Paradise Found At Last!
Trip Start
Nov 14, 2007
1
18
20
Trip End
Dec 01, 2007
Nelspruit,
South Africa
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
When: November 27th, 2007 - afternoon
Point of Entry: Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport - sitting in the smallest departure gate ever.
These past few days in Africa have been extremely memorable for me. As you may have already read, we had the fortune of spotting the big 5 - Buffalo, Rhino, Elephant, Leopard, and the Lion - all before breakfast yesterday. Quite a stunning feat if you really think about it. Unfortunately, not much else happened after breakfast. We saw a family of warthogs, a hippo, a dung beetle, massive termite mounds, and a rare antelope called the Sable that managed to give Johan, our safari guide, goosebumps. "I don't know which sighting made your day today - perhaps it was the lion, the leopard, or maybe one of the other big 5. But seeing a sable today certainly did it for me." Wow... they're that rare huh? Cool... just some more icing on an already perfect safari.
Afterwards, Angela and I decided to do something cultural for our last night in Africa. I felt that it would only be right to learn more about the history of the local indigenous people. Uncle Phil recommended visiting the Shangana tribe just a few kilometers north of Hazyview. It sounded like a good idea so we got in our car and drove off. I must admit, this stop was extremely touristy for me and Angela. It's exactly like any other cultural event you got to, it's the watered version of the real thing. However, it still had its merits and I found it extremely educational for what it was. We got to meet the "chief" of the tribe as well as some of his children. At sundown, a historical overview of the Shangana tribe was performed in traditional African song and dance. I even got up and played the drums with them and Angela danced with the women. This obviously caught the eye of the chief and even offered me 12 goats for Angela. Hahha.... I asked for 24 and a chicken. He said no. Oh well. At the end of the show, they sang the South African national anthem underneath the South African night. Beautiful - absolutely beautiful.
Earlier this morning, Angela and I had the opportunity to talk to Phil. We talked about everything. Life, love, and most importantly South African culture and history. Phil has lived through it all. He was born in Cape Town and lived through the fall of Apartheid and the rise of a new era that was ushered in by Nelson Mandela. If you really think about it, this country has made so much progress since 1994. That's only 13 years ago. And to witness the progress of this forward thinking nation first hand is certainly something that needs to be applauded. Phil isn't saying that the country is perfect - far from that. They are still dealing with the AIDS epidemic, the re-construction of the educational system, and the revitalization of the overall infrastructure of the provincial towns.
As we gathered our belongings after breakfast, I took notice of the name of our room we stayed in. The room was called Paradise - named after a local bird in the area. How interesting. What is a Paradise Flycatcher? Here's Phil's description of the bird: "Paradise Flycatchers are a firm favorite with everyone. Their beauty and tameness endear them to all, even those who know little about birds. Usually occuring singly or in pairs, paradise flycatchers keep contact with zweep-zweep call notes that also serve as alarm calls when danger threatens. It is a restless bird, always on the move, darting about, landing and shooting off again to some urgent business." A restless bird that's always on the move and darting about to some other urgent business. Now that it's extremely interesting. That's sounds like a perfect description of me. And isn't fitting that I found this out on our way back to London. Paradise is not lost afterall, it's just on the move. And perhaps we're all just darting about trying our best to catch up to it.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
