AFRICA: A CHILDHOOD DREAM
Africa a new continent for me has been one of childhood dreams. For many years I’ve wanted to spend time in Africa but had no idea when or if id make it here. Now on this circumnavigation around the globe I couldn’t of dreamed for a better opportunity to travel through the mother continent. I’ve set out to travel to all four corners including the top. South, East, West and North Africa are on the itinerary including the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro the tallest peak on the continent and one of the seven summits. I arrived after 30 something hours of travel and four flights from Patagonia all the way to Cape Town, South Africa. Cape Town was a great city to integrate and catch up on jet lag. In the first few days I’d realized how much I admire the spirit in the heart of africans, they are such a strong and prideful people! Now my sights where set on getting my first African safari’s in, for that I had my eyes on Kruger national park.
Kruger is South Africa’s largest conservation reserve home to all the animals you could imagine including the big five. I was lucky to find a very welcoming hostel run by Canadian/South Africans along the boarders of the park. The hostel was a home away from home in the bush, exactly what I’ve needed. All sorts of animals including zebras, wildebeest, kudu, impalas and warthogs among others came daily to visit the hostel for a bit of grub, so we had animals right on our doorstep! Though I must say my favourite feature of the hostel was the nightly community dinners. Every night Someone from the hostel would cook an amazing dinner. Sometimes volunteers would cook dishes from back home and share them with all of us. People from different continents speaking different languages would gather around a 30 foot long table every night and we would all share a great meal with lots of laughs and good times. Nothing like the power of sharing food to bring almost anyone together! This was the centre piece of the homie atmosphere the hostel provided, perfect for travellers like me having spent many months on the road. Now on to the animals and safaris!
A wake up call at 5 AM is how we started are all day safaris. Animals tend to be more active in the early morning and late afternoon as mid day sun is very, very hot. So getting into the park early is a great way to see the most wildlife. Thousands of impala and gazelle are sprawled all over the large conservation reserve. While driving through you will almost always see some relaxing in the shade or grazing. Along with these we were fortunate to see trumpets of over a hundred elephants! Baby elephants, adult elephants and the older wise elephants that lead and teach the trumpet how to thrive in the Savanah. Herds of zebras and wildebeest where also common place. But we where after more elusive animals like lions and wild dogs too. They proved harder to spot as we didn’t manage to see any wild dogs but early into the safari we managed to watch 2 large male lions resting in the shade no doubt digesting their breakfast. On the edge of our seats we observed a lone warthog wander into the lions den before beelining it out of there without the lions lifting a paw. One morning we even got woken up early as a white rhino had wandered within 500 meters of the hostel. We rushed out to stealthily get close to the animal and watched it for over 20 minutes from only 15-20 meters away! The safari’s weren’t the only adventures we went on. I had the opportunity to drive into Eswatini (formerly known as Swaziland), a small monarchy within South Africa.
The small nation was a beautiful experience with lots of green rolling hills and small mountains standing above vast expanses of farm land. We went to visit a local tribe and learned about how they live. They mostly live with livestock in houses made of earthly material and straw thatch roofing in tune with nature. There are still strong patriarchal practices and beliefs implemented where the men are in power and the women are left to tend to the house and children. More sobering beliefs they hold are for instance you have to obtain a wife through trading cows with their father. A single virgin woman is worth about 17 cows where as a non virgin with children are worth 8. When a cow is slaughtered for food women are not allowed to eat the brain, tongue or feet. It’s believed if a woman eats the brain they will become too smart, if a woman eats the tongue they will talk too much or too wisely and annoy their husband and if they eat the feet they will run away. This gave me a stark reminder of how many rights and freedoms we are grateful for in the west.
We then went to visit a lovely old grandmother who cooked us a traditional meal of chicken and grains deep in the countryside. From the farm we walked down and through a river where students where walking home and playing in the water. So different from our experiences walking home in the snow in Canada! The children seemed very happy and healthy as they played and it made me realize how peaceful and natural a childhood they have had. No less then the west just different. Different can be good. We then finished the adventure with a visit to a country school. I saw kids kicking around an American football like a soccer ball and quickly gave them a lesson on how to throw and catch properly. I also gave then a few pointers on how to pass it like a rugby ball as it’s my favourite sport and a sport that has united South Africa!
Well, summing up my time in SA and the first of my African experiences I simply love this place! I am excited and grateful to have ventured through the rest of this wonderful continent. Stay tuned for my next blog in Tanzania about summiting Kilimanjaro to the top of Africa! A nine day trekking adventure where I hiked 70 kilometres along the northern circuit of the mountain to then hike from east to west along the top of the volcanic rim all the way to Uhuru peak, the highest peak in Africa!
