Sept. 22- Two Month Milestone in Mbabane and JA is Being Born in Swaziland
It’s hard to believe that we’ve been here two months already! We are settled into a routine, enjoy our colleagues, find the work mostly satisfying, and feel at home in our cottage in Emafini. The hardest part is being away from family and friends, though Adrian’s visit was an absolutely wonderful gift. We’re making good acquaintances and having amazing experiences, but we can only share these from a distance with the people we love and miss.
We hope to accomplish a lot in the next 3 months. I’ve been very fortunate to have fallen into a role that perfectly matches my previous work at Junior Achievement. A key TechnoServe Swaziland goal is to start an Emerging Entrepreneurship program with youth in school all the way through adults in their 30s and 40s. So this week, I am very proud to announce that JA’s Vice President of Africa sent out an email to JA Worldwide that the Democratic Republic of Congo is the 9th JA Member Nation in Africa, and Swaziland and Gambia have become JA affiliates. TechnoServe will build the capacity of a local NGO, called LULOTE, who will be trained to become responsible for our School-Age Youth Entrepreneurship (SAYE) program for 16 to 24 year olds. We will pilot the JA Company Program starting in late October, then add JA Job Shadowing and JA Service Learning in 2007 and maybe a JA Company Student Competition in early 2008. By the end of 2010, we plan to have served over 7,500 SAYE students.
Sept. 18 – Maputo, Mozambique is a Far Cry from Cape Town in More Than Distance.
By 7:00 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 15th, Rick and I joined our boss Leslie, her husband Stuart and their adorable 1-year old son Charlie (as of today) on their drive to Maputo. Leslie had worked for TechnoServe in Mozambique and Maputo for 3 years, so she and Stuart knew more people there to fill Charlie’s birthday bash than if they stayed in Mbabane. We got to enjoy their company, help prepare, then experience another “braai” (aka barbeque), and got to meet some of their ex-pat and local friends who were really nice people.
In the late afternoon, we and Trish, another TechnoServe volunteer who’s our bio-fuel expert, got into a taxi to head to her apartment and our hotel. In Africa, we’ve observed that typically you call the same taxi drivers again and again once you know they are reliable—and honest. We arrived at the Holiday Inn overlooking the Indian Ocean, only to find that they had not “saved” us a sea-viewing room despite our reservation because we had not guaranteed it with our credit card. One clerk agreed to try for one the next night, but couldn’t promise. Only when we pushed hard, did the room price come down to a non-ocean view rate. We were pretty full from eating and imbibing most of the afternoon, so mostly we read and relaxed. If Leslie hadn’t given us a ride, I would’ve been perfectly happy to postpone our trip for a few weeks. Just chilling was fine.
After breakfast the next morning on Sunday, we checked on a room-change again, which seemed hopeful but until everyone checked out, still no promises. So Rick and I went for a long walk on the so-called promenade along the beaches and harbor. A clear blue tropical beach with white sands and picturesque sailboats anchored offshore…NOT. The ocean foamed with silt (or worse), litter piled on the beach and the literally broken-up promenade with missing cement benches. It made me imagine maybe Cuba or Haiti outside of the isolated resorts. With the humidity, by the time we got back to the hotel, we were dripping with sweat. Finally we moved into an ocean-facing room, changed into dry clothes, and took a taxi downtown to follow a walking trail recommended in the guidebook.
Maputo is a classically poor city in a still-poor country. A decade ago, Mozambique had been a Communist dictatorship with a 20-year long rebellion against the Frelimo Party, in power since independence. Many streets were named after famous Communists or celebrations of battles, like September 25th Avenue. After walking a couple hours throughout the downtown littered streets and sidewalks broken into pieces or just missing in many places, we noted the first really clean area near City Hall and the main Cathedral. There are interesting remnants of Portuguese colonial influence in some architecture, an old fort, and a few restaurants. Sadly, some neighborhoods have shells of buildings that are abandoned, as though they may have been burned down. Similar to Adrian’s description of his deserted-city feelings while walking around Maputo the previous Sunday, we grew to feel very conspicuous among the few people we saw. So we took a taxi back to our safe, tourist world of the Holiday Inn, where we could look out over a relatively clean beach at the sun sinking into the Indian Ocean.
