I had only intended to spend a couple of weeks in South Africa (from now on I'll call it SA - South Africans love shortening words and phrases!)...however gun happy Mozambique rebels meant that I couldn’t go there and suddenly had 5 weeks on my hands in SA! I had visited SA 8 years ago and had loved it so I knew the extra time here was not going to be a hardship!
I loved my time in East Africa but after that hardcore backpacking maybe it was time to spoil myself a bit..!
I flew into Port Elizabeth (PE!) What a change from East Africa - tarmac roads, clean streets, my own car, good beer and cheap wine.. I was very happy!
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| Beer o'clock... |
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| Sunny PE |
My trip through SA was actually combination of coast and inland mountains.. I covered 4000 km in the 5 weeks but only visited a small corner of the country...! I was here in late autumn - early winter.. both of which are obviously better than a British summer!!
Scenery wise this place has it all - I pushed my little rental car to the limit and got to some amazing places...
There of course is of course a darker undercurrent in SA - it has a troubled history - from colonial times - and of course the years of apartheid. The scars of this past are slow to heal and today it is still a divided and conflicted country..
There is a lot to tell so I am going to divide my SA blog into 3 posts..
1. History, Politics and People
2. The Mountains
3. The Coast.
1. History, Politics and People
Sure you can come to SA and top up your tan and drink the great red wine but I have found that if you want to get under the skin of a place you need to go a little further than the beach..
Think South Africa think Nelson Mandela - his autobiography was my constant companion in my time here.. (it's a very thick book! ) - it was a wonderful backdrop to my travels ..
There is still evidence of Britain's Colonial influence here - both PE and Durban have statues of Queen Victoria...
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| Queen Vic in PE |
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| ...and in Durban |
This was from an exhibition...couldn't get a great shot but the text is funny especially being a Scot! As we say up there "Gaun Yersel!" - click the link for an explanation!!
As I moved northwards into Kwa Zulu Natal province I was reminded of South Africa’s early history - and the part the British had to play in it..
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| Boer War Grave |
Ladysmith was the site of a long siege in the Anglo-Boer war (Between the British Army and the White South African Farmers who had relocated to Natal from the Cape)
Ladysmith Seige Museum
Deeper into the centre of Kwa Zulu Natal I visited the battlefields where the Zulus fought both the Boers (at Blood River) and the British (at Isandlawana and Rorke’s Drift) The latter being the subject of the famous movie “Zulu”
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| The Union Jack still flies over Rorke's Drift |
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| The road to Isandlwana |
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British Graves at Isandlwana
After viewing the battlefields I popped into the lodge at Fugitive's Drift (where the British made their retreat after being routed by the Zulus at Isandlwana)
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| The view from Fugitive's Drift - the perfect place for a Gin and Tonic... |
At Blood River - also called Battle of Ncome River the Boer Army used a wagon lager (circle of wagons) - a defensive technique used to great effect - 470 of them held off 21,000 Zulus - 3000 of whom were killed - the Boers had 3 injured. The 16th of December is a national holiday originally called Dingaans Day. It became a powerful symbol of Afrikaaner Patriotism and is still a very controversial public holiday. It has been renamed Day of Reconcilliation but many Afrikaaners do not accept this change
Interestingly Blood River has 2 museums - a Boer and a Zulu - a few years ago an expensive bridge was built between the 2 sites...bizarrely it’s locked...a sad metaphor for communities that struggle to live together.
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| Recreation of the Wagon Lager (circle of wagons)at Blood River |
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| Blood River Memorial |
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| Zulu Museum |
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| "Reconcilliation"bridge |
While I was in Durban I visited a small Apartheid museum - looking back the laws that the government used to control the black population seem from another planet. It is 22 years since the first democratic elections and for some people nothing has changed.
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| Pass Book - ID which Black and Coloured had to carry with them at all times by law |
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| Signs like this were on toilets, in restaurants and even on benches in the park.. |
South Africa has come a long way but my feeling is that it has an even longer way to go...
In Port Elizabeth they have a wonderful outdoor art route -- Art Route 67 - a series of sculptures, murals and street installations telling the story of black oppression in SA.
