South Africa

South Africa
Johannesburg Airport

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

The South Africa Planet




After traveling from the woods and fields of Western Wisconsin, not only is South Africa a long way down on the skin of this planet… it is another planet. There is nothing subtle about a country who’s land mass is twice the size of Texas with the attitude to boot.
If it’s big….and I mean really big, moving on legs or fins, it might just be a few feet out the door. If it’s slithering under a stunning flower in bloom, hopefully not the one you’re observing at the time, its venom could end your life in less than 20 minutes. I have no qualms with this amazing place being referred to as “The cradle of humankind”.

The landscape of South Africa is an old place; it feels old, really old.

On the 15 hour 45 minute flight from Atlanta to Johannesburg I found my mind with plenty of time to examine my fortune of growing up with family abroad and henceforth my ability to attend a cousins wedding in Kwa Zulu Natal, a province of South Africa on Africa’s eastern shores and home of the Zulu kingdom. Landfall below the equator finds you without conventional seasons. It’s either raining or its not, albeit two seasons that cannot be counted on. Our version of fall becomes the rainy season. Technically in spring now, the sun is working hard toward summer where by December the heat is oppressive. An hour hop from Jo-berg on South African Airways finds the city of Durban and its brand new airport King Shaka on the Indian Ocean.

My wedding date and girlfriend Bridget find our ‘selves on the Dolphin coast in the village of Salt Rock. A town so named when the Zulu warrior- King Shaka would deliver handmaidens to the beach where they collected the dried salt on the rocks for purposes of trade. Nearby, in fields of sugar cane is the seaside village of Ballito, the location of the wedding.
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Our seaside villa is perched directly on top of an ear splitting roar as the ocean thunders the beach into submission, taking a breather only to repeat this eternal cycle. Inside miles of shark nets that parallel the beach and about a hundred yards out, Bottlenose Dolphins can be seen playfully intermingling with the dozens of surfers that arrive early every morning. Arguably, the north coast of Durban has some of the best surfers in the world with the average generally spit out the other end of a 50 ton washing machine stuck on the spin cycle. Not much farther out, Humpback whales are spotted breaching the water while migrating to breeding grounds off the shores of Mozambique from Antarctic waters, their tails incapable of being parked in your garage, splitting the salt water in two with an enormous plume at one crack.

With the wedding days away yet, an opportunity arises for a road trip to northern
Kwa Zulu Natal and a public game reserve. A safari can easily be accomplished at minimal expense on your own with some prior planning and a vehicle. Most public and private game reserves offer the same wildlife experience. Open game drive vehicles with a driver or rifle shouldered walking guides are the norm. Bear in mind the sky’s the limit when it comes to a private styled safari and the manner in which you care to be pampered can become pretty outrageous along with its cost.



Much of South Africa’s infrastructure was restored in preparation for the 2010 World Cup Soccer event held last June and July, making the cruise north on the N-2 motorway in our diesel Toyota 4x4 Hilux a pleasure; The same truck made famous by Taliban warriors in Afghanistan. Collections of ramshackle beehive villages, basket headed natives and enormous stands of Eucalyptus forests sail past at 120 km per hour. Locals collect at particular points on motorways and like an NFL referee signaling an infraction, use hand gestures to flag down a particular bus. The mini bus system; collections of 12 passenger German Volkswagens’ stuffed beyond human capacity and weaving through traffic at high rates of speed are as deadly as a Black Mamba coiled up in the bush. Taxi’s and minibus styled transportation services are notoriously unregulated and rule the road like the Wild West.

After a 3and1/2 hour drive and a road side stop to pick up fresh pineapple, nuts and avocados the size of a softballs for our stay at Hilltop Bush Lodge inside the park, we arrive in Hluhluwe; the location of the Hluhluwe-Imfalozi game reserve. Pronounced Shooshloowee and located on the Imfalozi River system, it is Africa’s oldest game park.
At the Memorial Entrance, the main gateway into the park and one of three, your senses
Heighten on viewing the evocative landscape. A rolling hill topped Savannah with 3000’ft plus topography. Rounded tops are pock marked with scarp forests and Acacia trees that resemble gigantic Japanese Bonsai trees.

To say the park is sizable is an understatement. It contains Africa’s famous “Big Five”.
Cape buffalo, Rhino, Elephants, Lions and Leopards all roam here and are featured on the South African paper currency known as the Rand. The big five label endures today, as they were the hardest creatures to hunt on foot. Hundreds of other lesser known animals also reside here, including 360 species of birds and the last remnants of wild dogs and Hyenas, all dispersed within the parks 370 sq miles.

Barely ¼ mile into the park it is clear that the rule of staying in your vehicle ought to be adhered too no matter how bad the camera angle. A group of Rhinos, known as a crash are immediately encountered heads down grazing the bushveld. Even with lousy eyesight and stubby legs, a 2-1/2 ton grumpy Rhino can move at 30 mph. Getting between one of these guys and your Talibani ride will not favor you or your vehicle. The park has the largest collection of white Rhino on the planet after Poacher’s in the 1970’s nearly rendered the animal extinct. Rhino horns have been used historically for many reasons and have brought upwards of a half million dollars on the black market. In Asia, particularly China, a pulverized horn provides the ridiculous notion that when ingested…Johnny Wong will find Sally Cho a-lot sexier or vice-versa. I am reasonably certain that a ground up table leg would have about the same affect.

Giraffe are easily spotted a little further into the park. Your imagination cannot catch up to the realism of these skyscraper styled, elegant creatures grazing at tree top height. Nyala, Kudu, Impala, Warthogs and Zebra can be seen quite regularly herding near sources of limited water as a drought has put added pressure on resources. The gouged out river basins are dry as a bone, an ironic benefit allowing 4x4 crossings.

Fires through out the park have blazed recently and the sweet return of fresh growth satisfies the grazers as we sneak up on three older male Cape buffalo. With the engine off, using gravity to creep down the slope, their gnarled horns bob in the thickets rendering the dry river bank devoid of greenery. Aware of us ten feet away and not bothered, we are fortunate they are herbivores. Cape buffalo and Hippo’s are easily the most dangerous and unpredictable animals in the Bush. Reported human deaths average 200 a year for Cape buffalo alone.

The sun sets early here and main gate closings are strictly adhered too. With that we make our way to the highest point in the park, the Hilltop Lodge. With its spectacular views and generated electricity, the Lodge is the focal point for a system of self catered chalet styled huts. In the main lodge guests can log their day’s sightings on a map with movable animal magnets. With 186 miles of mostly gravel roads in the park, it offers the visitor the best method for sighting a particular creature without pushing fuel limits and park exit times. Running out of gas here is a bad idea… a really bad idea.

Retiring to a beautiful thatched roof hut- typically African, brings a well needed respite as we discuss African politics, wildlife and the events of the day over dinner. This is the time for storybook Africa and sleep. Visions dart around the brain as I recall our reason for traveling 8,000 miles. The mind continually retreats to the public board at the main lodge and the elephant magnets positioned near the Black Imfalozi River. Just like game in the Wisconsin woods, nothing is ever certain. There are no guarantees in the African bush, although the possibilities are endless.

Spending time in Africa instills in one that you’re an integral part of wildlife. There is no getting around the fact that cohabitation with the environment and the seriousness of self preservation outside your protected enclave is a mandatory skill. You are not so much a visitor as you are a participant. All things in the natural world that you had previously established as wild are no longer. You acknowledge that you are also wild in this world and without an appreciation of this; you can personally play an unwanted role in the food chain.

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