'From Inglewood to a Single Hood in Botswana'

Since my last update I have visited three amazing new countries. I'm sitting in the Namibian town of Swapkopmund, where the desolate Kalahari collides with the cold and powerful Atlantic. Just outside the town are some of the imposing sand dunes that make this country famous, and its coastline is as rugged as its name, the Skeleton Coast, would imply - it acquired this moniker thanks to its ruthless treatment of passing vessels rounding the cape over the centuries.
I was about to complete the 'adrenalin trifecta' today by skydiving in this very scenic place, but unfortunately heavy winds did not allow us to proceed and we are grounded till tomorrow morning. Namibia is a land of jaw dropping scenery and imposing landscapes, and merits a blog post of its own in the near future. Stay tuned also for an update on my skydive...

I joined an organized tour (called an 'overland tour' as we use a specially designed truck/bus) at the end of April after saying bye to my new friends in Durban. My last night before departing was spent in Johannesburg. From the very begining of my trip, even before I left Canada, people had been telling me to avoid Jo'burg if at all possible, that it was an ugly city well worth steering clear of due to its atrocious crime rate. In fact, the first story I heard upon arrival was from a Swedish traveller who had gone to the top of the famous Hillbrow Tower in downtown Jozi. As he exited the tower he was grabbed by four guys while a fifth took everything out of his pockets, they then beat him up and ran away...in broad daylight on a business workday! Many similar horror stories had been recited by travellers and South Africans alike along my route, so I was undoubtedly wary from the getgo.

Contrary to everything I heard, I had a fantastic time. I met up with two friends who were born and raised in Jo'burg (we met randomly in Cape Town back in early April) and they were great guides to their city. Omphile and Lebo are young professionals my age, who grew up predominantly in the post-apartheid age and have thus had many freedoms not available to their parents and families. It was very interesting to see South Africa through their eyes, they inundated me with information and anecdotes on daily life in Jo'burg, providing incredible insight. Our discussions took place primarily in a popular hangout for young people of all colours that once served as a white-only lawn bowling club. From there we ventured around Jo'burg by car, even going deep into the city center despite it being well past sunset (an act I had been warned was unthinkable). We stopped at a shebeen (illegal township bar) in the CBD (Central Business District - infamous for being prime location of all crime) that was run by one of Omphile's good friends. Then we drove through the very posh and very heavily gated, razor-wired, and electric-fenced suburbs of the rich which sat just next door. All without incident. In fact, we didn't even need to engage too often in the favorite South African passtime of running red lights for fear of car jackers (not joking). Through it all I continued to struggle at how such an arrangement - juxtaposition of rich and poor - took place, and started to see why these two optimistic young South Africans felt their city was misrepresented, the great melting pot of cultures was in fact quite secure considering what a powderkeg of a setup it posesses. By no means would I recommend such a trip to an unaccompanied traveller, even in a vehicle. It served to put things into perspective for me, though, and I am very grateful for the opportunity to see it through the eyes of locals. Jozi most definitely merits warnings and precautions, but dismissing it as a one-dimensional entity would be foolish.

Instead of the heartless, bloodthirsty monster that it is often made out to be, I was fortunate enough to see the good side of Johannesburg. In visiting both the beautiful and ugly portions of this throbbing metropolis I began to see what Omphile and Lebo were talking about when they described Jo'burg as the real modern South Africa: it is the rare place where the various cultures and ethnicities don't just meet but actually commingle and interact, depending deeply on each other to function and survive. So much of this fascinating country still exists in a state of clandestine apartheid, due to the remnants of the xenophobic past. It is no secret that in most parts of the country, people prefer to stick to their own kin and are untrusting of other races. In Jozi they collide - sometimes violently - in a pulsating melee of culture, energy and emotion. Personally, I cannot fault the negatives of this city. It is the very embodiment of the duality I tried to describe in my previous post. It is the prototype for contemporary South Africa and for all its faults, if only the upsides are properly harnessed it could become a model for cities around the world that strive to nurture cultural melting pots, even if it never ranks among the most scenic or inviting.

