An Introduction to My Travels in Africa including Kenya in 1991 and South Africa in 2000. nguptatravelscrapbook.blogspot.com

Blog number 24. SouthAfrica and Kenya Travels Current 19 status in the UK. The complete lockdown continues for the 7th week, with nearly 20 million people received the vaccination. 27.02.2021 nguptatravelscrapbook.blogspot.com

An introduction to my travels in Africa including Kenyain 1991 and South Africa in 2000.

"Long Walk To Freedom" by Nelson Mandela. This is a splendid book. Justice, freedom, goodness and love have prevailed in South Africa, and one man has embodies that struggle and its vindication. This is the story of his struggle and of people's victory. It is a fitting monument. It will help us never to forget, lest we, in our turn, repeat the ghastliness of apartheid—Desmond Tutu.

At a Game Reserve in South Africa, the Year 2001

My storyline about travels to Africa from 1991 to 2015; Kenya, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana, Namibia and hoping to continue further. in the current blog, I am springing up to Kenya and South Africa, intending to cover the remaining countries in another blog.

When living and starting my career as a medical practitioner in the UK in the late seventies, UK television introduced me to the African world via broadcasts of scores of travel programmes, including strings of series on wildlife and safaris set in African savannas and bushland. 

African Savannahs

A famous BBC television travel programme called The Whickers World was a top-rated and favourite series presented by Alan Whicker, a travel journalist.

A lion community in Amboseli Park, Kenya 1991

He journeyed and captured his experiences in more than 100 countries. The series survived for more than thirty-odd years. Legendary for his overstated jet-set and extravagant existence, Whicker's appeal was captivating, overscrupulous, and addictive! Wherever he journeyed to, people wanted to go too! Michael Palin, the famous television personality and travel writer, remarked, "Whicker was absolutely at the top of his game in front of the camera. He literally delved into the destination and influenced people remarkably". During his voyages and shootings, he intermingled with the public at the grass-root level in an unrestrictive manner. Yet he remained discreet, often showcasing a plush travelling style encompassing cruises, yachts, concords, balloon safaris, the luxurious chauffeur drove cars, fine dining and wining extravagant deluxe hotels. Yet he was treasured and respected by the British public, becoming a television icon for them, who transported the global world into their households, distinguishable instantly in his thick-rimmed glasses, Gucci ties and immaculate blazers.

In those broadcasts, he covered Africa with great passion and persuasion, at least I thought so!

Shamwari Reserve

In 1981, a British TV mini-series named Flame Trees of Thika filled up the UK's TV screens, based on a famous novel by Elspeth Huxley with the same name. The story essentially dealt with the lives of British settlers in East Africa before WW2. The series was shot in Kenya's real locations with stunning views of mountains, rivers, valleys, and Kenya- Uganda railways between Nairobi and Mombasa.

Nairobi in 1991

Watching these television programmes filled me with a perceptive urge to travel to Africa as and when an opportunity should arise. Karen Blixen's famous novel 'Out of Africa' was an additional incentive for me to visit Nairobi to see the Ngong mountains that she lovingly portrayed in her book, where she owned and worked on a coffee plantation in her early phase of life in Africa.

As a family with our two children aged 11 yrs and 8 yrs with their appropriate skills to enjoy wildlife, we travelled to Kenya for a two-week vacation in July 1991.

Safari (meaning long Journey in Swahili) conjures up the wilds of Africa in beautiful imagery. One can reach a bush park in no time in Africa after getting to the main town, but the charms and romanticised eras of Karen Blixen and Hemmingway still retain their allure. 

Tent lodging in Amboseli reserve, Kenya

One travels in rough jeeps in real safari mode, covering hundreds of miles before reaching a destination. All dust-covered, staying in rough and simple lodges or camps with handy beds bedecked with mosquito nets. We had similar lodgings during our times in Kenya and ventured out on safaris starting before sunrise, a mid-day safari and a night safari where one is likely to meet a game in action. 

