Capetown

December 15-18, 2002

After 18 hours of uneventful travel (except for our SA Airways 747 running out of water in the lavatories 10 hours into a 13 hour flight) we were met by a placard-wielding Rodney - friendly transport to our hotel in Capetown.  About a mile from our hotel traffic backed-up horribly as the streets were filled with thousands of pedestrians.  The Kwon Carnival was in full riot.  Quickly checking into our hotel, we hit the streets with our cameras.  Imagine a parade, late on a sunday night, with nobody holding the crowds back.  Bands marched up one street and down the same, competing for

Kwon Carnival is held each year in the weeks leading up to Christmas.  Bands representing each neighborhood march the streets as champions of their locale.  Historically it was a time for the Cape Coloureds to celebrate their identity, but frequently turned to violence as competing factions encountered each other on the street.  Now it is typically a festive event, with dancing and bright colors everywhere.

Robben Island - It never feels appropriate trying to write about the terrible things that people have done to each other, especially having not suffered ourselves.  But, just of the coast from beautiful Capetown, still in view of Table Mountain,

lies Robben Island, former involuntary home of thousands, including Nelson Mandela for 18 years.  They now do a good job of taking you around the island, covering a number of difficult topics, without selling out the soul of the issue.

 

After arriving we hopped on an old prison bus which drove us through the village.  Guards and other prison employees once lived here, now it houses the employees of the museum and nature preserve, some of whom were once prisoners here.  After the quiet village we were taken to the infamous prison, where 80 men would occupy a small dormitory and the most outspoken would be kept in solitary.  Here the leaders of the anti-apartheid movement educated their fellow prisoners, refined their philosophy and planned for a future South Africa.

 

--Z

the favor of passers-by.  Trombones, horns, drums and decorative umbrellas were everywhere.  And all in a festive mood.  Along the sidewalks the night vendors sold their wares, and, most importantly to us, roasted corn dripping with butter and bright red sausages on the braai.  We could have gone all night, but knowing it was jet-lag keeping us going we settled back to our hotel to sleep in bed.

Kudu, springbok, ostrich, crocodile. . .  and music, too.  Mama Africa.

Protest for apartheid reparations on the Day of Reconcilliation. Shell Oil.

We picked up our pea-sized white Corsa rental and went barreling down the streets of Capetown, almost as if we knew what we were doing on the wrong side of the road and, more importantly, where we were going.  We opted for a route that would take us down the Western side of the Cape Peninsula to Cape Point and back up the Eastern side, trying to maximize our time with the coast.  A detour caused by falling rocks at Chapman's Peak sent us inland past an eye-opening mix of affluent, shady neighborhoods and shantytowns built out of corrugated tin, scrap wood, and plastic trash bags.

 

Our first stop was Boulders Beach, home of the Jackass Penguins.  Named so for the sound that they make (though they

Capetown to Pietermaritzburg

After eventually reconnecting with the coast near Knysna (on the famed Garden Route), we headed for Storms River Mouth--a sensational feat of nature.  We hiked out to a suspension bridge under which a steep river gorge meets the Indian Ocean.  More driving, still.  This time towards the Eastern Cape.  We had been alerted to the dangers of our intended itinerary by a campsite attendant earlier in the trip.  These warnings included dodgy seaside resorts, livestock in the road, and the implementation of tribal law.  "All these tribal people ripped down their own fences because they needed firewood.  Now all the animals run around on the roads and if you hit one, be prepared to pay a hefty fine to the chief of the tribe.  It's this tribal law thing, or at least that's what they're calling it these days."  We dismissed his Western Cape mentality and set forth,

were particularly quite and docile during our visit), these penguins are one of the few land-breeding colonies left in the world today.  Most of the birds were sunbathing when we arrived and didn't seem to mind our presence.  In fact, we were able to get within feet of them and had a blast with our new zoom lenses.  Next, a late morning walk to the Cape of Good Hope--far enough out to see the ocean at least 180 degrees around and high enough to look down onto V-shaped flocks of birds passing to and fro over the ocean breakers.  Hungry and tired after the walk, we zipped up to Kalks Bay for a fish lunch at Kalky's--a shack of an eating establishment popular with the local fishermen.  Only feet away from the arcade where the daily fish auction takes place, we were assured of our fish's freshness and weren't disappointed:  tasty Cape salmon and snook, served with chips, of course.  After interacting with some of the locals via our digital camera (a real hit) we set out northeast for the Little Karoo.

