Morre Africa!

Cape town:
Day 1: Walked around, saw the stadium and walked around more. Lunch at nandos. Supposed to hike table mountain but because of cloud cover, decided to do boulder. Reached train station and realized the last train back would be at 5 and we would miss it. Went to green market square and shopped for a bit. Then went to the mall, heard the concert for a bit and then did grocery shopping. Came back, headed out for a bit. Jazz club, walked down Long street.

Day 2: Woke early, hiked table mountain. Had lunch on top and then took the cable car down. Broke the group and went to district 6 instead, and since it was closed went to the castle. Was closed, but went in to use the washroom and ended up meeting the guards and talking. Took a visit to the Langa township and bought some local food. Came back, walked down long street and finished shopping. Ate at the shopping district.

Day 3: SAFARI.

Day 4: SAFARI - day Game drives and as well as the night drive

Day 5: SAFARI (cool spotting). Shopping at the mall, met a local shopkeeper, memorable conversation. Went out to a bar that night with the bunch and had an amazing time.

Day 6: Operational Hunger. Visited a school where we weighed the kids, a primary school where we heard the choir sing and donated a “one world” football to their school, lunch home and finally an after care place where we witnessed traditional African Dancing. Project done by a non-profit called Operational Hunger to help people living in Townships.

Here’s a bit more of the interesting parts of some of the days:

Day 1:

While walking around the city, I noticed several things. Firstly, the buildings all looked very new and the city in general was very clean. Secondly, even though it was a sunday, it was really really empty and quiet. There was no overcrowding or anything like that. Thirdly, among the few cars that we saw, many were great brands like ford and BMW convertibles, sports vehicles, etc. Fourthly, there were almost no one begging or asking for money, which was really interesting. It in no way reminded me of a developing country, with poverty!

Day 2:

While hiking, I met several interesting people. One of them was an old lady, with her husband from UK and they were visiting and daughter-in-law who live in Cape Town. She was talking about how UK and is and about places I should consider visiting. I also met two native South Africans and was talking to them about how South Africa has changed to accommodate the world cup. They told me how everything were revamped for the world cup and how homeless people, beggar were removed in an attempt to “clean” the city. They said they did not even know where these people were moved to, or what happened to them. We talked about townships and it was interesting to hear their opinions. Both of them advised me not to attend the townships, because that’s where crime thrives. They said they have never gone to one, only driven past and that too when they absolutely have to. They talked about how because of the income inequality, townships on whites and colored have started to sprout but are kept under the carpet. They talked about the ineffectiveness of affirmative action and the detrimental effect it has on whites trying to get a job. Most of their children work outside South Africa now. It was really interesting chatting to the locals about what they thought of Apartheid and their government’s actions. Neither of them liked their current president. I truly believe that traveling and trying to understand local cultures means talking to local people and in this port, I was at a good start.

We climbed to the top and enjoyed the view for a long time. We saw cape point, the southern most point of the African continent as well as the point where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Indian Ocean. I really wished I could have gone to see the point, but that just means I have more reasons to come back to South Africa. We had a long lunch at the restaurant on top and took the cable car down.

.....

we decided o see the district 6 museum, since I had heard so much about it. We took a cab down there, but unfortunately the museum was closed. On the map, there was a castle nearby and we decided to check it out, since we were there!

The castle wasn’t a castle. It was merely a fort. But still, we wandered inside and it was closed too. But Megan had to use the washroom and she asked the guards who allowed her to go in. While she was gone, I started talking to the guards/ military police and asked them about the best place to eat African food was. They told me it was the townships and that I should visit one definitely. They explained how during the townships, the blacks were pushed into one area and the malays into another, thus getting the malay village. I remembered Singapore doing that but we managed reintegration fairly successfully. Thanks to a small population and a dictatorial government. That began our conversation and we started talking about townships, how they work and Africa as a nation. One of them commented how the Apartheid hasn’t completely ended and the Blacks haven’t gotten freedom yet. While they had political freedom, they still do not have economic freedom and safety and they still live in places like townships, separated from society. They were really disappointed with their current political leaders because they felt that they hadn’t done much. We talked about leaders and one of them said they admired Oliver Tambo, who led the ANC when Mandela was in prison while the other admired Steve Bico. We started talking politics, comparing it to a place like India and the world cup. They worried about how the world cup may end up crippling their economy as so much money was pumped in and now its not being used. They were really interesting to talk to and I learnt so much from them.

