learningtheworld.com

Damian’s Email: casakettlewell@gmail.com
Char’s Email: charlie.hess@gmail.com
Photo pages: www.flickr.com/photos/learningtheworld

Our coordinates: Aurangabad, Maharashtra - enroute to the World Heritage Site of Ajanta and Ellora Cave Temples.

plateau path in the Drakensburg

Originally uploaded by Learning The World.

Up go our thumbs in rural Drakensburg,
South Africa. The imposing Drakensburg Mountains and 20 kms of paved
and gravel roads lead us to this evening’s destination, the Sani Pass
Backpackers Hostel.

In friendly South African fashion, we quickly hop into the back of a
couple’s truck and throw our bodies and backpacks next to their
fishing gear. The truck stops 10 km down the road at a crossroads
and I enthusiastically thank the couple, commenting on the sparkling
green hills of their countryside. We exchange pleasantries mentioning
that we left out jobs in Vancouver and have been traveling through
west, east and now southern Africa for three months. We extol
the cheerful South African hospitality. “Yes,” the driver replies,
pulling out to his fishing hole, “it’s great except for all the black
people.”

mandela’s cell, Robben Island

Originally uploaded by Learning The World.

The world saw South Africa’s courageous black, mixed race, Indian and
white citizens rise up in 1994 to end apartheid, a racial segregation
system where four million white citizens ruled over forty
million citizens of colour. Economic sanctions stifled their economy and the media, pop culture and NGO’s broadcasted the plight of their
political prisoners around the world, resulting in Nelson Mandela becoming a household name. South Africa’s now defunct National Party spent seventy four years institutionalizing racism and by the nineties South Africans report being shunned while traveling abroad as they became the proverberial “bad guys” of the world. But with political equality firmly entrenched and twelve years of “one
vote-one person” democracy behind them South Africa is now
poised to become a major tourist destination, capitalizing on its inviting culture and natural
beauty.

The capital of South Africe is Johannesburg. Joburg, as it’s nicknamed, is struggling with its
reputation as one of Africa’s most dangerous places but omnipresent
CCTV camera’s on downtown corners and public awareness campaigns that
promote personal security has helped turn the tide. Founded by its
bounty of diamonds, Joburg is affluent and home to that most famous
of freedom fighters, Nelson Mandela. However, all residences are walled and rimmed with two metre electric fences.

SAB

Originally uploaded by Learning The World.

If you’re a fan of loud R&B, house or dance music, hop in a “black taxi” (apartheid policies ignored
transportation for 85% of its population, thus mini van networks
evolved to become transit) and you will be greeted by smiles and
learned greetings from Johannesburg’s young service community. The smell of social change and economic prosperity in
Joburg is evident in the attitude of the optimistic black taxi drivers, the city’s bubbling arts
Scene, and its numerous multi-ethnic Mercedes drivers. Must see spots in Joburg include the enlightening
Apartheid Museum, a South African brewery tour
and a walkabout in the “Bus Factory,” a converted arts studio.

shamrock cliffs of the drakensburg mountains

Originally uploaded by Learning The World.

Eight hours south of Johannesburg are the southern Drakensburg Mountains, offering Sound of Music panorama hiking and ancient bushman
SAN rock art for the budding archeologist. Barking baboons and an
Armageddon-like electrical storm denied us the summit on a day hike
from the Sani Pass Backpackers Hostel, a hike past waterfalls, Easter Island boulders,
and lush green hills which dominated our Drakensburg vistas before we
started up the Sani Pass to land-locked Lesotho, southern Africa’s
high alpine Tibet.

heaven

Originally uploaded by Learning The World.

Climbing 1,000 metres in thick fog over six kilometers on a gravel
road with forty five degree gradients will give even a Sea to Sky veteran white knuckles. The Sani Pass peak offers ethereal ‘above the cloud’
high mountain views and, more importantly, Africa’s highest pub, with
arguably the best pub views on the continent. With a blue bird morning sky
and clouds down below in the Pass you can begin an 11 hour round trip
hike to southern Africa’s highest peak, Thabana Ntlenyana, at 3,482
metres. On our hike to the roof of southern Africa we meandered up
through an arid landscape. In a moment scripted for an Imax movie a
nomadic group of tribal horseman eclipsed our horizon and trotted by
us as we ascended the final ridge to the summit for tea with our guide
and a friendly shepherd with his three pony sized dogs.

xhosa girl

Originally uploaded by Learning The World.

Howling winds and skin cracking conditions soon encouraged a move west to more welcoming conditions in South Africa’s
port city, Durban, and the rugged Transkei region Wild Coast.
The birthplace of Nelson Mandela, the Transkei was left unsettled by white
colonists and is today a tribal Xhosa area with ancestral influenced
religions. The Xhosa people interject phonetically entrancing clicks
into their dialogue and have a bevy of natural wonders at their
doorstep. I was walking to the beach one afternoon
and reflecting on my dolphin surfing partners earlier in the day when a
wave of Wreck Beach deja vu overcame me. Two partially naked but
distinguished looking men with taped phalluses poking out from behind
their blankets were in an animated conversation with their Xhosa
friends. These two late teenage boys had just completed the time
honoured circumcision ceremony high up on a seaside cliff and they were
returning to their village as proud men. I marveled at the beauty of
diversity and ever so gingerly I was soon paddling out to the surf and dedicated my sunset ride to the two new Xhosa men.

supertubing

Originally uploaded by Learning The World.

With a dembe drum in hand, self-made from a blue agave tree, we
headed to the iconic surfing town of Jeffery’s Bay, or J Bay. Small,
beginner sized beach breaks can be found in South Africa but unless
you’ve paddled out in a Tofino winter storm you’d best enjoy Boneyards
or Supertubes with a big camera lens. The balance in your courage
account will grow with the roaring sound of off shore winds smacking
the swell and transforming them into 12 ft. dream (or nightmare?) waves.
Walking over the sharp reef and navigating through a channel with
subdued white water can cause serious carnage as this rider
discovered. With the proper sized surf board from the Billabong
factory outlet store and fearless paddling will get you out past the
surfing video quality waves and quite possibly have the ride of your
life.

With time on your side you may want to spend a few days inland in the
rainforests of Hogsback at the aptly named “Away with the Fairies.”

stellenbosch wineries

Originally uploaded by Learning The World.

Stellenbosch wine region on South Africa’s excellent road network and
visiting potentially 150+ vineyards, some over 300 years old, will
quench any sommelier passions. South African friends whom we’d met in
Zanzibar and were graciously hosting us commented that the extravagant
and almost colonial feel of the vineyard circuit made them a tad
uncomfortable as it reminded them of apartheid days. Regardless, the
acidic fruit laced mountainous wines and Sideways-like touring culture
will spruce you up for a sobering but requisite visit to the South
Africa’s most famous former prison, Robben Island.