Dinner was at Costa del Sol, a restaurant that reminded me of Two Sisters’ Restaurant on Dominica but with a Mediterranean flair and a colorful local history since about 1930. We sat at a table on the veranda, but soon it started to rain so we went inside. As we partook of gigantic and even bigger prawns fresh from the ocean (hopefully waaaaay off shore), nature put on an amazing fireworks display of impressive lightening strikes and thunder over the ocean, very nearby. This closed out an interesting day…
The next morning, we taxied over to TechnoServe Mozambique’s main office in Maputo to meet with the Managing Director, Jake Walters, who with his wife Patricia had also attended Charlie’s birthday party. Definitely a big picture guy, he gave us his background (he grew up mostly in Brazil so spoke fluent Portuguese) and told us about his moving his family to Maputo 9 years ago from Wisconsin where he had been an executive in a cattle breeding business. His vision for helping Mozambique is fascinating and clearly his projects are very worthwhile. We thanked Jake for his time, left the office after an hour to be driven to the border of Swaziland by TechnoServe Mozambique’s driver who escorted us through both customs stops, then handed us over to our Swazi office driver, Kiki. The whole trip took about 3 hours. I was really glad to be back “home” at the office and then Emafini.
Sept. 12 – Miscellaneous Update
Adrian Takes a Brief Trip to Maputo, Mozambique then Back to Reality which are chronicled in his blog. We had similar reactions when we visited Maputo a few days later, as we described above. Suffice it to say, if Cape Town is European, Maputo is low-end Caribbean. Adrian’s hectic and widely varied adventures in Africa ended too soon for all 3 of us. Tuesday, 12 Sept. he drove back to Jo-burg, flew to Amsterdam, and then arrived in Boston on 13 Sept. We miss him already.
We Attended a Reception for a Fulbright Scholar Hosted by the American Embassy, which sounds much more high-falutin’ than it was. Stuart Monroe, Head of the Business Department at the University of Denver, has been given a Fulbright Scholarship (at least his 2nd!) to help update the Commerce Dept. at the University of Swaziland, acronym’d here as UNISWA. He met with TechnoServe a few days after his arrival to discuss our Believe Begin Become Business Plan Competition. He’s trying to motivate some of the students in his classes to volunteer with our youth and pre-startup entrepreneur training activities as well as wants us to work with the University in other ways.
The U.S. Embassy, with no Ambassador now for about a year, hosted a reception for Stuart and his wife. TechnoServe along with a number of local V.I.P.s were there, including Dr. Joubert, the UNISWA Commerce Dept. Chair, who had requested Stuart’s 10-month stay. We had already met her and her colleague Nomsa, who are very nice and I think are considered the go-getters in their world. Stuart is enthusiastic, well-intentioned, and bright yet realistic about his likely uphill battle. He still hopes—along with Dr. Joubert, the Vice Chancellor, and the new CEO of UNISWA Foundation--to have some impact.
We chatted with a few people including the Embassy PR Director whose home hosted the reception. When he welcomed Stuart, he added a somber note about yesterday being the 5th anniversary of Sept. 11th.
Amazingly, the young Swazi man who had re-arranged Adrian’s costume at the Reed Dance introduced himself to us. He realized that we wouldn’t recognize him, especially since he was in a sports jacket, slacks, etc. We found out that he had just completed law school in South Africa and planned to take his “bar exam” next spring. Really funny and ironic that an African law graduate helped properly dress an American law graduate in ritual Swazi costume. What are the odds they would meet?
Sept. 10 – Cape Town Reminds Us of San Francisco! Is it a Future Gourmet Group Outing?
Our trip to Cape Town started off with a bit of anxiety. We had decided to save over US$900 (combined for all of us) by driving to Jo’burg and then flying to Cape Town rather than flying directly from Swaziland. While the drive from Mbabane to Jo’burg is supposed to take 3.5 hours according to our Swazi friends, the twice I’ve driven it is more like 5 hours. We thought we’d left enough time before our 3:30pm flight to Cape Town, but going through Ermelo near the end of the trip proved extremely confusing—and time-consuming. We did manage to arrive in time for our flight, but with bated breath. As we drove near the Jo’burg airport then later from the Cape Town airport to the hotel, we passed by a number depressing views: huge, dirty, crowded shanty towns made from wood, mud or corrugated tin, with roofs held down by bricks and stones. Education, opportunity, and wealth are still missing for the majority of Africans. South Africa is a beautiful developing country with the veneer of the 1st world. Sobering and sad, Africa is a continent whose access to its great potential is still limited for most of its people.
