My dad and Nadia at the Baptist Guesthouse

Visit from my Parents

We had a wonderful visit from my parents the last 3 weeks. We have been staying in South Africa for the last few weeks and so it was easy for them to fly into Johannesburg. I was really excited to show them South Africa and Johannesburg especially since a lot of it is very much 1st world and a lot easier to get around in. The last time they visited was in Gondola and it was hot and just a harder place to be. Logistics were more difficult just by virtue of poor infrastructure and we did not have running water in our home.

This time we had a nice place to stay at the Baptist guesthouse with lots of place outside for us to enjoy playing with Nadia and having our tea and meals in the outdoors. We traveled a lot but it was a lot of fun. In Johannesburg we were able to visit a botanical gardens complete with a beautiful English rose garden. We attended the Apartheid museum and several of the local churches on Sunday. Johannesburg is a very dynamic city with rich and poor living right next to each other. The contrasts are quite visible yet and much of the city is walled in with electric fences, guards and closed neighborhoods. Despite this, the city is quite diverse and neighborhoods are getting more diverse with every color and ethnicity of people you can imagine. It has the best nightlife in South Africa and the arts are flourishing. It also has a rather mild, dry climate that makes it very live able and comfortable out of doors with many people having pools or indoor/outdoor living spaces.

Rose Gardents

Mid way through the visit we visited the city of Nelspruit along the escarpment of the Drakensburg passing through small towns on the way made up of separate sections of middle/upper class housing and sprawling poor townships made of decaying houses and shacks. While staying in Nelspruit we spent a day traveling in the lush green mountains, looking down the beautiful Blythe River Canyon and the drop of the escarpment. We ate pancakes and visited an African silk museum where I was able to try eating my first Mopani worms with my dad. Not bad actually.

Blythe River Canyon Rim

Blythe River Canyon Rim

Eating Mopani Worms (not bad actually)

We then visited Kruger National Park. We saw two giraffes, lots of monkeys, one which really wanted the muffin I was eating, tons of elephants, zebra, wildebeest, rhino and much more. One heard of elephants walked across the road right in front of us. I actually put the car in reverse, ready to back off if the elephant decided to use our car for football practice.

This baboon wanted my muffin. I rolled the window up quick. Scary!

It was fortunate that in Maputo the weather was actually cool with some rain. It made for enjoyable days of walking the streets, exploring the old fort and trying out the sidewalk cafes in the park. We ate at our favorite Thai restaurant and spent a few days driving along the beachfront drive. It was really nice to be in Maputo and not have to work for a change. Just to enjoy the beauty and vibrancy of this beautiful and interesting city. It was also nice to be away from the walls and electric fences of Johannesburg and to enjoy walking this very walk able city.

Our way back was through Swaziland. It took a lot longer than expected and we counted more speed bumps along the highway than we cared for but the scenery as we approached the mountains was spectacular. We stayed at a farm where they provided our breakfast of fresh eggs, milk (with the cream) and homemade sausage. I suppose it was a lot like what it used to be when I was young and we got fresh eggs and milk from the farmer up the road. There was plenty of space to eat ouside and just enjoy the peace, quiet and beautiful scenery as well as the Swazi artwork, candles and beautiful batiks.

Swazi Breakfast

We spent the last few days back in Johannesburg. In the short time we were able to take a tour of Soweto Township by a very knowledgeable older man who grew up in the Apartheid era in the township itself. He was a teacher and had to often protect his own students form the police at times. It was interesting to see the area where students protested and several were shot by the police, Desmond Tuto and Mandela’s homes. Did you know they grew up just a few blocks from each other? For those of you who follow South African history, the blacks and colored peoples as they were defined were made to live in townships with minimal services, in shacks or matchbox houses and no electricity or water in their homes. They had to carry passes and could be searched at any time or restricted to certain areas of the city. The townships sprawl for miles and though things are slowly improving unfortunately Johannesburg has not yet solved its problems of informal settlements where people from other countries and the rural areas settle in shacks illegally. We saw one of 18 which actually contained 16,000 people in what looked to be about 100 acres of land. The city just cannot keep up.

Soweto

Cooling Towers in Soweto, symbol of appresive Apartheid. They never provided electricity for the township surrounding it.

The last two days were spent relaxing and playing games. It was sad to say good by but it was with good feelings because we had so much fun.