The next morning myself and seven fellow travellers from Liverpool, Holland, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada boarded the tour bus/truck and departed bright and early towards the wilds of South Africa. Our first stop was a private game reserve just outside the world famous Kruger National Park. Here we were greeted with a very pleasant surprise: a complimentary upgrade from the confines of the campsite (and, as I would soon find out, tents that smelled like my hockey bag) to private A/C rooms. It was the first time I had had a room to myself since arriving in Africa, and I can't tell you how exciting it was to not have to listen to drunkards stumbling into a shared room at all hours of the night (to be fair, I was often culpable in this act) or lonely couples going at it in the bunk under me. I slept quite fitfully both nights.

From the private reserve we took a night time game drive which was easily one of the highlights of the trip so far. Being outside the boundary of the national park, we were allowed to get very close to the animals, at many points being within a few inches of herds of cape buffalo and even lion. By night's end we had spotted the entire big 5 except for the rhino.

**Note: the "Big 5" are Africa's most prized hunting trophies, being the most difficult animals to kill with a spear. They are the lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo and rhino.

It was incredible to be so close with all of these creatures in the wild, getting to use more senses than just sight and sound. This was exemplified to me when we tracked hyena; documentaries often comment on their unpleasant smell, but due to its uniqueness it is not possible to describe. Though unenjoyable, the act of smelling them gave me a more complete understanding of hyenas. To witness the natural world in action is astounding. it is impossible to get a true sense of the surroundings, the scope or the scale of the wilderness and how all of these magnificent creatures move within it through any media, you simply have to exprience it for yourself.

The rest of this first part of the trip was mostly just driving through Botswana to get to Livingstone, Zambia and the wonderous Mosi-Oa-Tunya (also called 'Victoria Falls'). The weather was not exactly ideal for camping, as the last of the rainy season downpours persisted in making it quite uncomfortable to set up and dismantle our tents and cooking supplies. Since there were so few of us we did have the luxury of our own tents, which was appreciated, though we had no luck in finding ones that did not leak despite having over 24 to choose from. The best campsite we visited was undoubtedly one called Elephant Sands, where we pitched our tents just ten meters from a watering hole in an unfenced area. Though this made nighttime toilet visits a little hair raising (especially when you could hear a male lion roaring in the distance all night) it paid great dividends on the morning we were leaving. As we broke camp and sipped hot tea to warm up our damp selves, there was quite a commotion stirring around the camp. Even the locals who worked there were visibly excited, which portended the special and very rare nature of the event we were about to witness. We scrambled to find our cameras and rushed to the watering hole to see an entire pack of wild dogs congregating for a morning drink. It was an incredible sight, as our driver said "this is the first and last time you will ever see these animals in the wild" - when a guy who grew up in rural Zimbabwe and has spent his life tracking animals says such a thing, you are hard pressed to not revel in your good fortune, which made the sighting all the more memorable.

Crossing into Zambia provided the delays and challenges one associates with road travel in the 'third world'. The border is demarcated by the scenic Chobe river, which has to be forded using rickety barges that scarecely look capable of handling the 250m crossing unburdened, let alone carrying several fully loaded trucks and many weary passengers. Fog inhibited a crossing for much of the morning, so I broke out my frisbee and we taught the local truck drivers how to huck. They proved quick studies and pretty soon there was some solid action taking place, with everyone trying their best to circumvent the massive puddles of mud and drainage ditches. I was coaxed into launching a deep throw that I somehow thought I could land in a safe spot, but which ended up being a little too high for the recipient and landed right in the middle of said ditch. Not wanting to risk dirtying any of my precious few articles of clothing, I gave the frisbee up as permanently lost, only to see that the truckers somehow managed to navigate the bog using an improvised frisbee fishing rod and retrieve the disk. They ran down the road in mock theft, but soon the game resumed. This interaction was one of those simple, but sometimes rare, pleasures that reminds any traveller how, no matter where you are in the world, there are good people around who are all striving for very similar goals, even if circumstances vary. In this case it happened to be an easily remedied cure for boredom.