After talking to them a bit more, they kept persuading me to visit a township, though they did say I should go with someone I know since it could be pretty daunting and difficult trying to figure it out alone and not get mugged by the locals. Soon, one guy suggested we ask another guy if he could bring us around the are for a bit, and we did. He told us he’ll bring us to Langa, the nearest township. He got changed, brought his car out to the front and we went in with both the guys. Throughout the whole time, I did not get a bad vibe from either one of the guys. Plus, it wasn’t them who offered or even started the conversation. We did. In the car, I asked Megan if we were being completely stupid, and she said she felt comfortable as well. Its really hard when you travel like this to be able to draw the line between being trusting and being stupid. In his car, one of the guys was talking to us about the languages her spoke - Afrikaans, Korsa, Sutu, Twala, Zulu and English and how we would say phrases in each of these. The words sound almost nothing like each other. One of the guy’s name was X!olani (click) and the other was Lulamile. We drove on the N2 to get to the township. The N2 stretches from Namibia to Peter St Marisburg, a place just after Durban.
 

Just as the car leaves the expressway that leads to Langa, its a whole new world! Graffiti on walls, Litter, ONLY blacks, small homes, broken windows, makeshift houses, small roadside cash shops, raw chicken on street, vegetable street vendors. These are just some of the things that immediately catch your eye. It is NOTHING like Cape Town, despite being only 10 minutes away. Hell, its nothing like the expressway a minute away!! The first few moments there was shocking. Things were unimaginably different. The houses were smaller and were of different kids. There were little apartments, about 3 floors, several building congregated in one area. There were little brick houses, that would have been maybe a 1 bedroom or at more 2 bedroom houses, with a luxury of a bathroom per house. As we drives further into the township, we see houses made of wood, of shipping container where the whole house was a single room. The shops were basically shacks, and people were selling everything by the side of the road. It felt alot like Ghana. We stopped at this little roadside food stall to try some African food. The lady in the shop used to work for Desmond Tutu’s foundation hospital and school but her mother got sick and so she had to leave the job and come back to the township to take care of her mother, and then she decided to set up such a stall. She tutors alot of the township kids and is determined to go back into working for a non-profit for the betterment of her people. When we told her we were sailing with Desmond Tutu, her face lit up. She’s held him in high esteem, just like all other South Africans I spoke to.

We then stopped at a local beer brewery. I don’t know if we can actually call it that, since people were making beer just outside a home in a dustbin and selling it. It was cool to watch them do it. Interestingly, their beer turns out white. The guy said the beer is very filing and creates a bloating effect, so after drinking the beer, you don’t feel like eating. I bet this was useful in the past, when they did not have that much to eat. We stopped at small schools, the schools were rundown, with few benches. Most kids would probably sit on the ground. We drove around the township a bit more before heading back. The guys explained the significance of Langa township. It was one of the earliest townships created during the apartheid time and the  nearest to Cape Town. Hence, the township had grown alot because of immigrant population. People come to Cape Town in an attempt to find work and end up there. There’s little electricity and clean water.

Touring a township, guided by two locals was an amazing experience. The stark contrast is something that hits you. Once you stratch the surface, you see a completely different place! I’ve seen extreme poverty and slums in India, and they are worse than this. But what hits you here is the contrast between the places. When asked about why upgrading efforts are not being made, the reply was that the government does not care enough. Its basically an “out of sight, out of mind” policy. Also, people don’t want to live in townships. They look at those as temporary housing. It reminds them of the segregation during the apartheid and that they are still in poverty, just so close to people living in million dollar properties. Interestingly, apartheid hasn’t completely ended in South Africa. I tried really hard, but no where did I ever see a Black and a White  talk or hang out together. Even the restaurants they eat at, clubs they party in seem different. Economically, they are at very different standpoints. I felt that the difference is deeply rooted and people haven’t been able to accept each other completely yet. Both sides still have some amount of resentment and feel the inequality. They are simply tolerating each other at the moment. Oh the facade Cape Town wears....

