Adventure on the Karoo

The Great Karoo of South Africa is a semi-arid land where the main economy is meat and wool from the sheep ranches that have grown up in the area. Many people visit South Africa and never see this vast, dry land, so I guess we should consider ourselves lucky.  We finally had the opportunity to go to the Aquila Game Reserve which is about two hours drive from Cape Town and located on the south-western edge of the Great Karoo.  It is north of us and only about an hour beyond Paarl and I expect this game reserve was started here because the land was cheap and they could get lots of it.  We are in the middle of a serious drought here in South Africa that has been going on for about 3 years.  (We really need to get these people to start paying their tithing! )  There are some periods of rain, but the high desert where this is located suffers very much when the rain doesn't come often.  Those of us from the southeastern Idaho area really understand this and I think you will be amazed at just how much the countryside in and near the park looks like Idaho.  We are always amazed as we drive along and think that we could be in Idaho judging from the terrain.  The word karoo is from the Khoi language and has "uncertain entymology" which means no one really knows what it means.  But I have read that it means "thirsty,dry land" or "place of great dryness".  

But enough about history and on to the show!  We left home a little after 9:00 am and picked up the Fosters in Stellenbosch on our way.  It is always fun to have some company on these expeditions and of course you have to keep in mind that it is nice to have others along in case the animals are hungry---maybe you can outrun your friends and not BE dinner!  This was not our plan however because even though the Fosters are older than we are by a couple of years (Elder Foster is over 80!) they are very active and healthy and would have left us in the dust!  They are fantastic company and always ready for weekend explorations.  They are newlyweds who have only been married for two years.  They both lost spouses and then found each other and were brave enough to join their lives together and come on a mission!  Aren't they amazing!

This picture of the Fosters was taken on the deck outside of the main building of the reserve.  There is a swimming pool there and the little huts you see behind them are the places where people stay if they come out for an over-night adventure.  That's when you are inside a large fenced area and the animals are all roaming out around you looking IN at YOU (I guess).

Of course, the first thing they want to do is fatten you up a little so you'll make a decent meal for whatever you happen to run into out on the game drive.  I should mention that this game reserve is only about 5 years old and they are really at the beginning stages of getting the business going.  It was a very quiet Saturday, but then it has been so dry and many people know that the animals may not be in the best shape during a drought.  Of course, that would not keep us away because we have a limited time here and the drought is not about to end in the next 8 months enough to make a huge difference in what we see.  Below is a picture of the buffet lunch we were served which was really delicious.  There was ox-tail soup, sauteed lamb neck (and these two things sound bad, but they were really very tasty) eggplant vegetable stir fry, roasted butternut squash, lots of salads and warm bread and then fruit and bread pudding with custard sauce and some kind of almond pie for dessert.  We were stuffed---as you can tell by my mouth in this picture.

Here's a picture of just the salad buffet---the main dishes were down on the end.  I was a beautiful meal as well as tasty.

We went outside for a look around while we were waiting for our land-rover to pick us for the game drive.  We saw this water buffalo on the other side of the fence and walked over by it.  It started moving toward us.  It wasn't long until a park ranger came out and told us to be very careful as this was one of the most dangerous animals in the entire park.  They are like the buffalo in Yellowstone---seem very quiet and docile but can be very dangerous.  Notice the fence between us and him---we thought if the animal was dangerous they might have a little stronger fence between us!  Actually you can see the posts for a taller fence, but they have been digging quite a bit and working to add some water holes using well water that will make the park have a little more foliage and plant life.  They will put up the fence when they get all the pipes put in.  Now I realize why people often walk up to the buffalo and elk in Yellowstone---I guess they think if it was that dangerous we would put up fences to separate them from the people!  I really never thought of it like that before now!

It wasn't long until they came to pick us up for our drive through the game reserve.  The land-rover was very tall and I was proud that I was able to climb up in it all by myself.  Dad's knee won't bend enough to let him climb up, so he sat in front with the driver.  We had four others with us and they were from Germany and spoke very little English, so we didn't get to talk much to them.  We just smiled and signed to them a little!
I feel bad we didn't get any pictures of them---they kept moving out of the picture so we couldn't.

We first drove by this stream of water that looked like a mud hole.  These are African Shell ducks---a mother and babies, but the babies are pretty big now.  We also saw a terrapin here, but I didn't get a picture of it. 

A little further down the river we could see something that looked like big rocks, but as we got closer, we realized that they were hippos.  They are laying on the bottom of the stream, but the one is a little one that is standing up and trying to bug his parents.

The adults kept a wary watch on us to be sure that we weren't coming any closer.  We learned about how tender their skin is and that they can't spend much time out of the water and in the sun.  They actually have sun screen that is secreted behind their ears and somehow gets rubbed all over their bodies.