We did have a short, smooth flight on the South African equivalent to the old Southwest Airlines: Kulula.com. The main flight attendant was trying to be a stand-up comic, and we did get free soda, despite the warning that nothing was served free on Kulula.com. By the time we arrived at the Ambassador hotel in Bantry Bay in the evening, we had survived more directional challenges. We dropped our luggage in our room and headed to a nice fish dinner at the picturesque Victoria & Albert Wharf—the South African version of Pier 39 in SF.
The next morning as we looked out on the ocean at Bantry Bay, we realized that Cape Town is similar in many ways to SF with its ocean views, mountains nearby, cosmopolitan attractions, and very diverse population. And like SF, Cape Town suffers from fog. This meant we postponed our visit to the top of scenic Table Mountain along the edge of the city because it was covered in its “tablecloth.” So instead we took a truly delightful tour around the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Point. Towns along the way were a colorful combination of British names (e.g., Scarborough, Simon’s Town, and Bantry Bay) and Dutch/Afrikaans (like Noordhoek, Wilteboom, and Kommatije). One of the day’s early fun experiences was having a personal tour of an ostrich farm, where Rick and Adrian were able to hold a prickly, quite squirmy baby ostrich.
We drove along Chatham Peak Drive (similar in its rugged beauty to Carmel’s 17-mile Drive), then drove further south and took a brisk, steep walk to the top of Cape of Good Hope. According to a police officer we could not park in the main area because “The President of Russia was coming along soon.” We remembered that Vladimir Putin was visiting South Africa to collaborate on nuclear energy, among other things. Other than a limo in the parking lot, there was no sight of him. So we drove to Cape Point, supposed to be the southern-most point of Africa where the Indian and Atlantic Oceans meet. While it’s an absolutely beautiful spot, the actual southern-most point dividing the 2 oceans is Cape Agulhas 300km further east. At the Cape Point parking lot there were lots of police and the attendants at the funicular train said it was closed for repair. Actually the 2 train cars, counter-balanced so one must go up and the other down were being held for President Putin. So Adrian, Rick and I huffed and puffed to the top of this peak. We knew that Putin was definitely coming based on the small horde of photographers hovering nearby as well as the “broken” funicular. Indeed, within 15 minutes of our arrival at the top, up went the train-car and out at the top popped Vladimir Putin with his own gaggle of serious men in dark suits. Vlad was the shortest man in his entourage—we did get a good glimpse of him from about 25 feet away. And definitely he’s very somber and unapproachable. Within less than 10 minutes, he was whisked down the mountain and driven to his next photo opp, leaving behind a large wake of security people. It was truly a kick to see the man who was head of the once-second-most-powerful country in the world.
One of our last stops on the coast was Boulders Park, a small preserved oasis embedded in a suburb of Cape Town, which is home to a breeding colony of African Penguins. We found out why these waddling birds are also called “Jackass” Penguins when one of them, apparently upset, began loudly braying like a donkey. Very unlikely loud sound for such a small funny bird.
We crossed the Cape Peninsula to return to the hotel. The drive to dinner was our next adventure. When I called the restaurant, I was told it was near the Mt. Nelson Hotel off “Owens Drive.” Silly me, I thought that a landmark like the Mt. Nelson would be easy to get directions to. Do not trust desk clerks who probably don’t travel much by car. Instead of 10 minutes, it took several directions stops, much turning around, streets with different names from what I heard, and 45 minutes later we arrived at Aubergine. After a stiff drink, we relaxed and enjoyed a great Nouvelle French dinner. The ride back was uneventful, thank goodness.
