Johannesburg and beyond!

Chapter 1 - Johannseburg
The girls finished their first term at school on Friday, April 3rd and on Sunday, we took off north bound for a long awaited trip to Johannesburg and beyond.

With memories of travelling over the hectic Christmas holiday and it now being the Easter school break, we made sure to arrive at the airport early. Boy, were we in for a surprise! When we reached the Kulula airline queue, we were quickly escorted to an available check-in station. Within seconds, the attendant announced that the airline was moving us to an earlier flight on a sister airline with an upgrade to business class! Pollack Family, ”Happy Easter” or rather “Happy Passover”! We ran to the gate, and before we knew it, we were on the plane, stretching out our legs in the big leather seats. “Wish this could happen on our 16 hour flight back home,” whispered Maya. She had voiced what we were all thinking as we snacked on a lovely shrimp and arugula salad served on china plates!

When we were planning this trip back in September, we decided to spend most of our week exploring nature and the bush. We were devoting less than 24 hours to Joburg and as we flew in, I felt some regret in not having more time. But it’s been a year of choices, knowing we can’t see it all this time around.

Joburg is a pleasant 2 hour plane ride from Cape Town, yet another world away from the Mother City. We left the rugged coastline of the Cape Peninsula for the grassy Highveld plateau. The city’s modern history sprung from the gold rush which transformed this deserted heartland in to the largest financial, commercial and industrial center in South Africa.

We stayed the night in Joburg with Rob, an old friend of Seth’s from the Peace Corp days. He lives in the city with his lovely (American) wife (also a RPCV) and 2 very sweet young daughters. We had such a wonderful time visiting with them all. They were such gracious hosts and we loved hearing about their lives in South Africa.

Despite our short stay, Rob was able to grant my big wish and took us to the Apartheid Museum for a few hours. It was everything I had heard about… thoughtful, engaging, and incredibly moving! A five star museum!

Chapter 2 – Blyde River Canyon
We left the big city early on Monday morning – and drove against morning traffic (big yeh!), northeast into Mpumalanga Province, ‘the place of the rising sun’. Our day’s destination was Blyde River Canyon. On the way, we passed through small mining towns as well as the largest manmade forest in the world! Neatly planted rows of non-native pines and eucalyptus seemed to go on forever!

Blyde River Canyon is the third largest canyon in the world after the Grand Canyon and Fish River Canyon in Namibia. However, it is the largest “green” canyon with thick vegetation growing along its winding walls. There is a number of stunning view points from the top, one of them aptly named “God’s Window”! We stayed at a sleepy self-catering lodge, on the edge of the Nature Reserve with a few hiking trails in to the Canyon. We discovered that Alex was the only one of the family not afraid to dangle her legs over the edge of the canyon while the 3 of us backed away feeling all too nauseous! On our day’s walk in to the canyon on Guinea Fowl Trail, Seth took a swim under some beautiful waterfalls; we saw majestic aloes species, tiny zebra millipedes, and a family of mischievous monkeys.

It always takes a moment for us to relax in to the zen of the family adventure. Our stay at Blyde River Canyon, with all its beauty and quiet, moved us further in to family harmony, and we were ready to head off to our next and long awaited destination… Kruger Park!

Chapter 3 – Kruger National Park
Kruger National Park (KNP) is the king of game parks in South Africa. Its size compares to places like Israel or Wales, and over 1 million visitors a year come to see the great variety of wildlife including the infamous BIG 5 (rhino, elephant, lion, leopard and buffalo). Over its 100 year history, a system of roads and rest camps has been thoughtfully developed to make the park very user friendly. However, only 5% of the park is affected by the tourists’ activities.

Fortunately, back in September, we heard about the hidden jewel of Kruger Park, the Wilderness Trails. Instead of limited viewing of the animals from a vehicle (which you MUST remain in at all times while on the roads), on the Wilderness Trails, you are freed from your mobile cage and actually walk through the bush, accompanied by 2 armed rangers. You stay at one of the 7 Wilderness Trails camp sites which accommodate a maximum of 8 people. None of the camps have electricity, you sleep in 2-person rustic huts, and all cell phones, ipods, etc. are left behind. We knew that was our ticket in to the Park.

Seven months later, there we were, meeting our 4 other fellow campers, 2 guides and 1 chef. We loaded the little trailer with supplies, 2 guns, our clothes, and said farewell to our cellular connections for 3 whole days. Seth and I couldn’t be happier; the girls on the other hand…

We were delighted to quickly learn that our guides, Andre and Bentu, were both very experienced rangers. Bentu had been a ranger at our Wilderness Trails site for 33 years while Andre was 3rd generation ranger in his family. They were both incredibly knowledgeable, kind and loved to laugh!

The daily routines were simple…woke at 5 a.m., had a quick cup of tea and biscuit and started our morning walk by sunrise. A few hours later, on a well situated look-out rock, we stopped for a mid-morning snack, and returned to camp by 11 for a warm and tasty brunch. After siesta and tea, we were back in the bush for the late afternoon and returned by dark for dinner. It was simply perfect!

The Wilderness Trails walks had a few of its own rules: walk in single file, no talking, snap-and-clap if you see something and don’t hesitate to ask lots of questions. And that’s what we did… we walked… and walked through tall grass, over rocky trails. We looked and listened. We were naturally awed by the big mammals, but it was the smaller, less conspicuous sightings that grew our excitement. We cheered at the fish eagles and red billed hornbills. We were amazed by the zig zag spiders, and wooly worms, and squirmed as the baby puff adder passed by. We learned about the life of the rhino beetle and how the flying ants make their nests. And of course, we studied the poop – all sizes and shapes and consistencies! Who was here last night? An hour ago? We wondered about the creators of the ancient cliff paintings and were awaken from our sleep by the roaring lions. We had sundowners while watching the hippos snort and the waterbucks graze, then turned around and caught the black headed heron in flight against the full moon rising.

The days passed all too quickly, but the memories will last a long time to come!