Africa has never really been on my list of places to go. I can't explain why except to say that other places were more on my mind. When my father-in-law announced to our family five years ago that he wanted to treat us to a trip to South Africa I was of course instantly on-board. My first thought was "this is the trip of a lifetime" so how could I say no. After visiting the continent and spending most of the three weeks in South Africa it is safe to say I will return.
In order to reflect on my time visiting this vast continent I believe I must start with the expectations that I had going into the trip. The first thing that comes to mind was, "is it safe?" After researching online and talking to many people the answer is, it's complicated. I will get into that later. But for planning purposes I was convinced to not let it stop me and to find a way to travel safely. It seems that no trip to Africa would be complete without going on a safari. While during the planning stages I definitely was resistant to the idea of spending too much time looking at animals, I now know that isn't a hazard to avoid. Lastly, as with any travel I immediately started to think about all of the yummy food I was going to eat. But in my mind I was prepared more for authentic "African" food when in reality the range of food we experienced was so broad and unique in ways I never expected.
Anticipating safety issues was on the forefront of my mind when we started to plan our trip. Reading about crime statistics and stories of violence is definitely a little jarring when you are planning a trip. When I would reach out to Air Bnb hosts or even the embassy offices I was met with an attitude of "it's not dangerous, you just have to be smart" but this did not align with comments I would read on Reddit threads or stories in the news. While I knew that I was going to experience something different then say traveling to Japan, I did start to get a sense that much of the "fears and concerns" while very real are meant to remind travelers to take heed and to be extra cautious rather than suggesting that one stay away altogether. Once we arrived in South Africa we were instantly assaulted with homes behind fortress walls and electrical wire. Having looked at many airbnbs online I was prepared for this. The little hut at the end of our street with 24 hour security guards was not something I was expecting.
It is often said that crime is a result of poverty. When some folks do not have what they need to survive they will resort to crime, especially acts of petty crime such as stealing. In all honesty, the poverty that we witnessed was way beyond any scope of my imagination. Once I started to see signs of poverty and learning more about the history of apartheid and colonization in South Africa suddenly it all started to make sense. There is no way to truly describe in words the complete abject poverty that we witnessed coupled with the heightened need to protect ones domain. It wasn't just in the cities. It was literally in almost every town we travelled through. It became weird to not see homes protected by barbed or electrical wire or some other type of sharp objects.
(This image was borrowed from Big Wide World Travel)
I think the starkest incident of poverty we witnessed was in Cape Town. The townships in Cape town were formed primarily by discriminatory legislation in 1923 and later in 1950 during the (legalized) Apartheid era. Laws at the time mandated segregation and created segregated residential areas for non-white populations. These laws forcibly moved Black South Africans, and later other Communities of Color, into designated, often under-resourced, townships, isolating them from the rest of the city and creating a workforce for white industries. We were confronted with the sheer vastness of the township in Cape Town on the day that we drove to a part of the country that is home to the majority of South Africa's wineries. The contrast of our posh van with a personal driver and guide next to the miles and miles of township was not lost on me. It seriously went on for miles and miles and reached far into the distance from the highway we were traveling on. Its estimated that more than 2 million people live in this area that amounts to tin shack after tin shack.
I am happy to report that we never once felt threatened or afraid. As already mentioned we did have the privilege of a personal guide and driver in both Cape Town and Johannesburg. But even for the week that Luke and I traveled through the southern coast and less populated rural areas we felt completely safe.
Anytime you are in an airport in South Africa you can spot the folks who have just come from a safari by their all beige attire. Opportunities to encounter, feed, and observe animals is truly abundant throughout South Africa and in and around Kruger Park, just one of many places to enjoy those experiences. Every single leg of our trip involved encountering some form of animal in a variety of settings. Some were just baboons spotted on the roadside meandering as they take little pit stops to groom one another or find a little snack. There was also the Ostrich Ranch where we stopped so my 6 year old niece could use the potty and then had the exciting and somewhat aggressive experience of feeding Ostriches. Those beaks on those long necks are no joke. In Zimbabwe we took a walk out in an Elephant sanctuary and met the most friendly and lovable family of elephants. We got to give them some pats and feel under their ears and then feed then some yummy snacks!
While each of our encounters was exciting in its own way nothing truly can compare to the experience of going on safari. This was truly one of the coolest experiences I think I have ever had that I never realized would be as amazing as it was. First of all, again due to the generosity of my Father-in-law we stayed at a lovely lodge where we each had our own beautiful huts to sleep in that faced a river. We were fed three amazing meals every day. There was a great mix of some typical African flavors and dishes mixed with other varied options. Lots of beets! Turns out beets are quite popular in South Africa. The food was top notch. The lodge was quite small and had a very open air vibe with lots of space outside to sit and watch out for animals. There was even a small and very frigid pool. In general just a very lovely accommodation experience which heightened the experience.
