. We had wine tasting at the Spier vineyard and then headed to Neethlingshof Estate for touring the vineyards and had lunch and more wine. The Restaurant is located at the Manor House which is a beautifully preserved Cape Dutch homestead dating back more than 200 years. Roses are

planted at the foot of each row of grapevines to detect the first signs of disease. The French perfected the wine industry; South Africa exports over 4 million liters of wine each year. Grapes and wine were originally thought to prevent scurvy so they were planted and fed to the crew of the Dutch East India Company where they stopped in Cape Town for fresh produce and supplies on their spice route to India.

Cape Town – they are having a water shortage and we were asked to take 2 minute showers and conserve water. Drove past the Groote Schuur Hospital where Christiaan Barnard did the first heart transplant in 1967.

We visited another township that consisted of 1 million people. Here we toured a community garden project, crafting area and schools. There is much contrast in Cape Town, a modern city with a lavish waterfront accommodating tourists vs the various township communities. We visited the Khayalitsha township. We toured a community garden, an arts and education center (with a roof top garden), and

a preschool. Like Ella Mahlulo who took us on a tour a week ago in Knysna township, the groups in Khayalitsha township are also entrepreneurs whose organizations will benefit financially from tour groups like ours when we visit to learn about their efforts.

Recently, many entrepreneurial Africans have realized that educating and entertaining tourists can create jobs and income for the unemployed, which is near 40% of the population in Khayelitsha. Mzansi Restaurant in the Langa township is a radiant example of this. “Mzansi” is the Xhosa word for “South.” Its owner, Mama Nomomde, enthusiastically told us the story of the ups and downs of the creation of a restaurant business in her family home. The idea originally came from her mother, who died several months before the business began in 2008. We took our evening meal in her expanded home with 25 other tourists. We listened to a jazz group that played the throaty tones of xylophones, drums and a saxophone. They entertained us throughout the marvelous meal with unique South African flavors. The musicians, the cooks and servers all earn income from her business. Mama Nomanda caters to tour groups although some other individual guests had learned of the restaurant through Trip Advisor. In fact, the parting words from our escort was to be sure to write a review for Trip Advisor emphasizing that it is safe to travel to this area.

We enjoyed walking along the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront located on the Atlantic shore. The Waterfront was named after Prince Alfred, second son of Queen Victoria, who made a great impression as the first-ever visit by a member of the Royal Family in 1860.

Saw Table Mountain, Lions Head, and Devils Peak overlooking Cape Town, and the Twelve Apostles Range (so named because it has twelve peaks which are easily distinguishable).

Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve- We boarded the Flying Dutchman funicular which took us to a spectacular view of the beach, coves, rocks and Ocean. We climbed up to the Old Cape Point lighthouse, now a tourist attraction. It was built in the 1850s and no longer functions – it sits too high above the ocean and is often covered by cloud. The new lighthouse at Cape Point is one of the most powerful on the South African coast.

At Boulders Beach, near Cape Town, we viewed a large colony of the resident African Penguins in their protected environment. They were so still that we at first thought they were decoys. We enjoyed their tuxedo-like outfits and their quaint waddling walk. This penguin is unique to Africa and is the northern-most species with special characteristics. It is also known as the “Jackass Penguin” because of the male’s donkey-like mating call. Penguins mate at around 4 years old and are monogamous for the rest of their 10-15 year lifespan. They are an endangered species in Africa especially because all other penguin species live in more remote areas with less human habitation where they are naturally more protected from human intrusion. In Africa, centuries of human contact have led to a reduction in the penguin population.

We toured the beautiful Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens. Although many of the flowers weren’t in bloom (August/September is best time to see spring flowers), we saw so much beauty in the gardens. Many of the plants are also grown in our Florida climate.

