Looking Back and Forward: Africa’s Contrasting, Parallel Universes
Rick and I were fortunate to have lived, worked, and traveled in amazing places in Swaziland, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. But we didn’t have to go far to see the rest of Africa: barefoot and ragged children, grandmothers carrying babies because parents died from AIDS, mud hovels, free-range cattle everywhere, subsistence farms, and trash along the roads. Many times over the last five months, we were struck by the contrasts. While we were having nice dinners, drinking great wine, visiting resorts on safari or touring natural wonders, we often commented that we were in a different, parallel universe from 99% of Africans. A few oases have been carved into the overwhelming poverty, which give us hope that Africa can reach its full potential in a few generations. That is why we Rick and I will return to live for much of 2007 in Nairobi, Kenya, working again for TechnoServe. While my role is still TBD, Rick will mentor the new, local TechnoServe Kenya Country Manager to ensure the continued growth and success of this 40+ person organization.
Now you have no excuses. Please visit since we’ll be there longer! And stayed tuned for more of the Wonderful World of the Walleighs in Africa.
Dec. 12 – Vervet Monkeys Say Good-Bye
As if they knew it was my last day in Swaziland, my beloved monkeys scampered on our carport and across our front yard. This was a warm send-off and wonderful last image of our 5 months here.
Dec. 10 – Huge Hail Storm Destroys Our Rental Car as we are Driving
We promised Carolyn a visit to more potential Christmas gift places when we returned to Swaziland, so in the early afternoon, we drove to the craft stalls in Ezulwini Valley. Rick and I had never been there, so this was a good opportunity. As we wandered along, we noted that were there probably twice as many stalls as “the market could bare” and definitely repetition of very similar objects. There also was the desperation among the craftsman and stall owners on this very quiet Sunday. Some told us we were their first customers that day (at 2:00p.m.). Some literally begged us to buy something and they’d give us a good price. We did find a few, nice, unique presents for family.
Rick then drove us to Ngwenya Glass Factory, west of Mbabane. Carolyn and I bought a few things, Rick got himself some candy at the Millens’ Chocolate Studio, and we headed back to Mbabane. Carolyn noticed the gathering storm clouds, and we commented that Swaziland frequently had thunder and lightening along with the rain, which started moments later. We mentioned that there had been hail a few times as well. Moments later the hail came down. We said that sometimes the hail was impressive. Moments later the hail outside grew to golf ball size, making loud noises on the car. One of us spoke, “Wow, the hail is big enough to break the windshield.” Moments later, the windshield cracked. There was no place to shelter so we kept driving. The hailstones grew to tennis then softball size, with jagged points. Moments later that back window shattered glass all over the inside of the car—only small pieces were left at the corners. Though Carolyn was scared and covered with little green shards, the glass hadn’t cut her. She held up her jacket over the back window so she wouldn’t get wetter or hit by more hail. Meanwhile, the windshield cracked again and again. After what seemed to be an eternity but was less than 30 minutes, we drove up the very bumpy road in Emafini. We were concerned that the windshield might collapse on the rough road, but we kept going UNTIL we reached the large tree fallen across the road. Rick and the car behind him backed down to shelter under a set of trees while Carolyn and I walked up the short distance to Emafini owners’ Liz and Mark’s house. Mark opened the door as we approached to explain that a big tree lay across the road and we couldn’t drive over it. He said he’d take care of it. Just as Carolyn and I our reached house, we saw Mark drive by in a huge front-loader—he was still dressed in his “Sunday best.” A little while later, Rick drove the car into the car port. We couldn’t reach Avis in Mbabane or Jo’burg because the phone lines (land and cell) were working intermittently at best.
Sunday ended with our walking to our other neighbor’s house, where the week before we had arranged to have drinks. With our magnum of Rustenburg cabernet in hand, Carolyn, Rick, Patrick, Katherine, and I toasted to a spectacular end of the day. My dramatic Swaziland images started with a huge fire in the farm fields across the canyon from Emafini then a windstorm that no one had ever seen the likes of in their lifetime. Now pictures on our website corroborate this hailstorm from hell that marked the end of our time in Swaziland.
