South Africa

[Terry]

Got a chance to maybe join youngest daughter in a trip to South Africa.

She has a friend there.

Anyone been, any advice?

[California Girl]

I have a friend from there who recently made a trip home. What kind of stuff do you want to know? I could ask her for you.

[Terry]

I guess, things to see and things to avoid are on my hit list. We would be with her friends family and such but may want to travel to some islands.

[JT]

I spent 3 weeks as a visitor in the RSA during the final days of Nelson Mandela's jail term, and Botha's presidency, before de Klerk . I was a guest of Boers from Capetown to Kruger Park. It was when the sanctions were in effect. I found the country to be unsurpassed in beauty, but at the same time I was astounded by the division of economics, but at the same time it wasn't exactly what the Washington Post said either. Let me know if you want to hear more from this Bohemian's perspective. It probably won't be what most folks would think. Oh yeah, it ranks right behind STJ as to places that I would like to go back to.

[JT]

Sorry for the double post. IPad and me have occasionL issues!

[Terry]

JT,
Just booking airfare now. I'll be pming you and picking your brain.

Thanks!

[JT]

Terry, where in SA does your daughter's friend live? That country truly is a world in one country, and it's roughly the size of Texas. The Capetown area is very cosmopolitan and culturally rewarding. If you like wine, especially red wine, the Stellenbosh wine route is worth a trip. RSA has many very good wines. Also, Castle Lager is the beer of choice.The Garden Route between Capetown and Port Elizabeth is a spectaular journey.The cable car ride up to the top of Table Mountain is a must if you're in Capetown. I didn't spend any time north of Port Elizabeth on the east coast, so I can't give you much firsthand info on the eastern beaches, though I've heard that Margate is very nice. I also never got to Durban or the Orange FreeState, so I can't offer much there. Kruger Park is very much worth the effort to get to.Jo'burg is just a very big city, and not very nice, in my opinion. If golf, or gamblling is of any interest to you thenSun City is worth the trip.If you like sausage then definitely have your friend set you up to go to a braii and have some boerwors, which is farmers sausage. There is a fair amount of parallel to the Pa. Dutch and the Boers, or Afrikaaners. Another thing that I enjoy is called biltong, which is sort of like beef jerky,but much better. A non-alcoholic drink called Appletizer is something that I wish that we had here. Much has changed since I was there, and not just politically, but other things are pretty much the same. I would also recommend reading James Minchner's "The Covenant". Though very long, it gives a very insightful look into South Africa's history. Let me know if I can answer any of your questions.

[Terry]

JT,
You are a gem with this information. I'm still not sure I can swing this trip, but I did pass on this wonderful information to my daughter.

My "back-up" at work fell at work and broke her arm. Depending on how the heeling goes, I may not be able to leave work. It's a horrible break and she is still in great pain after 4 weeks. There is no one else that can do my job. It's not a good situation for anyone.

Thank you and you may be still hearing from us with questions.

[verjoy]

My husband was there for 3 weeks when Skylab was being launched, many years ago. There were problems deploying the solar collector panels, so they ended up staying 2 weeks longer than anticipated. They were in Capetown and the local people were very gracious and interested in the space program. They were wined and dined in private homes and taken on tours to help pass the time. It was very beautiful-he has pictures of Table Mountain etc.

But, like JT, they saw some disturbing things. The worst was seeing a black African golfmaster beat a caddy with a cane over some supposedly missing golf balls. They were horrified. This type of practice has surely been outlawed now.

Sometime in the '90s I booked a couple going to SA to visit their daughter who had moved there. They said it was beautiful and they enjoyed their visit, but didn't like the fact that armed guards were necessary everywhere.