Tuesday, May 09, 2006
Back in Canada - catching up to do
Sorry for not keeping up with this, but internet access was not readily available for some time. I have a lot of catching up to do and then will try to load some photos from the trip and that will be all I think for this blog.
In the last blog I mentioned going to the game Shamwari Game Reserve. It was worth the high price - got to see all of the big game species except for the cape buffalo. Even saw a leopard which is apparently quite rare. After a very nice lunch you are loaded into a Land Rover with extra seats attached. There were 7 in our vehicle and about 7 vehicles out in the park including those of people staying over night. The driver/guides communicate by radio when there is something good to see. Our driver heard about the leopard just about quitting time as it was getting dark. His only comment was, "Hold on!" as we took off across the grassland, including going off the road to get to where the leopard was. I better understand the toughness of a Land Rover after this and also how silly it is to have such a vehicle in the city. We also saw a pride of 9 lions eating a freshly-caught wart hog, rhinos right beside the truck, giraffes, elephants, etc. Next day I went to the Addo Elephant National Park - to see elephants and a few other animals. There were 60+ elephants of all ages at a water hole. Pretty spectacular!
From there, it was off to Graff-Reinet which is a lovely town in the Karoo semi-desert. When you come from a humid environment like southern Ontario you do not realize the critical linkage between water sources and settlement (and survival for that matter) in a dry place. There is a small river here and it means that the town can exist. It was lovely although apparently temps of 45C are the norm in the summer. It is a service centre for the region and a bit of an arty/historical place as well. It is the third oldest Boer settlement in the country (late 1600s) and has many lovely buildings.
Back to the coast next to summer resort called Knyssna. It is very nice but had traffic problems in April - can only imagine what it is like in the high season. It would not look out of place in coastal Georgia although it is much prettier since the mountains come to the sea here. Again the difference between poor and rich is amazing. The wealthy are living in a dream world of luxury and privilege - except that most of them are armed all of the time. I got a car wash and it was done by a total of 8 people and cost something less than CA$5. The gas station had about 20 people working at it - not counting any inside the building. Unemployment is a big problem but there is much underemployment (and poor wages) too.
Next, on my trip westward toward Cape Town was a stay in wine country. Vineyards in RSA look very different than those here since the surrounding areas are so dry and the vineyards are all irrigated. There rainy season (winter) has failed the last three years and there are considerable concerns about the declining water table. They really hope that this year (Apr-July) is wetter. I also went on a tour of a huge brandy distillery - the largest in the world. It was very interesting. I am not a brandy drinker but their 10 year old was quite good. The guide was very expert and taught us how to drink brandy properly. (BTW, in RSA, brandy is the major hard liquor drunk - young brandies are commonly mixed with Coke or lemonade.)
On to Cape Town - it is very beautiful city, not sure I have seen anywhere nicer. The harbour area has been rebuild and it is everything that Toronto's Harbourfront should be but is not. Went to Robben Island where Mandela and many others were prisoners. Our guide was a former political prisoner there - others are former guards. Apparently they get along fine with each other.
In spite of the beauty of the city, crime is a problem here too (although it is much better than Joburg or Durban). On my walk to the harbour area (guide book said be sure to keep to the main road) I met two young women - one from US, one from Canada (Yellowknife of all places). The previous day they had been robbed at knife-point by three men at a major tourist location. I really have serious fears for South Africa. There are just too many very poor people and I don't think they will be willing to wait for income to come their way - I suspect that most of the increasing wealth of the country goes to the rich anyway. Rich people of all races are continuing to leave the country in considerable numbers and they are taking money with them too. Two people mentioned something that I had been thinking - there may be huge problem when Mandela dies. He is such a powerful, moral force in the country and there is no one remotely able to replace him in this role.
After Cape Town, it was on to Egypt and Jordan to be a tourist some more. Not really the subject of this blog - just a comment or two. Jordan was great with many terrifici things to see (not much in Amman, but Petra, Jerash, Dead Sea, Wadi Rum were great). Cairo is not very nice as tourists are constantly hassled by people wanting to separate you from your money. Apparently women travelling (even together) are constantly being harassed. The pyramids and the Egyptian Museum are amazing but the rest of the area around Cairo has nothing going for it (did not go upriver - it may be better). We were there when there was a terrorist bomb at a resort in the Sinai. The only real impact in Cairo was a remarkable increase in security. There were police everywhere - probably every 50 m or so on a 45 minute walk from the hotel to museum. These are serious police with AK47s and Kalashnikoffs (you could see where they did their shopping during the Cold War - but I thought they were in the US camp; perhaps the weapons were from Nasser's times). The best thing about all the police is that they sometimes kept the hustlers away from you.