A visit to a Kenyan village

Endless grasslands and plains were teeming with wildlife, including the antelopes, zebras, giraffes, buffaloes, rhinos, wildebeests, and herds of elephants together. But they are being followed by fierce and wild African predators, including lions, cheetahs, leopards, wild dogs, and hyenas, who wait to attack these creatures; hence the game of life and death plays out every night and day. Most of the destinations like Masai Mara, Amboseli and Lake Nakuru in Kenya, Serengeti and Tsavo national parks in Tanzania, Kruger National Park, Addo Elephant Park and Shamwari reserve in South Africa, Hwange park in Zimbabwe and Okavango and Chobe National Park in Botswana etc. offer the sheer richness and variety of wildlife, all in the mighty African backdrop.

Our guide/ driver explaining about coffee plantations, Kenya 1991

Viewing sunsets as the African red blood sun sets below the horizon, signalling to the nocturnal animals that their part in the African safari has begun, hyenas and jackals cackle in harmony, the roar of the lion deafens them all. The prey congregates in gatherings as they look onto shadows sniffing their foes in the misty, cold, and moist air. Sunrise cannot come quick enough for these animals when the sun awaking is met with a sense of joy and relief, at most limited till the next night. 

New Beginning For South Africa

South Africa's black national hero and leader of the African National Congress (ANC) was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1963 and was kept in prison in Robben Island. In 1990, president de Klerk announced the ban on ANC and authorized the political prisoner's release, Nelson Mandela. Subsequently, in the first democratic elections in 1994, the ANC won by a large majority, with Mandela taking the oath as the first president of Democratic South Africa. Mandela ended his inauguration speech with the words; Let Freedom Reign, God Bless Africa. In the following years since 1994, South Africa has become a stable, progressive democracy with a vibrant economy and a decisive leadership role in Africa. Towards the end of the Millennium, there was a surge of trainee doctors from South Africa, keen to train in their selected specialities in UK based hospitals. During those times, I met many junior South African doctors who hailed me to travel to South Africa for a holiday. By the year 2000, South Africa had opened for international tourism with regular and direct flights to Cape Town from London.

There were no escorted or group tours to South Africa then. My friends were extremely helpful in organizing a tight itinerary for us. They arranged for most hotel bookings thru their families, based in Cape Town. I am grateful to my friends, especially to their parents, who kept a trail on us for our safety and well-being while we were vacationing in South Africa. It was very reassuring, indeed. My friends revealed various locations where we could reach, including the restaurants and resorts we religiously followed. These suggestions included afternoon tea in Nelson Hotel, Cape Town (famously called Nelly), Monkey Valley Resort at Chapman's peak, for dinner, Kirstenbosch Botanical gardens, Simons Town for penguin watching, Winchester Mansions in Cape Town, where we stayed on our return from a self-drive excursion along the famous Garden route.

In July 2000, South Africa was bright and cheerful in the winter months, the trees green due to preceding heavy rains, weather being more relaxed and crisper with temperatures rarely falling below 8c. Glorious sunny days with blue skies were typical, and indigenous vegetation was evergreen, ideal for travelling.  It was surprising that while we were there in Cape Town, it had snow showers with a collection of fine powdered snow on the roadsides and the rooftops, lasting overnight. The local restaurants served a typical Xmas dinner (turkey with all the trimmings) backed with Xmas decors and carols, trying to bring on Santa Claus's spirits in July in Cape Town!

Table mountain in the backdrop

Cape town was a modern-day, smart, and vibrating city set between the Atlantic ocean and dominating Table mountain, with a new and working harbour named Victoria & Alfred Waterfront. The town with a Mediterranean climate had a bubbly Afro-fusion social scene, a rich history, colonial architecture, unsheltered beaches and picturesque drives along the Cape of Good Hope. The unusually flat-top Table mountain( hence the name) is occasionally covered in the cloudy blanket locals refer to as the tablecloth.