Dec. 5 to 9 – Touring with Carolyn in Cape Town and South Africa’s Wine Country
We arrived about 9:30pm Dec. 5th at a hotel on Cape Town’s outskirts because the city proper was totally booked. While unsuccessfully trying to reserve a room in about 25 hotels, Rick learned that Cape Town was the site of The 2006 World Diabetes Congress, with thousands of doctors and researchers. We think we saw most of them over the next few days playing hooky as we toured the city, coast, and wine country.
Wednesday, December 6th was a clear and glorious day so we drove straight to Table Mountain. With the convention and summer vacation time, the lines were much longer than when we were there with Adrian. But we took the tram to the top and casually strolled around to enjoy the amazing views in every direction. Experiencing Table Mountain a second time was no less breath-taking.
From there we drove to Victoria & Albert Waterfront, which is a combination of Fisherman’s Wharf, Ghirardelli, and Union Square in San Francisco: working dock, high end stores, tourist shops, beautiful hotels, and stunning views of the harbor and Atlantic Ocean. Much to Rick’s dismay, Carolyn and I dragged him to many shops on our Christmas gift quest. However, we did stop for lunch at an outdoor cafe along the water, and watched the bridge between piers swing back and forth across the canal to allow boats to travel in and out almost continually. Although tourists who were trying to cross to the other side were held up for 15 minutes at a time, the delays were offset by the novelty of this kind of draw bridge and watching the passage of a variety of tug, sail, fishing, pleasure, motor, and container ships.
As we were walking a little while later to a different pier, we were forced to stop as workers re-assembled the bridge that was actually a removable lock for a large, commercial dry dock. It was fascinating to watch tug boat pull a container ship out of a water-filled dry dock. It was even more fascinating see this huge metal structure be floated in then turned to fit precisely into position in order to re-construct the lock and drain the water again for the next ship repair. You can sort-of appreciate the magnitude of the job on our “Carolyn’s Trip” webpage.
One of the most interesting shopping experiences at the wharf was a building with artisan stalls. I was attracted to a primitive, colorful oil painting, and stopped to talk with the woman in the stall. Turns out, she was the mother of the brother and sister who created all the paintings. Her husband had first been the artist, but he died “in an accident” (I suspect AIDS) then her children decided to try their hands at painting. Whether her story was true or not, I bought a few small paintings and that 1st work that represented the mixture of white, black, and colored people on the beach at Durban celebrating the end of apartheid. I really prefer to take home these kinds of handcrafts with interesting tales.
Rick was a good sport throughout the afternoon. And he did enjoy the company of two lovely, sophisticated women—as well as a fabulous dinner at One Waterfront in the Cape Grace Hotel. The best restaurants in Cape Town and Winelands are comparable to the best in San Francisco Bay Area.
The next morning we packed up and started driving along the coast as we had done with Adrian. We stopped at the Ostrich Farm where our tour guide was a young, Hispanic man who had been born and raised in Monterey, Calif.! He had volunteered in the Peace Corps in Lesotho--a small nation similar to Swaziland, also surrounded by South Africa--and then decided to stay in South Africa to obtain a masters degree. What are the odds???
We carried on touring Cape of Good Hope (and rode the funicular again); Monkey Valley and other areas with Chacma Baboon troupes; the rugged Chapman Peak Drive; and Boulders Colony of Jackass Penguins. All 3 of us thoroughly enjoyed the Atlantic and Indian Oceans and coast scenery.
By late afternoon, we drove toward our hotel in Stellenbosch, less than an hour from Cape Town but in the heart of South Africa’s Wine Lands. As is true everywhere in South Africa’s wine country, there is an interesting mix of cultures, names, and architectures: Cape Dutch, Afrikaans, British, and French Huguenot. We checked into the d’Ouwe Werf, the oldest inn in South Africa, with its original buildings dating about 300 years back. The rooms were huge and luxurious, and after a relaxing nap, we strolled about 50 feet to dinner in the fabulous hotel restaurant called 1802.
