Wout & Martine - Just married!

Sunset atmosphere

Tour in Amsterdam

My cousin - Look... what a beauty!

An intensive month through southern Africa

After my stay in Cape Town it was time to move on and to explore the rest of the country including Swaziland and Mozambique. Near Swellendam I have been cycling alone through a wildlife park. Wildlife is not used to cyclists so it was hard to get close to the animals. But it was an indescribable experience in complete harmony with nature!In Swellendam I met some very friendly Afrikaners. I spent a great night with black people who invited me to drink wine together. As you might know, the Dutch language and Afrikaans are closely related. The black people have their own specific slang in Afrikaans which makes it harder to communicate, but rich of funny words and we laughed about our languages. How wonderful is the universal language of people?

On the Baz Bus I met a great Aussie guy (Adam) who sees travelling as his most important profession. For a few weeks we travelled together. The Baz Bus wasn’t our favourite mean of transport and we were lucky enough to meet a nice Dutch guy (Patrick) who invited us to accompany him for two weeks in his car till the Kruger Park. At that very moment few tourist visited South Africa. Sometimes it was just the three of us in the hostels. We enjoyed the pool tables, the delicious barbeque nights and the outdoor life at daytime. Our slogan was just do it, just do it again! And indeed, our pooling skills improved and our bellies were always satisfied.

After thousand of kilometres we reached the most famous wildlife park in South Africa. In the Kruger Park we couldn’t find any pussies, so we told Patrick to stop the car for any bird we could see. Patrick encountered his first rhino and Adam and I wanted to get as close as possible (still from a safe distance). When the massive rhino stood up from the dry soil Patrick didn’t know how fast to drive away. The car went up and down and Adam and I enjoyed his natural fear. Anyway, the park is beautiful and typically African, but it can’t beat the wildlife abundance of Eastern Africa.

Adam and I (among others) relaxed on the quiet beaches of Mozambique. I felt I was back in Africa again travelling in poorly maintained busses on the ‘road’ and surrounded by tropical areas and the lively people. A history of long Portuguese influence, civil wars and floods made life hard for most of the inhabitants. But somewhere I believe that the near sea make their lives enlightened. The tropical climate, the bright water, the abundance of fish, the empty white beaches provide opportunities to develop the tourist sector and to bring Mozambique and its people back again in the future.

Mozambique border

During the last six years I crossed many borders, but the one from South Africa into Mozambique was most certainly the worst. We had to fight ourselves through a bunch of annoying people to get into the office. That typical African body odour is overwhelming while so many people are ‘queuing’ (pushing and pulling). However, things can always get worse: the terrible bureaucracy was the pinnacle. Your passport suddenly disappears in an obscure room. We waited more than two hours in that stinky sauna before we got our visa. Afterwards you can just laugh about it. Advice: get your visa in advance!

Encountering the whale sharks

Beaches are never far away in Mozambique. Big whale sharks are there one of the secrets of the sea. On a shark tour we were looking for them. In the beginning I couldn’t see any while others did. But finally I saw my first whale shark accompanied by a little baby, what a beauties! It’s a peaceful swim together with the white spotted giants of the sea. The ones we saw were around 4 or 5 meters, small ones when you realize that they can reach a maximum size of 19 meters. They are completely harmless for humans.

Once we were back in the boat a whale shark was approaching us. The guide told me to jump into the water, so I did. And then I saw her big head coming straight to me. She was curious and didn’t stop getting closer. She was almost that close that I could definitely kiss her. But I wasn’t in the right mood. The boat in my back, I could only turn left or right. The idea of my body in her big round mouth scared me off and I swum speedily away. The hero’s in the boat had at least great fun about me!

The gift of hope

In a fully crowded buss I met my neighbor and we spoke for hours eating in the meantime his offered fruits. He was on his way to Maputo (the capital) and hoping to get a one month visa to visit Swiss friends who invited him to come over.

He was afraid for the bureaucracy and welcomed gifts to the officials. He told me he experienced the last big slaughter between the fighting parties during the civil war when some friends and family members died. This misery comes sometimes back in his dreams. He just started to study again on the age of 29 while being married and having a little son. It’s inspiring to see that people under tough circumstances still make plans and try to make the best out of their life.

Beaches of Mozambique

Chilling Canadians

Mozambique people

Where is Africa in the far south?

Earlier visits to Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Tanzania and Kenya fulfilled my child dreams as what I imagined to be Africa. A mixture of diverse African landscapes, an exceptional wildlife and unique tribes. A world of black people where human life originated. In South Africa I soon realised the difference compared to the rest of Sub Saharan Africa. The country is a story apart since it underwent an unique path in history. The Dutch and later British colonisation and the resulting former apartheid era shaped the current landscape of this remarkable country. Nowadays it is the economic engine of Africa which is essential for the rest of region.

Nelson Mandela among others transformed the country from enforced apartheid into the relatively peaceful Rainbow Nation. The treasure is living together with Africans (80%), Whites (9%), Coloured (9%), and Indians/Asians (2%) without violent conflicts getting out of hand. South Africa is growing towards 50 million people. Non-Africans are still leaving the country while there is a huge influx of Africans from Zimbabwe, Mozambique, the Congo, Nigeria among other countries of the continent. The Rainbow Nation is changing its colours.

Though the white man’s burden is still easily visible nowadays. Most Africans and coloured still live in the poorly endowed and immense townships which have been build in isolated areas during apartheid. Human rights are in place, but remain mostly unmet. Several provinces are dominated by white people. When I arrived in Cape Town and travelled eastwards along the coast for more than 1000 kilometres, I was surprised by seeing so many whites and so few Africans. The coastal landscape, the well developed infrastructure, the exclusive cars, the houses, the fast-food craziness and all these things reminded me of Europe and America. Where was Africa? Finally, on my way to Durban I found Africa partly back and saw some of the typical characteristics. The apartheid is still present, but in a different modern setting which is mainly characterized by the high inequality in standards of living instead of the former regime denial of human liberty for all races.

I think that South Africa represents a miniature example of the world. A small but bright rainbow which encompasses all wonderful different kind of colours. Certain groups of colours are historically and coincidently favoured above others and made themselves stars. But since we are all part of one rainbow in the end we can’t exist without the neighbouring colours. After a storm comes a calm (‘Na regen komt zonneschijn’) and the vanishing rainbow leaves a treasure behind, created together and to be shared by all equally.

A township in Durban

During the apartheid era blacks and coloured people were forced to migrate to these poorly endowed places. The apartheid era was officially abolished in 1994 although in practice this distinction still exists. Most people remained behind in the townships and can doing nothing else than just praying or waiting for a better life. Although these people are facing a hard life, the circumstances are not as bad as depicted in the mind of most outsiders.

In Durban we went on a township tour with a local guy who grown up over there. I was pleasantly surprised by government initiatives which started in the late nineties. Mandela has put education at the core of attention for South Africa’s development. We saw schools and visited a well equipped library. The latter is public and looked well organised. Internet is freely accessible and books are provided in two languages. Attention is also given here to HIV Aids, one of the major problems in South Africa. Another government initiative is social house building. Near the vulnerable shacks, new houses are build on allocated sites. These bricked new homes are stable (against intense rainfall) and relatively save. They are also cheap since they are subsidised including additional services. Some major disadvantages are the gradually process of house building, the long waiting lists and the obviously visibility of the increased inequality at the backyard of the shacks. Keeping this in mind, the government projects are at least a step towards the right direction.

Kruger Parc landscapes

Big wildlife