On entering the Kruger we had been mentally prepared for the fact that you can stay in the Kruger for a week and not see any of the big 5 (lion, leopard, buffalo, elephant and rhino). This really made every sighting extra special, as by day 2 (of 3) we had seen all big 5 along with many other wonders of the animal kingdom including: zebra, impala, nyala, cheetah, and vulture.
Even though on holiday, on Sunday 17th Maureen managed to find us a church service in the Kruger, although a warmer welcome was experienced the following weekend, during a church service in the poorer parts of Soweto, where we were welcomed with open arms and beautiful singing.
If you thought the Heathrow security was harsh try transferring from South Africa to Swaziland! Where, on the border, we were greeted by a stern looking woman who checked and stamped passports before thrusting them back at you and shouting: “NEXT!”, though the wait was well worth it…Swaziland had some of the most stunning scenery I saw on our holiday and the people there were among the friendliest.
Within 24 hours we had completed another set of border checks and were headed for Nisela safaris coffee shop where we experienced much more than good coffee! In the 2 hours that we spent there we had watched sunbathing crocs, stroked a lion called Lucky and participated in traditional Zulu dancing, all memories that will stay with us for a very long time!
The next two days (and nights) were spent at Bonamanzi Game Ranch situated in the Hluhluwe (pronounced sheshluway) Umfolozi Park, where we continued with our game watching and birding. The following day we found ourselves under the city lights of Durban. Whilst recovering from a major culture shock we paddled in the Indian Ocean but declined the offer to swim due to our factual trip to the Natal Sharks Board earlier that day. On our flight back to Johannesburg it felt like our journey was coming to an end but the last few days proved to be the most educational.
A visit to Soweto (one of the original areas that black South Africans were forced to during the apartheid) showed that amid the poverty it is amazing to see the happiness, obviously not associated with material possessions. History came alive in the apartheid museum, which proved to be really interesting, but even though it taught us all we needed to know it didn’t really show us the effect on the apartheid on the people living in these areas today. Other places of interest that we visited were Nelson Mandela’s house (which was very humble considering his importance and the amount of pride he brought to his country) and the Hector Peterson
Memorial (the story of a boy involved with the student uprising who was shot by police at the age of only 12 for standing up on behalf of his beliefs – so brave for one so young).
On re-entering the predominately white area of Johannesburg we took advantage of some of the largest shopping centres in South Africa, and yet, even in these highly westernised areas you could not escape the void left by apartheid. On talking to a shop keeper (in a shop overlooking a 10 ft statue of nelson Mandela – the great south African hero) I was shocked and appalled by her blatant racism and disregard for the other races abundant in Johannesburg) She quite clearly stated that our visit to Soweto had been a very stupid idea and that mixing with “those kinds of people” would be frowned on by most of the white population.
Even though I knew that the apartheid had had a huge impact in this place many years ago, I automatically presumed that the people had moved on from this politically incorrect mindset shown by their ancestors. My trip to south Africa showed me that even after thousands of people had given their lives to stand up for their race (whether for the right reasons or not) this country still has, and probably will have for many years a serious racial divide that left me feeling ashamed to be the colour that I am.
On the flight home we could reflect on the culturally diverse, eye-opening and exciting two weeks that we had just experienced, and chat about the holiday I will never forget.