Fortified by a delicious breakfast, we hit our first winery, Tokara, before 10:30 a.m. Since it was too early for lunch (yes, there is a pattern here of food and wine enjoyment!), we had to taste at two more wine estates: Delaire and Rustenburg (we visited the gardens and labyrinth and bought a delicious bargain 1.5 liter of Cabernet for about $35). Finally time for lunch, we shared a large, prepared picnic basket in the back of the Zellenwacht Winery, under the trees, surrounded by flowers and birds singing, and 2 large pigs roasting on spits…
We had time for 1 more wine estate, and chose Vergelegen. Now our 2nd visit, we came close to saying it correctly with “g” pronounced like the German throat-clearing “ch”: ver-che-LECH-en. The property’s huge camphor trees were planted in 1700 as the farm was founded. Though not in continuous production, the winery has been going in fits and starts since then. The buildings and gardens are beautiful examples of Cape Dutch style. Though we had visited Tokara, Rustenberg, and Vergelegen on our 1st trip to Wine Lands, these wines and estates held up well to a 2nd experience.
We returned to the d’Ouwe Werf Inn, where Rick decided to take a nap before dinner to rejuvenate after a hard day of wine tasting. But Carolyn and I had yet to explore the cute downtown of Stellenbosch, so we walked around the nearby streets and shops that were Europe-like versions of Yountville or St. Helena in Napa Valley. Carolyn and I rested after our trek, changed for dinner, then all 3 of us walked a block away to another wonderful dinner at Wijnhuis (Afrikaans for Wine House). It was a dirty job, but someone had to do it: eat more great food and drink more delicious red wine.
Our last morning in South Africa started off with more good food at breakfast, then we headed to the airport, flew back to Johannesburg, and drove back to Mbabane. And yes, had another fine dinner at Finesse Restaurant, serenaded by the truly virtuoso performance of the Mbabane River froggies. A fitting end to this week-long adventure.
Dec. 3 to 5 – Victoria Falls on the Zambezi between Zambia and Zimbabwe
We flew to Livingstone, Zambia on Sunday. As we were driven through the town of Livingstone, we were told that Dr. Livingston had discovered Victoria Falls and named it after the Queen. Colonial presumption at its best! The town was depressing--I wouldn’t like to see it without tourism’s support. It’s unfortunately like many other towns across Africa: lots of unemployed people just hanging out on the streets, trash along the roads, very nice cottages next to wattle and daub structures. We can only hope that some of our money is filtering into the local economy.
We arrived at the contrasting and lovely Zambezi Sun Resort, checked in quickly, then walked less than 10 minutes away to Victoria Falls. Unlike the concentrated flow of Niagara Falls into a broad open river below, the Zambezi River drops into a deep, narrow gorge. Victoria Falls extends for what seems like miles in multiple cascades and flumes. We walked along the Zambia side for about 1.5 hours. The mist was so thick that rainbows formed everywhere we looked. It was so impressive that we couldn’t believe the Zimbabwe side of Vic Falls (we’d visit the next afternoon) would be any more beautiful.
We walked back to the hotel’s activity center to arrange for an elephant safari the next morning, and with about 15 minutes to spare, decided to spontaneously take the sunset river cruise at 4:00 p.m. The boat driver could easily maneuver our small covered craft along the wide, smooth Zambezi River above the falls. So he drove us just tens of feet away from hippos hiding in the water with their eyes peeking above the river surface, occasionally extending their head up to yawn or snort water. Playful and docile, hippos lull you into a sense of safety. But they turn very cranky very quickly if threatened in the least and are responsible for killing or maiming more people every year than the so-called Big Five animals. Further downstream, we approached a family of elephants in the river. They playfully sprayed water and climbed on top of each other like overgrown children as they headed toward shore at sunset. Hippos and elephants, along with rhinos, protect their skin with mud and water which also allows them to move with greater flexibility. The good news and bad news was that once again we only saw crocodiles from a distance along the river bank. We did have a full view of monitor lizard though he first appeared to be a weird log. At one section of the river, there were a group of trees that were home to hundreds of birds, in tens of varieties. The trees were virtually covered with large and small, colorful and dull, predator and fishing birds, birds, birds. Our guide couldn’t explain why those specific trees along the Zambezi, but said that birds always roosted there.