After the fog had cleared, we made it across without a problem, though you could almost hear the crocs on the banks licking their lips in anticipation of an error by the captain. Once in Livingstone we bid farewell to three of our tour members and met up with the onward group, which consisted of 15 travellers who were making their way from Nairobi to Cape Town and two aussie couples who had arrived in Livingstone to join us. With the three Afrikaner guides, we totalled 23, which meant no more reclining over a set of four seats for the remainder of the trip.

Livingstone is the home to the thundering beast of a natural wonder of the world, Mosi-Oa-Tunya. More a force than a sight, the Falls are awe inspiring. The water level of the mighty Zambezi was at its highest in over 50 years - which, to my great disappointment meant white water rafting was a no-go, this was on my list of top five things to do in Africa but I suppose will have to wait till my next visit. This also meant viewing the falls was not possible save for in small 10m increments (not that much when talking about a face that stretches 1.7km). However, this proved to be a good thing: instead of simply witnessing one of the miracles of the natural world, we got to feel it. We were pounded by the incredibly dense mist, breathed the cool vapor, and were simply intimidated by the incredible sound made by the falls. Yet another African delight that must be experienced to truly be understood and appreciated (I will post pics as soon as possible). I had the misfortune of feeling the floor of a solid steel bridge on the back of my head as well; the viewing bridge was a slippery death trap, as we crossed I commented on the liklihood of one of us taking a spill and sure enough it was me. Despite a massive goose egg and minor headache I was able to right myself and scramble off completely drenched. My ego, on the other hand, took a real beating.

The other highlight of Livingstone was the gorge swing. This activity was quite similar to the bungee jump I did in South Africa, I will be posting video of it in place of a written description. It was not as scary as the bungee but was still a great rush! I managed to do it three times, the hike out of the gorge was quite taxing in the oppressive heat and prevented further jumps. But I'm quite sure I got the full effect of the 3.5 second freefall in to the 75m chasm.

Zambia is a country blessed with some of the friendliest people I've ever met, though many are perpetually hawking their wares, everyone seems genuinely interested in hearing about you and why (other than the falls) you chose to visit their country. I'm sure the nation has much more to offer than just the falls and surrounding area, and I would love to investigate such possibilities in the future.

Like any traveller, despite my best efforts I arrived in Africa with certain preconceived notions about how the experience would be. These ideas of the look and feel of a vast continent were derived from a lifetime of indirect viewing, be it through various media or word of mouth. Because of this accumulated respresentation, along my travels I found myself always looking out at a particular scene and thinking "this doesn't look very African" or "now this looks like Africa" but then catching myself and wondering what could possibly make me an authority on what is and isn't an inherent trait of a given country or city, let alone an entire continent. Indeed, every region and every country has had a very unique vibe about it. Though some aspects can be classified in a vague amalgamation of our western view of 'Africa', the vast majority are unique unto themselves.

One evening we took a sunset cruise on the Chobe river. It started off like most other game drives, with animal spottings and beautiful scenery. But as the sun slipped away over an ecosystem eager to bound to nocturnal life, I was shaken with what I saw before me. It was one of those moments that snaps you out of revelry, and all of a sudden you feel more awake, more alert, as though not just witnessing but actually feeling, tasting, and breathing in the scene in front of you. The sky was stained shades of striking red and majestic purple, the scattered and ragged clouds reflecting the colours on their flat undersides further accentuating the incredible sight. On the opposite side of the boat the full moon was brightly visible above the silhoutted jungle foliage. We passed pods of hippos as they grazed for their evening meal on the shallow banks, and came face to face with a massive bull elephant as he quenched his thirst from a taxingly hot day before resuming his foraging. As I sipped my ice cold beer and stood agape at the sheer beauty of the sunset and the setting, a thought occured to me that for the first time seemed appropriate: this was indeed Africa.