We are at Dot and David’s place now in Joburg! Dot and David are Morag’s uncle and aunt, and they have offered us a place to stay in their home until we leave for Mumbai on Saturday. What a nice treat to have a beautiful home cooked meal tonight, and also very good to see Morag’s Grandmother for dinner. It is neat to be back in this house, as this is the house that Morag’s parents lived in when they had moved back to South Africa (also where we spent a memorable Christmas in 1999!). Dot has gone out of her way to make sure we feel welcome and we really appreciate it!
We have just gotten back to Joburg from Road Trip II. After arriving from Cape Town we rented wheels and headed to a hostel for the night. We got lost as the road we were looking for was closed for construction. We ended up in a township called Tembisa and after a few stressful moments and a few helpful people were back on the right path. We had to be at the Indian Embassy first thing in the morning so that we could apply for visas. After the Embassy we headed for Nelspruit for the next four nights. Not a lot happens in Nelspruit, but it is a good base for other excursions that we were taking. From Nelspruit we spent our first day driving around Kruger Park (8 hot hours of driving and saw a tiny fraction of the huge park - and few animals, being so dry in the south part of the park). The next day was spent driving around the Blyde River Canyon. It is the third largest canyon in the world and has some amazing view points as well as areas to hike around where the water and wind have created huge holes in the sandstone (Bourkes Luck Potholes). We also visited small towns from the gold rush days including Sabie and Pilgrims Rest. Around Sabie is the worlds largest planted forest - tree farms as far as the eye can see. We saw several smokey areas that later in the day became large fires, very sad. Sunday was a day of rest - did some laundry, went to an internet cafe, took a break from driving. Nelspruit was very hot and we didn;t feel like doing much of anything. From Nelspruit we drove to Pretoria for a night, spent a day in Sun City at the water park and then back to Joburg. Sun City was disappointing as it was very expensive, and we unknowingly went on Spring Break. Hundreds of kids and us, on a day sponsored by Vodacom and Nestle (how they have anything to do with one another is beyond me). The Vodacom logo could not have been more prominent, and the “entertainment” included a singing contest where kids had to make up a song including the words “Smarties”, “Nestle”, and “Vodacom”, and then sing it over the loudspeakers. ANNOYING!!!
We got back to Joburg and had to be at the Indian Embassy this morning at 9 to pay for our visas, then go back to collect them at 2:00. What a process. Happily, we have our visas and can go on to India. We spent the time between Embassy visits at the Apartheid Museum and Constitution Hill. Constitution Hill was formerly a series of prison buildings and now houses the Constitutional Court as well as the remains of the prisons. We took a tour and learned a lot. Political prisoners, criminals, blacks, whites, “coloureds”, men women and even some of their babies were housed here. Many were sent to the prison for not having their passes on the street (during the apartheid era, blacks had to carry identity papers to prove that they belonged in certain areas, etc.) and the conditions were horrible. It is set up now as a memorial to the horrors of apartheid and the tour ends with a visit to the Constitutional Court which is a new building, much of it built with the bricks taken from the demolished prison buildings. The Apartheid Museum was one of the best museums that we have been to on our trip. We were given passes when we paid and told what doors we could enter through - White/European and Non-White. The museum was a walk through history from the earliest evidence of life in Africa, through to pre-black resistance, on to black resistance / struggles, to the events that brought about an end to Apartheid and finally to the reactions of South Africans to the first black government. It was eye opening to say the least, and really gave me a lot to think about.
South Africa feels very different from my last visit. It is likely a combination of real change happening from 1999 to now, and me being a little older and more aware of the history. I don’t feel as aware of my skin colour as I remember feeling, I see way more black people driving fancy cars (lots and lots of them actually), and interact with way more black and coloured people in stores, restaurants, shops, etc. I try to imagine how they could have gone from then to now and beyond without the turmoil, bloodshed and total discomfort but I guess it couldn’t have happened any other way. There are so many contrasts here… it is definitely a country that challenges your preconceptions and makes you think.
Anyohw, sorry for the long post. Its been a while and wanted to get in a post before we head to India.
We are going to be uploading some photos shortly.
Bye for now
Paula
Love the turtle pic!
Once when I was at the Denver Zoo, some big African land animals started canoodling, and a little 3-year-old boy pointed at them, giggled and said: “Look mama, they’re wrestling!”
Sounds like Africa was a great trip, and you were able to do some really important work. Cheers to you both!
Joysa
September 27th, 2007