After a good night’s sleep, we were picked up at 6:30 a.m. in front of our hotel, for our Elephant Safari experience at a preserve about 30 minutes away. Leaving the car and reality behind, about 12 of us were introduced to our elephants and handler/drivers--our rides and guides for the morning. These enormous African elephants had been orphaned or abandoned then raised and trained to carry people on command. Despite being one of the Big Five in Africa, these elephants did not seem scary. So Rick and I walked up a platform, spread our legs widely over a padded saddle on the elephant’s back, put our feet in horse-like stirrups, held onto a ridge in the saddle, and with hope and innocence, trusted in our handlers’ ability to keep them moving in a caravan fashion for 1.5 hours. Carolyn accompanied just the handler on her elephant. Off we lumbered slowly around the preserve. The biggest excitement was crossing a river on the elephant’s back. As each elephant stepped into the water with its passengers, a guide shot pictures with each rider’s camera. Good thing it was before the crossing. Another couple’s elephant ahead of ours stumbled or stepped into a hole in the river bottom. The water must have been over ten feet deep in places, because the back passenger was dunked above his waist. Our driver had us lift our feet onto our ele’s back otherwise our legs would have been soaked. Then we ambled our way out of the river, through more of the preserve, and back to the camp. Our elephant kneeled to let us sit on each of his front legs for pictures then we each fed him through the tip of his trunk and into his mouth when we said, “Trunk up.” We learned a new factoid from this adventure. Besides having much larger ears which flap a lot to cool the many blood vessels on the back, African elephants are distinguished from Asian elephants via their “opposing lips” at the end of the trunk which allow them to better pick up indigenous food.
After a hearty English breakfast back at the camp, we viewed the trip highlights on DVD that had been captured by a budding filmmaker. Yes, we bought the DVD (which I’ll try to download onto our web), and yes it was tourist-y, cheesy, and I had ridden an elephant once at Marine World in Calif. BUT the elephant ride was one of my highlights in Africa--like being in an old-time safari movie with Clark Gable. It was especially thrilling because we were privileged that one of the Big Five gave us a ride on his back. I’ll stop gushing now…
We returned to the Zambezi Sun and decided to arrange for a driver to take us to the Zimbabwe side of Victoria Falls. The views were truly amazing, and even more impressive that the Zambian side of the falls. We strolled along the gorge rim for almost 2 hours before heading back across the border. Seeing the Zim side of Victoria Falls was absolutely worth it, even though I resented contributing any money to President Mugabe’s government.
That evening the Zambezi Sun and Royal Livingstone Hotels (on the same general property) jointly hosted a “braai” with local youth singing and dancing. The food was widely varied with curries, grilled veggies, and all sorts of meats. As I’ve often experienced, the most interesting part of the evening was Carolyn, Rick and my chatting with our table-mates, a white South African couple about our age from Durban who talked about their country’s enormous changes over the years. They were clearly liberal-minded yet honest about the many activities now happening there, including Black Enterprise Empowerment. It was fascinating.
After a quiet next morning we headed back to Livingstone Airport, flew back to Jo’burg then onto to Cape Town.
SIDEBAR: Rick Develops a Pinched Nerve
Some time in late October or early November, Rick strained his neck and upper back. We did not invite Carolyn to visit us in Swaziland just because she is a Physical Therapist, but she arrived in time to relieve him of the worst of the pain. Throughout her visit, Carolyn stretched and pulled Rick’s neck, back, and arm so that he could drive, ride, sit, and sleep as comfortably as possible. THANK YOU, Carolyn.
Dec. 2 – Driving to then Lost in Johannesburg
Rather than spend over US$900 for the 3 of us to fly to Jo’burg, Rick, drove Carolyn and me for 4+ hours to a hotel near the airport so we could fly to Victoria Falls the next morning. We could not have driven from Swaziland to Jo’burg in time with the South Africa border opening at 6:00 a.m. and the only flight to Zambia at 11:30 a.m.
