Notes On South Africa- May, 2011

We’re back from our South African adventure and I thought I’d write my impressions while they’re still fresh in my mind.  We spent three weeks driving 2400 miles from Kruger National Park in the north to Capetown in the south and had many great experiences and learned a great deal about the country.  I apologize for the length of this document but there’s lots to say and consider that this may be the only trip you ever take to South Africa.

First, let me say that traveling to South Africa is not just about seeing animals.  South Africa is a beautiful country with geography unlike the rest of Africa.  It’s large, about twice the size of Texas, with a very diverse geography much like the United States.  It has more than 1500 miles of coastline between the Indian and Atlantic oceans.

South Africa is also unlike other African nations in that it retains a very strong European heritage and presence.  The population of roughly 50 million is 90% Black or Colored (mixed Black and White), 8% White and 2% Indian.  Since Apartheid ended in 1994 and a new constitution with elections was established, Blacks have easily dominated the government with a 66% majority by the ANC (African National Congress).  The primary White party is the DA (Democratic Alliance which is strongest in Capetown and the Western Cape Province) with 24%.  In the most recent election (2011), the DA gained about 7% of the popular vote from the ANC because of charges of corruption in the ANC.

While Blacks and Colored represent 90% of the population and have the most government seats, the economic situation is completely reversed.  As might be expected, the economic (and resulting political) power remain with the White population.  Driving through the country you see shantytowns of thousands of shacks with no running water, sewage or electric power- next to multi-million dollar estates which are White owned.  

Given this enormous economic disparity, I was surprised at how well the two racial groups seem to get along.  I’m sure there is a great deal of resentment among the Blacks, but they seem content with their situation possibly because they know they have political power and realize that economic changes do not necessarily follow political change, but at least they are not subjugated politically and there is hope for their future..

Even as we sometimes drove for a day or two without seeing a White face, we never felt threatened or concerned.  The Black population seems to accept their status quo and if there is resentment toward Whites it wasn’t obvious to us.  Rather, the Blacks we encountered, mostly in service roles, were very friendly, pleasant and competent at their jobs.

That being said, a word about security.  I don’t think I have ever been in a country where security is so much in evidence.  Iron bars and gates on stores and houses everywhere and guards in parking lots, shops and malls- some of them armed.  One is very much aware of all this security and wonders if there is a great deal of crime or if the security is enough of a deterrent to keep crime in check.  We never saw any incidents but that’s not to say it doesn’t exist.

Perhaps one reason for the apparent peaceful coexistence between Blacks and Whites is that Europeans have been in South Africa for more than four hundred years starting with Portuguese explorers in the 1600’s.  The Dutch settled the Capetown area in the 1700’s and then groups known as the Boer trekkers went north to settle the interior.  The British arrived in the mid 1800’s and after several wars with the Boers and Zulu’s established a strong presence, particularly in the north and middle provinces.  Currently the White population consists mostly of descendants of the Dutch settlers who are South Africans who speak Afrikaans and descendants of the British who speak English (although most also speak Afrikaans).  My impression of the White locals that we met, both those of Dutch/German and those of British descent, is that they are tough hombres who very much love and strongly defend their country.  They are descended from very hearty European stock.  We had many conversations over glasses of wine with locals and they just couldn’t do enough to help us.

While the two official languages are Afrikaans and English, Afrikaans is used more in the South while English is used more in the north.  Afrikaans is a derivative of Dutch and German.  Road signs are in both languages.  In restaurants we often heard people go from one language to the next in the same conversation.

One other comment about the Black population.  Living in California our labor force is now Hispanics who are hard workers, work for little pay and often are illegal and enable employers to escape paying taxes and benefits.  Up until perhaps fifteen years ago much of our labor force (janitors, maids, cooks, laborers, etc.) were Blacks, but not anymore.  The current thinking in California is that we could never function without our Hispanic workers.  My experience from three weeks in South Africa, where all the service workers and laborers are Black, is that Blacks can be excellent workers and can do all the jobs the Hispanics do.  The problem is either the reality or perception that American Blacks don’t seem to have the work ethic of South African Blacks.  I must say, however, that it was refreshing to go three weeks without seeing or hearing one word in Spanish.  That language just doesn’t exist in South Africa.

The currency is the South African Rand (ZAR) which currently (May, 2011) is traded at 6.9 to the dollar or each Rand being worth about 14 ½ cents.  As recently as about two years ago the Rand was trading at ten to the US dollar- so as with most other currencies the US dollar has declined considerably.  Generally accommodations, food, etc, are somewhat lower than in California, even with the weaker dollar.  It is very difficult to exchange dollars for Rand since there are very few currency exchange places except in tourist areas.  Getting money through ATM’s is quite simple and there are ATM’s everywhere.

