South Africa

We've just come back from a week in South Africa. Since it was such a short time, we didn't really go far afield, but the part we were in is absolutley a must-see/must-do. We flew from Heathrow into Johannesburg, then straight on out to George...both flights combined were about 13 hours, not adding in layovers.

The scenery around Mossel Bay/George/Knysna/Wildreness is outstanding...and every turn different. Prices are amazingly low. You can afford the finest hotels and the best meals...they're half to a third the price of what you'd pay in London.

Photos...

Wow. That's fantastic.

I've often wondered what it'd be like to have a holiday there.

Lemme ask this, how did they treat you, did you get much feeling of the political issues that are there?

Thanks for posting this.

Welcome home, Lisa!

My close friend at work will be thrilled that you enjoyed your trip to SA! She's from Cape Town and is looking forward to showing Chris & I around when and if she moves back and we visit!!

Thanks for sharing your photos! It really *is* another world, isn't it? Amazing  

Jen

beautiful! thanks for sharing!

Beautiful photos, thanks for sharing!  Glad you had a good trip.

barbara

Leah asked:

Lemme ask this, how did they treat you, did you get much feeling of the political issues that are there?

The treatement we received from everyone was exceptionally positive; South Africa does have its problems (37% unemployment, townships with whole families living in what I would call a garden shed) BUT they are very proud that they have moved / are moving out of Apartheid without coming off the rails and suffering some of the disasterous consequences that have been see post-colonially elsewhere in Africa.

We were in an area where tourism is a major employer / industry.  Once you get used to everyone looking to help you (and to get a tip for doing so   ) then they are helpful.   The unemployed don't sit on their backends doing nothing - they find a job to do.   They organise themselves into self-employed groups around the tourist industry but in a positive way.  The nightwatchman on the car park ... the self-employed airport porters ... and they work *with* the places around which they work - they get given official uniforms and I'm sure that if any of them provides anything but the best of service, they know they'll be replaced.

There *is* still very much a colour slant;  I talk of people serving the tourist industry and the majority (but not all of them) are indeed black, and if I look at the people on our internal flight, the majority (but not all of them) were indeed white.  And there are some pains as the balance changes.  We were in South Africa to attend a wedding, and we were honoured to meet some people in a way that a tourist wouldn't, especially from the Afrikaans (ex-dutch) community.  They're all proud to be South African; the younger ones excited about how things are moving forward, the older ones a little more aprehensive - we had a couple of instances described to us where positive discrimination made it very difficult for them, but they seem to shake off the negative effect on them personally with "well that's how it is / that's how it has to be" ....

Hmm ... I seem to be a long way off "Uk-Yankee" regular topics here; better stop writing before I make the post too long to be accepted  

I'm glad you had a good time! It sounds like an amazing trip.  I'd love to make it someday.  Thanks for sharing the photos!  I love photos!!

Loved the pics Lisa and Graham...  it looks as though it was an excellent trip... and even a bit educational...  very good...  I am going to gather that the wedding was excellent also?  

take care

Wow...very nice pictures.

How close were you to the rhino? It looks like it was right in front of you...or did you have a really good zoom on the camera?

I'd love to visit South Africa. It's on my looonnnnggg list of places and things I want to see before I die.

Shel, yes, the wedding was perfect thanks.  Our son Chris married his  fiancee Delene, who was brought up a few miles from where they got married, and where her family still live. It's match that is so right for both of them.  Long, soppy, romantic story, which would take me way off topic!

Melissa - the Rhino.  We do have a good zoom on the camera, but didn't need to use it on this occasion .... the animals don't see any threat in the tour vehicle that we were in, provided that it doesn't drive straight at them. We got close!  I should describe the animals as "semi-wild";  they're on what's known as a game farm - a huge area, but managed for wildlife conservation and for the tourist industry, also  (but it's hard to pin them down) I suspect for 'sport' elsewhere in due course - I can't see how the economics would work otherwise / how they would manage the herds and have the correct number and mix of animals that their land can support.

Don't tempt us to post too many more pictures - between Dad and us, we have 2 CDs full  

Thanks for all your comments! It was a fun trip...and worth the long hours to get there. We'll defintiely go back. And thanks to Graham for giving such great answers in my absence. I've had a few deadlines to catch up with; not quite caught, but getting there! Can you stand one more photo? The lovely couple...

Welcome back Lisa and thanks for the great pics!

Ooo, I can't believe I missed this thread a few weeks ago!

Welcome back, Lisa!  Glad you had a great trip.  South Africa has a special place in my heart too.  I've been twice in the past year with work...spent a week both times in Pretoria.  It really is an amazing country and the people there are just fantastic.  They certainly have their fair share of challenges and difficulties to overcome but every South African I know and have met are so friendly and down to earth....they're just such a positive people.  

Unfortunately when I've gone, most of my trip is focused on work stuff (I manage a project team out there) so I haven't been able to tour much.  I hear George is just lovely though.  Lucky you!  

The work I do down there is very much involved with anti-apartheid, and your right that most of the Afrikaans are not necessarily racist against black people.  What I found interesting during my trips though was the fact that the poverty divide was so deep.  There is a huge canyon between those that have money and those that don't.  There isn't much of a middle class really, and saddly, it just happens that most of the blacks are poor.  It really is a totally different world.

But I think everyone should go to South Africa once in their lives....you really can feel like the very well-to-do sort for awhile!  The prices there are so cheap....I did all my Christmas shopping there last year for less than £100!

Anyway!  

Glad you had a nice time and thanks for sharing the pics!  (Only 2 CD's?  Both times I've gone there I've come back with no less than three rolls of film!  And that's without doing much touristy stuff!)  

(Only 2 CD's?

That works out to almost 700 photos.   And my father-in-law took even more and he's given us his copies too.

How did I miss this thread?  Congratulations for your son and new daughter-in-law with their new marrage and to you too Lisa and Graham

From the pictures it looks like a very wonderful holiday, probably the kind of place you wanted to take in for about a month rather than a week but that's for when you go visit them next time