A General Update from Val

Arrive in S. Africa. We experienced a lot of cultural adjustments here in S. Africa. Although the country is well developed, their ways of doing things can be very different. There is a great cultural divide within the people groups here. The Apartheid Regime undermined all the cross-cultural relationships. Distrust, painful memories, wounds from previous hatred, fears and anger over the dominant paradigms of the past, separated people from one another. The White of British descent and Dutch descent (Afrikaners) segregate themselves from the “Coloured” people (mixed black and white) and the “Africans” (black people). Afrikaners we spoke with still feel there is a “proper separation” that should be maintained between the races. We all feel so uncomfortable with the distinctions, it is painful to be part of the “oppressive” race. Most black Africans assume we will not be friendly, but it is wonderful to see their smiles and joy when we greet them, speak with them and show an interest in their lives.

Vehicle purchasing. We found a good 2006 double cabin Land Rover Pickup, green, long bed. Pickups are called “Bakkies” here. Land Rovers are “Landies”. So mine is a Landy Bakkie. Dealer demo model. Reportedly used in a movie by Leonardo DeCaprio last year! In good shape, but with a few scratches on the paint here and there. It’s quite a truck, 5 cylinder diesel, continuous 4WD, heavy duty winch, extra fuel tank, extra spare tire, bull bar in front, secret lock box under the console, rooftop storage rack, snorkel. Installed an extra battery to run an inverter and chargers and a rubber coating in the truck bed to prevent damage. Tool box, spare parts, tow rope. The bed of the truck is covered with a rolling “Armadillo” cover which locks to keep our things safe inside. Well, I think we are ready for our expedition!



Planning for Security. Vehicle horn goes off if the doors are opened by an intruder, plan to arrive at our campsites by 6:30 or dark if possible, take reliable routes, ask advice from others who are traveling or have traveled there, be aware of our surroundings, 3 cans of chili pepper spray just in case. Use GPS to track positioning and confirm directions. We have a Satellite phone for emergencies and a South African cell phone line for general use. Avoid places of historical crime and risk. Doors locked, seat belts on. OK Mom, we’re trying the best we can out here!

Vehicle licensing. Getting to the licensing place was quite challenging. First, finding the right place, and the right form, and the right officer with the right stamp for the form. Then proving our qualifications, by producing someone’s water and electric bill to show we were staying locally! Taking the “official” photos for the forms while enclosed in the back compartment of an old VW van with a rough looking African man, parked on the side of a crumbling building, with all the windows painted black. (The resulting photo captures my startled, tense, confused look, which was permanently captured on the film and stapled onto the form for posterity).

S. Africa touring Part I.
Guateng and Mpumalanga Provinces
Wildlife Viewing was the hit of these provinces:

DeWildt Cheetah Research Centre. We learned about the balance of the grasslands ecosystem, especially the need to manage wildlife in the reserves so that there is a correct ratio of carnivores, scavengers, herbivores, and grazing lands. We saw cheetahs, who are good hunters but because of their size often get their food stolen by other carnivores before they can consume it. We learned that because cheetahs were almost wiped out in the past, their gene pool is small, leading to severe inbreeding over the centuries, and general infertility in the species. We saw yelping, leaping wild spotted dogs with a bad reputation of aggressiveness due to their persistent killing of local farmer’s sheep. We enjoyed the chuckling brown hyenas and their matriarchal packs(not quite laughing hyenas, but at least a deep-voice giggling!). My sister Holly would have enjoyed learning of and observing the inter-species interactions of the various carnivores. You’ll have to come down here to visit next time, Holly!

Krueger National Park. 700 Impalas, (plus others in impala clothes as there was a special going on last week), 3 wart hogs, 5 kudu, 2 giraffe, 1 dead warthog, 1 vulture, 1 wildebeast, hammerkop, lilac breasted rollers, hornbills, birds… We saw much fewer animals than expected, although game wardens report excess of elephants and lions. They will be doing some culling this year, allowing wealthy people to come in and hunt the animals with expensive tags. Due to the disappointment on the wildlife side, we all became ornithologists when game viewing deteriorated, then eventually became botanists when all the birds have flown away!

Camping along the way. Snacking on South African biltong (jerky), fruit and Wheat Thins with Tillamook Sharp Cheddar cheese from Art at Rolling Hills! Some fresh veggies along the way and a little of the cherished chocolate from America as well! We cook over a kerosene lantern. We had an electric 12v light for the evenings, but it broke after a couple days. We’re just using flashlights for now. The tent is working out well, although it’s been sooo cold at night! It is the dead of winter here, with nighttime temperatures in the upper 30s and 40s.

Swaziland. Entering from the North, we cruised through the mountainous kingdom of Swaziland in one counter-clockwise loop. We found them friendly, development minded, and with lots of potential. A thriving timber industry employs many, as well as gold and diamond mining. We stopped at craft tables on side of road to buy a necklace that looked like “ticks on a string”, from a little girl named Petsy. She shyly taught me some of the Swazi language. “Sowubona” means How are you? (I tried to teach her “Cowabunga”, but she wasn’t understanding well!). You answer “Ebo” meaning Fine. “Nyabonga” is Thank you. We were also entertained by children along the road dressed in traditional costumes and banana leaves, who for a few Rand would wildly dance their indigenous dances for us, in order to generate a little after-school income. At dusk, we camped on a hillside campsite called Moholojan near Piggs Peak. At dawn, a large herd of stately Blesbok grazed through the area, and across the rolling hills.

Mozambique. We had heard that getting in and out of Mozambique borders can sometimes be challenging, but we thought we’d give it a try. It seemed to be going well, but then the passports were slipped into another room, where they remained,… and remained….and remained. After a half hour of waiting, we politely enquired of the portly counterlady, but were told to just wait and be patient. A glimpse inside the door of the other room revealed a sly looking, balding man leaning back in his chair, acting busy by occasionally handling one of our precious identities, and then punching some numbers into a calculator. We waited out the corruption however, refusing to pay anything to expedite the service; eventually getting everything stamped and signed and approved, then off we went on the Mozambique adventure.

Once a Portuguese colony, Mozambique has a very unique culture and history. Seeing Africans speaking Portuguese, which sounds a bit like elaborate Spanish, was an unusual experience. Although we only passed through the southern tip of the country, we could see that they were still recovering from their civil war. The country is bleak and downtrodden. After leaving the border and entering this stark, dry impoverished land, we made a couple turns, and inquired about the quality of the roads. “Sure, it’s a good road”, we were told… 15 miles later, it changed from gravel, to dirt, to a sandy path through the brush. Occasional houses of reeds with grass roofs dotted the hills. Bombed out buildings lay crumbling in the bush. We tried to go to the small one room shops or the local restaurant, but found that they were closed due to a holiday-of-unknown-origin, so we got back in the dusty Landy and headed down the main road to the South. After passing through the dingy town of Zitundo, the road became a 1’ deep, seemingly endless sandy trail meandering through the grassy dunes. High speeds of 25mph were bringing our expedition to a crawl. Our thought of, “let’s just swing through Mozambique for a quick view”, became a joke, as the hours traveling across in the desolate land grew longer and longer. Searching for a distant border crossing, like an oasis across the hot sands, we finally saw a flag flying on the horizon. Spinning sand in every direction, we sped to the border and back to civilization again.

Keep up your prayers for all of us here!

Yours in Christ's hands,

Val