South Africa
South Africa is one of those countries shrouded in myth and mystery. Having been born and raised there, I have a somewhat different view, not quite a contempt bred by familiarity but certainly a level of blasé. I was raised during the tail end of the apartheid era but left to pursue a new life in England during the resurgent period that followed. It has been bittersweet watching the evolution from the safety of our new home.
Geographically speaking, the flight takes around 11 hours but you pretty much fly down the same time line so at least you don't have jet lag to deal with, there is only an hour difference, 2 hours in winter with the time change. I skillfully employed my life hack, wrapping all our bags in ordinary plastic wrap, thus avoiding the extortionate charge of having them wrapped at the airport. There are certain countries that don't allow this practice for security reasons but for South Africa, it's pretty much a necessity as there is a greater chance of theft, unfortunately.
It's thanks to Uncle James that we were able to go at all as the normally exorbitant prices have made visiting the family all but impossible. Uncle James slaves away at Virgin Atlantic so we can travel not only cheaply but in Premium economy too!
The purpose of the trip was to attend my nephew's wedding at the lovely Kathuba Lodge in a private game park. At roughly R390 per person per night for 2 or more nights, it really is a great deal and well worth a visit. It is also not in the Malaria infected area, although for those wanting to see the carnivores, you'd have to head over to Kruger Park.
Being winter, the temperatures were much more temperate, although still very warm on the day of the wedding. Warm enough for Kaydee to brave the swimming pool; family and friends shook their heads in disbelief as she fearlessly waded in, encouraged by the novelty of swimming outdoors.
We arrived the day before so we could get the stress of settling in over and done with and suss out some good spots for the photos. As designated photographer, I had lots of fun taking test shots. On the day I ended up taking 3400 photos! There's just so much to record I can't help myself!
Kaydee experienced being 500m away from a wild giraffe mum and baby, so much better than a zoo! We also saw some Wildebeest and Impala on our drive and the view from our little bungalow was second to none. It is rather otherworldly waking up to the sun kissing the dry grass and the wild call of an Impala the only sound disturbing the peace.
In true South African tradition, we spent the evening around an open fire and had a Braai (BBQ). I have often been quizzed by my British friends as to what the difference is, let's just say our cookouts don't involve sausages and burgers! Unless of course, it's the famous Boerewors (Farmer's sausage) and toasted cheese and tomatoe sandwiches ensure the carbs are not neglected.
The middle picture below was a quaint shop we drove past on the way. A Galjoen is a type of fish and a pampoen is a pumpkin. Basically an A-Z store lol.
The day of the wedding was beautifully sunny, almost too sunny! My photographer friends would understand this, too much contrast between light and shade! Give me cloud cover any day of the week to diffuse the bright sunlight! Luckily the ceremony was only at 3 pm so we had plenty of time to do all the getting ready shots, with me running around like the proverbial headless chicken from place to place, not wanting to miss a single detail!
The best part was going back to our bungalow at the end of the day and flopping down in our nice comfortable bed, knowing the peaceful, relaxing scene waiting to greet us the following morning. I can see why the heart yearns for the African bush, it has its own unique character and appeal.
The next couple of days were spent with the family and keeping Kaydee entertained with her cousins Richard, Emily and Chloe, the cutest twins ever! They had a whale of a time at Rush, a big indoor trampolining adventure. Of course, there were more braais with the family and lovely relaxing time just playing throw the ball with the Buddy the labrador, who NEVER tires of the delight of returning the slobbery ball to you. Just in case you didn't notice that he has deposited it at your feet, he will pick it up and drop it again, looking from you to the ball,
"Well? Go on then! You know what to do! I've spent hours training you to do this!"
In Johannesburg itself, there is not much to do other than visit the big shopping centres, which are very modern and house all the big retail outlets. The city itself is fairly dangerous though so you are advised to take care and be sensible, don't wear obviously expensive jewellery and keep your valuables safe. It is quite intimidating to be "accosted" at every traffic light by people selling their wares or suddenly pouncing on your window to wash it, have some spare cash ready, tips are appreciated and help support their families.
The unemployment rate in South Africa is sadly very high, which is why the crime rate is so out of control. When you park your car at a shopping centre be prepared to pay the car guard a tip of R2-R5 when returning to your car, don't be surprised if they snatch your shopping trolley from you and push it to your car in return for the tip! When pulling in at a fueling station you don't put the petrol in yourself, you hand the key to the attendant and tell him how much you would like to put in and what type and then pay him the balance. It is advisable to have the cash ready, although cards are accepted.
Should you ever find yourself in a situation where you are being robbed or highjacked always give over your things, never try and fight back! Many a misguidedly brave person has lost their life trying to defend material things that really don't matter in the big scheme of things.
I have a fairly large home by British standards, having 4 children to house, but I am constantly reminded how small it actually is when I visit the family in South Africa, my sister in law's house is probably as big as mine, although all on one floor, not the double story that we're used to, they have a triple garage, and TWO granny flats for both grannies! (and grandad ;-p) They also have a swimming pool and lapa braai area (a lapa is a large thatched area to provide shade during the scorching summers. The garden that remains has a HUGE shed and the lawn area is large enough to accommodate my house and garden too! On the downside though, they do have to live behind security gates and alarms, which we kept setting off, not being used to them! When we returned home Kaydee said,
"I don't feel safe! We need burglar bars and a security gate!" Out of the mouth of babes indeed. It is a reminder how blessed we are to be able to live in a country where that level of security isn't necessary (Yet!)