Getting ready for a safari

Garden Route is the most popular part of South Africa for visitors, stretching 200km along the eastern cape coastline. Our self-drive trip started from Cape Town to Hermanus (whale watching), Mossel Bay, George, Wilderness, Knysna, arriving at Plettenberg taking three days en-route. The Garden Route displayed ancient forests, renowned artists' communities, retirement homes, busy shopping malls, craft centres, mountain hideaways and golden beaches. Many creative people, including artists, famous chefs, ancient woodcutter clans, fishers, and entrepreneur, are drawn to this magnificent stretch of coastline, calling it their home now.

The natural reserves, some of the most popular destinations, include national parks, such as the ever-popular Kruger National Park in the north of the country, Shamwari Game reserve beyond the garden route, about 80 km north-west to Port Elizabeth, and Addo Elephant reserve park somewhere in between.

South Africa is home to a vast and wide variety of animal life. Among the large mammals found in the northern Bushveld include lions, leopards, cheetahs, white rhinoceroses, blue wildebeest, kudus, impalas, hyenas, hippopotamuses, giraffes, and Zebras. We were explained that with increasing unemployment amongst white South Africans, a new business had taken a trend. In the 1990s, many degraded farmlands were converted to private safari parks. This exercise involved installing electric fences around the perimeters and reintroducing many animals historically associated with the region. The reserves had a remote feel enhanced by a low guest-to-land ratio. The vast horizons enclosed elephants, buffalos, white rhinos, black rhinos, lions, and cheetahs, with leopards remaining elusive.

Animal Conservation story in Shamwari game reserve, Long Lee Manor, near Port Elizabeth

In 2000, the Shamwari game reserve was popularised on British TV by a few celebrities who had visited the area and were involved with the internationally acclaimed Born Free foundation Project, which included rescuing, nurturing, and releasing the animals back into their natural habitat.  Additionally, the Shamwari game reserve had the label of being Malaria Free. At Shamwari, the tourists participated in an immensely successful conservation project, with a once in a lifetime experience to get engaged and educate oneself in the projects and efforts saving lives of animals from poachers and alike. Long Lee manor, our lodgings in Shamwari reserve, built-in 1910, had a colonial grandeur and charm. The Manor had an elegant pink exterior; inside, there were open fireplaces, original detailing, and dark wood furnishings; we cherished our stay here.

The Wine industry in South Africa

On the outskirts of cape town, in any direction, one meets another world of South Africa; the vineyards of Stellaenbosch and Franschhoek, Tulbagh and Paarl. The most beautiful South Africa area is dotted with lush, well-watered valleys amongst its rugged sandstone peaks. This region also forms the country's wine industry's heart, with home to around 300 wineries. These farms, established by Dutch and French colonists in the 17th century, are now known as South African wine estates, with tree-lined driveways leading to impeccably manicured gardens and gentle hills covered in vines. 

Wine tasting sessions

Stellenbosch, the leading wine tourist capital of South Africa, is surrounded by mountains and has the highest concentration of Dutch buildings and is the second oldest city. In our self-drive car, we spent the whole day in this region visiting the vineyards, wineries and tasting a few of their wines with prebooked arrangements.

Louisenhof Winery, Stellenbosch

We were explained that the main varieties of wines produced in this region included white wines, namely Chenin Blanc,  with more fashionable varieties like Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, and lately Semillion and sweet Muscats; red Pinotage, along with Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. There is the production of sparkling wines as well as fortified wines with increasing demands.

What is workers wine?

South Africa has more fair trade accredited wines than any other country. More and more wineries lead the way in setting improved labour and fair trade standards, with an increasing number of employees being made shareholders in joint venture wine farms. Black farmland owners are being given more empowerment and rights of businesses.

The future of South Africa 

Now in the third decade of democracy, South Africa is not a land without problems. Violent crimes remain unacceptably high. The HIV / aids figures remain grim. In 2020, South Africa's record on human rights remained poor. Increased corruption, unemployment, poverty, xenophobic crimes, and other related crimes restrict South Africans' economic growth. High cuts to the health and education sector also compromised quality and access to improved human rights. The economic disparity between the wealthy minority and the vast majority has only worsened the social problems. An enormous number of the skilled white population is now emigrating to other countries. But despite these challenges, the country is a Continent leader, remains fiercely patriotic, with a determined sense and innovative thinking, providing hope for the future.

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