Thursday was a clear morning, so off we went to the Table Mountain tram for a view of the city, oceans, mountains, etc. When Rick had visited 20 years earlier, the tram cars were about 25% of the size today, but view is still the same—gorgeous. From there we toured the main city by car and foot. Highlights included the downtown’s look and feel being like an early 20th century European city with its “Cape Dutch” architecture and the East India Company Gardens; the lovely Rosebanks section; High Tea at the Mt. Nelson Hotel; Parliament area; and the Jewish Museum built around the old Synagogue completed in 1905 (thank you, Burwens, for the tip). There we learned about the fascinating role Jews played in building South Africa and fighting apartheid. In fact, Nelson Mandela, against all odds due to his race, was hired as a Law Clerk by a Cape Town Jewish lawyer, with whom he stayed friends during and after prison. Tonight’s dinner at The Five Flies was easier to locate and just as good.
On Friday Adrian chose to live out a dream/fantasy on his own. He arranged for a trip off the coast to “swim with Great White Sharks” (in a steel cage) and view Southern Right Whales. Rick and I took a calmer, more delicious route to Winelands, the South African Napa Valley. Similar to Napa and San Francisco, Winelands is just an hour away from the Cape Town yet feels like a different planet. We rolled through green hills and valleys like the Dutch or German countryside, dotted with cows, vineyards, and about 100 wineries. This area was founded about 300 years ago by the French Huguenots, so wine has been part of the region long before California.
We had a tough time choosing the 4 wine estates we could visit near Stellenbosch. We first stopped at Vergelegen (pronounced amazingly like someone clearing his throat), one of the older wineries, though not continuously producing. Our guide took about 10 of us on a tour of the latest winery: a beautiful Dutch Cape farm, huge compound of buildings, and wonderful wine. Its volatile history proves the old wine adage true. “How do you make a little money in the wine business? Spend a lot.” We traveled for a late delicious lunch to Tokara Winery where we sat on the veranda overlooking a breathtaking terraced vineyard, with farm machinery at work maintaining the field road. Only 6 years old, this winery was named after the family’s 2 children, Tom and Kara. Again, they had made their money elsewhere first. The 3rd winery where we bought more red wine was another picture-perfect farm estate, Rustenberg. The final stop was South African golf champion Ernie Els’ new winery, recommended by the Vergelegen tour guide to at least visit. Set with a backdrop of rocky mountain peaks, up a green knoll, Ernie’s winery showed that his golf winnings were lavishly spent on lovely, starkly-designed buildings and grounds. Couldn’t tell about the wine because we got there too late to taste. Oh well. The drive back was delightful and we had 7 bottles of red wine not available in Swaziland to look forward to drinking! This is definitely a trip that the Gourmet Group would enjoy!
Sept. 4 – The Walleighs in Costume for the Reed Dance Then are Pictured in the Swazi Times newspaper
Sept. 2nd through 4th was Umhlanga, the National Swaziland Celebration of the Reed Dance. The first day girls gather from across the country to gather reeds then walk back to present them to the Queen Mother to “repair her home.” The 3rd day, the King views literally over 40,000 of these virgins who hope he’ll choose one as his 14th or 15th wife. Traditionally, the young women paraded and danced completely naked, but modern morals now dictate that they wear very short or very long skirts. Let’s be honest, Rick and Adrian wanted to attend to watch the mostly bare-breasted women. I’m going along for “the cultural experience” including dressing up in Swazi costume!
Both the Swazi women and men in the office strongly encouraged us to attend in traditional costume. So Wendy shopped with Lisa, our Office Manager, and Rick and Adrian with Mkhululi, a TechnoServe business advisor. Wendy’s costume had a colorful bead necklace in a traditional pattern, a white yarn headband, red and blue Swazi flags layered and knotted on top like sari, as well as a long black skirt (traditionally leather, but now heavy cloth). The important pieces in the traditional male outfit are the colorful bead necklace, a long bright cloth wrapped around the torso and knotted to cover the right shoulder, two sarong-type skirts (not matching the top cloth) knotted around the waist to expose the right leg, and a furry loincloth worn over the skirts. The loincloths each came from two impala hindquarters, which meant that there was a tail bump suggestively protruding from the center of the loincloths. At least Rick and Adrian didn’t have to wear the traditional underclothing--supposedly a hollowed out gourd tied on with a leather thong...
