Segment Two---“The Tour”

(written 09/17/07)
Yesterday I began the second leg of my journey—the “Gap Adventures” tour from Johannesburg to Cape Town.

28 Day Internet Fast
I have spoken to the guide, and it’s not looking good as far as internet access during the tour. I will continue to write about my experiences every couple of days, since my writing serves as a journal for myself in addition to a blog for everyone else. Then, when I do have access, I will post a bunch of entries at once, and then send out an email notice.

Since my access will be so limited (and will cost), I will most likely not be able to respond to emails until I am in Cape Town in mid-October. However, once in Cape Town, I will have high-speed wireless during my entire stay (3.5 months) so I can correspond via email and Skype then.

Pretoria
The tour started in Pretoria, although I didn’t get to see much of the city as I was more in the mood to read than explore. (You gotta take breaks from exploring now and then when you are traveling for seven months.) However, I eventually pulled myself away from my book, and spent the late afternoon wandering around the (upscale) Arcadia neighborhood where we were staying. I walked over to the huge parliament building where Nelson Mandela was inaugurated, then joined the crowds on the streets as they enjoyed their Sunday afternoon. A soccer game had just gotten out at the nearby stadium, and the streets were full of fans cheering their team, “hooting” their horns (as the South Africans would say), laughing and waving at each other. Everyone was in such a cheery mood that it really picked up my spirits.

Pretty, laid-back Pretoria feels nothing like hectic, kind-of-frightening Jo’burg (at least what I saw of it). It moves at a slower pace and remains Afrikaans culturally. I felt very safe and relaxed as I strolled along the streets. I especially liked the city’s 1960s architectural vibe. It was like stepping back in time.

Over the entire afternoon, I saw only a handful of white South Africans. (Perhaps it was just the area I was in?) This was really shocking considering that just 13 years ago, all of Pretoria—the center of the apartheid state—was designated ‘white only.’ Blacks were not permitted to live in Pretoria, and were only allowed in the city during the day if they could demonstrate employment there. Human rights issues aside, I find the whole apartheid system incomprehensible. How could such a small minority so thoroughly dominate so many?

I know ‘the answers’ to that question are out there and are well known. And I know that this dynamic—the powerful few dominating the weak masses—has happened countless times in history. But to see it first hand—to see so many blacks and so few whites…it’s an outrageous ratio given what’s taken place here over the last century. Shocking.

The Highveld

We spent the first days exploring the edges of the Drakensberg Escarpment, where the cool, mountainous ‘highveld’ plunges down to the hot, flat ‘lowveld.’ The area is strongly Afrikaaner in culture and full of very charming little ‘get-away’ towns.

What Flagstaff and Prescott are to Phoenicians, the Drakensberg Escarpment towns are to Jo’burg and Pretoria residents.

Our first stops included:

(1) an overlook of the Blyde River Canyon [think: smaller Grand Canyon]

(2) a short hike out to the Bourke’s Luck Potholes [cylindrical holes carved into the rock by whirlpools near the confluence of two rivers]

And, uh, try as I might I couldn’t generate the requisite awe for these stops. With all the trips Warren and I made to spots on the spectacular Colorado Plateau, I had a hard time fighting off the dreaded ‘been there, done that’ feeling.

A number of other spots, however, were quite memorable, including Lisbon Falls and a hike through a lush rainforest--which reminded me of the hike Warren and I did on Vancouver Island. (Both are pictured below).

At some point we stopped at a grocery store and I decided it was time to break out of my comfort zone. So, my roommate (Arika from NYC) and I bought the following snacks for the road:

1. Apricoteen Red Cakes—These little cakes looked so much like ground beef that several others on the tour wondered what exactly Arika planned to do with cold beef. The verdict: Average, a plain cake with some coconut. The red was just a superficial dye. 
2. Traditional koeksisters—This is a popular Afrikaans dish with a very cool name. Certainly means something different in the US (koek pronounced coke). The verdict: Like donuts drenched in honey. Overly sweet, but it didn’t stop me from eating three. :)
3. Fruit Cubes—These just looked too much like dog food not to try them. The verdict: One part fruit, six parts sugar!