cape town 2012

Early in the morning, we reached the port in Cape Town, South Africa. I could say I was prepared for the beauty--after all, they’d been telling us for days that our entry to this port was not to be missed--but in reality, I was unprepared for what I’d encounter during our five-day stay in this country. I’ll take the days in order, since I seem to process them chronologically no matter how many other ways I think this journey. My early views were of Table Mountain, a 3,558 foot plateau-topped mountain, flanked on its east by Devil’s Peak and by Lion’s Head on the west. Further west of Lion’s Head is Signal Hill.

Since I didn’t have time to climb the mountain, I won’t spend much time describing specifics, except to say that its name comes from the “tablecloth” of orographic clouds, which forms as the result of a smoking contest between the Devil and a pirate named Van Hunks. It’s either that or it’s a cold south-easterly Atlantic wind that blows up the slopes and collides with warm air from the Indian Ocean, causing condensation. Your call, but whatever the reason, it’s stunning, and we had quite the view of it from our decks.

Unlike our other ports, we each needed to do a face-to-face with South African immigration authorities, which occurred onboard our vessel. No one seemed bothered by the additional time because for once, our passports were getting stamped! I got a stamp in Canada, but for most if not all of the other countries we’ve visited, we’ve received no stamps at all...so much for ordering extra passport pages!

That morning, I went to hear an Afrikaner poet named Joan Hambidge and a writer/publisher named Robin Malan read and talk about their work. I enjoyed both, although I wished the program had included some South Africans of color. The reading ended and I grabbed a quick lunch before heading on my afternoon adventure: petting a cheetah. I was the first one in line, and the cheetah--named Hemingway--lasted patiently for about half the group. The others got to enter the fenced area and pet a sleeping cheetah. I’m guessing that was cool, but I was glad that Hemingway was awake when I put my hand on his back. Pure power in that animal, even when sitting. Check out the size of his head.

There were also some cubs, but we could only view them through the fence since they were just getting used to humans. These cheetahs will not be released into the wild, but they are part of the attempt to increase the cheetah population in the world.

Not only did I get to visit a Cheetah Conservancy, but we also went to the Spier wine estate, where there was a Conservation Outreach project for birds of prey. I actually had an owl and a falcon land on my arm, although these photos are with the trainer.

This falcon clearly had mixed feelings about putting on a show.

We also saw a Cape Vulture named Carcass, something called a Secretary Bird, and a Martial Eagle. His name was Brutus. I’m guessing these guys have difficulty finding prom dates.

That evening, my friend Damian Elias and I met up with some others on upper Long Street for dinner at Mama Africa’s, where we were lucky enough to score a table, allowing us to hear live music while we ate. One of the singers had an incredible vocal range and even mixed some opera into the set.

And that was just the first day. On day two, we boarded a bus in the morning, and our guide Delia McBride, began telling us a bit about South African history and the landscape we were seeing as we passed informal settlements--where the effects of apartheid were in stark evidence--and drove into some of the most stunning scenery I’ve seen in my life. South Africa is a gorgeous country, and our bus driver decided to take us along N1, the scenic Garden Route. I’ll let the pictures do the talking.

Traveling east, we arrived four hours later at the Garden Route Game Lodge, a private family-run reserve, where we’d spend the next three days. We checked into our rooms, which included the welcome surprise of a deep tub. On the grounds, they also had a pool and a hot tub, but the weather didn’t stay dry long enough to make either of those appealing.

That afternoon, we went on our first game drive. We had two drives that day, ten to a jeep not including our fabulous guide Cornie. What an interesting guy. We found out he was also trained as an opera singer. Though he never sang a note for us, he did an excellent job showing off the animals, and his knowledge came with a quirky sense of humor.

The photos don’t do justice to the majesty of the animals we saw.

I’ll put better photos of the lions further on, but here is one of us being chased by an impressively large male lion. Cornie threw the jeep into gear and took off. He’d warned us against standing, not only so no one would topple out if he had to hightail it out of there but because if we all stayed seated, the lions would supposedly see us as one intimidating beast. Well, this lion obviously realized he was the more intimidating creature in the field that day. His roar was mammoth. I’m telling you, he isn’t King for nothing.

We returned after our second game drive to a roaring fireplace in the lodge. After warming ourselves, we were treated to an incredible buffet dinner, where I tried kudu, a species of antelope, and Malva pudding, my new favorite dessert, for the first time. The pudding is warm and spongy, made with apricot jam and covered with some sort of caramel sauce. I’m hoping I’ll be able to replicate it once I’m back in the U.S. If anyone has a recipe, let me know!

The next morning, we were in the jeep at 7 AM, ready for our third game drive. It had rained heavily that night and into the morning, but our luck was holding so out we went.