The finale of our trip was flying to Hoedspruit airport for a one hour ride to Chisomo Safari Camp/Karongwe Game Reserve (adjacent to Kruger National Park) where we spent four fascinating days on safari. Hoedspruit airport was created in the late 1990s using an unused portion of the airbase of the South African Air Force. It is located adjacent to Kruger National Park, which is huge!!! Kruger is a network of some 1100 miles of well maintained roads and the Reserve has 21 rest camps, 2 private lodge concessions, and 15 private safari lodges! It is home to 336 tree, 49 fish, 34 amphibian, 114 reptile, 507 bird and 147 mammal species. We stayed in safari suites which were off-the-ground heavy tents nestled in the trees with screened sides for air circulation. We had ceiling fans which we used 100% of the time! The bed had a beautiful mosquito netting which was put down each evening by the staff. It was a very comfortable suite. We enjoyed chocolates and a beautiful verse that were left on our bed each night. Two of my favorites: 1) “The world is a book and those who do not travel read only a page” and 2) There is something about safari life that makes you forget all your sorrows and feel as if you had drunk half a bottle of champagne – bubbling over with heartfelt gratitude for being alive.”

We rode on open 4x4 safari vehicles with an experienced guide and tracker for each game drive. We were instructed to keep our hands inside the vehicle at all times, not stand up, not make any sudden moves and not make any loud noises. We all heeded the instructions! The jeep rides were an adventure all on their own; hilly, rocky terrain with the jeep going uphill at a 45 degree angle at times. It was an especially fun ride if you were lucky enough to get the TOP seats!!!!! The guides on each vehicle would stay in touch via radios and the two vehicles would gather together where animals were spotted.

We learned about the elaborate social structures that exist in the animal kingdom from the insects and birds to lions and elephants. Antelope and other species sometimes herd together for greater safety from predators. There is a lot of cooperation, collaboration and collective protection that happens in the animal kingdom. The optimum times to go on safari are the hours just before sunrise and sunset.

We would get up at 5 a.m., be on the road in our two Land Rovers by 5:30, returning to our camp for breakfast at 8:30. Midday was a time to relax, have lunch and then “High Tea” at 3:30, leaving for our evening safari at 4:00.. We were lucky enough to see ‘the big 5’: lion, leopard, buffalo, rhino and elephant as well as zebras, giraffes, monkeys, cheetahs, waterbuck, Kudus, Warthogs, Nyala, Wildebeest and Jackals, Tawny Eagle, and many types of beautiful birds and insects. Probably my favorite of the animals, the Zebra herds often crossed around us. Every moment was a chance for discovery and learning: each zebra’s

stripes are unique, like a human fingerprint. No snakes!!!! The leopard is the hardest to find. They

hide in trees during the day and hunt at night. We did get to see one by spotlight at night as he was running in tall grass. The guides pointed out many different types of trees, bushes and flowers as we rode along on our hunt for the animals. It was so nice seeing these monstrous animals in their natural habitat. The guide/tracker did not carry guns and explained how these animals are not attack animals in such a non-threatening environment. We had huge elephants and giraffes and cheetahs walk right in front of our vehicle. Vegetarians large and small included termites, giraffes, elephants, antelope, and others. The carnivores were the predators: primarily lions and tigers. We walked within 40 feet of a group of six lions resting in the grass. We walked in single file, very quietly, and not making any quick moves; the lions remained calm and simply glanced up at us. It was amazing…

Throughout Africa fungi-eating termites prosper (50,000 born at once), although tiny they build huge termite mounds, some are hundreds of years old. Termites actually contribute to the biosphere. They have a defined social structure, from Queen to soldiers and workers and they are agriculturalists, growing specific fungi in their mounds. Other larger animals profit from this farming, and will forage nutrients from the mounds.

Winning the most beautiful, unique prize was the web of the Garden Orb spider. Most eccentric was the Roller dung beetle, pushing a ball of dung 10 times its size. Rollers form a bit of dung into a ball, roll it away, and bury it. The balls they make are either used by the female to lay her eggs in (called a brood ball) or as food for the adults to eat. We saw a proliferation of birds, including 4 different eagles.

On our safari, we learned about the South African animal kingdom from Aarvark to Zebra. From tall to tiny, massive to miniscule. Our experience was enriched by our physical proximity to their natural habitat and by our guides’ extensive knowledge. The silence and calm of the jungle was mesmerizing. It was all so fresh and mysterious, never knowing what might appear, what we might see or hear.

The 16-day trip was an opportunity of a lifetime and we will both cherish the memories forever!