Final Reflections

We're home now.  All unpacked.  Little to no jet lag.  Back into the swing of things.  Here are our final thoughts.

We learned a lot, saw a lot, ate a lot

We learned

How to pronounce Mbane, Hluhluhe, Knysna.  We learned about apartheid from museums and from individuals who shared their personal stories with us.  We learned that the difference between a white rhino and a black rhino is the shape of their head and what they they eat.  We learned that the Jews of South Africa mostly came from Lithuania.  We learned that Cape Town really IS one of the most beautiful cities in the world.  We learned that giraffes look graceful when walking through their natural environment.  We learned to tolerate some of our fellow travelers and grew fond of others. Now we understand that the ocean temperature in Cape Town is warmer in the winter than in the summer because of the direction of the prevailing winds.   We know it's worth it to pack long underwear, even if you only wear it one day.  We learned that in South Africa "now now" means right now and "just now" means in about a half hour or maybe never.  We were amused when reminded to "mind your head" and" mind your step".  We learned that In South Africa proteas are beautiful flowers and restaurant entrees come with rice or chips or rice AND chips. We learned that the king of Swaziland has 14 wives.  We saw that South Africa is a first world country.  We saw that South Africa is also a third world country.  

We ate

Ostrich, hake, baboetie, prawns, malva cake with custard (Adele's was the best and I tried every version that was served), pap, boerwors, Wimpys, and rice and chips and more rice and chips.  

We saw

Bustling cities, extreme poverty, skyscrapers, stadiums, townships, magnificent scenery,  women carrying bundles on their head and/or babies wrapped in blankets on their back and people riding on ostriches.  We felt privileged to see elephants, zebras, rhinos, giraffes, warthogs, kudu, baboons and penguins in their natural habitat.  We experienced fields, forests, veldts, scrub, rivers, lagoons, channels, estuaries, oceans, beaches, rolling hills and mountains.

Our travel in South Africa was fascinating, educational, emotional, tiring, thrilling, frustrating and personally satisfying.  We saw a corner of the world very far away from where we live.  We are grateful for the opportunity to expand our experiences and interact with a different part of the world.

Last adventure

So, I'm writing this from Brussels, Belgium.

On the way from Joberg to Addis Ababa, the pilot announced that we were diverting to the airport in Rwanda to pick up 35 passengers that were stranded there when their plane had a bird strike their engine.  Of course, this caused us to miss our connection to Washington DC.

To our surprise and delight, Ethiopean Airlines has personnel available to rebook us and expedite boarding a flight that took us to Brussels (after stopping in Paris) and we are now waiting for a flight directly to Chicago.  We should arrive only a few hours later than originally scheduled, but with one fewer transfer.  If our one checked bag show up in Chicago with us, it will be perfect.

We never thought we would find ourselves in Rwanda, but we are "counting" this as one of the countries we've been in.

Almost home!

Day 18 and 19 and possibly 20

We are starting our 27 hour flight(s) home in about an hour, with a scheduled arrival in Chicago on Thursday at mid day.  We are flying from Johannesburg to Addis Abbaba, Ethiopia.  From Addis we fly to Washington Dulles.  Then we have a connection to Chicago.

I am visualizing a pleasant and restful journey, with good food, comfortable seats and plenty of time to make our connections.  Please visualize along with me.....

I've been working on a final post that will be my reflections on this long adventure.  I plan to post it after we return.  Thanks for following along with us.  I'll see you or talk to you in person soon.

Day 17 of tour - journey home starting with Johannesburg

We are comfortably waiting for out flight to Johannesburg from the lounge at the airport in Cape Town.  We will spend the night at a hotel at the airport and begin the rest of the journey tomorrow.

Day 16 of tour - third day on Cape Town

We had a wonderful day on our own in Cape Town today.  The tour went to Stellenbosch for wine tasting.  We got on the "hop on, hop off" bus to visit the beautiful Victoria and Albert waterfront shopping area, zip through the Deboers Diamond  museum, and spend the afternoon at the South African Jewish Museum.

It was a beautiful day, and seeing the city from the top of the sightseeing bus was delightful.  We had wonderful views of the ocean and of Table Mountain, as well as the bustling city.  We found beautiful shops to browse in the shopping area and while I did not make many purchases, it was a welcome change from the run of the mill "stuff" we had seen everywhere else.  The narration on the bus was well done and informative.

The Diamond "museum" was a private "showing" by a local diamond jeweler, but the guide was delightful, the presentation was informative, and the sales pitch non existent.