Pictures to follow with a few days I hope.
In the last blog I mentioned going to the game Shamwari Game Reserve. It was worth the high price - got to see all of the big game species except for the cape buffalo. Even saw a leopard which is apparently quite rare. After a very nice lunch you are loaded into a Land Rover with extra seats attached. There were 7 in our vehicle and about 7 vehicles out in the park including those of people staying over night. The driver/guides communicate by radio when there is something good to see. Our driver heard about the leopard just about quitting time as it was getting dark. His only comment was, "Hold on!" as we took off across the grassland, including going off the road to get to where the leopard was. I better understand the toughness of a Land Rover after this and also how silly it is to have such a vehicle in the city. We also saw a pride of 9 lions eating a freshly-caught wart hog, rhinos right beside the truck, giraffes, elephants, etc. Next day I went to the Addo Elephant National Park - to see elephants and a few other animals. There were 60+ elephants of all ages at a water hole. Pretty spectacular!
From there, it was off to Graff-Reinet which is a lovely town in the Karoo semi-desert. When you come from a humid environment like southern Ontario you do not realize the critical linkage between water sources and settlement (and survival for that matter) in a dry place. There is a small river here and it means that the town can exist. It was lovely although apparently temps of 45C are the norm in the summer. It is a service centre for the region and a bit of an arty/historical place as well. It is the third oldest Boer settlement in the country (late 1600s) and has many lovely buildings.
Back to the coast next to summer resort called Knyssna. It is very nice but had traffic problems in April - can only imagine what it is like in the high season. It would not look out of place in coastal Georgia although it is much prettier since the mountains come to the sea here. Again the difference between poor and rich is amazing. The wealthy are living in a dream world of luxury and privilege - except that most of them are armed all of the time. I got a car wash and it was done by a total of 8 people and cost something less than CA$5. The gas station had about 20 people working at it - not counting any inside the building. Unemployment is a big problem but there is much underemployment (and poor wages) too.
Next, on my trip westward toward Cape Town was a stay in wine country. Vineyards in RSA look very different than those here since the surrounding areas are so dry and the vineyards are all irrigated. There rainy season (winter) has failed the last three years and there are considerable concerns about the declining water table. They really hope that this year (Apr-July) is wetter. I also went on a tour of a huge brandy distillery - the largest in the world. It was very interesting. I am not a brandy drinker but their 10 year old was quite good. The guide was very expert and taught us how to drink brandy properly. (BTW, in RSA, brandy is the major hard liquor drunk - young brandies are commonly mixed with Coke or lemonade.)
On to Cape Town - it is very beautiful city, not sure I have seen anywhere nicer. The harbour area has been rebuild and it is everything that Toronto's Harbourfront should be but is not. Went to Robben Island where Mandela and many others were prisoners. Our guide was a former political prisoner there - others are former guards. Apparently they get along fine with each other.
In spite of the beauty of the city, crime is a problem here too (although it is much better than Joburg or Durban). On my walk to the harbour area (guide book said be sure to keep to the main road) I met two young women - one from US, one from Canada (Yellowknife of all places). The previous day they had been robbed at knife-point by three men at a major tourist location. I really have serious fears for South Africa. There are just too many very poor people and I don't think they will be willing to wait for income to come their way - I suspect that most of the increasing wealth of the country goes to the rich anyway. Rich people of all races are continuing to leave the country in considerable numbers and they are taking money with them too. Two people mentioned something that I had been thinking - there may be huge problem when Mandela dies. He is such a powerful, moral force in the country and there is no one remotely able to replace him in this role.
After Cape Town, it was on to Egypt and Jordan to be a tourist some more. Not really the subject of this blog - just a comment or two. Jordan was great with many terrifici things to see (not much in Amman, but Petra, Jerash, Dead Sea, Wadi Rum were great). Cairo is not very nice as tourists are constantly hassled by people wanting to separate you from your money. Apparently women travelling (even together) are constantly being harassed. The pyramids and the Egyptian Museum are amazing but the rest of the area around Cairo has nothing going for it (did not go upriver - it may be better). We were there when there was a terrorist bomb at a resort in the Sinai. The only real impact in Cairo was a remarkable increase in security. There were police everywhere - probably every 50 m or so on a 45 minute walk from the hotel to museum. These are serious police with AK47s and Kalashnikoffs (you could see where they did their shopping during the Cold War - but I thought they were in the US camp; perhaps the weapons were from Nasser's times). The best thing about all the police is that they sometimes kept the hustlers away from you.
Pictures to follow with a few days I hope.
