World in One Country (2002) by Jayant Doshi

For over a century, South Africa was torn apart and ruled by the most vilified apartheid

system whereby people were grouped together by their skin colour, where mixing of races

was banned, and all the public facilities

were segregated for the whites and others.

Over the same period, the whites built a

heaven for themselves at the cost of the

rest of the population. After years of strife,

and world boycott of this reviled system,

the Africans, or the majority, were granted

the right to select and participate in the

government of the country. It is only eight

years since this change took place, and it

would take a long time to undo the

iniquities created by the past regime.

Since then, S Africa has become a popular country for sightseeing. Besides a good holiday,

I was expecting to see the aftermath of those years of strife and racially segregated

system that put all humanity to shame. We decided to arrange such a holiday. Being

vegetarians, with a special taste for spicy foods, we were inclined to go for a tour offering

Indian food. But, after some research, we opted for a local company, with established

reputation, which promised vegetarian food but not necessarily Indian spicy food.

We reached Cape Town just before lunchtime. Our hotel was right on the sea front and we

could see the waves from our window. After freshening up, and a quick lunch, we decided

to walk along the sea front and get a feel of the place. The next day we had a half day

tour of the city. The city was founded by the Europeans who needed replenishment for the

long journey made by the ships, which went to India and the East to procure spices. White

people, who excluded the blacks and the coloured people from the cities, had developed

the city beautifully with wonderful

architecture in buildings, neat roads and

lots of greenery along the way, and little

seems to have changed since apartheid

was abolished.

In the afternoon we visited the famous

Roben island where Nelson Mandela spent

27 years of his imprisonment. The visit

was emotionally moving and touching. The

guide who showed us around the prison

had himself spent 20 years in the prison,

and his comments could not hide the

bitterness behind them. He graphically

described the life in the prison. The island has now become a national monument and a

tourist attraction.

Next day we saw the Cape point where the Indian and the Atlantic oceans meet. In reality,

the oceans are one, but since man has

named them, the point signifies the point

where the two are separated. We also saw

southern most point of the continent of

Africa, and the place where the first

Europeans set foot on the continent five

hundred years back. We visited the famous

botanical gardens and some museums on

our way.

Table Mountain, literally like a table, is

world famous, and was on our itinerary.

Three times our visit was cancelled due to

thick fog and clouds. However the guide arranged for us to leave hotel early on the last

day so we could visit the mountain. Luckily, the sun shone on that morning and made our

visit to the top of the Table mountain worth the wait. The top of the mountain is accessed

by a cable car, which revolves while taking people up a steep slope and allowing a

panoramic view, and the mountain is like a table as its name implies. We spent an hour on

the mountain, and walked around it and enjoyed the beautiful scenery, which could be

seen from that height.

The guide, a proper Africaaner, with a

husky voice, looked after all our needs,

and gave running commentary all along

the trip. He came up with detailed

historical facts for each place, and at

times gave such difficult Boer and Zulu

names that it was difficult to keep up with

his commentary, and lot of passengers in

the coach could be seen snoozing. While

all the facts he presented were new for us, I could see discrepancies on the facts I was

aware of, but it seemed futile to try to rectify those facts and end up in an argument,

which no one would have liked.

Then we drove along the coast to Worcester

surrounded by vineyards. We visited a

vineyard and had a taste of their wine,

followed by a visit to a peaceful small town

where we had lunch and did some

shopping. Next day we visited the historic

town of Tulbagh, the town where the first

Dutch made their settlement in S Africa.

Though the original town was destroyed in

1969 by earthquake, the historical

buildings with their unique features, were rebuilt and restored to their original Dutch glory.

Our drive to Wilderness was long, but relief was given by a visit to an ostrich farm, which

proved very informative. We passed George, which styles itself as the capital of the

famous Garden Route, and reached to our

hotel in Wilderness in the evening. Next

day was the day of a nostalgic trip on a

steam train journey through some of the

beautiful scenery and greenery of the

route. Next day we drove along the famous

Garden Route. Unlike the name, it is a

route of greenery with rolling hills and

valleys and forests along the route, and a

lovely coastline along the way. If one were

expecting beautiful gardens along the

route, then one would have been

disappointed.