Mkhululi graciously agreed to accompany us to the celebration. So before we left for Kruger, we arranged to meet at his house on Monday at 9:00 am. Mkhululi called that morning as we were finishing up the struggle to properly attire ourselves by making comparisons to various pictures in the newspaper, magazines and guidebooks. He said, “I have bad news. I called my father this morning to borrow some of his traditional clothing. He asked me what for. I said that I needed it to go to the Umhlanga. He said, sorry, but the ceremony was yesterday…Rick, I am so, so sorry.”
Rick and Adrian were crushed. While it wasn’t a huge amount of money, we had spent several hundred dollars to dress authentically. And despite being in Swaziland at the right time for Umhlanga, we had missed it. Mkhululi felt terrible and suggested that we go to the King’s lands where the young women were staying and the festival was held, just see if there were any activities planned for today. This made a lot of sense because in Swaziland, schedules for things like this are not well specified or publicized in advance--in fact, the actual Umhlanga date was only decided and published a few weeks ago. Puzzling, since if it were based on the Sun or the Moon, it certainly could be calculated years in advance. But I guess it helps retain some mystery. More importantly, someone retains their sense of importance by determining the date.
Back in our regular clothes we drove to Mkhululi’s new house. His wife Katie was exhausted from doing most of the moving and furniture arranging over the last couple of days while he was at work. So Mkhululi let her rest and brought his one-year old daughter, Ayanza, along with us for the short drive to the King’s lands. Close to the main festival site we began to see lots of young women and temporary, open infrastructure for them. It looked like a circus packing up or the end of a Girl Scout “camporee,” but with significant differences. As we crossed a small river on a one-lane bridge, down below we could see dozens of young women washing their clothes and themselves. The Girls Scouts would definitely not approve of bathing completely and comfortably naked in full view of passers-by.
We arrived at a makeshift parking lot outside the gates to the King’s Ezulwini residence, where there was a gaggle of police officers chatting together. Mkhululi asked one if anything official was happening today and came back with good news. Yesterday the girls had presented the reeds to the Queen Mother. However, today was the parade and dancing for the king starting at 2:00pm (“Africa time”)!
After a few errands, lunch and changing back into our Swazi clothes, we drove to Mkhululi’s house again. Now Ayanza and Katie both would go with us to the Reed dance. Mkhululi coached Rick and Adrian on their attire so now their two skirts were knotted together at the ends of the cloth rather than held with safety pins, as had been the case this morning and was still true of the cloth around the torso.
We piled into two cars and headed back to the stadium at the King’s residence. Our arrival felt as though we were at an important high school football game in a small Texas town. In fact, as we entering the stadium Adrian and Rick got personal fashion tips! Two young men approached them to say that they appreciated the effort but now would help correct the outfits’ errors. Adrian had the most glaring problem: his torso wrap covered his left shoulder rather than the right, which is proper. Rick’s right shoulder was covered, but by using safety pins, which are taboo. The young men unwrapped Adrian on the spot, and showed both how to knot the cloth correctly to hold it in place. After thanking the Swazis and taking some pictures, we walked toward seats.
The stadium seated about five thousand spectators, but the central area was over three times the size of a normal football field. The closest stands were next to the King’s reviewing area so were full. We walked past thousands of half-naked young women lined up for their parade. We tried not to stare at them, and though they tried not to, they stared at us also. We were among 1% of 4,000 spectators who were white and the only white family we saw in traditional dress! Boy, talk about standing out! But people seemed very positive toward us, which made us feel good about our decision to dress traditionally, especially with help from the young Swazi men.
The Queen Mother then the King arrived and walked up a red carpet, kicking off the actual event. These really were not like Olympics’ Closing Ceremonies. The youngest girls (under 8?) were escorted first, then all the royal daughters and cousins. The remaining over 40,000 costumed young women, divided into local groups, paraded around the stadium while singing until it was their turn to dance for the king. After that only a very knowledgeable Swazi maybe could tell which group was from what home town…
Though we left before the parade concluded and the competitive singing started, we were glad we attended this unique cultural event. But we now understood why Mkhululi hadn’t been in ten years. On our way out, an attractive woman asked us to pose for a picture with a fashionable younger woman (maybe her daughter). A week later we heard we made the local newspaper. The caption under our color photo congratulated whoever had helped the tourists to dress so authentically!