We had a large breakfast when we returned and then went to visit their Reptile Center, where I held a corn snake. Someone must have gotten a photo of it while it was constricting my hand and slithering up to my neck. Obviously, I lived to tell.

One thing I really loved about this trip was that we had time just to walk the grounds. The reserve included a bird walk, and the variety of songs was a peaceful soundtrack to the day. I spent about an hour alone with the cheetahs, watching them trace paths they’d apparently followed hundreds of times previously. At points, they got quite close to me. I had a red umbrella--it rained heavily while I stood with them--and I wondered how they were seeing me. I ran out of battery juice just as the brothers started cleaning each other, but I did manage to get some video and a few shots. Mostly, as I’m finding out, my best shots are lodged somewhere in my grey matter.

We had another eventful game ride that evening.

Cornie told us the water buffalo, such as the big guy below, is one of the meanest species. Here, he’s wearing his, “I dare you to enter my kill zone” look. Clearly it’s been perfected.

We even got to go back and see the lions, this time through a fence. The fence allowed us to get much closer, but Cornie still kept his foot near the gas pedal in case we had to make another hasty retreat. The male lion, however, seemed to care less, though he did give us one good roar.

At the end, we got to feed the elephants, who’d retired to their barn, which they prefer when it rains. We also got to see more baby cheetahs. You wouldn’t know they were close to endangered by how many I’ve seen on this journey.

We had another fantastic dinner and the next day, we packed and got ready for our final game drive. This time, Cornie showed us more of the flora. We also saw the giraffe family again and a baby zebra, who was only a couple days old.

I was sad to leave the reserve. Our tour guide, Delia, made sure we had enough time to stop at an aloe store, where we learned about the process of manufacturing aloe for medicinal and dermatological uses. Of course, we had the opportunity to purchase some of these products, made not from Aloe vera but Aloe ferox, I think. It’s a different type of aloe indigenous to countries in the south of Africa. Many of you are getting some version of it as gifts. I promise, your skin will never feel smoother!

That evening, we had some time to walk around the very commercial waterfront. We had an amazing dinner at Vovo Telo, a fantastic café and bakery right near the ferris wheel on the waterfront. We unknowingly walked the long way back to the ship, but it felt good since I’d done much less walking in this port than in others.

So, on to my final day in South Africa. Bob and Alice Evans--peace and justice workers who have collaborated with Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu, among others--had sailed with us between Ghana and South Africa and shared some of their experiences. They, along with our Executive Dean John Tymitz, encouraged us to sign up for the Amy Biehl Foundation field trip, offered on our last day in port. I took them up on the suggestion.

To give a brief history, Amy Biehl was in Cape Town on a Fulbright scholarship. She was a 26-year-old anti-apartheid activist who was brutally murdered in 1993 in the township of Guguletu, just outside Cape Town, for political reasons. Four of the men who killed her were caught and sentenced to prison. After serving fewer than five years, all were pardoned as part of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. It was within the rights of Amy’s parents--Linda and Peter--to have stopped the pardon, but they did not. Instead, they hoped for restorative justice and a chance to heal for all people involved.

Just after Amy’s death, her parents started the Amy Biehl Foundation, to empower youth in the townships and prevent further violence. They forgave their daughter’s killers and two of the men work at the Foundation to this day. They were working the day we visited, but we did not see them. On a DVD we watched, Linda Biehl said there would always be a hole where her daughter had been but she’d needed to fill it with understanding.

In addition to the Foundation itself, we visited the five schools where the Foundation has programs in place to provide learning initiatives for students in the townships. We saw many programs, including those for reading, music, dance, and environmental studies. The young man in the photo with me is in seventh grade and told me he’d like to play professional soccer when he gets old enough. A friend of mine, Donovan Smalls, is in the blue shirt and I wanted to give him credit for taking some of the photos below!

The enthusiasm of the students and teachers reached all of us, and once back on the ship, many of the students began meeting and talking about how else they could participate. The townships are doing a lot, but there is still a long way to go toward equal education and opportunities post-apartheid. One of the frustrations that students and faculty have mentioned is the lack of opportunity to participate in a more integral way with the children we meet. In the words of the irrepressible humanitarian Desmond Tutu, who has traveled with Semester at Sea in the past and was invited--but unable--to do so again on this voyage:

“One of the sayings in our country is Ubuntu – the essence of being human. Ubuntu speaks particularly about the fact that you can't exist as a human being in isolation. It speaks about our interconnectedness. You can't be human all by yourself, and when you have this quality – Ubuntu – you are known for your generosity. We think of ourselves far too frequently as just individuals, separated from one another, whereas you are connected and what you do affects the whole World. When you do well, it spreads out; it is for the whole of humanity.”