After Jo-burg we headed to the famous Kruger national park. Elephants, lions, rhinos, bla bla bla. It's amazing how one can become blasé about something that just a few weeks ago was utterly fascinating.
From there we headed to Swaziland, in the hopes of finding some Swazis, I guess. What we did fine instead was rainy, cold lush hills perpetually covered in fog.
It was like living in a cloud, or somewhere in the Northern UK. Now you may think that this analogy is unfair, seeing as I've never been to the Northern UK (at the time of original writing) but the first three towns we passed when we came out of Swaziland (without any Swazis to show for it, no less)were called Belfast, Dundee and Newcastle.
Coincidence? I think not!
Back in SA, we started making our way to Lesotho. Along the way, we had a chance to stop and meet some true Afrikaans farmers...boers; very friendly, amiable people who were very welcoming to us. But there is a dark side: shorts worn with knee-high socks. Mullet haircuts...even on kids, which I'm pretty sure is in violation of UN children's rights.
And big bushy mustaches (this time, at least, the children were spared). It's like being time-warped back into the 70's! I'm now convinced that the Zulu wars were not fought over land and farming rights, but as a matter of fashion sense. Unfortunately, the Zulus lost.
Although Apartheid is no longer around, the effects are still quite evident. The economic divide between white, coloured and black are quite stark. There is also a great divide in opinions about where the country is going. Some see Mandela as a hero who pointed SA in the right direction and acts as a moral guide as well. Others feel it necessary to point out that he was jailed as a terrorist for detonating a bomb in a train station and started sending the country into a tailspin.
Those who have foreign passports have left or are keeping them very close at hand for when they are going to have to flee. Those who don't have a choice...have hope. And lots of it! It really does transcend race and economic boundaries, and maybe these are the only opinions that really matter since they'll be the ones who will make the necessary sacrifices.
I have to point out that the coming into SA also had a very significant effect on The Truck as a whole. In Vic Falls, we had a change of groups as new people came and others left. The rather smallish group which went from Vic Falls to Jo-Burg consisted of merry English holiday makers with tons o' cash to spend on themselves and their new Truck Mates. The rest of us, being the very accommodating people that we are, allowed them. And merriment was had by all.
In Jo-burg, a very different crowd joined us. Again a nurse...and Dutch. I'm not sure if she knew about our previous Dutch nurses or if her constitution would tend towards a Dutch Nurse Sandwich, but in my mind it already had. It's amazing the lesbian orgy scenarios which one can derive with countless hours of driving around...but maybe that's just me.
There was an additional Dutch person and 2 Flemish people as well, so Dutch became the second official language of The Truck, which helped in trying to figure out Afrikaans. There was a quack American, who we forgot in some small, nameless town/toilet break. It was only after 90 minutes of driving that his tent mate noticed he wasn't there. That's the kind of presence this guy has. We did finally pick him up, but by then end of the trip, there were more than a few who felt it would have been better if we hadn't.
There was another Canadian - a Chaos theory something or other PhD student; a Dubliner who thought that the rest of Ireland was inhabited by "Culchies"; an octogenarian from a small place near some other small place in northern England who spoke, I kid you not, without ever using consonants. I didn't understand a word he said for the whole trip. We got along quite well.
Finally there were a group of Welsh, one of whom was the former mayor of Cardiff. It's true! I can't tell you he is, but he is the one mayor without multiple double L's and random Y's in his name. C'mon, there can't be more than a handful of people in Wales who can fit that description.
Oh...and my brother joined The Truck. Since I'm too lazy to take him off this distribution list, I won't say anythng about him.
Anyhoo, long story short, we went through Lesotho, which was very nice and drove along the garden route to Cape Town, climbed Table Mountain went on wine tours in Stellenbosch stopped in some random places along the way and it was all very, very nice.
Next it’s off to Namibia tomorrow morning to roast in 45°C heat.
Oh, and some photos if you're not already bored:
http://www.ofoto.com/I.jsp?c=9s4cmvvd.99y4ydh5&x=0&y=bythvn
