Hey kids.
How I have been neglecting you all! My sincerest apologies for the lack of correspondence. I assure you that it has not been intentional, but, as can be expected, the poorest continent in the world does not exactly include reliable internet connections.
The adventures have been many, but tragically the opportunities to share them with you all have been limited.
So instead of giving you the tidbits as they were lived, I will attempt to summarize the incredible journey through South Africa that I have just experienced.
True Beauty South Africa.
That's what they call it.
And 'they' are entirely correct. It IS.
Truly.
Beautiful.
After two weeks of climbing in Rocklands, we took to the road, with the goal of driving along the coast for a while, then up into the Drakensburg Mountains to finally end up in the infamous gated city of Johannesbourg.
Every turn brought with it a new landscape, new colours, new shapes, new thoughts and shaken ideas of the way this world spins.
South Africa is nothing if it is not diverse. I have never before experienced such rapid changes - literally turning a corner to be transported from the lush forests that inspired Tolken's Lord Of The Rings into the arid yellow savanah that I had always pictured when I thought of Africa. Moving from the rich European-style cities of the Garden Route to the thatched roofs and traditional mud huts inhabited by the Zulus of Kwazulu-Natal. Afrikaans and English replaced by the impossible-to-imitate clicks and clucks of the Khosa language. White faces gradually completely replaced by black ones. And layered over all the changes, the one constant feeling that this is a country I will never understand and never feel completely comfortable in.
Climbing and driving your way through a country allows you to observe the movements of a people with a sense of detachment - while South Africa is arguably one of the countries that I have seen the most of (in terms of kilometers) it will also remain one that I have seen the least of (in terms of interactions with the people).
Maybe its because every house has a gate and an alarm, and every guesthouse requires six keys before you can access your room. Maybe its because we never spent enough time in one place to really get to KNOW people. Maybe its because most of my observations of this country wer from behind a windsheild with the aircon blowing and an iPod playing favourite songs on the car stereo. Maybe its because the culture of fear inherent in the words 'South Africa' have a tendency to stop exploration in its tracks.
Whatever the reasons, the result is the same: South Africa remains a mystery to me. Its people did not welcome us with stories and smiles, I did not wander the streets to find untouched gems nestled in alleyways. I could never really understand when people explained the ways in which race presides over rationality here.
I could never really get a sense that I had actually BEEN in South Africa, the way I have been in some of the other worlds I have visited.
So would I recommend this country to another interpid traveller?
Yes. Most definitely Yes.
It's a world worth witnessing, it has a thousand layers worth trying to unravel. Emphasis on the word 'try'...
And perhaps when you come here, you will be able to dig a bit deeper than I did...find out what South Africa is really all about:::and then tell me what I missed.
And if not, we can always just have a chat about all the beautiful things that we saw here. All the majesty and mystery that exists in this True Beauty South Africa.
Next stop: Madagascar!!!!!!!!!!!!!