It goes without saying that the safari rides themselves were the true highlight of our time there. We were in a typical open-air tiered jeep that fit 10 plus the driver, perfect for fitting our entire family together. We road twice a day and once on the last morning. Each ride was about 3 hours long. We also went on a bush walk which was so thrilling. And we saw sooooooo many animals. Tons of impalas and elephants. Giraffes, Zebras, a Hippo (we named him Chomps), Wildebeest, tons of different birds including the Zazu bird, Kudu and a few other different types of Antelopes, Water Buffalo, Warthogs, and Mongoose (including the tiniest carnivore). AND a pregnant leopard and a lion and lioness walking together. These animals came right next to our jeep. Like anyone sitting on the side could have reached out and touched them. This absolutely blew my mind. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine that an animal like that would get that close to us. It was exhilarating to say the least. For the life of me I can't wrap my mind around how that could happen the way it did. But believe me you it sure enough did.
My husband has mentioned several times that some of his favorite moments of the safari were when the driver would stop and turn off the engine and we would just sit in silence. All 11 of us, even the fidgety 6 year old, would sit and listen for animal sounds, bird calls, wind rustling the grasses, the stillness. He also mentions the time we were surrounded by a herd of elephants and one big one walked right behind the jeep where we were sitting in the last row and kind of whipped it's trunk around almost in his face. I share his fondness for that encounter as it was magical to sit quietly surrounded by the elephant herd while they ate all the plants to fill some of their 20 hours of eating a day quota. When the elephant walked up behind us and passed by it did feel a little like an acceptance from that great big creature.
If you are still with me you are definitely waiting to hear about the food. In short, it was amazing, modern, traditional, well prepared, served with a smile, and very cheap. Like so so affordable. Even the fancy stuff. Small plate dishes with multiple sauces and ingredients that were clearly all hand prepared were commonly less than $10. I can honestly say that I only had one bad meal and it was more like just boring and not what I was expecting but still well prepared.
You may or may not know that barbecuing is a huge deal in South Africa. It's called Braai and although we did have gas grills available at all the air bnbs there was also a place for using actual wood to grill somewhere in the outdoor areas. This was definitely a little more challenging for us than using charcoal and our handy charcoal starter but once we got the hang of it we really enjoyed the experience. We did eat a few weird meats like ostrich and crocodile mainly. I think that one of my most memorable meals was some ramen that we had in Cape Town. We also went to a farmer's market on our last day in Cape Town and I can safely say that I would have eaten food from every single vendor at the market. It was here that I achieved one of my main food goals when traveling out of the country which was to have a falafel wrap. I find in the US there is never enough pickled veggies in the falafel while in other countries there are ample pickled veggie options to add to any kind of gyro/schwarma wrap. In short, I did not go hungry and was delighted every day by the food we ate.
I remember in the mid 80's learning about the Civil Rights Movement in the US. It was certainly a brief side note in a high school history class. I remember being shocked and to this day the overarching feeling I had was just that it had been less than 30 years since the events of the movement in the 60's. There was also a sense of discomfort to know that I had been clueless to these facts up until this time. Since being in South Africa I have been revisited countless times by this feeling. Although apartheid was happening long before it was legalized it had been legal for about 50 years and only legally ended in the 90's. That was about 30 years ago. When we parted ways with our guide in Joburg I had this gnawing question on my mind: did he feel hopeful for South Africa. Because I will be honest, I did not. But I want to. I want to believe that as we have seen in the US, it takes time, likely generations, to overturn the wrongs of the past. Even after 60 years we still have so much work to do in this country to ensure that not only all people are treated with dignity and respect but to overturn the effects of hundreds of years of mistreatment, abuses, and rights being denied because of the color of someones skin.
But even worse than that feeling is this reality: many Black Americans were taken from their homes on the African continent and enslaved here on our soil always being a minority. Black South Africans were not taken from their homes. Their home was invaded while they remained the majority of the population. It was brutally invaded and conquered by a smaller group of colonizers with more power (in the form of weapons). It's resources were taken from the land and the people. Black South Africans are not just fighting for their freedom they are fighting to take their home and their resources back. Both scenarios are deplorable but for some reason this reality feels like a different line drawn in the sand of oppression.
It was clear to me that South Africans working towards a more just and free South Africa look to the United States for guidance and support with their efforts. Furthermore, I believe after being a tourist there that one way we can impact the country is to visit. The travel industry is clearly one way to support the growth of the countries economy and although there is questions about who that might benefit I can safely say that the tourism industry directly effects Black South Africans as they are the ones performing all of the labor.
If you have considered a trip to South Africa please go. Tip well. Eat all the things. And spend as much time as you can seeing animals after you do the proper task of educating yourself about apartheid and its long and far reaching effects.