RICHARDS BAY, South Africa
Yet another country to visit -- South Africa! Our ship was greeted by the beating of drums and a group of Zulu dancers, singing and dancing very energetically and athletically. The indigenous people in this country are the Zulu, who were tradition
ally hunters and warriors. As with the Maasai, the women do all the work, tilling, planting, harvesting, cooking etc. and we saw many of them carrying loads on their heads -- what wonderful posture they have! It is a patriarchal society, and many still live in native villages in round thatched roof houses. We observed that the standard of living here was higher than in Mozambique and Kenya because their houses were much sturdier, neater, western, and they had more land around them.
As we drove through the countryside to the Hluhluwe (shloo-shloo-wee -- you go figure the spelling!) state animal reserve for our late afternoon game run, we passed a large aluminum smelter, a fertilizer factory, several large eucalyptus tree plantations -- they use the wood for chips and paper making -- sugar cane fields, corn and pineapple plantations. Richards Bay has the largest port, though not the busiest port, in South Africa, serving the landlocked neighboring countries like Swaziland and Zimbabwe.
We thoroughly enjoyed our game drive and saw the animals at a much closer range than in Taita Hills. They are accustomed to the noise and movement of the safari vehicles and many of them lumbered across the roads
without a second glance at us -- what a great chance for close up pictures! The cats, however, again eluded us, but we saw white rhinos, elephants, zebra, giraffe, impala and even a hyena snoozing in the grass at the side of the road! The hard working dung beetle rolling his ball of dung was interesting -- the female lays an egg inside the ball of dung, and the male then buries it to allow it to hatch. The wonders of nature!
After our game run, we were treated to a cultural show in a
“kraal” (homestead), a circular enclosure made out of small branches about 7 feet high. There was singing and dancing around a bonfire, the only source of light, after which we made our way down a winding path through the dark to the dining room. The native food and its preparation were explained to us and served with excellent South African wine. It was very tasty.
The next day was disappointing because we went to a shopping center only to discover that there had been an attempt to steal copper wire from the power plant during the night which caused an explosion and the entire town was without power. Consequently all the shops and restaurants were closed so we missed out on our planned British fish and chip lunch! This, however, gave us more time to bargain with the merchants selling their handicrafts on the pier. We thoroughly enjoyed our stop in Richards Bay.
Yet another country to visit -- South Africa! Our ship was greeted by the beating of drums and a group of Zulu dancers, singing and dancing very energetically and athletically. The indigenous people in this country are the Zulu, who were tradition
ally hunters and warriors. As with the Maasai, the women do all the work, tilling, planting, harvesting, cooking etc. and we saw many of them carrying loads on their heads -- what wonderful posture they have! It is a patriarchal society, and many still live in native villages in round thatched roof houses. We observed that the standard of living here was higher than in Mozambique and Kenya because their houses were much sturdier, neater, western, and they had more land around them.
As we drove through the countryside to the Hluhluwe (shloo-shloo-wee -- you go figure the spelling!) state animal reserve for our late afternoon game run, we passed a large aluminum smelter, a fertilizer factory, several large eucalyptus tree plantations -- they use the wood for chips and paper making -- sugar cane fields, corn and pineapple plantations. Richards Bay has the largest port, though not the busiest port, in South Africa, serving the landlocked neighboring countries like Swaziland and Zimbabwe.
We thoroughly enjoyed our game drive and saw the animals at a much closer range than in Taita Hills. They are accustomed to the noise and movement of the safari vehicles and many of them lumbered across the roads
without a second glance at us -- what a great chance for close up pictures! The cats, however, again eluded us, but we saw white rhinos, elephants, zebra, giraffe, impala and even a hyena snoozing in the grass at the side of the road! The hard working dung beetle rolling his ball of dung was interesting -- the female lays an egg inside the ball of dung, and the male then buries it to allow it to hatch. The wonders of nature!After our game run, we were treated to a cultural show in a
“kraal” (homestead), a circular enclosure made out of small branches about 7 feet high. There was singing and dancing around a bonfire, the only source of light, after which we made our way down a winding path through the dark to the dining room. The native food and its preparation were explained to us and served with excellent South African wine. It was very tasty.The next day was disappointing because we went to a shopping center only to discover that there had been an attempt to steal copper wire from the power plant during the night which caused an explosion and the entire town was without power. Consequently all the shops and restaurants were closed so we missed out on our planned British fish and chip lunch! This, however, gave us more time to bargain with the merchants selling their handicrafts on the pier. We thoroughly enjoyed our stop in Richards Bay.
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