Of course it was not only the black population that was oppressed by the Nationalist Government but also the Indian and Coloured people (coloured is a recognised racial group in SA and not a derogatory term)
As one travels through SA there is still a huge divide between these ethnic groups. Despite 22 years of ANC government many black people are still living in shanty towns with shacks constructed of scraps of wood and corrugated iron - and of course with none of the facilities we take for granted like running water and sewage systems.
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| A Durban Township in the fifties... |
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| Port Elizabeth Township today...spot the difference...? |
Black people for the most part live in townships - nearly every town or village has it's separate township - sometimes separate by only a few hundred metres sometimes several kilometres. There is a culture developing of taking tourists on township tours - I didn't go on one though - benefit to the community or human zoo? I couldn't decide..
I did go on village tours in the mountains of the Eastern Cape and the Transkei (where Mandela was born) - just me and a local guide which I felt were less intrusive..
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| Xhosa village in central Eastern Cape |
There are huge issues in these small villages - unemployment rates of 80%, HIV rates of 30%, very poor education etc. The gap between rich and poor in SA is said to be the greatest in the world..
Add in a government where corruption is rife (Their president Jacob Zuma is not respected by many people) and you can see how complex life in SA is..
In asked a villager why people still vote ANC - he told me they are afraid voting for another party would lead to the return of apartheid - the politics of ignorance and fear rule here. Mandela says in his book that he gained his education because an educated person cannot be oppressed.. but I'm not sure the ANC really want an educated electorate..
As I moved from the mountains to the coast my travels took me through King William’s Town where I visited the Steve Biko Centre
Steve Biko was a black activist who believed that black South Africans should become prouder of their heritage and roots. He felt that black people had feelings of inferiority which helped to keep them oppressed. This movement was called Black Consciousness. For his trouble he was arrested and in 1977 beaten to death by the South African State Police - one of many as you can see from the memorial at the centre. Remarkably before I went there was only one TripAdvisor review of this centre (now there are 2!) It’s not somewhere that tourists seem to go. There is a great movie called “Cry Freedom” which chronicles his life.
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| Memorial Wall for Black Activists who died in SA State Police Detention |
Of course when it comes to South Africa's political history one name looms large...
There is such cross ethnic reverence to Mandela in South Africa - he was truly a man who united the country but sadly was able to serve only one term - the best and most productive years wasted as he sat in prison.
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| His final speech before he was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1964... |
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| The famous release day in 1990 |
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| Metal Sculpture at Nelson Mandela Capture Site Museum |
As I mentioned before there is still a great feeling of divide in the country. As a visitor it seems that you spend most of your time in contact with the white population even though they constitute only 10% of the population.
The reason for this is probably that most tourist businesses are white owned. An exception to this was a backpackers I stayed at on the amazing Wild Coast. Bulungula Lodge is community owned by Xhosa people and has been amazingly successful.
I visited a traditional herbalist - it was a fascinating insight into the beliefs of these tribal people - all of his medicines looked uncannily similar - I don't know how he told them apart!!
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| Traditional Herbalist - what he couldn't cure was nobody's business...!! |
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His medicine chest!
This area is part of the Transkei homeland a beautiful area of remote villages, rolling hills and very bumpy roads!
This is the homeland of Nelson Mandela - he grew up here and often talks about coming back to this area to relax and escape the pressures of presidency. This area is less developed, electricity has only arrived in the last few years and most houses have no running water. It has to be collected from standpipes. There are also no refuse collections which does not help the environment in this beautiful area.
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| Graves are covered with branches from thorn trees to prevent animals from damaging the grave and to prevent sorcerers from digging up the body and changing it into a familiar. |
The lodge has a great atmosphere - local tribe members mix with travellers and there is a sense of inclusivity not exclusivity…
Back in Durban I went to a great African street market - full of colour, tradition and some things I couldn't readily identify!!
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| Your guess is as good as mine! |
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| Catching up on gossip.. |
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| Preparing traditional medicine |
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| Chalk for Xhosa face makeup |
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| Leopard skin is still all the rage here...it's all fake.. (I think!) |
South Africa is a fascinating place - a history and present full of complexity - this visit I got a true sense of how South Africans live and survive here...On my last night my couchsurfing host showed me a video of a brilliant South African comedian...Trevor Noah. His routine was funny but also close to the bone and poignant - he touched on many of the issues that South Africans off all ethnicities have to deal with on a daily basis. Despite all the problems there is hope that things will change here - next time I visit (and I surely will) I hope to see that change for myself...