A final word about South Africa as a nation; it’s in the process of becoming one of the world’s emerging powers and will soon take its place with the BRIC’s (Brazil, Russia, India and China).  It now is part of the IBSA alliance (India, Brazil, South Africa) which consists of emerging powers in the Southern Hemisphere.  The country has vast natural resources and a large, cheap labor force both of which give it an edge toward becoming an economic power.

And now about our trip.  South Africa is a great travel destination.  For years we had heard good things about the country but the distance and airfare were a deterrent.  As it turned out, airfare on Emirates through Dubai was similar to Australia flights- $1450 round trip from San Francisco to Capetown on new Boeing 777’s.  

One thing different about this trip is that our grandson Nick, David’s, son accompanied us.  We thought he’d enjoy seeing South Africa and perhaps this trip will instill in him a love for travel as was the case with our two sons David and Mike.

We flew Emirates to Dubai- 15 hours non-stop from SF, and because the flight was only half full, Misti and I were able to each capture four seats and were able to get about seven hours sleep.  Not first class but a good substitute at no extra charge.  We stayed two nights with our friends Lynn and Cameron who we had met several years ago on a river boat in Germany.  We enjoyed their generous hospitality, their year old son and five little dogs and the tour they gave us of Dubai including going to the top of the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world.  Dubai has changed from when we were there three years ago in that much of the construction has halted and you see many idle cranes and trucks.  But it still is an amazing place with over-the-top buildings and malls and evidence everywhere of great wealth.

Another ten hour flight took us to Capetown where we were met at the airport by Laurence Ata, who is the mother of my nephew Matthew’s roommate, Timor.  We spent a pleasant two days with Laurence and her daughter Claudine with the highlight being a visit to the Cape of Good Hope where the Indian and Atlantic oceans meet- a place I've always wanted to visit- and it was as spectacular as I had imagined.  We were sorry we didn’t have more time in Capetown to spend with Laurence but we had already booked our flight to Kruger Park.

Our original plan was to rent a car in Capetown and drive north to Kruger National Park where the exotic animals are- and then fly back to Capetown.  But we decided to do this in reverse and instead flew from Capetown to Nelspruit in the north which is close to Kruger.  We had reserved a four wheel drive Nissan or Toyota but Avis didn’t have any available when we arrived so instead we were given a Renault SUV- front wheel drive.  I was annoyed at this but had no choice.  

Turns out it was a fortunate happening- we never needed four wheel drive and the Renault was a wonderful SUV- it was brand new, had high clearance, got good gas mileage and best of all had a factory installed South African GPS.  (Side note:  No French cars have been sold in the US since the 1980’s when the French left the American automobile market.  Perhaps because their pride was hurt by the then poor quality of their autos.  Now Peugot, Renault, Citroen make excellent vehicles but they still don’t sell in the US market.)

We had brought our Garmin GPS from home and Misti had downloaded a South African chip- but the one in the Renault was easier to use and more accurate.  Driving in a strange country with a GPS (two of them) is the only way to go- it makes the trip so much easier.  Not only did it give us great directions but it enabled us to easily find accommodations and restaurants.  Thank you US military for spending billions of taxpayer dollars to create the GPS satellite system to target your missiles- we find it very useful.

Our plan was to spend a week in Kruger National Park and Timbavati Game Reserve seeing the exotic animals and then head south slowly making our way back to Capetown.  We had a route roughly mapped out but decided we’d speak with locals along the way and get their advice on best destinations and routes.  That’s what we did and it was great.

Misti had booked the first six nights on the internet- three at public campgrounds in Kruger National Park (named after the first president of South Africa) and three at a high end private reserve lodge called Simbavati.  The national park is fantastic- can’t describe here how great it is – the accommodations are excellent and not expensive,  we had a chance to interact with the locals who mostly use the parks- tourists from other countries generally go to the more expensive private lodges- and the park is chock full of all sorts of animals just wandering around on and near the roads including elephants (lots of them), rhinos, hippos, giraffe, zebras, leopards, water buffalo, wild boar, hyenas, wild dogs, baboons, monkeys, lions, cheetahs, and many types of hoofed animals like kudu, wildebeest, impala, etc.

In South Africa they refer to the “big five” which include elephants, rhino, lions, leopard and buffalo.  We saw all of these and were lucky enough to see cheetahs which are considered very rare.  Our very best sighting was a young male leopard on the branch of a tree eating an impala with the impala’s legs hanging down from the branch.  Two hyenas were waiting below for impala scraps and the mother leopard was calling to what the guide told us must be her son.  The guide said the mother decided not to venture too close because she didn’t want to tangle with the hyenas who can be very nasty.  The ranger said he had never seen that before.