Kaydee's fascination with the outdoor pools that almost everyone has continued as we introduced her to a plethora of family. She has never met most of them, the one sad thing about living so far away from family. I promised we would do a family tree when we returned home so she could try and make sense of it all. Even though the temperature was in the mid-20s, nice and mild and sunny, the water in the pools was freezing! To be fair the water is pretty cold in the summer too as they are too big to be heated much by the sun.
Currency is always of interest I'm sure so I thought I'd include some pictures. The cost of living has become very expensive over the past few years. I do worry about my family who are not as well off, struggling to keep up with the rate of inflation that is just unsustainable at current levels. The exchange rate is roughly 20 to 1 Rand to Pound, so you are literally in the pound seats when you visit! Some things like eating out are still very cheap, we went to a special steak night at the local steakhouse and paid R80 each for a steak. It was beautifully cooked too and larger than what you would get in England for about £12 so definitely a big difference. When it comes to shopping for food and clothing and such though you do feel the pinch as it is roughly the same as what you would be paying in England, not good for the locals!
The new South Africa flag is a wonderfully colourful representation of the country.
The flag of South Africa was adopted on 27 April 1994, at the beginning of South Africa's 1994 general election, to replace the flag that had been used since 1928.
Three of the colours – black, green and yellow – are found in the banners of the African National Congress, the Pan Africanist Congress and the Inkatha Freedom Party – and are thus said to represent the country’s black population. The other three – red, white and blue – are displayed on the old Dutch tricolour and the British Union flag and represent the white population.
The green part (the Y-shape) is commonly interpreted to mean the unification of the various ethnic groups and the moving forward into a new united South Africa.
However, the locals interpret the colours as red - for the bloodshed. White - For the white settlers. Green - for the natural beauty. Yellow - for the sun and gold. Blue - for the ocean and rivers. Black - for the indigenous tribes. A bit racist separating the blacks and whites ;-p
I remember lying baking in the sun during the long, lazy summer holidays, a huge watermelon bobbing around getting cold in the water, enticing me in when the heat became unbearable. The cold water snatched my breath as I plunged into the chilly depths. I think people from countries like the UK where it's not really worth having an outdoor pool, get used to the lovely indoor heated pools and think that's what it's like having an outdoor one.. it's not!! The worst part is that you're so hot from baking in the sun but you don't even get past your knees before you're freezing, unless you're really brave and just jump in and get it over with!
We only managed to see the outside of my old house when we visited as we didn't want to disturb the current owners so I've added 2 pics from when I was a teenager so you can at least see the pool.
The sea wasn't much better! Our favourite beach, Blauberg, is on the Atlantic Ocean side. When the current is being forced up from the South Pole you can't be terribly surprised when you can't feel your feet by the time you are knee deep in the surf! This is however, a blessing in disguise as it is only the crazy divers clad in wetsuits that brave the deeper water, patrolled by the infamous great white sharks. Shark cage diving is very popular with those more stout of heart, although you couldn't pay me to do it! I'm afraid watching the entire "Jaws" series in my youth pretty much cured me of the need to meet these majestic creatures face to face. We have a good arrangement, I don't go in the sea, they don't come on land!
The harbour that was the original reason for the 1820 Dutch settlers establishing a colony in Cape Town, to restock the shops en route to India, has been split into two parts. There is the commercial part, still a large working harbour and the tourist section, where there are shopping centres, hotels, restaurants, etc and the tourist boats leave from there too, amongst them are a big pirate ship that sails around the bay and sightseeing trips to Robben Island, where the prison was and Seal Island, where much of the shark cage diving is also done. Seal Island is one of the major reasons why there is such a high great white population, seals being their preferred food choice. We had a lovely lunch at Quay Four, our favourite restaurant on the waterfront, with my lovely aunt, uncle and cousins, enjoying the sunshine and blue sky that we were blessed with in the middle of winter! Having said that, 2 of the 4 days we were there were the typical rainy, cold miserable weather of winter. We were actually very lucky as we only had 2 days to go up Table Mountain and visiting the waterfront and Blaauberg. I only wish we had had more time to enjoy the sights!
If you do get to visit South Africa I would recommend taking a drive up the Garden Route, which is from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth, it's a really beautiful part of the country. You used to be able to go on lovely walks in the forests there but I don't suggest you do it now due to the crime being so out of control, several hikers have been attacked on the trails so if you do go, go in a big group with a guide who is armed and knows the area. You can enjoy the lovely seaside drive, scenery and little villages though and the Wilderness Karos is a lovely hotel with a buffet of note! Well, it was when we went on our honeymoon 20 years ago!
Between July and November, you can stop at Hermanus for whale watching. It is one of the top 10 places in the world to watch these majestic creatures during calving season.
And of course, the wine farms in Stellenbosch are definitely worth a visit for the world famous wines produced in the area but be warned, in the summer months it gets VERY hot! Below are some pics from my cousin's wedding :-) I would say April is a good month to visit but if you want to take in the whale watching then July to November but the closer to November the warmer it will be. If you do go in winter pack warm clothes and dress in layers, it's very chilly at night and warms up during the day and the coast will have a winter rainfall season. In the summer you have to put up with the gale force winds so there's always something to be said about the weather! In Johannesburg, in the summer there are spectacular thunder and lightning storms with hailstones often being large enough to damage a car!
South Africa is definitely a country worth visiting so stick it on your bucket list!