Day 3:

On the first day game drive, we saw elephants, giraffes, baboons, buffalos, and different kids of antelopes and birds. The elephants we saw were so near us, it was amazing. We saw a mother elephant guide her baby across the road while blowing her trumpet. It was amazing. We saw a couple of herds of elephants at the watering  hole. They gave us juice and chips as a break. It was amazing to spot animals in their natural environment, just walk and eat normally.

Back at the resort, we had a braii dinner. The food they gave us was absolutely delicious. No doubting that. They had amazing lemon meringue cupcakes, cheesecakes and pastries. After dinner, we went to sleep soon because we were so tired and we had to wake up so early. I got  to use some internet on Liz’s laptop.

Day 4:

The next day, we were up and ready to go by 5.30am after having a pre-breakfast and taking our breakfast packs. We took the same car as the day before with Stephan. The day was amazing. We saw so many different animals - elephants, giraffes, buffalos, zebras, hippos in water, monkeys, loads of antelopes, impalas, etc. The cars were connected by walkie-talkie radios so when one spotted an animal, we would all go there. So that way, one of the card spotted a lion and we all went. It was really far away but we still managed to see it, though through the zoom on some powerful cameras. When existing, I asked Stephan if its likely to see a leopard or cheetahs. He said that leopards though rare are spotted if one is lucky but cheetahs are not likely. There are so few cheetahs in the whole of Kruger that one is spotted once a month or something if we are lucky.

Before lunch though we heard that there was a leopard in a tree, eating an impala and we rushed to see it. It was amazing, the leopard was on a branch with the carcass. It then jumped down and disappeared for some time before climbing another tree. Though far, we managed to spot it. Stephan told us we were pretty lucky to be able to see this. Later though, we got luckier. We heard, while driving around that there was a cheetah somewhere and we drove there immediately to catch it. When we got there, we saw it on a rock, barely a couple of meters from the road. It was just sitting down and then it spotted a warthog across the road, ran across the road, just in front of our vehicle and chased the warthog for a bit. But since the warthog was big, it gave up pretty easily and just returned to the area, crossed us again and then walked around in the grass before disappearing. It was an amazingly rare sighting according to our guide. It was so enthralling seeing a real cheetah this close, in its natural environment. I was so exuberant.

We continued our tour, spotting more animals along the way. I took loads of pictures and videos of the animals in the safari. On returning to the hotel, we freshened up a bit before going for a night safari. They separated us into a big vehicle and a smaller vehicle. I was sitting in the front of a bigger vehicle. The driver of this vehicle wasn’t as friendly as Stephen. He stopped at all the animals and would explain to us what was going on there. We managed to see hyenas with its little cubs, which were really cute. The little cubs are very dark at first and then grow lighter and develop spots. As cubs, they look like regular cute dogs. We spotted hippos at the watering hole. We saw rhinos, which were cool because in all the day, we had not seen rhinos.  We did see a leopard crossing our vehicle again, which was amazing. It was probably looking for something to hunt, since they do their hunting at night. We managed to see hippos outside the water, which was also an interesting sighting. After a while though, once dark, our drive became more unenthusiastic and drove as his duty. He did not spot animals for us, not stopped much when one of us spotted animals, which was annoying. But then again, the people at the back of the vehicle were being annoying. They were making noises and talking when he talked. They were whistling, something that he told us not to do explicitly. In the day, most animals are used to the vehicles but at night, they aren’t used to vehicles in their natural environment. That’s why the park closes and you cannot drive your personal car in at night. So, we had to behave. Whistling and talking loudly was being stupid. Plus, they were smoking at the back; wanted to go to the bathroom and were asking about nightclubs. Evidently, they weren’t there for the animals.

