We spent our time in South Africa with white Africans. I'll spare you my feelings on the complicated race relations in Africa. People are not their grandparents but it's not that simple. Learning from their past, in 1994, the new South Africa made sweeping anti-discrimination laws. They were the fifth nation, and first african nation to legalize same sex marriage. I'm not going to say that everything is fine on a personal level between every individual, but things are improving.
All that said, traveling with white Africans provided a unique tourism experience.
In short, it didn't always feel like we were in Africa.
I understand why people in Johannesburg are cautious. And I can definitely empathize with lingering hurt and anger. Crime is high, fear is not illogical. But hiding behind 12 foot concrete fences with electric wire at night was a new experience. Within those walls, we could have been in the States, or anywhere in Europe. We started the trip with a safari, which was cool. The camp was beautiful. We braai'd at night and saw Elephants and Rhino during the day (and a leopard shortly before sundown!), it was all very posh and lovely.
Genuine, I suppose for a white African experience. I'm trying not to sound disdainful. Nice is nice.
After the game drives, we went to a casino (and found some amazing Indian food) and went on a Elephant back Safari.
Posh and fancy. The elephants were rescued from Zimbabwe. They'd been destined for the circus. Now white people pay to ride them.
Unique perspective here, and don't get me wrong, they were great people. The hospitality of my friends family was great, they were so nice; and funny, and accommodating. And really wanted us to enjoy their country. But, and I can appreciate their concern, the trip felt so very sheltered. You can pay to ride an elephant, but when you dip your feet in the hot tub at night, and barely see a black person, or a black person not cleaning something, or cooking something. Well, it took some time to feel like we were in Africa.
But this is South Africa - a complicated place, and the experience was, in actuality, as genuine as it could be.
The moment we realized we were actually in Africa came unexpectedly.
After the Safari, most of the family flew to Cape Town, we piled in the car with my friends dad, towing a trailer full of suitcases. I was hoping to see the African countryside, and there were some pretty sights along the way, but we mostly just drove. We spent a night with her grandmother in Still Baai, and I'll tell you, it was refreshing to see homes without walls. While I understand the fear because the anger is warranted, I'm conflicted. I grew up knowing that people are just people. Of course, where I live, you don't need to hire private security because the police are corrupt. People got shot where I grew up, but I still never felt fear after dark, maybe I was just too young. I think I started out saying I wasn't going into this.
We did end up seeing a lot of the Western Cape. We explored Cape Town on foot. Visited a vineyard, Climbed Table Mountain and explored the gardens on the far side, visited Robben Island and several museums, saw a colony of seals on a boat, and Jackass Penguins on a Boulders Beach.
But the moment I knew we were in Africa came shortly after we arrived in Cape Town. My friends dad was exhausted from the drive and we were restless from riding in the car. We wanted to see and explore! We're in Africa, come on, we can't sit in the house! Begrudgingly he agreed to see what we could find. First stop: liquor store for some $4 wine and Namibian beer. Everywhere we went, we seemed to crack open a beer "welcome to Africa!"
I'm not sure what he was expecting when he pulled into the power plant. But it was something, and it was something that appeared to be open to the public. I guess a car full of engineers might find this entertaining?
The agreement with the government was that if they built a power plant on the beach, they had to open the land to the public and build trails. I'm pretty sure he discovered that only after parking and finding a sign. We were in luck, we grabbed a few bottles and started walking.
Yeah, I wasn't exactly expecting to just stumble across Zebra.
But, we did. At a power plant. Zebra.
And that's a springbok.
It's not so much Zebras in Africa that is so cool. It's random Zebra's in Africa. Like deer in New Jersey. Ordinary. Only Zebra. Along a random trail. In a random park that was really just land dedicated as park by a power plant. Zebras. Yep. I guess this was Africa alright.
On the subject of South Africa and Race, however, two books I highly recommend:
My Traitors Heart and
Khayelitsha
After a family visit in San Francisco, I took 3 days to myself and drove out to Kings Canyon. Its been a couple years since I crossed paths with the Mountain Lion but I was still a little nervous to be out in the California woods alone. Maps and guides said there were mountain lions here. I was a little nervous in general because it was November. But the weather reports looked good. 0% chance of precipitation and the road into the canyon was open! I told myself there might be ice on top of the mountain, but I didn't bother to carry my snowshoes. The axe was really for peace of mind, even if I told myself otherwise
The woods were pretty relaxing. A couple times my mind thought I was being watched. But it wasn't bad. I made the 10 mile hike without any major issues. In the drive into, and then out of the canyon, the only other car I saw was a park ranger. The only creatures I saw on the trail were birds. Chirpy little birds.
Notes: Either Gordon Biersch locations vary a lot or I have a bad memory and variable impressions. The Miami location seemed very upscale. Fancy food. The DC location was a tad disappointing. The Tyson's location was just what I needed, and the garlic fries were to die for. It was a pretty nice looking spot for being in a mall, too.