We spent the whole afternoon at the Jewish museum, a hidden gem that Bruce found on TripAdvisor.  The museum was dedicated by Nelson Mandela and there was 25 minute movie that highlighted his relationships to the Jews of South Africa during his lifetime - how they had partnered with him personally as well as in his work to overturn apartheid.  We did not know when and how the Jewish community began in South Africa, but learned that it was based on Jews from Lithuania who fled the pogroms around the turn of the century.  The development of the community - synagogues, cemeteries, schools and businesses closely parallel what occurred in the US.  We also enjoyed the cafe and the gift shop.  It was a wonderful, worthwhile break from the tour.

We finished the day with our farewell dinner with the whole group.  

Day 15 of tour - second day in Cape Town

The stunning visual beauty continued this morning as we drove along the Atlantic Ocean to Cape Point, the  "Cape of Good Hope" where we were all taught that the Indian Ocean and Atlantic oceans meet.  The true meeting of the oceans occurs at Cape Agulhas, 200 miles east.  The Cape Point Nature Reserve offers breath taking views of the crashing surf, blue water, the unique fynbos (an Afrikaner word that means "fine bush") landscapes of small shrubs and wild flowers, and vicious baboons, wild ostriches, and small antelopes.

Lunch at a seafood restaurant was a treat.  The ubiquitous hake is the fish served in every restaurant and this time it was served as large chunks wrapped with bacon and grilled on long skewers.

Returning to Cape Town, we stopped at Boulders Beach to see the African penguins. These small penguins are unique to South Africa and were once called the "jack-ass penguin" because it's call sounds like a donkey braying. It's one of the things "to do", but we were a bit disappointed - not many penguins, they were not very active, and the place was swarming with tourists.  I guess we would have thought we were missing something if we hadn't gone there.

Our last stop today was an open air market.  All the souvenir markets that we have seen sell the same junky statues, jewelry, and trinkets.  Our guide told us that it's all made in Zimbabwe, so it is made in Africa, but very poor quality and the same whereever you look.

We plan to skip tomorrow's drive to a winery in Stellenbosch and tour Cape Town on our own.  There are a few museums that should be interesting, including the Jewish Museum of South Africa, and we will check out the new waterfront development in hopes of finding a few more upscale shops.  Tomorrow night is the farewell dinner and Tuesday we fly to Johannesburg to begin our journey home.  We will leave Johannesburg on Wednesday, change planes in Ethiopia, fly to Washington DC, and then on to Chicago.  I'll update the blog as time and wifi availability allow.

Day 14 of tour - first day in Cape Town

The visual beauty of the scenery in Cape Town is awesome.  It's stunning.  It's almost unbelievable.  I'm not sure our photos will do it justice, but I'm so grateful to have had this experience.

We took a cable car to the top of Table Mountain, over 3,500 feet above sea level.  The wind was whipping ferociously but the clear blue sky, shades of deep blue water, white waves and stunning mountains surrounding the water was one of the most beautiful scenes we've ever seen.

In the afternoon we took an optional walking tour of the Langa township, the largest township in Cape Town.  Our tour guide was a resident of the township, a man who had a degree in horticulture from the university.  He was newly certified as a tour director.  He was working on getting a drivers license.  He was studying to be a traditional healer.  He was honest and realistic about all of the cultural, economic, and social problems faced by the people who still live in the township, but he was also positive and hopeful about the future. The residents of this township, all black, were forcibly removed from District 6 in Cape Town, a vibrant multicultural neighborhood in Cape Town proper to this much more distant location by the Aparthied regime in the 1960's. The colored residents of District 6 were also forcibly removed to more distant locations and separated from their black neighbors. 

In the evening we attended a home hosted dinner in a suburb of CapeTown.  Our hosts are colored people, not blacks, and they frequently host travelers from Grand Circle.  They served a wonderful dinner, discussed their lives and their family, answered our questions about life during and after apartheid, and carefully fielded questions about politics.  Our driver for the night was also talkative and comfortable giving us his opinion on life in South Africa.  We learned a lot about current South Africa today, through the eyes of people who live here.  

Day 13 of tour - travel to Cape Town

It was a ten hour bus ride from Knysna to Cape Town.  We have "comfort stops" every two hours, where there are reasonable bathrooms and usually a place to buy coffee or ice cream.  Every time I see tourists eating ice cream I think of my mother's travel advice: "every country has ice cream" so she always found something to eat.

We stopped for lunch at a restaurant in the historic town of Swellendam after touring a small museum of historic furniture and tools.