Being this close to these animals gives one a new perception of how as humans we fit into mother nature’s scheme of things.  It’s exciting to realize you are watching the food chain in action – and you grasp how fortunate we are to be near the top of that chain.  I can’t imagine what it would be like to be one of the many hoofed animals any one of which could be a big cat’s next meal.  Scary but reality.

We self-drove through Kruger Park for four days and also took two night game drives in a Land Rover safari car with guides and search lights. You’re not allowed to leave the camps after dark or to get out of your car when driving around during the day- they don’t want you to be accidentally eaten by a big cat or trampled by an elephant- and this happens now and then.  One time Nick got out to photograph a large bull elephant who was perhaps twenty feet away and the elephant did what they call a “mock charge”  No fun thinking a creature this large is about to ram your car.

The highlight of our animal experience was our stay at the private game reserve called Simbavati River Lodge.  It’s quite up market with elegant rooms and great meals – all in the bush.  Best of all were the early morning and evening game drives. You go in a small Land Rover safari car with a tracker and ranger and they find the animals and allow you to get very close.  We saw a pride of lions with their cubs and got within perhaps ten feet or less of the pride.  The ranger explained that the animals don’t perceive us as humans as long as we stay within the envelope of the vehicle- so they pretty much ignore us.  For the first few game drives we were the only guests so we had the safari car and ranger to ourselves.  

Elephants seem to dominate the parks.  They live a long time, don’t have any natural predators other than man, and you see lots of babies.  There are many breeding herds where they travel in families to protect the young.  Elephants are vegetarians and eat primarily leaves and grasses.  Perhaps one reason why they spend so much time eating is because their mouth is small in relation to their size.  Also, their digestive system is poor and their stomach is used for storing what they eat.  Digestion takes place in their intestines which can be as long as 60 feet in a large bull.  They typically don’t fully digest what they eat and food passes through with seeds and vegetation in a relatively untouched state and birds and dung beetles feed off their dung.  There is elephant dung everywhere in the parks with signs advising motorists not to drive over the dung since it’s a food source for other creatures- and also can contain thorns which could puncture your tire.  

The other animals which I especially liked seeing were the giraffe and zebra- they wander across the roads usually in groups and get skittish when they see people approaching.  Rhinos are also fun to see but they generally keep their distance which is just as well.  Lots of monkeys everywhere and the ever present baboons which we’ve been told can be a menace if you get out of your car (we saw baboons all over the country not just in the game parks).  

After our week or so of animal sightings we decided it was time to head out for other adventures.  We had considered spending a day or two in Swaziland but when we were getting pages put into our passport at the Department of State in San Francisco, Misti saw a list of countries that the Department of State considered dangerous for American tourists and Swaziland was on that list.  While staying at the public parks we spoke with several South Africans and they said Swaziland was not only safe but was a very worthwhile destination.

We drove a full day from Simbavati Game Reserve south to Swaziland- a little known country that is surrounded on three sides by South Africa and on the east by Mozambique.  We cleared customs, exchanged some money for Swazi money (which is on a par with the South African rand) and headed to Milwane Game Reserve, one of three Royal Game Parks.  Swaziland is a kingdom, the last kingdom in Africa and ruled over by a benevolent king, Mswati, who practices polygamy.  Not too long ago he ruled that all teenage girls in the country should practice chastity to curb the country’s AIDs epidemic- more than a third of the country’s adults have AIDS and the population has essentially stopped growing.  He was then criticized for marrying a 17 year old girl.

We stayed one night in Milwane Park in bee hive huts- very cute and very spacious and practical- and not expensive.  That night Misti spoke with a ranger who told her about a special once a year event taking place in another Swazi park- Hlane- which was about two hours away.  We weren’t planning on two nights in Swaziland but this sounded like something worth seeing- and it was.  The event was a native dance contest with entrants from throughout the country- men and women in their native dress (including spears and shields) – dancing and singing in small groups throughout the day.  It was like taking all Hollywood movies that had ever been made about Africa times a thousand- and was completely authentic.  Just lucky that we had a chance to see this.

We spoke with the man who is director of that park and he introduced us to a US/Australian camera crew who were filming the event for Swazi promotion.  I gave them my email address and they said they’d tell us when and where the video will appear on US TV.