Sept. 3 – Back from Kruger Park with Adrian
On Friday, Sept. 1st we took off work and went to Kruger Park with Adrian. Kruger central reservations indicated all facilities in the southern end of the park were booked for Saturday night, so I reserved at a park facility for Friday night. That way I could easily justify Saturday night at a bush camp within a private game reserve. The openings in northern Kruger were not practical. Most people don’t realize that Kruger Park is the size of the state of Massachusetts. While it’s a two hour drive on the Massachusetts turnpike from Boston to the western border of the state, at 30 miles per hour on 1.5 lane roads, going near Kruger’s northern gate was not practical!
Those who know me well understand that my wanting to go to a bush camp means that we are not talking about a night in a back-packers’ tent. The private game reserves border the park so have access to viewing the same game (the wild animals don’t know if they’re on private or government land). I called several--Rick rejected the first which charged $550 per person per night but would give us the local rate of only $400 per person per night because we lived in Swaziland. We later heard about another that charges $1,000 per person per night. We settled on Nottens Bush Camp which only charged $200 per person per night including all meals, two game drives and a nature walk. However, this was a small, family type operation that couldn’t accept credit cards. That meant we had to have nearly 6000 South African Rands, in cash, in addition to our miscellaneous spending money. This is more than two thirds of our combined monthly stipend! Fortunately, it was the beginning of the month, and our next monthly stipend was due. We would just ask to get it in Rands instead of Emalangeni. Then for the rest of the month, we could find Swazi ATMs that accept international cards.
Despite the best laid plans to get an early start on Friday, we had to wait for our 1st of the month stipend payment from the local bank. Plus, even though we had requested our money in South Africa Rands, the bank had given Swazi Emalangeni! In Swaziland, Rands are readily accepted at full value for any transaction, but in South Africa, the reverse is not necessarily true. So we went down to our small bank branch, got in a line nearly out the door, then waited to exchange for Rands. Because it was the end of a pay period everyone was waiting to cash their checks, they only had 5000 in 50 rand notes. Rick and I stuffed our pockets with 100 bills of 50 rand with plans to hit an ATM in South Africa, and we were off!
After an uneventful ride to Kruger, we drove to Crocodile Bridge, one of two southern-most entrances, to check in for the night and book a game drive. Again, not so simple. Though I thought I had booked a reservation, I had not received a confirmation or a number, and my subsequent phone calls to the park proved fruitless—and now very painful. We had no reservation and the park was completely booked. The park people here were actually sympathetic and helped find a private lodge with an opening, just outside the park gate.
The lodge was more of a camp type facility with some individual chalets, some camping spots, and an opening at their common group facility. We checked out this “opening” by driving just behind the young manager riding his bicycle for about two hundred yards. We walked into the small, concrete block bunk house or hostel with a big front porch and a small kitchen area, but we were assured that we would have the whole room to ourselves. The bathrooms were outside but looked clean. It was not the Ritz, but we had a place to stay for the night. The $17 per person should have been the dead giveaway…
We drove back into the park, booked our game drive for the evening and then drove around looking at game on our own for two hours. We saw lots of game both in the afternoon in our own car and later as we froze for 3 hours in the back of the open Land Rover. It was especially good for Adrian as this was the first time that he had seen game up close, outside of a zoo and the tiny Swazi game preserve. After the evening game drive, we drove out of the park 5 miles into the closest town, Komatiesport (sp?) for a great dinner at a Portuguese restaurant. This end of Kruger is very close to Mozambique, a former Portuguese colony and retains a lot of Portuguese influence.
We returned to our lodgings, took our bags in, and began to get ready for bed. As we were unpacking and chatting, we were shocked to hear a voice request, “Can you keep it down in there?” We then noticed the voice was coming from behind the door at the back of the kitchen area, and immediately envisioned people walking through our bedroom in the middle of the night. But it was just an adjoining room with a locked door between. Thank goodness Adrian had a sleeping bag liner with him (I will not make fun of his gadgets and gear again!) so I could sleep cleanly on top of the bed. In the morning we shared the bathrooms on the porch with the people camping around our building.