Although Rick was exhausted from driving with a pinched nerve in his neck, I insisted that he drive us to Nelson Mandela Square in the Sandton section of Jo’burg. I knew that this was the only chance Carolyn would have to see Johannesburg…and I wanted to have dinner at the wonderful Bukhara Indian Restaurant where I had gone in early August with Atiba and Leslie from TechnoServe.
Rick got directions from the concierge and off we went. Despite my carefully trying to follow maps and directions, we missed a critical turn. I did eventually recognize Commissioner Strasse and some of the downtown Johannesburg buildings from my previous trips (and wild ride). But after wandering in increasingly less crowded areas, we stopped at a gas station convenience store for Rick to get directions. Carolyn and I sat in the car with the doors locked. Rick was warned that we really shouldn’t be in that section of town, but given better directions via a nearby freeway to reach Mandela Square. Scary for about 30 minutes, but we did arrive safe and sound. The Mall at Mandela Square could have been Trump Towers in Manhattan with similar high-end stores, glitzy decorations, upscale restaurants, and young professional urbanites. We had a great dinner at Bukhara and returned much faster to our hotel than the circuitous, somewhat frightening route we had taken to Mandela Square.
Nov. 27th to Dec. 1st – Last Week at TechnoServe Swaziland as Carolyn Arrives
It’s hard to believe that this is our last week in the TechnoServe Swaziland office and only 15 days before we fly back to Calif.—and boy, were they action-packed!
Sunday, November 26, Linda and Regan from JA South Africa arrived to train us and LULOTE on the JA Company program (aka as JA Mini-Enterprise). Sunday evening dinner at Kanimambo Restaurant was wonderful as usual, and we enjoyed the lively conversation with our South African colleagues as well as Linda’s son Matthew. The rapport between Linda and son reminded us even more how much we looked forward to seeing our own kids in a few weeks. Then bright and early Monday morning through Tuesday mid-day, we were all at the LULOTE classrooms in Manzini to become expert JA Company trainers as well as gauge how much we needed to tailor the material to the Swazi context. These were a very productive couple of days.
Late Tuesday morning, Rick picked up Carolyn at Matsapha airport, then came for me at LULOTE so we could all have lunch together in downtown Manzini at the Tums George Hotel coffee shop. I returned to LULOTE for Atiba’s and my Tuesday afternoon de-briefing session, Rick dropped Carolyn at our house for a shower and nap, then he returned to the office for a few hours. It was so much fun going home at the end of the day knowing that Carolyn was there! We had a good chat, previewed her experience in Kruger for the next 3 days, and trundled her off to bed.
On Wednesday morning, Carolyn was driven by a friend of Kiki, the TechnoServe office driver, to the Sabi Sands Reserve area of Kruger National Park, South Africa. We had arranged for her to “rough it” at Nottens Bush Camp in the same way that Adrian, Rick and I had experienced in early September. Morning game drives with coffee and biscuits. Back to the lodge for an English breakfast on the veranda. Mid-day nap, afternoon tea then game drive with a proper gin and tonic to celebrate sundown. Return to the lodge for a braai (barbeque) while listening to the roars, trumpets, croaks, and whirs of night-time in the African savannah. Needless to say, Carolyn had a marvelous time, though her ride back to Swaziland took much longer than expected due to “Friday night rush hour” at the South Africa border.
Meanwhile, Rick and I completed our final tasks at the TechnoServe office in Mbabane. Anyone who’s a Trekkie (Startrek fanatic) will remember that Spock used to perform the Vulcan Mind Meld to occasionally transfer his knowledge and power to a mere human being. Rick and I performed “VolCon (aka TechnoServe Volunteer Consultant) Mind Meld with our office-mates to ensure that all of our information would be handed off to the right people.
Since we were waiting for Carolyn to be driven back to Swaziland, I was allowed to join the TechnoServe Men’s Night Out, which consisted of relaxed conversation while consuming beer, wine, and juice on the rooftop outside the office. This was a fitting way to recognize all the wonderful friends, colleagues, experiences, and memories coming to a close!