The hotel at our next stop, Port Elizabeth, was also on the sea front with a busy

waterfront. We paid a visit to the original settlements by the British in the area, with some

early 19th century towns and traditional architecture. We also saw the solid steel bunkers

built to fight the Boers. We flew on to Durban. The southern part of this huge country is

mountainous and green, while the northern part is flat like a plateau and quite dry. While

Durban visit was not on the schedule, the guide decided to take us on a short tour round

the city. This city was in total contrast to Cape Town and Port Elizabeth. The first two

towns were quiet and serene, with a preponderant white population, Durban seemed

teeming with Indians and black population and buzzing with lot of activity.

When we booked the holiday, we stressed that we must be given Indian food as far as

possible, and we were promised the same. But the variety of foods we got in the buffet

three times a day was such that whenever Indian food was given, most of us avoided it.

Soups, salads, fruits and vegetable

dishes more than filled us up, and I have

feeling that most of us put on a few kilos

weight during our trip. We found the food

more satisfying and healthy, and did not

miss our traditional food for a day.

We moved on to a game lodge. The lodge

had wooden huts built on stilts, and

connected by a wooden walkway to other

huts and dining area. It had a watering

place nearby and a hut built to watch

animals come to drink water. The place

was lovely, and we had a bon fire while having our drinks. The next day we had open

jeep safari through the game park. Like other game parks, we saw lots of animals, but

somehow the numbers of wild animals to be seen seem to be depleting fast.

Next day, we visited a traditional Zulu village and learnt a few things about their life style

and culture. We continued our journey with a drive through Swaziland with its lush sugar

cane farms and total change in the landscape. This small country is landlocked, and is

very beautiful with its sugar cane and orange orchards, misty mountains and greenery.

We spent a night at a lodge. Next day we

drove through a pretty small town, and

then on to Kruger National Park in S Africa

where we spent two nights in a game

lodge inside the national park. We had a

drive in open jeep for a safari through one

of the oldest and largest national parks of

Africa. While we saw a good variety of

animals, missing out on the big ones, the

numbers were negligible and

disappearance of many animals seems

inevitable if strong measures are not

taken soon.

Our next stop, and final stop for some, was Pretoria where we had a farewell dinner. Some

of the group left next day for London, while others flew on to Livingstone for a visit to

Victoria Falls in Zambia. Driving from the airport to our luxurious hotel on the banks of

river Zambezi, we could see that we were now really in an African country. Our journey

from Cape Town right up to Pretoria hardly gave us an insight of how the Africans lived.

What we saw were beautiful riverside bungalows, and beaches with lovely houses, but

we saw little of how the majority lived.

Victoria Falls, with a span of almost 2 km, is the biggest waterfalls in the world. However,

due to lack of rains, the falls seemed

pretty dry, and the falls covered hardly a

few metres of the big span of the actual

falls. While we walked many times and

saw the beauty of the falls from various

angles, and actually walked on the falls

itself which were dry at this time of the

year, the site did not have exciting trips

as offered by Niagara falls. Our hotel

was on the banks of river Zambezi, and

we had a lovely cruise down the river.

The highlight of the trip was walking.

Some of our group were keen at walking,

and at times woke up as early as five in the morning to go on long walks. On the average,

one to two hours of walking per day was standard, and that was the most enjoyable part

of the trip. Walking along the beach, with perhaps gusty winds, or walking down the

riverbank, or on the streets of a still sleeping town, had its pleasures, and only those who

appreciate and experience those walks, know what those pleasure feel like. Walking on

boulders and rocks on the surface of the Zambezi river which was dry, and reaching to the

mouth of the actual falls, had adventure

and pleasure mixed in one.

We were told that a visit to South Africa

would be incomplete without a visit to the

famous Sun City. Surprisingly, all local

touring firms do not include this venue on

their itinerary. However, those who came

back from Victoria Falls had 24 hours at

their disposal, and decided to visit this city.

Originally built as a gambling resort, but

now more of a family resort, the whole

place can be looked around on foot in a matter of hour or two. There are four hotels, and

lots of leisure activities. A Lost City has been built depicting hug animal carvings in rocks,

and a real jungle atmosphere. Two golf courses adorn the city, and a lake provides a

range of water sports. While we did not have the time to enjoy all the facilities, we at least

had the satisfaction that we saw the place.

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