Postcard: South Africa

Around Thanksgiving 2005, my b-school friend R. and I traveled to South Africa for 12 days. We packed in as much as we could with a 4-day safari, a short stay in Pretoria with extended family from my dad's side, and a few days in beautiful Cape Town to conclude the whirlwind trip. Visiting South Africa was a chance to see incredible natural wildlife and seascapes and to witness the racial politics that divide the region.

Safari
We flew into Jo'burg and left for Kruger National Park the next morning. It was so wonderful to have family to arrange a personal jeep tour for us with pickup from their home in Pretoria.

This is how we met Hendrick, our personal tour guide and South African man down to the core. He picked up two single ladies and was determined to engage us in conversation. R. and I were feeling anti-social and possibly rude, which is too bad in retrospect. However, he soldiered on and covered AIDS, corrupt South African politics, race relations between whites-blacks-Indians, the state of Townships, safari animals, food. He was knowledgeable about a diversity of topics. He, also, was not very fond of black-Africans or Indians (R. and I are both Indian, but he didn't seem to mind us). He told us 80% of black-Africans have AIDS. He enlightened us on the tense race relations among the black-Africans and mixed race Africans. He told us about the jail system. He was also flirting and trying very hard to pique our interest. At the very end of the four days after getting no reaction from us, he mentioned something about getting a gift for his girlfriend's birthday. What! I love meeting such characters on my travels.

Hendrick was an astounding tour guide. He knew every animal, every bird, and every bit of history of the land and the area along the 4-5 hour drive from Pretoria to Kruger. He made every effort to show us as many animals as possible during our 2.5 days of safari. The safari was amazing and one of the best travel experiences I have ever had. We saw elephants, rhinos, buffalo, lions, giraffes, baboons, monkeys, antelope, impala, wildebeest, zebra, hippos, crocodiles, ostrich, cheetah, and hyena, as well as, numerous birds.

A Monkey Stole My Lunch
Hendrick warned us. Of course, R. and I were barely listening as he told us two or three times to stay away from the monkeys at the picnic area where we would stop for lunch. Once there, R. and I gathered our lunches and headed for the picnic tables. We did observe that everyone else was sitting at the inner tables rather than the ones near the edge of the picnic area, but this did not register to us as we thought it'd be nice to sit near the trees full of monkeys. There we sat and engaged in conversation about the safari.

Then, it happened. A monkey stole my ham sandwich...right out of my hand. This monkey ran under my chair and reached up in between my legs for the sandwich. I threw the sandwich onto the table in complete shock and the monkey jumped on the table, grabbed a slice of bread, and ate it right in front of me. Chewing and staring and mocking. Evil, evil monkey. After he ran off, R. and I burst out laughing at our total obliviousness. We continued eating and making fun of ourselves when it happened again. This time a monkey jumped on the table and pilfered R.'s banana bread. Banana bread! I guess we didn't learn. We admitted defeat and threw out the remainder of our lunch. I tossed my bag of Lays Thai Sweet Chile potato chips on top of the trash can so the monkeys could take it. The photo is of a mommy monkey eating the chips.

Townships and Racial Harmony
In the post-apartheid era, South Africa is still desegregated with distinct neighborhoods separating whites, Indians, and blacks. While in Pretoria, R. and I were interested in visiting a township because we had heard accounts of living in Soweto, where Oprah was building a school for girls. My cousin drove us to a township nearby to where his family lived in Pretoria to give us a feel as to what Soweto and all townships were like.

Hendrick's quoted AIDS infection rate may have been higher than what the country publishes, but no doubt HIV/AIDS is a serious problem in this country as are hunger and poverty. The shacks were made of cement or aluminum siding and were dreadfully small and cramped. As we drove in our luxury SUV, most of the people walked in the scorching heat and many mothers carried their children in shawls tied around their backs. My relatives employed wonderful servants from this township who had to climb a large hill every morning to cross into the Indian section of town. Their maid cooked Indian food better than I could. I was awed by the differences from one way one life to another. Experiencing such aspects of life is the reason I travel.

Capetown and Cape of Good HopeThe final part of our trip was Cape Town - one of most beautiful places I have ever visited. We relished what Cape Town had to offer, including the fear of heights inducing views from Table Mountain, the jail cell that was the former home of Nelson Mandela at Robben Island, and the world renowned wineries of the Winelands.

We took a driving tour along the scenic coasts to visit the southernmost points of the country (again arranged by a family member). We drove down the Atlantic coast via Chapman's Peak on our way to Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope. We hiked along the at times treacherous trails at Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve where we witnessed majestic views of the Atlantic and Indian oceans. On our return to the city, we visited the Penguin colony at Boulders Beach. It was a memorable adventure.