Wednesday, Mar 15. “A Day in the Life” event. Visit to a “typical” family. First we went to a market and, using OAT money, bought specific vegetables, without knowing what we were buying. Fortunately, we were given the item’s name in writing. I bought unusual pumpkins, beige on the outside, yellow on the inside. Next was a grocery store where we had the option of buying whatever we thought the family would like. I bought a huge (reusable) bucket of ginger cookies, neatly layered. $5.50.

Our guide was a member of the family’s village, wearing the traditional dress and carrying the traditional stick. The family’s head was married to three women.  He was especially proud of the chapel he’d created. A large collection of family members wandered around whose relationships were too confusing for me. The men wore western cloths, the women beautiful dresses. A very cute little girl became my good friend after I made her a balloon hat. 

I helped cut firewood and then tried to split wood. The hardest wood I’ve ever experienced. The axe just bounced off. But it was a fun effort. We all then spent an hour or more sitting in a round house having a vegetable meal. Lots of questions about family life. It was, as usual, uncomfortable at first but then great fun.

From there we visited a souvenir outlet, centered around a candle factory. I had a “death by chocolate” brownie and a beer with combined cost of less than $5. My charging cable failed, leaving me unable to charge my printer (which continues to be the star of any encounter). Trip Leader Sowa was able to find me a new one later in the day.

Bought two bottles of wine at a minimart that was 25% wine. I had one bottle at dinner. A $10 zin, which was a reasonable price. Ugh. Spent time at the bar meeting locals and having a good time. Drank Taiwanese whiskey, of all things. 

Tuesday, Mar 14. Left Kruger and entered Eswatini (formerly Swaziland). Immigration was simplicity. Stopped at a glass factory/tourist stop. Very nice glassware at a fraction of Venice pricing. Very tempting. Bought an awesome Eswatini t-shirt for $9.

The new hotel is at the top of a short mountain, looking down into a large valley. Gorgeous. Nice bar. Food and drink continues to be insanely inexpensive. Wifi is awful.

Monday, Mar 13. Skipped the morning Nature Walk. I’ve done three in the past six months, didn’t want to do another. 

Later we all visited the local school. So much fun! Terrific principal. I gave him all the running/bicycling medals I’ve collected and they were a much bigger hit than I expected. I didn’t expect them to understand “St.Patrick Days Fun Runs” or “Turkey Trot” medals, but they didn’t seem to care. One was my only Marathon medal, but who cares? Took photos of kids based on who they were assigned to among my group printed them out. Another huge hit. Gave them a package of balloons but didn’t have much time to show how they’re used. 

Afternoon game drive was a bust for me. A kudu, some Cape buffalos and hippos. People who haven’t done a safari before were very satisfied. If they only knew what the northern countries had available. In the morning I’d taken photos of flying birds, which was largely successful.

Sunday, Mar 12. Game viewing drive, beginning at 6AM. As far as four-footed animals goes, it was largely a disappointment compared to other parks. But the birds were wonderful. Very colorful. My photo skills show a big improvement. Picking photos for today was a real challenge.

Lunch was at a park rest area, next to an inoperative train that’s become a hotel. (Nearly all trains in the country are broken. People stole their copper wires.) Really nice gift shop. There were lots of very tempting items begging to be bought. 

I had another quick dinner. I’m doing a great job of not taking full advantage of the buffet.

Saturday, Mar 11. Transition day to Kruger National Park. Peaceful ride on excellent roads. Lunch was at a country store-type place. Had a kind of chicken sandwich, which was excellent. The countryside is strangely familiar. Very unAfrican.

Our accommodations are in the park, but protected by fences. Meaning we could roam freely. Very pretty pool. Huge camp, but apparently OAT has special status as our rooms were near the main lodge. Tented lodgings with AC! For some reason I’ve become terrified of malaria, so I finished the buffet dinner quickly and retreated to my room. Wifi is slow and inconsistent. Load-shedding is a thing, but they have a generator. 

No photos.

Friday, Mar 10. No photos. An agonizing tour of a horrible prison. Then the Apartheid Museum. Both locations showing the worst of humanity. Enough said.

Thursday, Mar 9. (These events are out of order: sue me.) Toured the fringes of Soweto, a depressive shanty town (city). Several local guides spoke of their experiences and how the area struggles to survive, much less improve itself. (I did not take photos of the shacks, which were laughingly called homes.) Watched a performance of a local street group. One was an albino, which was a refreshing change from the horrors facing albinos in Tanzania.

Demonstrations are constitutionally legal in the country. We witnessed one outside a hospital, protesting the 3% pay raise offered when there is 10% inflation. Tasted cow’s head meat with rice and salt. Had lunch at a hole-in-the-wall restaurant which normally serves taxi drivers. A good spread of local foods.

Visited Freedom Square and Sisilu Square in Kliptown. Guided by a thin, lively local. A too brief discussion about Afrlphobia, where locals are against (sometime violently) foreign workers. With upwards of 50% unemployment, it’s a valid issue. I was hoping for a much more expansive briefing, but we were outside under the sun, so haste was okay.

Got a briefing at the Hector Pietersen Memorial (which I visited in 2020) from Hector’s sister. 12 year-old Hector was killed in 1976 during a student demonstration against having to learn the Afrikaans language. Spellbinding narrative. The museum was jammed with a seemingly unending line of children.

Had dinner again at Trumps. Ordered a glass of sparkling wine and Shaun came with a full bottle. “I’m charging you for a glass, but giving you the bottle.” Also had wine and port to go with ribeye, wagyu steak, and “Death By Chocolate”. Talked to a couple of fun servers who were waiting for their reservations to arrive. Another fantastic dinner.

Wednesday, Mar 8. I skipped the morning viewing drive. I just couldn’t stomach another descent/ascent. Honestly, I’ve been to much better places for animal viewing.

The return to Johannesburg was unremarkable, though we had a fun conversation in the van since we all know each other a little better.

Had a fantastic dinner at a poorly named restaurant: “Trumps”. Established in 1994. I asked for the oldest vintage shiraz they had, which elevated our server to the floor manager, Shaun. He showed us a 2006, quoting a price that, though high, was low enough. My friend Tracy dazzled him with conversation, which got the price lowered by 25%. It was incredibly good wine, made doubly so with our entrees.

I ordered ostrich medallions with peppercorn sauce. Massive medallions! (About $15!) Delicious. I couldn’t imagine not eating it all, though it was a struggle. Finished with excellent port, forsaking their “Death By Chocolate” desert. I think we’ll be returning tomorrow.

Tuesday, Mar 7. I haven’t mentioned that the mountaintop that’s always in view is home to the world’s highest and longest par 3 golf hole. Called The Extreme 19th, the tee is 1,300 above the hole and 396 yards away. Obviously, a helicopter is used to arrive at the tee. No hole-in-one yet and only a handful of birdies. The regular course was designed by 18 of the world’s best golfers, one hole each.

Morning viewing was unexceptional. For the afternoon we first had lunch at a watering hole on the descent to the lower valley. There were people who had arrived on horseback. We weren’t told of the pool, so none of us had bathing suits. Bummer.

Nothing too exciting down below, (lions, again at a distance) but while returning on the upper level we came upon a tower of giraffes, frolicking. It was amazing to see how flexible their necks were, left to right.

Had an outdoor BBQ in the evening. Only ten guests, so it was pretty low-key. Delicious sausages.