Week Two in Phalaborwa
Tomorrow morning I depart Phalaborwa on a seven hour bus ride to Johannesburg. It’s been a fantastic eleven days here in Phalaborwa—on the edge of Kruger National Park—and I will be sad to leave. It’s truly a lovely place to be—so calm and peaceful, wild but ‘nicely appointed.’
Elephant Walk
As I said in a previous entry, I am so glad I stayed at Elephant Walk B&B. The rooms and common areas are very quaint and clean and quiet. The location is great. And best of all…I got to know the hostel owners, James & Elize, who absolutely made my stay. Aside from the township tour and the night game drive, I did all of my local excursions with them. I learned so much from talking with them about local history and culture and wildlife. We had such fun talking about all manner of topics. In fact, I have invited them to come to the US for a visit next year, and they are seriously considering it. That’ll be fun. (I’ve already created a possible itinerary for them. I love designing trips.)
Explorations around Tzaneen
Yesterday, James, Elize and I headed over to the Tzaneen area to explore the spectacular hilly countryside. En route, we stopped at a 2,000 year old baobab tree—Africa’s version of the ancient Methuselah tree and the stately redwood combined into one IMPRESSIVE tree. We climbed around and inside, gawked at its size, and imagined all that that tree has seen in its two thousand years. We are just fleeting blips in time compared to the baobab.
One of our many stops that afternoon was at a tea plantation for an intensely chocolate piece of cake. YUM! We sat under a shade umbrella with a vista of tea fields as far as the eye could see.
Under the advice of James & Elize, I ordered the cake, but I was mightily tempted by one of the Savory Pancakes. With so many delectable options, how could one possibly decide between the bacon and banana pancake or the tuna and mayo pancake or even the liver pancake. Such tough decisions when you are traveling. (I’m sure their ‘pancake’ is different than our ‘pancake,’ but the idea of these items together on our pancake is enough to bring on the shivers.)
The tea plantation was beautiful…and sad. Although the plantation had been productive for many generations, it has not produced any crops in the last four years. In an attempt to make everything fair and equitable, South Africa has recently enacted a land act-—returning lands to individuals that can prove prior ownership of land that was seized under Apartheid. Under this act, the entire plantation was returned to a family who had proven ancestral ties. Unfortunately, that family had no expertise in the intricacies of running a tea plantation of this size, and so after one year, the plantation was shut down and hundreds of families were out of work and out of a home.(Plantation workers lived on the property in provided housing, and their kids went to schools on the plantation grounds.) During our visit, the entire plantation was empty—-there were no workers in the fields, the tea plants were all overgrown, and the cluster of homes and schools was little more than a ghost town. It was just silence. On our way out, we stopped at a bend in the road to view the idle fields and empty homes. It looked like it had been a good life for all those families. And now it’s gone.
It is worrying to think that what happened in Zimbabwe could also happen in South Africa if expertise is not factored into attempts at land equity. From what I have read and seen (on tv and in person), it looks like it’s going in that direction. But can the freight train be stopped?
Maholoholo Rehabilitation Center
On Monday we visited the Maholoholo Rehabilitation Center—a very professional center dedicated to rehabilitating wild animals that have been harmed by human causes. As our guide put it: “In the wild, if a lion puts a big scratch in the bum of an impala, that’s nature. That’s the impala’s problem. But if an eagle damages a wing on power lines, then the center helps that animal to recuperate, with the aim of being returned to the wild.”
The tour was shockingly interactive. We got downright personal with these animals—hand feeding vultures, roaming free with a baby rhino, petting a badger. It was no ordinary trip to the zoo. Of course, they are wild animals, unpredictable at times. James had a small run in with the baby rhino, who probably got a bit overwhelmed by the presence of so many humans and charged James and gave him a very firm nudge on the leg. It was probably little more than a warning from the rhino, but it was a tense moment nonetheless.
The highlight for me was getting within mere inches of all of African’s most fearsome predators, staring right into their faces, close enough to hear them breathe. I was especially mesmerized by the ENORMOUS lion and lioness, who positioned themselves right up against the edge of the cage. I was shocked with the sheer power of their presence. And whenever one of them let out even the smallest ‘raaaar’, I jumped.
If I had volunteered here rather than at the Vervet Monkey Foundation, I would have spent all my free time at the edge of the lion cage, staring into their faces, both beautiful and frightening at the same time. When it was time to move onto the next stop on the tour, I didn't want to leave. What an experience!
Here's a collage of other animals we saw:
But…
I haven’t talked much about Warren on this site so far. I no longer have the words. But I miss him. It’s like a heavy blanket that hangs over everything. My thoughts always go something like: “Wow, look at that elephant. That’s amazing. But Warren’s dead.” I think about Warren all the time, knowing that I would never be here if he hadn’t died. I miss him, and would give anything to just go back to our lives in Phoenix—back to our Friday nights at Macaroni Grill, then a movie. Back to our frequent spontaneous weekend adventures. Back to our nightly walks and amazing talks. Back to waking up everyday just shocked at how great life was with Warren.
