Down to Cape Town

South Africa blew away our expectations although the truth is that we did not know what to expect as we had no prior frame of reference other than the old classic movie Zulu where Michael Caine and his band of English soldiers were almost wiped out but were saved at the last minute by the begrudging respect of their noble adversaries. We woke up before dawn to catch the sunrise and the mighty tug that would guide us to port. The omens from the very first were wonderful as we were escorted by several porpoise pods into the harbor; odd how it felt as if they were looking at us in our steel encased terrarium and that we were the objects of their curiosity. Our ship gently settled into Jetty 2 that put us less than fifty yards from the Queen Victoria hotel and a host of pubs, restaurants, shops, and other conveniences and in the background loomed Table Mountain shielding all of Cape Town.

The short story is that we indulged ourselves greatly in South Africa. I led a field trip with eighty students on our first day in port to visit two of the most progressive wineries in South Africa—Nelson Creek and Backsberg. Our goal was to ask the heads of these wineries what they were doing in the areas of sustainable development, innovative production processes, new international market strategies, attention to biodiversity, etc. We also probed and enjoyed several small pours to better understand the rationale and nuances of Pinotage and their other varietals versus the familiar vintages of our great California homeland. Of course I prepared the students while en route via the bus with tales of my own long history and indulgences with wine—they actually paid attention although I told them that their attention would have no impact on their course grade.

On day two of our South African visit we woke up at 5 AM to make our airline reservation that took us past Johannesburg to the Kruger National Park for our three day/two night “safari”.  Kruger is the “mother” of all African reserves as it was made a National Park in the ‘20s and has been an ecological/biological/environmental “jewel” of South Africa ever since. We stayed at the Sabi River Inn which was located about 30 km outside of the park although the Inn also had its share of wildlife, including a group of hippos hanging out near the 18^th hole (the Inn had a well groomed golf course with pretty reasonable rates) and a couple of lazy crocodiles digesting some of the fish and other wildlife that were foolish enough to pass by them during meal times.

We arrived mid-afternoon and barely had time to put on our safari outfits and immerse ourselves in bug repellant before jumping into some very cool looking Toyota jeeps that were equipped to handle us eco-touristas. Within a few minutes of entering through one of the south side gates our mouths fell open as we spotted all manner of wildlife, including a several elephants, mini-heards of kudu and antelope, and about another thousand species that we had only seen in books or in National Geographic/Discovery Channel programs. We were literally overwhelmed by the breadth and depth of biodiversity and while the landscape looked a bit trampled and worn it obviously manages to sustain the wildlife to the point where the elephant population has growth from about 5,000 to more than 12,000 and the lions don’t have to work as hard to find/make their kills and the other predators and the hunted seemed to be in abundance. All of this on the first day with a return to the Inn where we had cold beer, good wine, and an outdoor dinner with grilled meats and plenty of food to satiate ourselves.

We rose again at 5 AM to prepare for our first full safari day; ready to go after a couple of very good ginger snaps and a cup of tea (coffee only available via Nestle cylindrical packets). We boarded the jeep and were in the park as the sun was rising and immediately saw a herd of water buffalo and several small groups of giraffes. It was a magnificent day and we were blessed with bunches of wildlife, including several small bands of elephants and scores of little wild things that were unnamed until we bought a booklet with photographs and a listing of the wildlife in the reserve. The high-point of the day when we spotted a lioness that was about thirty yards off the road and was panting heavily after making a kill. Alicia was able to use her spiffy new camera to get a close-up of the lioness as she was dragging the hind of a water buffalo into the shade and to protect it from the vultures that were waiting patiently on the nearby trees. After dragging the hind quarter to the tree she (lionesses seem to do all the heavy work) returned to the carcass where she took a couple of chunks out of a whole side or ribs. We finally spotted the male lion who was dozing nearby but our eyes were still on the lioness who was still breathing heavily while dragging chunks of the kill to different areas for later repasts.

We saw a good deal more on the safari but the photos on Alicia’s photo site tell a much better story. As we had one full unscheduled day to enjoy we got together with two other couples and rented a van with a driver to take us to see a penguin colony located on False Bay, several whales vacationing at Hermanus, a world class vineyard/winery at Stellenbosch, a local hardware/appliance shop to let me buy a French press coffee pot, and a drive through some of the most “drop dead” beautiful coastal area we have ever seen. We also stepped for lunch at a phenomenal restaurant perched over a relatively new wine growing area located in a valley that emptied into Hermanus. I had some of the best dang ribs ever and the others all said that their meal was terrific although after eating shipboard food nonstop for several weeks I think raw seaweed would have been tasty. We ended the day by going to a couple of stores/shops along the water front to buy survival food for those days when we could not face another boring ship meal.

On our last day in Cape Town we went on a FDP (Field Development Program) to visit a township; townships are all black communities that are generally located outside of the regular cities.  We learned that while the overall unemployment rate in South Africa is almost 50% we were also informed that the unemployment rate in the townships hovers around 95%.  Given this sad statistic we expected to find a “depressed” community when in fact we found a pretty vibrant community filled with people that were dedicated to helping each other. We walked around the township and it was at first unsettling to have both old and young people walk up to us to shake hands and ask where we were from. I think we got over it pretty quickly when we figured out that they were just reaching out to let us know that they were glad to see that at least some “Americans” were willing to venture into their community. We ended out township visit with another phenomenal meal at a dining hall that was run by a local female entrepreneur and had built onto one of the modest homes. The food was both familiar and foreign with several types of sweet potatoes/yams that were mouth watering sweet, chicken in a local chili sauce that had literally had been walking around the back yard a few hours earlier, some humongous meatballs that obviously had deep Dutch roots, and a variety of curries, meat stews, and other food savories that would have given the ethnic Iron Chef cookout a run for the money. All of this and a five piece local marimba style band performing both regional music and some well-known favorites, including Over the Rainbow.

Cape Town was truly a “godsend” and we left the Cape with regret although well stocked with several bottles of wine, a new coffee maker, bags of chips, cheese, and assorted foodstuff to save us on those days when we could not face the overcooked beef or dry chicken.  I’ve written this piece on South Africa as we round the Cape with some pretty powerful wave action and frequent escorts of whales, dolphins, and incredible vistas of the South African Coast.