Journal of This Southern Africa Adventure
April, 2000
30 April
We went to Pilanesberg early in the month (or was it late last month). The grass was very high (due to all of the rain) and finding a lot of game was difficult. We did see some rhino and giraffes up close and finally caught the glimpse of an elephant. I do not think that I will ever tire of seeing anyone of these animals.
Easter, this year, coincided with several South African holidays. Therefore, many people decided to take a week or two or three off from work (especially the South Africans). We could not resist the temptation and decided to take a week off ourselves. Around the same time Bessy's family decided to visit. Bessy's mother (K.C.), two sisters (Betty and Bailey), and brother (John) came to see the sights. We took them to Kruger National Park, the largest of the game parks in South Africa. Kruger Park is about the size of New Jersey, and is noted for its elephants, of which it has 8500+.
The park contains several enclosed (fenced-in) camps, linked by well paved roads. The camps offer several options from true camping to luxurious living. During our two days we saw the big five (elephant, buffalo, rhino, lion, and leopard).
After a couple of days we went to a private game park, which borders Kruger National Park, known as Sabi Sands. There is no fence between Sabi Sands and Kruger National Park. There are many camps in Sabi Sands. We stayed at the well-known Sabi-Sabi camp. These camps are not fenced in. We arrived late but were not too late for the night drive. The night drive on rough sandy roads, in open air vehicles, was very nice. The night drive lasted for about two hours. Customers at these private camps in Sabi Sands are often visited by leopards and lions as they are eating their meals, which is served outdoors, of course. After dinner, guests are escorted back to their rooms and are told not to leave their rooms during the night. I was woken in the middle of the night by the roar of some lions.
The next morning we went for another game drive. The guides discovered leopard tracks which we followed for about 45 minutes until they lost the tracks. Very soon after we saw three lions within 100 meters of our camp. They looked very tired and pretty much ignored us. Another vehicle found some mating lions. They told us where to find them. Our open air vehicle (a land rover) went off road to find the animals. We stayed and watched the lions do their thing a couple of times (about ten minutes). It was amazing at how ferocious the female became after each act.
We went back into Kruger park for another day and a half continuing to find lots of animals including the elusive wild dogs, and lots of hippos, monkeys, and some giraffes. We then went back to Pretoria, going through the Blyde River Canyon area that we had visited briefly in October of 1999.
We saw a little more of the canyon this time. Is it as big or deep as the Grand Canyon? You be the judge. They did state that it is the second largest canyon in the world behind the Grand Canyon. This is odd since the Grand Canyon is neither the deepest or longest canyon in North America. Just the same, the Blyde River Canyon area is very nice.
With half the week gone and a lot of sightseeing behind us, we decided to rest a few days ... in Victoria Falls. A two hour flight, aboard Air Zimbabwe, got us to the sight. No, we did not see any homeless white farmers (more on this later).
Victoria Falls is fed by the Zambezi River and separates Zimbabwe from Zambia. The falls are very large and spectacular. It takes two hours to view only half of the falls (from the Zimbabwe side) and that is moving quickly. The falls is made for viewing since there is a cliff with walking paths just opposite the entire length of the falls. The only impairment to the viewing is the mist, which is heavy this time of year, due to the huge amounts of water pouring over the falls. The mist rises a hundred feet above the falls. In some areas, the falling mist is like a heavy downpour. A bridge crosses the gorge just a 100 meters from the falls. It serves as the highest bungi jump site in the world. People were lining up to do it (not me).
Other activities that we partook in Victoria Falls included a canoe trip just upstream of the falls, a game drive along the Zambezi River, a Sunset Cruise on the Zambezi, and a carnivore feast at a place called the Boma. We saw elephant roaming an island in the middle of the Zambezi (at very high water, and not too far from the falls), hippo in the river, elephants in residential areas, sable, and herds of giraffe and buffalo. At the Boma, we had elan, ostrich, warthog, lamb, and the house special Mopani Worms. Elephants love the Mopani tree, but I am told that even they do not eat the worms.
In case you haven't heard by now, there has been quite a bit of political positioning in Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia), South Africa's neighbor to the north. Many people there want the land owner by some 1200 white farmers to be turned over to Africans. The Zimbabwe government's plan is to pay the farmers only for improvements that they have made to the land (such as buildings) if they have proof of the dollar value of the improvements. I am quite certain that they will not factor in the improvements made that were required to turn a barren field into a tobacco farm or the taxes that the farmers have paid to improve the area over the past century. Furthermore, the Zimbabwe government wants Great Britain to pay the farmers retribution because it was the British government that gave away the land (for pennies) to the farmers ancestors over a hundred years ago. Some 20 years ago, the black government assumed power in Zimbabwe. One of there first decrees was that anyone could leave Zimbabwe but they could not take more than $200 out of the country if they wanted to emigrate to another country. Many white people did leave the country leaving behind big estates that others (typically white people who did not leave) could buy and occupy very cheaply.
Needless to say, this is all making white South Afrikaners very nervous. They are looking at what has and is happening in Zimbabwe and what has happened in their own country in the past 10 years. While transition of governments in South Africa has taken a much different path, the effect has been the same. Millions of white, mostly professional South Afrikaners have left South Africa (with their assets). At the same time white farmers have been under attack for the past two years. These attacks include murder and are frequent. On the other hand, farms in South Africa tend to be massive. There are large amounts of land owned by a very small percentage of the people. Much of this land is not even used for farming. This upsets the black South Africans even more. The distribution of land continues to be a major issue in southern Africa.
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