I feel like we owe Africa another trip. Five weeks here just doesn’t do this wonder corner of the world justice. We’ve had a chance to pop around a bit in Southern Africa, but I feel like we just peeped through a keyhole and the place has a lot more to offer.
That said, Southern Africa is a land of great countryside and crappy cities. That’s really true through out the world, but everything here seems to be amplified. The countryside is greater and the cities are much worse (Cape Town excluded) than almost everywhere else we’ve visited. And in terms of wildlife, S. Africa has the world beat, there’s an amazing diversity of things to see here.
To top it all off, it’s one of the few places we’ve traveled so far where the American Dollar is still strong! Thank goodness the currencies of Southern Africa are falling in value faster than the dollar, because you’ll need them all. Because transportation is so spotty and semi functional in this part of the world to get around you’ll either need to hire a car and drive yourself around or book yourself on a package tour – and neither option is cheap.
Travel in Southern Africa is one of the parts of the trip I have to admit I wasn’t super excited about, but it’s really exceeded all of my expectations, and I have to recommend you look into it.
This is the part of the blog where I get us in trouble. We’ve only been here five weeks or so, but it’s hard to leave here without making a comment about the racial tension in this part of the world, and it comes from both directions. From the white Zimbabwean who corrected us by saying that he was “Rhodesian”, to the Black South African who informed us that when watching a soccer match he always pulled for the team with more Blacks (bonus points if they were from Africa) it’s impossible to escape how much things are defined by skin here.
Don’t Call Me Whitey…
First, I have never met a group of people as humorless and vaguely unfriendly at all times as white Southern Africans. Maybe it’s a result of being a ruling minority for over a hundred years, maybe it’s just the German blood coming out, but it’s hard to get a response from many of them even when you (try) to look them in the eye and wish them a good day – and I’m white like them! Somehow this hasn’t effected our (generally) good opinion of them.
And we’re constantly surprised at how many whites we see here. Everywhere we go, there they are: Namibia – full of Germans, Zambia and Zimbabwe – full of English and Dutch, South Africa – All of the above and a huge number of Portuguese for good measure. Many are members of old families that have been here for generations, and they consider themselves Africans, despite whatever problems they face this is their home.
But for how long will they be there? It’s apparent that there’s white flight, but one person we spoke to was taking it to the next level. One of our drivers in Kruger was a white Namibian living and working in South Africa. When we spoke to him about the future he shocked us by pointing at the back of his hand and saying “This isn’t a racist statement, but I’m just the wrong color for this continent.” Now, that is a racist statement, but what he said next was even more shocking to me. He was living and working in South Africa just long enough to qualify for a South African passport, then he was picking up the family and moving to Australia. It’s much easier to immigrate to Australia from S. Africa than Namibia as S.A. is a member of the British Commonwealth like Australia.
The Cult of Robert Mugabe
Almost as shocking is how Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe’s leader, is held on high among African governments. Despite the fact that the country is a shambles and it’s estimated that 1/4 of the population has fled into neighboring countries illegally there are a surprising number of monuments to him around Africa.
In Johannesburg, where there are over a million Zimbabwean refugees, the main square in downtown is named after him. It’s not uncommon to look for an address on “Robert Mugabe Street” either. It seems that while most people will admit that he’s a bastard and not helping his country or his people he is “Their” bastard, and that is preferable to the alternative.
I’m not trying to talk anyone out of coming here, far from it. Many of these issues are the same that we encounter in the US, but here unlike the US people are much more open about their prejudices and much more determined to stick to their guns. It’s awful and interesting and familiar all at the same time.
We are so glad to be leaving Johannesburg that the thought of going anywhere else is appealing. Even a departure to Zimbabwe – yes, that Zimbabwe, land of 7000% inflation, of dictatorial rule (Our first dictator, yes!), and shortages of everything – sounded good. So we happily boarded our flight out of Jo’berg and didn’t look back, even though we’ll head back in a week.
To add to our delight somehow, magically, we ended up being bumped up to first class, providence was rewarding us for leaving Jo’berg, it’s the only explanation that makes sense. I’ve never had the privilege before, but I hope it happens again.
Flying into Vic Falls is like stepping into a movie about Africa. It looks exactly like it should – dry, flat and dusty. There’s little vegetation beyond low scrub and Acacia trees, and the locals are suitably colorful. When we checked into our rooms we asked the owner about security issues – we were coming from Jo’berg and the economy here is wrecked and far beyond anything we’ve ever experienced – she replied that you shouldn’t be out on the streets after dark because there had been reports of a male Bull Elephant prowling the area of late. We asked her again, expecting to be warned about well, you know, the locals. She dispelled any fears we had, explaining that the local population were not the type to get into that sort of trouble, and I have to say she was spot on. But Zimbabwe and it’s people, economy and government are a whole other blog entry. Let’s talk about Victoria Falls.
Victoria Falls are like Niagara Falls in that they are both huge waterfalls that divide two countries. You can view the falls from both the Zimbabwe and Zambian sides. If you come here you owe it to yourself to view them from both the Zim and Zam sides. In my opinion Zim has the better part of the falls, but the Zam side is more impressive. You can get closer, and the most dramatic views are on that side. The best view is probably from the bridge downstream on the Zambezi. The bridge is in the “No Mans Land” between Zim and Zam, which is another plus.
Vic Falls is also probably a contender for “Adrenaline Capitol” of Africa. You can do a stupid amount of stupid stuff here: Bungie Jump, Gorge Slide, Parasailing, Rafting, Parachuting, pretty much everything you can do that will get you in the hospital. In addition, if those things don’t do you in, you can go on Safari and see a bunch of animals that can put you in the hospital too.
Vic Falls should be high on your list of things to see if you’re planning to come to this side of the world. Were a bit worried we’d have trouble filling a full week here, but it wasn’t a issue at all, the Falls are a place that shouldn’t be rushed. But if you’re looking for a rush, they can provide that too.