 

The green landscapes of the Stellenbosch vineyards started to fade.  The trees and shrubs became fewer, shorter, and coarser.  The sun, even though it was beginning to set, was increasing in its intensity.  This was the desert-like Little Karoo.  For kilometers we saw only dirt, rocks, thorny shrubs dotted with little yellow flowers, enormous aloe plants, and the occasional ostrich.

Keeps you going. . . dried apricots. Montagu.

excited to get a taste of the Transkei.  First, a night was spent in an East London B&B--an eccentric, Afrikaans George and Marlene were our hosts and "safari" was the name of the game.  Zebra-striped bed linens and towels (even the house was painted in zebra!), impala-hide rugs, stuffed heads, tortoise shells, artifacts and curious filling every square foot of space. Need I say more?

 

As promised, once we were well into the Eastern Cape we began to see cows, goats, and sheep on the road, along the road, and once or twice really IN the road.  We were driving through communal grazing land, hence the lack of fences.  More surprising than the animals were the number of people roaming alongside the roads.  Some of them were clearly the animals' caretakers, but many seemed to be passing time, talking with friends, or selling fruit or curios.  We camped at Port St. Johns, a tropical seaside town that has retained some of the charm that it surely once had.  After a morning at the Silkas Nature Reserve where we went on a walk along the coast and got our first glimpses of zebra and wildebeest, we were challenged by a maze of dirt roads and a mass of children eager to point us in the right direction in exchange for a small tip or "sweets."  A hair-raising drive through an intensely foggy mountain pass ended with our safe and sound arrival to our final destination (for the time being): Pietermaritzburg.

 

--A

Pietermaritzburg

December 22-24, 2002

 

Our first respite.  One-and-a-half days with a real family.  Tanya and her family have graciously put us up for a spell.  We actually arrived shortly after Tanya completed her 10 hour flight from London.  Through it all her energy never flagged.  Lou and Mario (her parents) and Claudia (her sister) are fantastic hosts.  Warm, friendly and caring.  To celebrate their daughter's visit they planned a braai, and, to our good fortune, included us at the table.

Braai is the South African grill, with heavy focus on meat.  Ribs, chicken, steaks and sausages were cooked over real, hard lump charcoal in the rain, then piled high in front of us.  Eat, eat. . . eat.  Of course there was other good food as well, but. . . .

 

And it wasn't just about food.  Or hosts also took us around Pietermaritzburg (capital of Kwa Zulu Natal), explaining South African history and culture, and even took us out to Howic Falls, just north of the city.  Thanks to Tanya and Claudia we even got a good flavor of the local night life.  The less said about that the better for all. . . .

 

--Z

Safari South Africa

December 25, 2002

 

Today we joined up with our group in Johannesburg to travel north to Nairobi over the next 30 days.  Four-and-a-half couples would band together against the road.

Jenny (Australia) - Unofficial guide for us, sanity for Martin.

Martin (South Africa) - Our fearless leader, the longest working guide for Drifters.  Cautious, organized and coffee addicted.

Jacques (South Africa) - An experience guide, learning this particular route.  Barefooted thrill seeker.

Yun (Korea) - 65 years old, young at heart.  Probably crazier than the rest of us put together.

Matt & Deb (Australia) - Teachers, steady, calm and cool with insatiable appetites for chocolate.

Mel (Australia) - Young and energetic, with a big heart.

Photographs and Text:  Copyright 2002 & 2003, Zachary Maler & Amy Leffert