A word about driving in South Africa.  We drove a total of about 2400 miles in a little over three weeks- and that’s a lot of moving around.  Driving is on the left side as in UK but it only takes about thirty minutes to get used to this.  Driving is much easier than California because few people own cars and the roads are excellent and mostly empty.  There are few multiple lane freeways, mainly in the large cities of Capetown, Johannesburg, Durban and Port Elizabeth- most of the roads are two lane highways well marked and in good condition.  Driving the mountain roads is a little nerve wracking because of having to pass many large slow-moving trucks.  But the truck drivers are courteous and often will move to the shoulder to let you pass.  Gas is expensive- works out to about $6.50 per gallon- but the Renault got about 25 miles to the gallon which kept our cost down.

From Swaziland we drove south to Dundee which is a main city in the interior of the province called Kwazulu Natal.  This province includes an area called “The Battlefields” where many battles were fought in the 1800’s between the Boers and Zulus, the British and the Zulus and the Boers and British.  We hired a guide who took us to the famous battlefield of Rorkes Drift where in 1879 a small contingent (150) of British (actually Welch) soldiers successfully held off 4000 attacking Zulu warriors.  Eleven Victoria Crosses were given to the British defenders, the most ever awarded for any British battle.  The guide took us to the battle site and explained in great detail what happened and how the British managed to hold out against odds of 25 to 1.  A 1964 British movie “Zulu” was made about this battle; this movie was the debut of the actor Michael Caine.

One interesting fact was the length of the Zulu spears in relation to the length of the British bayonets on their rifles.  The British bayonets were considerably longer than the Zulu spears and since much of the fighting was hand-to-hand at close quarters, this gave the Brits a decided advantage.

From Dundee we drove east to the coast and stayed a night at Tinley Manor Beach which is on the Indian Ocean about 50 miles north of Durban.  Most of the interior of Kwazulu Natal is populated by Blacks while the area along the coast (called the North Coast) is mostly White and Indian.  

After Tinley Manor Beach we drove south along the main highway N2 through Durban (we didn’t stop in Durban because it’s a large and congested city which we didn’t especially want to see) to Port Edwards and then inland through the mountains and back to the coast to the very pretty and isolated town of Port St. Johns on what is called the Wild Coast where we stayed the night at the Outspan Inn.  The town is where the Umzimvubu River flows into the Indian Ocean and is renowned for fishing, bird watching with over 250 bird species and pristine beaches.

As it turned out, there was a birthday party taking place at the inn and we were invited to attend which gave us a chance to mingle with the locals who told us they represented about half the White population of the town.  I spoke at some length with a guy about my age by the name of John Costello who at the end of our conversation invited me to join him at breakfast the next day so he could help us plan the rest of our route.  I asked him if he was staying in the hotel and he answered by saying he owned it.

Misti and I met with John the next morning and he convinced us that rather than following the main highway N2 along the coast it would be more scenic and interesting to go inland through the mountains to the Karoo, which we did.  The next several days took us through the interior parts of the Eastern Cape Province and we stayed one night in Queenstown and the next in Graaff-Reinet, an old colonial town which we loved.  This was a good choice since it gave us a chance to see where and how the Black population lives before moving onto the more touristy and renowned Garden Route.

After Graaff-Reinet we spent a night at Addo Elephant National Park where we saw lots of elephants and then drove on to Knysna on the coast where we stayed at a unique guest house with the rooms done in an African motif.  From Knysna we drove inland again through the mountains to Oudtshoorn (means old horn in Afrikaans), then to Swellendam on the Garden Route, then to Franschhoek a lovely town in the mountains which is mostly of French origin and has great French restaurants and finally to Stellenbosch which is only about 40 miles from the Capetown airport.  We drove to the airport the next day for the long journey home.

About the food- meals were generally of a high quality and on a par with food we have at home.  Meals in the northern and central parts of the country were simpler with chicken being a mainstay.  Meals along the Garden Route, especially as we got closer to Capetown, were of very high quality and the equivalent of good restaurants in San Francisco and Marin.  South African wine is generally excellent and much less expensive than California; a glass typically costing under $3 and bottles usually ten to fifteen dollars.

May was a good time to travel to South Africa.  It’s the beginning of their winter (the equivalent of our November) and while the days are short we never had any problems in finding accommodations without reservations and room prices were often reduced for the winter season.  The game parks weren’t crowded and we were told that in the summer the park traffic can be bumper to bumper.

We often were the only people in guest houses and no reservations were ever needed for restaurants.  The weather was excellent, warmer in the north and then becoming cooler as we went south (the opposite of north of the equator).  The latitude of South Africa is from 24 to 35 degrees south of the equator.

Summers can be very hot in South Africa; the weather we had was quite mild and only in the last few days was a sweater or jacket necessary.  We only had one day of rain toward the end of the trip as we approached Capetown.

In all, this was a wonderful experience and I would recommend South Africa as a vacation destination.  

Art Faibisch