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
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