South Africa and Victoria Falls

I’m really excited to share with you some reflections on my almost three weeks in Africa! This was my first time to southern Africa. I can wholeheartedly promise that I will do everything I can to return sometime soon.

I started in that most beautiful of cities, Cape Town. Beautiful. Unfreaking-believable, awe-inspiring, breathtaking, staggeringly beautiful. That’s what Cape Town is.  You want mountains, they have possibly the world’s oldest. Beaches? Some with pounding surf and a landscape that make Malibu and Monterey look like trailer parks. Sunlight? Glowing, golden, brilliant. The food is outstanding, the people generous. Stunning.

No, this is not an unfettered nirvana. I don’t think any city a quarter century removed from apartheid can be. There are a plethora of pseudo-brutalist buildings that mar the downtown landscape. The pedestrian mall is occluded in shadows most of the day, and there is a persistent lack of public transport — and aggressive disdain for pedestrians — that mark the city. Economic imbalances remain stark and shocking. You pass shantytowns on the way in from the airport, and a strong suburban, “we don’t want outsiders” sense infuses many of the surrounding neighborhoods. This, of course, is something you see elsewhere in South Africa.

But it is an outstanding place, with a rich, diverse landscape. I NEVER take the red hop-on hop-off buses, but decided to in Cape Town, after receiving insistent recommendations. It also is the easiest way to get to the cable car station to ascend Table Mountain.

There are three main mountains ringing Cape Town, and many other mountains in the surrounding region and peninsula that juts south towards the Cape of Good Hope. But it’s Table Mountain that is the well-deserved prima donna of the bunch. She cuts across the landscape, serving as the backdrop for most views from downtown, demanding that you notice her and her frequently cloud-shrouded flattop.

Continuing my apparent need to do all things cable car — thank goodness I don’t feel the same way about bungee jumping — I went to the top of Table Mountain in one of the stranger cable cars I’ve ever experienced. The cabins are circular, with two small open windows, and the floor rotates 360 degrees as the car is climbing, giving everyone a chance to see through the windows, and frankly distracting anyone who might be afraid of heights.

The mountain itself is a fascinatingly rich landscape, with several walking paths and virtually unfettered access. You can walk right to the edge, and it is a long way down.

From Table Mountain, the bus went by a few tony districts, including Camps Bay, which looks like a cross between Carmel and Malibu, except that Camps Bay has Table Mountain behind it. Decadent terrace restaurants face a cove beach with massive crashing waves and an unfettered view of a dazzling sunset. You may be on the bottom of Africa, but you feel as if you are in the center of the world.

As we descended continued along the coastline, I literally gasped with wonder. Stunning beauty — “if i win the lottery i’ll get a house here, heck, I’ll buy two” type of beauty. This continued as we approached the city.

The next day, I went on a wine tour. Outstanding!!! I met two great new friends, Chris and Jeanne, who are beginning a year-long worldwide tour, and we sampled from four outstanding vineyards, drinking in postcard views throughout the adventure. I didn’t even know that lunch was included — it came with an impressive printed menu and was a huge slab of tender, juicy ribeye with great vegetables. Truly one of the most luxurious and happy days I spent during my travels — if you make it to South Africa, let me know, as I highly recommend it!

This was the view from lunch.

Later, the three of us also made our way to the Cape of Good Hope and the Cape Point lighthouse, where we enjoyed an impromptu lunch. The drive down to the peninsula is tremendous, with a nice detour to see some penguins at Simonstown.

From Cape Town, it was off to Johannesburg – yes, I actually went. Most people avoid the place like the plague, but I wanted to try and prove the naysayers wrong. It also is the transportation hub for the region, so I knew I would need to spend at least a little time here. Sadly, I think the naysayers are right. The central business district was given a slight facelift for the 2010 World Cup, but it remains a pretty off-putting grid of wholesale shops, street vendors and crumbling mid-rise slums. Nevertheless, I braved the streets and had a decent time. Look, it’s not a tourist paradise by any means and I certainly would not recommend detouring to see it, but at least during the day I never felt threatened or concerned about my safety. Sadly, it’s a generally unpleasant place.

I did go to Constitution Hill, site of the current Constitutional Court and the infamous main prison during the period of apartheid. In an interesting twist, the building that was used to hold temporary prisoners was demolished, though the stairwells were preserved and the bricks themselves used for the Constitutional Court chamber. As you probably know, South Africa has arguably the most liberal constitution in the world, with protections across the spectrum of known discriminations.

I also went to the Apartheid Museum, which was well documented and quite moving. Incongruously, it’s located within a compound that includes a major amusement park and casino. Still, it does a very good job of explaining the development, implementation and ultimately the pressure applied from the streets that caused its belated downfall. One really great video had a snippet of two interviews. One with a South African minister, who steadfastly claimed there would never be “one man, one vote” in South Africa. That was juxtaposed by Winnie Mandela, who called one man, one vote “inevitable”. She said such a government would protect the rights of all, and was asked “who will be President?”. She immediately says, “Mandela”. As he celebrates 94 years this month, the scale of his impact can hardly be overstated.

The main reason I went to Joburg was to detour for a few days to see Victoria Falls, which straddles the Zimbabwe and Zambia border. This was, for lack of a better term, my first visit to “the real Africa”. I had long been interested in the region, but it’s not easy to travel independently there. My three days there were easily the most expensive part of my entire trip. From visa fees, to entrance fees, tours, etc., it adds up rather quickly.

But I am very glad I went! The falls themselves were amazing. This time of year, when the water is still pretty heavy, the Zimbabwean side is a better option – you can see the torrent of water, the park is well maintained and the views are excellent, as vegetation is cut back to allow unfettered views. The Zambian side is a bit wilder, in need of better maintenance, but it offers the advantage of being much closer to the falls, and being able to see the river as it nears the dropoff. But the proximity of the falls means significantly more spray, all but obscuring the view and leaving you drenched. The volume of water is breathtaking, but the impact is even more distinct. You probably know that they are called “the smoke that thunders” because as you approach the falls, you hear the thunderous rush of water and see a misty spray that hovers around the edge. It’s not the falls that throw off the mist, but the rebound of the falling water that does. The water falls into the gorge and crashes along the rocks on the bottom, bursting upward in a swell that makes it look as if it is raining upwards.

And even though I had very limited time, I decided to spend one day doing a wildlife tour. I went to Chobe National Park in Botswana, which was outstanding. We did a boat cruise in the morning and a game drive in the afternoon. We saw all kinds of amazing antelopes, great giraffes, and well over 125 elephants! They were seemingly everywhere – I even saw one outside the passport office as I was headed back to Zambia.

In all, this was an excellent detour. I had always avoided Africa because of the expense and perceived difficulty in traveling independently. And yes, those are legitimate concerns, but they are outweighed by the visual splendor. I will definitely return.