Kruger Safari

We drove into Kruger today an went on our own little self-led safari. Brooke proved to be an expert "game spotter." Rather than use words, here are pictures of what we saw:

Kudu - Our First Sighting

Warthog - Aint he cute?

Black Rhino on the road in front of us. Sadly, rhinos are in great danger of poaching, even within Kruger because of a market in China and Taiwan for rhino horn. Poachers will kill the rhino just to cut off its horns.

Blue wildebeest, or gnu. Remember, Gno Gnews is Good Gnews with Gary Gnu? Anyone?

Impala

Vervet Monkey

African Buffalo

More animals to come on the next post...

This is Africa

We learned that little phrase recently. It means things aren't going to turn out the way you want them to.

First off, we are fine. We are at a lodge near Krueger National Park.

Secondly, it's been a long, hard road trip. We've gotten in over our heads. Lots of stress. Long drives. Arriving at our destinations at night. Having our Debit card and PIN stolen in Durban. Sophia hitting her head the side of a pool in East London. Getting lost today in Swaziland for a time.

Again, we are fine and will have lots of stories to tell. We think things will get easier from here on out, but, of course, This is Africa.

Ben, Brooke, Marin and Sophia

More Than One Road Through Swaziland

We left Durban for another long drive to Kruger National Park. We had had to change our original plan to go to Mozambique. The missionary family we were going to visit in Maputo are leaving their post and our rental car company would not allow us to bring our car into Mozambique. So, we decided to follow the advice of several folks at our church and do a safari.

There is more than one way to drive from Durban to Kruger. Our friends Scott and Susan in Durban said, why don't you drive through Swaziland. Is it difficult? we asked. There's really only one road, they said. Suffice it to say, we found the other road. This time of year Swaziland is dry and kind of desolate. There are few to no signs on the highways. Brooke was navigating and started to have a bad feeling they weren't on the right road. Despite gender stereotypes, Ben stopped to ask for directions. They were heading toward the interior of the country rather than due north toward Kruger.

Back on the right road, the new challenge was that they were running low on gas. No petrol stations in Swaziland take a credit card (only bank cards). At the border back into South Africa, Ben asked where the nearest petrol station was. 30 kilometers. They made it to Naas and rolled into a petrol station to learn that they, too, did not take a credit card. They drove to another, more obscure, petrol station. The manager had just received and unwrapped his credit card machine the day before. After much trouble shooting, he figured out how to make Ben's card work. Yes, a full tank.

They continued to White River, near the Numbi Gate to Kruger, where their lodging was. It was getting dark and the airtime on the mobile phone was running out. Ben called the lodge and got directions while Brooke wrote them down. We tried our best to follow them, but got lost again, driving down a hill into a township. At one point, stuck in traffic, we looked up and the hillside was on fire. It was a vision on hell at the end of driving 11 hours.

Finally, we called the lodge again, got some clarification, and found our way along an unlit dirt road to the lodge entrance. There were bunkbeds in the room and Marin and Sophia laughed and played and lightened their parents' spirits.

 

Inanda Seminary

While called a "seminary," Inanda Seminary is actually a girls' boarding school for grades 8-12 which was founded by Congregational missionaries in 1869. It has quite a history, which can be found at: http://globalministries.org/africa/missionaries/Inanda-Seminary-its-history-and-significance.html

One of its distinctions which we heard repeated was that many African women currently in positions of leadership in South Africa were educated at Inanda. During apartheid, it was a place of resistance, where young women received a quality and global-minded education.

The morning after we arrived, we attended the morning chapel service, led by Rev. Susan Valiquette, who serves as the school's chaplain. Here is the chapel.

The girls sang hymns and praise songs in harmony with an amazing collective voice. The chancel seemed a bit odd, with names of the human body's systems all over it, but this was very much in keeping with the historic Congregational emphasis upon connecting religion and science, spirituality and the natural world, biblical learning and practical learning. They were studying the lymphatic system which Rev. Susan described as one of the ways God's love heals. Many of these girls are affected in one way or another by HIV/AIDS, as are most young people in South Africa, so the message seemed especially poignant.

It was a great start to the day.

Down and Out in Durban

After an idyllic time at the Umhlanga Beach, we decided to go and get some treats (mocha for Brooke, ice cream for the rest), but first we wanted to get some cash from an ATM. We found an ABSA machine and waited for the man in front of us to finish. He stepped away from the machine and gestured to Ben that the machine was available. Sophia asked Ben if she could push some of the buttons. Sure, he said. Ben took out his card and tried to put it into the slot. It didn't go in right away. The man who had just vacated the machine stepped over and said, it gets stuck sometimes, let me see your card. Ben (stupidly) gave it to him. The man put it into the slot, at least that's what Ben thought. Upon reflection, he used some slight of hand to pocket the card while convincing Ben that his card was in the machine. Meanwhile, another man was talking to Marin, asking him how old he was and where he was from. Upon reflection, we realized this was meant to distract Brooke. The first man was telling Ben that he needed to put in his PIN or else the machine would keep his card. Ben told him that he didn't want to put in his PIN with him standing there. He gave a very earnest and believable Oh, of course, I'm sorry, and stepped away. Then the first man started walking away and the second man came over and also told Ben he needed to put in his PIN immediately or else the card would disappear. Then the first man came back because Brooke said to him, Excuse me, sir, his card?! He came back and said You still don't have it?! Then he disappeared and the other guy said, where did that first guy go? Ben said, he left. He said, I'll go and find him. Brooke said, Do you have your card? Ben said, I think that guy took it. I think you should go after him. Ben ran up the street in the direction of them, but rounding a corner, he saw them nowhere. We had been robbed.

We went to the closest hotel, the Beverly Hills Hotel (later we surmised the South African national rugby team, the Springboks, who would play England two days later, were staying there). The hotel staff were very helpful, calling security and the local police and letting us make a call to our bank. By the time Ben canceled the card, the thieves had already made two transactions totaling almost $1000.

It put a damper on our day, to say the least. In fact, as of this journal (June 17), we still don't have a replacement card, though the stolen amount was insured and has been replaced. It made us appreciate several things: that we were in no way harmed physically, our kids showed poise and compassion, we were helped by a whole bunch of people at the hotel, and we had a backup credit card that we've been using.

Lesson learned: Don't trust anyone trying to help you at an ATM, and, if you sense that something's wrong, it probably is.

Bigger thing to remember: While a few people may want to steal from and hurt you, the vast majority of people are good and helpful and kind. This has certainly been our experience.

Umhlanga Rocks Beach

We went to the beach in Durban and jumped around in the Indian Ocean, which is significantly warmer than the Atlantic Ocean. Marin's favorite activity was jumping the waves as they came in. Sophia's favorite activity was playing in the sand.

 

 

Gandhi in Phoenix

Mohandas Gandhi came to Durban, South Africa in 1893 and lived in what is now called the Phoenix Settlement, now located within the larger Inanda township. Brooke and I visited the site of his home which is now a museum and site of pilgrimage for all who seek to know more about Gandhi and his satyagraha movement. It was very moving to be in there, to learn about all of the influences upon Gandhi's life and thinking, and to learn about the enduring influence he has had upon South African culture. Here we are with a bust of Gandhi.

Here is Brooke with out tour guide.