MY JOURNEY TO SOUTH AFRICA
[MY JOURNEY TO] SOUTH AFRICA
Almost two weeks after having traveled with great enthusiasm and joy to South Africa from Cape Town, passing through Stellenbosch in the vineyard area, Plettenberg Bay with its wonderful coastal landscapes illuminated by the brightness of the sea and contrasted by the deep blue of the sky and the greenery of its mountains, until we reached Kruger Park and go through not one, but three private game reserves, we loaded the bags, got into the jeep for the last time and suddenly I realized that the trip was almost at its end and I thought: What would it be like life if we could travel endlessly?
We were a group of 9. There were four Brazilians, an Argentinian, two Spanish, a Venezuelan and myself, from Peru. The trip was led by Peggylou Pickles, a wonderful woman who lovingly disciplined us to be able to do and achieve everything we had been entrusted: to visit 12 places and 37 hotels in just 12 days. Of all the trips I've taken, this has been one of those where you really make friends and create memories you'll never forget. We all spoke the same language, however there were so many words that are only understood in each country, so we constantly had to “translate” what we said. All our “dialects”, mixed with the 11 official languages in South Africa, made this trip even richer.
When you think of South Africa, what do you imagine? Simple: animals, nature and adventure. Well, this trip opened my horizons as to what this country really means. Yes, there are animals, nature and adventure, but that vision does not encompass everything it has to offer us. It's like when I ask a foreigner what he knows about Peru (I’m Peruvian by the way), and they say: "Machu Picchu, ceviche and pisco sour." For me South Africa is color, flavor, magnitude, brightness, intense vegetation, lakes, clear skies, changing landscape, contrasts, union, flowers, art, smiles, infinity, joy, energy, fire, trees, sun.
CAPE TOWN
What a pretty seaside town! The waterfront is beautiful, full of life, boats, sailboats, walking travelers, a Ferris wheel and many bars and restaurants. The fresh air felt delicious, while we rode our bikes along the boardwalk. Great way to get to know a city, talk to locals along the way, interact, listen. It was inspiring and I took loads of photos along the way. I was surprised because we visited some wonderful hotels that were not in the tourist area and had incredible views, wonderful design and top service.
STELLENBOSCH, PLETTENBERG BAY & GONDWANA CAMP
The trip continued to the vineyard area, we stayed in Stellenbosch where we did a tasting of I don't know how many South African wines, including Pinotage and Cape Blend that I loved. We continued to Plettenberg Bay, where we encountered countless dolphins and seagulls, we drove along the coast to Gondwana Camp where we had a close-up of the Big Five. The day was intense and the night very calm. We stayed only one night so we went for a walk in search of the species we could find, even though the rain limited our vision, we saw elephants, lions and some buffaloes. The sympathy of the guide and the jokes between us made the rain something even positive and we had a good time. On the way we went to the southernmost point of the entire continent, where the wind was something from another world, I even felt lighter because of how the wind constantly pushed us.
SOUTH AFRICAN BUSH
In a week we toured the southern part of the continent, and arrived at Port Elizabeth, from where we flew to Skukuza, within the Sabi Sands Reserve. After several days the different shades of green looked more and more different, the sounds of the cicadas more intense, the lions waking up from their long 20-hour nap more peaceful and the hippos more still.
We saw giraffes playing with each other, elephants stepping on everything along their path no matter what, three lionesses and two cubs eating a giraffe, the bones of buffaloes that were preyed upon by some hungry lioness and that seemed artistically placed on the bush, thousands of dry trunks with cork texture that draw the horizon as if they were painted with watercolor, apocalyptic gray, lead and white skies, trees with leaves that looked like happy butterflies, zebras painted with Chinese ink, marvelous electric blue Kingfisher birds, protea flowers that looked like a fairy tale and thousands of Marula trees. The animals were very close, but I wasn't scared, until a lion approached my side of the car (which by the way has no window or roof, it's open), and looked me straight in the eye. Even though he's a lion and he can kill me in a second, I found him super cute.
Four days later, eight safaris later, we continued our journey to Johannesburg, which to be honest, I did not have high expectations about, because I always considered it as a city where you make a stopover because the flights go through there and you have no other option. How ignorant I felt! It is a beautiful city! Chic, elegant, full of history, design, good food, good wines. What a great way to end the trip. A pity that we only stayed one night, I would have wanted to stay two or three to really absorb it.
On the last night we were all exhausted, and somewhat sad that an experience so full of wonderful moments has come to an end. And I just thought: "What a country!"» A story of oppression so strong and yet so many smiles. This trip is one of those beloved trips that leaves you with an insatiable thirst for curiosity that you will never be able to satisfy even if you come back 50 times more.
Niaboga Gakulu!
Natalia Ordonez