As we got closer to Cape Town the scenery became greener and greener and the rolling countryside more and more beautiful and lush.  We watched the movie Invictus on monitors in the bus to help pass the time, but we were impressed with the scenery we were passing.

Day 12 of tour - Featherbed Nature Preserve

Knysa is a beautiful little town with a beautiful view of a lagoon protected from the Indian Ocean by two giant sandstone cliffs.  We took a ferry across the lagoon, getting a close up look at the sandstone cliffs as we crossed and then rode a trailer up to the top of the cliffs for magnificent views of the water below.  Some hiked back down, and we all had a wonderful buffet lunch under the milk wood trees.  We are now starting to see the natural beauty of South Africa.

We experienced a rare hail storm this afternoon, luckily from our cozy hotel room.  After the hail storm, a rainbow appeared in the sky.  This evening we braved the cold and windy weather to join some fellow travelers for dinner at the waterfront.

Day 12 of tour - wild animal park and ostrich farm

Our guide arranged to add on a stop at the Conga animal park, dedicated to research, rescue and breeding of endangered African animals.  The guide who took us through the park was proud of the successes they have experience reintroducing specific animals into the wild, but he also made it quite clear that the challenge to specific species is quite daunting.  He spoke admiringly of Busch Gardens and Disney and was proud of their upcoming partnerships with these facilities.  

This was a very different experience from seeing animals in their natural environment, but it is an important part of the wildlife "picture" and the animals are beautiful.

Our next stop was an ostrich farm.  The semi desert climate of this part of South Africa is ideal for raising ostriches.  In the 1800's, the cost of ostrich feathers equaled the cost of an equivalent amount of gold.  Today these awkward but beautiful animals are raised for meat and their hides. We were served grilled ostrich steaks for lunch - very tasty.  We learned a lot about the ostriches.

Day 11 of tour - Garden Route to Knysa

Full day of travel along the Garden Route which stretches along the Indian Ocean coastline of South Africa.  The scenery includes mountains, beaches, forests, and lakes and is far more lush and interesting than the open veldt in the north.  We are traveling relatively long distances and stop regularly to stretch our legs and use the bathrooms.  The bathrooms have been a pleasant surprise - much cleaner and well supplied than expected, although they have varied somewhat.

One of our stops was at the world's highest bungee jump, off a bridge.

This part of the country feels more upscale and safer than other cities we've been in so far.  In our previous location we were advised not to walk along outside our hotel and only travel by taxi.  Knysa is called the "Pearl" of the Garden route and the waterfront area is filled with restaurants and nice shops.

Day 10 of tour - Addo Elephant preserve

This fabulous game preserve began with a handful of elephants trucked down from Kruger and it now contains over six hundred.  In addition to the elephants, we saw many zebras, different types of antelope, eagles, warthogs, and tortoises.  Bruce made sure to get a photo of the tortoises procreating.  The highlight was watching a herd of elephants play at a waterhole for about a half hour.  One adult elephant was entertaining himself by ducking under the water and splashing himself with water.  We saw two baby elephants push a third baby into the water and then run away to their mommies.  We did record some good video of the elephants at the water hole,  but I don't know how to upload the video to this blog.  I'll have to figure that out when I get home.

It is such a joy and privilege to be this close to nature and to see these beautiful animals.

A different kind of hunting: stalking jewelry!

Day 9 of tour - drive to Durban and fly to Port Elizabeth

Today was a travel day.  We had a three and a half hour bus ride to Durban, a large port city on the Indian Ocean.  From there we flew to Port Elizabeth, our first stop in the East Cape.

Port Elizabeth is an old city and it was deserted when we drove through it today, because it is Sunday.

We are looking forward to our next game drive tomorrow at the Addo Elephant park.

Day 8 of tour - game drive and St. Lucia

Out third game viewing drive, this time in Hlulhuwe.  Of course, this required another 5:00 am wake up call.  This park was much greener than Kruger and there was much more elevation.  We still have not seen any cats, but the thrill of seeing the other beautiful animals continues.

By the way, several people have inquired about my health and I am happy to report that I continue to feel better every day.  Right now I have the end of a cold, but not a big deal at all.

Tomorrow we will drive to Durban and then fly to Port Elizabeth for the second part of our trip along the southern coast.  It may be a day or two before I blog again.

Day 7 of tour - back to South Africa and Zulu village

We crossed the border back into South Africa heading to Hluhluwe, which is pronounce "shlu-shlu-wee".