The years we had together were truly a gift. But…going on after that gift has been taken away. I don’t get it.
Elephant Walk
As I said in a previous entry, I am so glad I stayed at Elephant Walk B&B. The rooms and common areas are very quaint and clean and quiet. The location is great. And best of all…I got to know the hostel owners, James & Elize, who absolutely made my stay. Aside from the township tour and the night game drive, I did all of my local excursions with them. I learned so much from talking with them about local history and culture and wildlife. We had such fun talking about all manner of topics. In fact, I have invited them to come to the US for a visit next year, and they are seriously considering it. That’ll be fun. (I’ve already created a possible itinerary for them. I love designing trips.)
Explorations around Tzaneen
Yesterday, James, Elize and I headed over to the Tzaneen area to explore the spectacular hilly countryside. En route, we stopped at a 2,000 year old baobab tree—Africa’s version of the ancient Methuselah tree and the stately redwood combined into one IMPRESSIVE tree. We climbed around and inside, gawked at its size, and imagined all that that tree has seen in its two thousand years. We are just fleeting blips in time compared to the baobab.
One of our many stops that afternoon was at a tea plantation for an intensely chocolate piece of cake. YUM! We sat under a shade umbrella with a vista of tea fields as far as the eye could see.
Under the advice of James & Elize, I ordered the cake, but I was mightily tempted by one of the Savory Pancakes. With so many delectable options, how could one possibly decide between the bacon and banana pancake or the tuna and mayo pancake or even the liver pancake. Such tough decisions when you are traveling. (I’m sure their ‘pancake’ is different than our ‘pancake,’ but the idea of these items together on our pancake is enough to bring on the shivers.)The tea plantation was beautiful…and sad. Although the plantation had been productive for many generations, it has not produced any crops in the last four years. In an attempt to make everything fair and equitable, South Africa has recently enacted a land act-—returning lands to individuals that can prove prior ownership of land that was seized under Apartheid. Under this act, the entire plantation was returned to a family who had proven ancestral ties. Unfortunately, that family had no expertise in the intricacies of running a tea plantation of this size, and so after one year, the plantation was shut down and hundreds of families were out of work and out of a home.(Plantation workers lived on the property in provided housing, and their kids went to schools on the plantation grounds.) During our visit, the entire plantation was empty—-there were no workers in the fields, the tea plants were all overgrown, and the cluster of homes and schools was little more than a ghost town. It was just silence. On our way out, we stopped at a bend in the road to view the idle fields and empty homes. It looked like it had been a good life for all those families. And now it’s gone.
It is worrying to think that what happened in Zimbabwe could also happen in South Africa if expertise is not factored into attempts at land equity. From what I have read and seen (on tv and in person), it looks like it’s going in that direction. But can the freight train be stopped?
Maholoholo Rehabilitation Center
On Monday we visited the Maholoholo Rehabilitation Center—a very professional center dedicated to rehabilitating wild animals that have been harmed by human causes. As our guide put it: “In the wild, if a lion puts a big scratch in the bum of an impala, that’s nature. That’s the impala’s problem. But if an eagle damages a wing on power lines, then the center helps that animal to recuperate, with the aim of being returned to the wild.”
The tour was shockingly interactive. We got downright personal with these animals—hand feeding vultures, roaming free with a baby rhino, petting a badger. It was no ordinary trip to the zoo. Of course, they are wild animals, unpredictable at times. James had a small run in with the baby rhino, who probably got a bit overwhelmed by the presence of so many humans and charged James and gave him a very firm nudge on the leg. It was probably little more than a warning from the rhino, but it was a tense moment nonetheless.
The highlight for me was getting within mere inches of all of African’s most fearsome predators, staring right into their faces, close enough to hear them breathe. I was especially mesmerized by the ENORMOUS lion and lioness, who positioned themselves right up against the edge of the cage. I was shocked with the sheer power of their presence. And whenever one of them let out even the smallest ‘raaaar’, I jumped.
If I had volunteered here rather than at the Vervet Monkey Foundation, I would have spent all my free time at the edge of the lion cage, staring into their faces, both beautiful and frightening at the same time. When it was time to move onto the next stop on the tour, I didn't want to leave. What an experience!
Here's a collage of other animals we saw:
But…
I haven’t talked much about Warren on this site so far. I no longer have the words. But I miss him. It’s like a heavy blanket that hangs over everything. My thoughts always go something like: “Wow, look at that elephant. That’s amazing. But Warren’s dead.” I think about Warren all the time, knowing that I would never be here if he hadn’t died. I miss him, and would give anything to just go back to our lives in Phoenix—back to our Friday nights at Macaroni Grill, then a movie. Back to our frequent spontaneous weekend adventures. Back to our nightly walks and amazing talks. Back to waking up everyday just shocked at how great life was with Warren.
The years we had together were truly a gift. But…going on after that gift has been taken away. I don’t get it.