2002.4

I took a month vacation last year in South Africa. I spent most time in the nature reserves - bush walking (with rifles of course), camping, etc. in northern part of the country. I think SA is a hidden jewel for travelers: beautiful country, parks, excellent services (black natives trained by Dutchman), very lower cost (Rand is almost the same as RMB Yuan). However, I wouldn’t want to live there due to the uncertainty of the politics and unsettledness of the society. My friend’s family maid was robbed right in front of their house front gate. All well off residents, including whites, East Indians, or Chinese, have to live in electrically wired compound. When I went out alone to buy some local wine (excellent wine with incredible low price) to take home, the surroundings scared me to death. I almost felt sorry for the whites there whose family have been there for generations and build most of things in that country. They had no place to go because all their life savings were either burned down by rebels or diminished with the crashing economy. Some skilled people (medical doctors, for example) are luckier than the most. They moved to Canada, UK, and Australia. But majority of the once hard work ing none black people are left there jobless and penniless.

Bush walking: 来福枪是一定要带的. 我们一行8人，每天出行时导游在前面持抢带路，后面一黑人小伙携枪殿后。枪不是用来对人的，是防范野兽。最危险的是大象，发疯的大象是无敌的。狮子很懒，一般不会主动进攻；豹子很隐蔽，白天不会出来活动。只有大象，本来就是林中之王，而且爱结群，成天在树林里走来走去。如果发现有人踏入领地，就会咆哮。在库格国家公园时，我们的车不幸误入一群大象的pass，加上那天是我开车，还不习惯开左边，又急着倒车逃跑，一下子倒到沟里去了。回想起来，那天真是捡了一条命啊。

同行的有一对夫妇，男的律师、女的会计。自从black majority government 上台后，优先雇佣黑人，两人都失业了。南非货币Rand贬值厉害，他们一生的储蓄缩水，不可能移居国外，还不知道明年他们如何呢。

糟糕，误入大象群了：


不好，殿后的大象发现我们了，赶快逃吧！


走累了，就在小河里洗个澡，来杯香槟解解渴。抢是不能忘的。


Camping: 英国人和丹麦佬在深山老林人烟罕见之处建有木头的cabin,非常别具一格。先是 4 wheel drive 的军用吉普车开上一天，终于到了。随行的黑人赶紧生火开饭，饭菜非常丰富。营地有电网环绕，以防野兽。

在几十里无人烟、雪白的沙滩上野餐、Snorkling:


巨大的sand dune.看看我们的吉普车像个小蚂蚁。我们是方圆几十、百里的唯一人烟。


在路上：路旁的工艺品


山火（bush fire)


动物们： 长颈鹿


三趾蛙


蚂蚁山


大象洗澡


鳄鱼和鹭


河马一家


可惜还有很多照片都找不到了。

途中路过南非自建的“炼油厂”。当年因为南非的白人种族主义政府，以美国为首的国家对南非实行禁运，没有石油，南非人就发明了用“植物油”来开车。当然现在这些工厂都已经废弃了，但是南非人的“自力更生”精神给我留下深刻印象。

Other than spent a lot of time up north in the wild, I did manage a solo trip down to the south end: Cape Town (开普敦). Cape Town is one of the most beautiful towns I've visited。 去开普敦前我从约翰斯特堡Shopping Mall里一家旅行社订的计票、旅馆、租车等。虽然在约堡时练过一下开左边，到了开普敦后还是出了个小岔子。在租车场拿到车，我就傻眼了：是一辆从来没见过的小车，有点像当年东欧国家的Lada，当然是手动挡，不过手挡在左边，要用左手控制。好在前几年与LD游澳大利亚时，俺也开着左边的手动车出去几百公里，在这儿俩眼一抹黑的情况下，虽然俺心里直打鼓，也只有硬着头皮二话不说，开着车就上路了。还没出车场呢，俺就堵在单行道的反方向上了。赶紧倒车吧，这才发现俺不知道怎么倒！那手挡上居然没有R(reverse)的字样。把俺急得，唰一下，满头大汗就下来了。幸亏车场的人跑出来救驾，才知道那倒车的机关。不过后来咱将开普敦逛了个遍，这车还是劳苦功高。

At top of the famous Table Mountain. It got it's name as it looks like a table (flat top and steep edges). These guys are getting ready to rock climb.


Someone was asking if black people have racial discrimination or not. I'm not sure. But when I was in South Africa I've heard many stories about native blacks killing whites as revenge after the ANP took over the power. The worst happened in Angola where almost all white farmers were either killed or driven out of the country losing everything they worked hard to build, very sad and true stories. Even now, Angola is still off limits for citizens from many white majority countries. It’s not known by many Chinese. I guess where is “class struggle, where is rebel (discrimination)”.

When you go there you must take malaria (虐疾) vaccine. There are many vaccines for malaria these days. This time I took some malaria vaccine pills a week before going to Africa. Couple of years before that a friend of mine had to start taking pills month before the trip. The progress in these areas advances fast.

But the vaccine only reduces the symptoms as I was told. Without the vaccine, people could die of the high fever or other symptom of malaria.

I did bush walking and camping in wildness while in Africa. Lions were my neighbors then . But luckily didn't get malaria.