HIV is a huge problem in Swaziland and public education to change people's habits and thinking is everywhere.  Free condoms are widely distributed and even female condoms were available on a counter at the border crossing back into South Africa. Meanwhile, we were told that a very high South African government official who allegedly had sex with a prostitute was quoted as saying he was not worried about catching HIV because he took two showers afterward. Consequently, cartoons lampooning the official show a shower head growing out from the top of his head.

Last night a white American missionary who has spent the last 9 years in Swaiziland with his wife and children addressing the aids problem spoke to our tour group. It was extremely interesting. He told us that government figures state that about 28% of the population has HIV, but he believes the actual figure could be closer to 40%. However, he stated that if you have to have HIV, Swaziiland is the country to have it in because the government provides free testing and medicines to everyone. Because this policy decision consumes so much of the country's health care budget, the result is that the

rest of the health care system is practically non-existent. For example, there are no facilities in the entire country for treating breast cancer. Unless a patient can afford treatment in South Africa, essentially an impossibility for most people, they receive no treatment.

We spent the afternoon at a recreation of a traditional Zulu village, learning about customs and traditions of the culture.  Bruce was "recruited" to perform with the dancers.  We suspect that he was picked because he was the youngest looking man sitting in the front row.

The hotel rooms are lovely, but the internet signal is elusive.  We feel like we've won the lottery if we connect.  Here's some photos from the Zulu village.

Day 6 of tour - all day in Swaziland

Bruce and I stayed at the hotel today because I woke up with a fever.  We are well stocked with antibiotics, and by lunchtime I was fever free, but at the time the group was leaving I thought it was better for me to stay behind and rest.  Our group was going to a market to buy fruits and vegetables that they were bringing to an orphanage and then help to cook for and feed the kids.

A quiet day has allowed us to sit in the lobby and comfortably use the wifi.  The signal is not strong enough to reach to the rooms.  Our guide maintains that South Africa is a first world country in a third world continent.  While the modern parts of Johannesburg are certainly up to "western" standards, outside the city is definitely not.  The hotels we are staying at are comfortable and clean, but still quirky by US standards.  They are not as quirky as the hotels in Vietnam, but the lack of electrical outlets (even in the bathrooms), creative shower configurations, and "relaxed" attitude for handling basic requests reminds us that we take certain standards for granted.

It's still thrilling to realize that I am in Africa.  The clothing, languages spoken, items on the menus, faces of the people, English heritage, and legacy of apartheid are constantly fascinating.

We return to South Africa tomorrow and will be stopping to learn about traditional Zulu culture.

Day 5 of tour - Swaziland

Here is a another thing I never thought I would do: I never thought I would be in Swaziland.  This small country is landlocked and is bordered by South Africa and Mozambique. It is mostly rural.  The Queen is the King's mother and she selects another wife for him each year.  Right now he has 14 wives.

Crossing the border from South Africa to Swaziland felt like a scene from a bad movie.  It was very hot.  We got off the bus and waited in a long line for a single taciturn South African border control officer to stamp our passports.  Then we had to walk across a desolate "no man's land" to the Swaziland  border control, wait in another line, and have our passports stamped again.  When we got back to the bus, the driver calculated that it was about 100 degrees.  

This is the dry season in this part of the world.  It's desert dry, even when it's not very hot.  It was an ideal time for animal viewing because the vegetation was not yet lush, but everyone has cracked skin on hands and lips and we are constantly drinking water to try to stay hydrated.

Our last stop before getting to the hotel was a glass blowing factory that was not at all impressive.  Fortunately, there were shops selling beautiful hand made crafts made by local women who are being taught how to support their families.

We have seen many wonderful and fascinating things on the tour so far, but we are also a bit disappointed at the pace.  We have spent a lot of hours on the bus and many of the stops have felt like a waste of time. They were intended primarily as needed breaks for the driver and bathroom breaks for us, but didn't do much for furthering our education about Africa.

Day 4 of tour - second day at Kruger

We were up at 4:30 am AGAIN, today for an optional second day driving through Kruger.  The weather was a bit cooler than yesterday, so we were more comfortable in the afternoon.  Here are a few more of my favorite photos.

Day 3 of tour - game drives through Kruger

Update: I've uploaded photos to,the last four posts, so you may want to look at earlier posts.

We had a 4:45 am wake up call this morning (oy!) and started out first game drive in a four by four jeep driven by a park ranger a little after six am.

I don't care much for photos of landscapes and animals, but it's impossible not to try to capture the thrilling animals.  No need for commentary.  Why else would we go on a game drive?  We will be Repeating the experience tomorrow.