As soon as possible, we packed up to drive through the park toward the private game reserve, a significant distance away. And when you’re looking for animals, you drive slowly, stop, and look when the game appears. It took us over four hours to get to the Sabi Sands Game Reserve with the last forty-five minutes on a dirt entrance road. However, it was worth it. The beautifully architected, elegantly manicured camp consisted of only several very nicely furnished kraals with total accommodations for about twenty people. One side of the camp including the dining area and some kraals looked directly over a wall to the game area. We saw some giraffes and warthogs while we enjoyed afternoon tea. A weekend highlight was showering in our own private outdoor shower that also opened onto the game area--like a deluxe Carmel or Napa Valley lodge, but with animals. The only other guests were a couple of young professors from Harvard by way of Russia and Israel, and Gerald Hoberman, a photographer known for publishing beautiful picture books which we saw later in gift shops. He was photographing Nottens to be included in his next book, “The Top Bush Camps in South Africa.”
With any game drive the outcome is unpredictable, which every game driver emphasizes in his or her standard speech. Whether in a private reserve or Kruger proper, the amount of money you pay does not guarantee that you will see all of the animals you want. We did stop for “sundowners” (gin & tonic, wine, etc.) while we watched the sun sink over the savannah. After the drive, we dined outdoors next to a campfire, with the elegance of a fine restaurant yet the feel of a camping safari. We were then escorted back to our cabins, as management required, because hyenas come into the camp at night. And actually the previous morning there had been a rebellious young bull elephant tearing up the garden and chasing the staff. With a purposeful lack of electricity here, the oil lights already lit in our room just made our luxurious chalet more romantic.
The best animal viewing is early morning and early evening. With the sun rising earlier, we got up at 5:30 am to have our tea before heading out at 6: 00 for our 2nd game drive. The morning ride was more productive than the prior evening, but not spectacular until after two hours the guides spotted a lot of fresh dung. They didn’t communicate to us, but they seemed excited and began tracking the dung trail. We raced down a number of trails and had to reverse course several times. Finally we came upon a herd of about fifty Cape Buffalo—one of the African Big Five. We just pulled up slowly and parked in the middle of them while they grazed and ignored us. And we just reveled in our up- close African adventure. Back at the camp we had a sumptuous breakfast and took a guided nature walk. We then drove back through the park to Mbabane, seeing more game. What a fantastic weekend overall!
Aug. 30 – Adrian Arrives!
Adrian flew on Aug. 28 to Amsterdam and arrived in Jo’burg, South Africa where he spent the night. His first big adventure was just driving 4.5 hours to Swaziland—all on the wrong side of the road with a manual transmission car--and crossing the borders of both South African and Swaziland within 100 feet of each other. He arrived at the TechnoServe office in Mbabane then we guided him to our house in Emafini. We went to dinner at a Portuguese restaurant with our boss, Leslie, and her husband Stuart and a TechnoServe Volunteer who was leaving Swaziland after a month.
Adrian’s trip to visit us in Africa was opportunistic AND educational. This trip was his first to an officially developing country vs. the Soviet Union which until its downfall the world thought was one of the most powerful nations on earth. After all, what better way to prepare to become a public interest lawyer than seeing true poverty? He finished law school in May and took the bar exam in late July, but he won’t know if he passed the bar until November. For the types of positions he’s looking for in public interest law, it is very difficult to get a job until you can actually practice law, which means knowing that you have actually passed the bar. So, until he gets his results back, he would have difficulty finding a job, at least that’s what he told us to justify his trip. In any case, we were glad to have him and had put together a packed set of tourist activities, somewhat scheduled around our work. In this respect, we were fortunate because there were Swazi holidays on Monday, September 4th and Wednesday, September 6th, and our country director magnanimously decided to close our office on Tuesday. While we were still working, on Thursday, August 31, Adrian drove himself to Mlilwane, the closest Swazi game park to get his first taste of animals in Africa. Then starting Friday, Sept. 1 Rick and I will enjoy 10 days off with Adrian—at Kruger Park and to Cape Town in South Africa with time to return to Swaziland between to experience the Reed Dance.