They wait until the sun goes down and then they get out of the water and go eat all night.  Yes!  They are nocturnal animals and mostly sleep in the daytime.  We stayed and watched them and they moved around quite a bit.  When they started to open their mouths and show their teeth, our driver said they were getting nervous and we had to move on.  

They only have two giraffe in this game reserve and one of them hasn't been seen for a couple of weeks.  We felt fortunate to have a few minutes watching this female giraffe as she moved along and ate plants.  She was watching us as carefully as we were watching her.  Don't worry--they said the other one will show up one of these days---he always does. 

This is a Springbok---a type of antelope that is found all over South Africa where the people haven't driven it out.  The colouring is for camouflage, but the dark stripe helps it be warm when it lays down in the winter.  The lighter color keeps it cool in the summer when it is standing.  He looks like he has been trained to pose for the cameras! The South African Rugby team is called the Springboks and the people here really revere this animal. 

 You can really see the "Idaho" terrain here in the background.  I never imagined rhinos living in an area like Southern Idaho!  I don't think this is their natural habitat, but they do live on the plains.  I think this is a little drier than they are used to.  This is a mother and a young rhino.  We learned that their ears turn completely around so they can hear predators coming from any direction.  It is amazing to watch them move---you can see it a little in this picure. Mother has one ear forward and one back.
They say they can turn and charge you at any moment, but again these animals seemed so quiet and docile and safe to be around.  They are very big though and they watch you very carefully, so you know that they are aware of you. The black rhino are under attack in South Africa---maybe they've had a little on the news at home.  The Chinese and other Asian people value the rhino horn and grind it into a powder that they take for health and vitality etc.  It is very expensive on the black market because there are so few of them left in the world.  I'm not sure if these are black rhino---Elder Herbert says he thinks that our guide said they were. 
 After the rhino we came upon a small herd of Springbok that were very fun to watch. They are very agile and move very gracefully.

 This is another type of antelope called an Eland.  It is much larger and the horns are very long on this one.  It is a beautiful animal although this one looks a little thin.

The elephants were about 300 yards away and were eating quietly.  Our guide, Tammy Dennis, told us they were probably not dangerous right then.  You can tell when they are upset because they stick their ears out and try to look as large as possible.  About that time they stuck their ears out, but we decided they were fanning themselves in the heat.  She told us elephants seldom sleep---only a few minutes each night.  They have to eat continually to keep themselves healthy.  These are two young bulls and they have not bought any more elephants for the park  because they are going to wait until they are a little older so they won't fight so much over new females.  They can do a lot of damage---they killed many of trees we saw because they ate off the bark and sucked the moisture out of the center of the tree.  Hopefully we will get to go to an elephant park and see some more of these beautiful animals.

 The lions were probably the most exciting part of the trip.  Our friends, the Plehns had gone to this park a few weeks before us and seen only one lion who was up on the mountain.  We drove up on the road behind this little shelter and saw the one lion and our guide said we were lucky to get so close to a lion.  Then we turned around and came back in front of the shelter and got this great sight of a whole pride of lions.  Now our guide was really amazed and told us we were very lucky indeed.  It was a fairly warm day, so really they probably come down to this shelter often.  It was exciting to be so close to them and not have any kind of restraint between us.  You can see how close we were because you can see the frame of the car we were in right there.  The lions mostly could not have cared less what we were doing. 

Before we started to drive away Tammy said not to get upset if one of the females chases us for a while.  Sure enough the one on the outside of the shelter got up and started to come after us.  Tammy stopped the car and waited a minute and she turned back and we drove away quickly and she didn't chase us.

We were near the end of our "safari" and very excited to have seen so many of the animals in the park.  Tammy said we had seen almost everything.  We stopped for a cool drink and a few minutes out of the landrover.  Here is a picture of our vehicle and the fantastic day we had to enjoy this game reserve.

Here we are enjoying a lovely sparkling white grape juice in dainty stemmed glasses with our little red-headed guide, Tammy, who is a South African native with Dutch ancestry.  She has a degree in animal science with a minor in oceanography, so don't under-estimate her.

 To get back in the vehicle you had to climb up a tiny ladder and then walk along a little ledge and climb into your seat.  These pictures aren't very flattering, but I was so glad I was able to do this and I truly doubted that I could when I saw the land rover. I am stronger and more agile than I think!  Of course Sister Foster had to show off and pop up easily---that's okay, I love her anyway.

As we drove back toward the main buildings, we got this view of them.  Once again--it could be Idaho! The roofs are thatched roofs.