Day 5:

That day, we spotted our usual animals, but we heard that there was a cheetah with its kill and Stephan rushed us there and it was the most amazing site ever. We did not see the cheetah kill, but we saw it with the food, just by the side of the road, barely 5m from us eating its kill. There were alot of cars there, but it did not bother the cheetah one bit. It continued feeding and remained in its natural environment, just as it would have. It walked around and scanned the area, before heading to a corner to sleep after its lunch. Stephan was amazed at that sight too, he said he had never seen a cheetah so close. Apparantly, there are only 150 - 200 cheetahs in teh whole of Kruger, and Kruger is more than 120000 acres. So that is really really rare.

But that wasn’t the only amazing sighting of the day. A while later, we heard that there were lions in an area and headed there. They were at a distance, but still closer than the ones that we had seen earlier. They were lying down, so I did not get to hear them roar or something like that. But we spent a bit of time looking at them. Following that, we heard there was a leopard somewhere and we rushed there as well. There, we managed to see a leopard just along the road. It walked along the grass for a bit, and came towards our car before crossing the road just in front of us. It came towards as and stopped. For a moment when it starred at us, I was actually a bit frightened. It was incredibly close. I mean, if I stretched my hand out of the car, I could have possibly patted it!!! It was an incredible sighting. We had a quick breakfast and saw the other usual animals as well. Well, when you see so many elephants, giraffes, zebras, impalas, and other deers they become usual sightings that you don’t even stop much for them.

That day was an amazing day and I was so glad I went for the game drive and not the lame elephant riding. We went to the airport and came back to Cape Town. That night, when we returned to the ship, we decided to head out and enjoy our last night in Cape Town. Before heading out for fantastic night, Candice, Brian, Megan and I went to the mall so I would be able to buy some last few souvenirs. At the market, I was talking to one of the shop owners and I asked her what her ethnicity was and she told me she was colored. She explained the concept of colored - they were mixed blood or people from the Caribbean region. She was very interested in the ship and learning onboard. She offered to bring me to see her other Indian friends in Cape Town that weekend, but I had to refuse it since we wouldn’t be around at that point. She asked me if I had noticed people staring at me as I walked around, and when I said I have, she explained the hierarchy of people in South Africa, during the times of the apartheid. First came the whites, then the colored, the chinese, Indians and lastly the Blacks. Indians were not considered colored! Thus, alot of the Indians stuck together. Even now, they live in particular areas, the biggest being in Durban and in some pockets of Cape Town (the richer areas). So, when they see me hanging out with a bunch of white people, many of them notice and they start to wonder. It made me realize why people were staring, why Indian families would start whispering something when they saw me and only smile sheepishly, almost like they didn’t want to associate themselves with me. I may be reading too much into it, but I found that interesting. Wendy, the shopkeeper, herself lives in Cape Town and her daughter is going to Paris to start her career as a fashion designer. We talked about how South Africa has changed since the apartheid to the world cup and what the future may hold.

Day 6:

The township of Kayaletshya was one of the biggest in Cape Town and there was close to 400,000 living there though it was build only for 12000 families initially. He talked about the clean water, electricity and sanitation problems this expansion has brought. We saw wires on the ground, that were live wires for electricity sharing between the houses, since many did not have it. Life in these townships was so simple. But many people here weren’t as happy as those we met in Ghana. My guess is that they see the luxury and the inequality and therefore aren’t contended with what they have. That’s how human psyche works isn’t it? We aren’t happy with what we have because we see someone who has better!

10 things about South Africa
1. SAFARI. The animals we saw were amazing, how can one not love them
2. Elephants. My favorite animals.
3. Table Mountain and the hike. The view is breath-taking and the hike fun. Plus, its my first mountain
4. Township visits. It was a chance of seeing the real South Africa
5. Taking to the locals. They were always really interesting experiences.
6. CHILDREN. The kids at operation hunger and other places were soooo adorable. One thing that’s the same everywhere is kids!
7. Brai. Delicious food at the safari spoilt me, the most tender chicken I have ever had.
8. Crafts and jewelry. I wish I had spent more on stuff. Shopping in South Africa is amazing.
9. The South African accent! It sounds alot like the Australian one, but it is still pretty sexy to hear, though I pick the British one over this.
10. The diversity of the country. From townships to million dollar property, within a few kms.