This is going to be a patchwork blog. Bits and pieces of stories stitched together to hopefully give some sort of recognisable picture!
So, where did I finish last time? That's right, the animals in Africa...to sum up, Amazing! A David Attenborough experience. The cultural side of things I didn't really touch on though. There were numerous 'double take' moments as I admired the Masai in their traditional colourful cloaks as they grinned cheeckily riding by on a motor bike, one hand on a handle bar, the other holding a mobile to their ear. It's as if Africa has missed the whole middle step of development. In Westernised countries, development has been a progression. HOwever, in many Afican countries (and others for that matter), it's as if they've reached into the future and plucked technologies and clothing from a future era and started using it in 'real' time. A bizare mix of tradition and modenity. They have phones but not necessarily running water or electricity. Jeans and t-shirts are worn under traditional clothing. Pop music is infused with their traditional drumming. Cows remain as a dowry throughout Africa, even South Africa and if a male doesn't have enough cows, no marriage for him. Tourists have been adopted into the culture as we're seen as opportunities to make money. Slum or village tours are offered in some places as the whites stare out at the locals to get a 'real' sense of how they live in thier community. Walking around as an individual though, or with just one or two other people, locals respond very differently to you. Obviously in a more personal way and I've experienced generosity and adhoc dance and singing performances on a few occassions.
From East to South Africa...
South Africa exceeded my expectations. From the varied landscape to the people.
Cape Town was like a Melbourne winter. Bleak and cold. Luckily I had one beautiful day in which I took the opportunity to climb Table Mountain. Since I had arrived in Cape Town, the top of the mountain had been hidden by cloud (the table cloth as it's known) but that morning the table cloth ahd been ripped off and the mountain sat as a confident statement overseeing the City. I was blown away (almost literally as it was windy) by the view at the top. On one side, clouds drifted by almost as if they were rising from the Atlanic Ocean, taking it in turns to hide neighboring mountains. We cheated and caught the cable car down just befor sun set.
After spending four days in Cape Town, Christina (my Canadian friend who I met in Ghana 4 years ago) one of her friends, Hanna (they'd been working together in Cape Town) and I hired a car and set off on our South Afican road trip. Pasta with pasta sauce and veggies was to become our staple dinner. Quality peanut butter sandwhiches and bananas sustained us most other times.
The scenery varies dramatically across S.A. From impressive green mountains, such as Outeniqua Pass, to the small Karu - flatter, drier landscape, to ocean views, to the typical African Savvana with tall, dry grasses.
We stayed at Bulungula, a hostel in the trans-sky region for a few days. The community juts out to the wild Indian Ocean and the hostel is partly owned by the community. We took about 3 hours to drive 35kms as potholes (or where mini meteorites had seemingly hit) littered the road. But our trusty 2 wheel drive handled the task. The weekend we were there, an initiation ceremony took place for the boys who were becoming men. They had been circumsised 3 months prior and had all lived in a rondeval (round African style hut) but were being 'released' that weekend and so it was celebration time! The boys traditionally do stick fighting (which has been lethal and disabling in the past but has now been toned down) but we missed this action. We did join the locals in drinking homebrewed beer in a Rondeval, men on one side, women on the other. The beer was made from maize and really, would not be marketable in Australia. Every time the container was passed to me, yep, there was a communal container used, I held breath and sipped. When I say container, I actually mean old paint tin. Quality. We then moved to a hillside where the locals just sat, socialised and drank. And drank some more. Most of them for the whole weekend. Women aren't allowed to drink until post menapause in the Xhosa Community which is a good method to prevent drinking whilst pregnant.
Throughout Ghana I saw the result of many tro-tro accidents. Lonely looking shells with shattered glass, bent metal and an open mouth, displaying where the void behind where the door had once been hanging. The rusty or blackened evidence of misguided driving or pot-holed roads sent chills through me yet relief remained as an after taste. I had not been in the toppled tro-tro and I had not seen it fall. However, in the Trans-sky region of S.A, a rather neglected region, a new after taste flavoured my mouth. A flavour that needs to be followed by dessert as the taste is sickening but even dessert can't hide it's taste. We rounded a corner and my brain took a few seconds to catch up with reality shocked as I came to grips with the scene before me. I pulled the car over to the side of the road. One minibus (the local transport in S.A) had collided into the back of another. One minibus lay on it's side in the middle of the road and the other one sat with it's rear end crumpled. As we were pulling over I realised how recently the accident had occured as one man was crawling from the overturned wreckage though the back window, trying to avoid the shattered glass. I noticed one man aimlessly wandering. Blood was painted across his face andh is nostrils were the source of a red stream. I grabbed my rather lame first aid kit and headed toward the minibus lying on it's side. CArs beeped and continued driving through the chaos. The guys whose face was covered by blood had disappeared. I decided to search for him. I passed 3 women in about their late 60's who had been pulled from the rear ended minibus. They lay on the ground moaning. They were alert and could focus on me. There were no obvious injuries and I just hoped that there were no internal ones. I spotted injured face guy and attempted to patch up his face. His septum was completely severed at the base so blood flowed freely over his lips. HIs right eye area was swollen and no doubt he had sustained facial fractures. A string of flesh hung from his right eye. As I coundn't speak Xhosa and definitly couldn't manage the tongue clicking, all I could do was nod and confirm that yes, his eye was very swollen as he pointed to it. An attempt to clean his face was only half successful with my lack of useful supplies and the bandage that I wrapped around his head made him look like a typical injured soldier from World War 1 or 2. The fast response of the ambulances was impressive however it would have been useful if they actually had supplies as well. I just hoped that the hospital that they were being taken to was better equipped and staffed. Another guy had been pulled from the wreckage and was rolled onto a makeshift stetcher as red coloured his face and limbs. As we drove away some of the locals who we had managed to have a short converstaion with waved with a look of appreciation that had been followed by looks of curiosity as 3 white females had landed in their midst!
Lesotho was our next stop. Freezing cold Lesotho! We stayed just outside Lesotho in the Drakensburg mountains and ejoyed a hike our first day there. The end of our hike brought us out onto the main road. It was dirt and in the middle of construction works. We eventually got picked up by a few guys in a minivan and experienced one of the funniest lifts. One of the guys threatened to kidnap us all the way to Underberg where they were headed. 'That's fine', I quipped 'cos you've got beer' as I pointed to the crates in the seats infront of me. He jovially offerred us some (even though they were destined for a hotel) and we politely refused. (Ironically that's the second time I've been offered alcohol in a mini bus in S.A but that's a different story!) The driver then enthusiastically held up a small bottle of vodka and offered us some. We cracked up laughing, relieved that it was unopened. The guy in the passenger seat upfront then offered us some fluro orange concoction labelled pine-nut soft drink. Once again, we declined. They stopped and had a jovial converstaion with a local women who attempted to get them to transport empty beer bottles somewhere, which she succeeded in doing. They continued to banter in Zulu. As they dropped us off infront of our hostel, they waved like school kids in a bus and drove away laughing. Their laughter that was infectious!
As I'm sleep deprived and feel dazed (for boring reasons like spending way too long on planes...not partying...although boring changed into annoying reasons last night as I was reminded as to why dorm rooms can be some of the most ridiculous and innappropriate places) this blog is about to get really lazy...
Lesotho = land of the wind. Sani Pass road leading up to Lesotho = rocky, dusty, windy, steep and happy to survive!
Swaziland = warmth. Hostel in middle of national park = surrouded by tall, dry grass and animals such as wart hogs, impalla, a freaky but resident ostrich, zebra and hippos.
Johannesburg = getting lost in the car on the way to Appartheid Museum. Cradle of Mankind. Constitutional Court.
...Soweto = interesting history including Nelson Mandella's house. Friendly people and a random Rasta pary opposite the hostel. The biggest hospital in the world with 3000 beds.
In the more white areas such as Melville = high fences with barbed wire or gates that resembled spears attached together. Feeling of distrust.
Skipping to Vietnam...been here one day. Baggage lost by airline...forced to travel light...by this I mean pretty much the clothes on my back and valuables. Just need to do emergency underwear shopping! Currenly raining but humid. Motor bikes galore!
Anyhoo, am back in the land of Oz in a week and a bit (the bit is very important) so for those of you who are in Melbourne town, can exchange stories then! For those of you in other worldy places, look forward to hearing your stories!