We didn't expect to see any more animals, but were pleased to come to these zebra as we turned a corner on the road.  It couldn't have been more perfect if it had been planned.  (And we wondered if these animals just stay in their usual places and the drivers just have to drive through, but that was not what our friends said because they did not see quite as many animals as we did.)
As we left the area, we each were praying in our hearts I am sure that this little area would have the rain they so desperately need to make these animals more comfortable and keep them for future generations to see.  We did our little part by buying our tickets and coming to see it, and we hope that our money will be used for the well and the other water items they need.  Now it is about a week and a half later and they are having some rain in the Karoo today!  I'm sure everyone there is so happy and hopeful for the future.  Hope you enjoyed your visit too!  Wish you could have been there!  We hope to have a few more opportunities like this in other places in South Africa that have a little more water than this one.

Heritage Day in Langa

In September 2010 Elder Herbert and I were invited to a party in Langa.  September 24 is Heritage Day in South Africa and all people are encouraged to celebrate their culture and ancestry.  We were greeted by a wonderful variety of costumes and dances and foods as we enjoyed the afternoon with them.  they started the singing and dancing early in the day and we had to work in the office so we missed it.  They were just finishing the dinner when we got there.  The picture above is Sister Machiya who is the Langa Relief Society President and me.  She is wearing a traditional outfit from her family's history.  Her face is painted with traditional designs from the Xhosa Heritage.   I am holding Samantha'a baby girl.

 This is a great looking traditional dress on Sister Sekori---she is one of my favorite people in the Branch, but she really doesn't photograph very well.  She is so thin---I don't think she eats very often or very much.  Her husband is also pretty thin---skin and bones really---but they say they are fine.  She is the one who asked me to teach her to bake a cake and when I asked if she would bake one, she said, Oh, no, I don't have an oven.  I love the headress or turban thing---they always wear those and the little girl's hair is about as adorable as any heritage item.

Nozuko had to work and didn't get time to do much of a costume, but I can't leave her out.  Here you can see my plate of food - which included my first taste of tripe.  Yeah, yuck!  It didn't taste too bad, but it was really tough and chewy.  But I had promised I would try what they gave me.  I was grateful that they didn't fix goat's head.  It is truly a delicacy and they love it for all celebrations.  I was amazed they didn't have it. 

 This is my ex-piano student, Tshwane and her brother, Nickolias whose family is from Lesotho, a small country in the center of South Africa.  You pronounce it Les-sue-too and they speak the Sotho language which is also pronounced Sue-too.  (That's besides English, Afrikaans, and Xhosa languages they speak.) I am realizing now that they can converse with people who speak these languages, but they don't know them really well.  It is not like they can read or write them of course.  They always wear those hats during special celebrations in Lesotho---the pointy one represents a small hill with a special worship place or shrine on top and they make hats to wear that remind them of that shrine.  I'm not sure about the men's hat, I think they just like to wear hats too!  Notice it is all about blankets being wrapped around you - they don't wear coats much.  At least they didn't in the past. 
 The other girl is Angelica.  I really loved her dress because it is exactly what the women wear here when they dress up.  It's a matching top and skirt from a fairly simple patterned fabric with lots of embellishments like rick rack and cord trim.  I think the fact that people from India have been here for over a century has really influenced the way the natives dress.  The trim on this one really looks like the Indian trims made of kind of a silky ribbon sewed in swirls and curves - I'm sure you've seen it there in America.  The head scarf is a must and comes in many, many styles.  You just work with the scarf you have-- to tie it a good way.  I'm hoping to know most of these ways by the time I get home---they are fantastic---we've got to start using them on bad hair days---nothing like it.  I haven't done it as a missionary because I am supposed to be inconspicuous---but then with my white hair I am not conspicuous in this country am I?

This picture features Sister Matchiya again and another very special sister who is the wife of one of the counselors in the Branch Presidency---Sister Mzayifani.  Interesting they both wore orange---South African people do love bright colors.  Lots of people wore orange.  I don't know about the white circles on her cheeks - it is just a traditional way of painting your face.  Again the dress was not as important as the shawls and blankets worn on top.  She even has a bag---which is very important here - everyone carries bags because they have to walk so far and don't have a car to carry all their stuff.   By the way, I have learned that in some cultures only the women who have borne children have the right to wear the head wear---it is kind of like a badge of courage that you are an honored mother and wear a scarf on your head---that is true of the Xhosa culture, I'm not sure about the rest.  Another cultural tradition that is much more heartbreaking is one that says no one marries a woman until she has borne a child so that they will know that she is not barren.  That is why you see these young girls with babies because they have to prove themselves in order to get a husband.

This is a young mother in the Branch--Xoliswa.  She had a daughter early in life, but gave her to her mother to raise.  Then she later got married and had children and now has taken the daughter back.  She and her husband were sealed in the temple last spring but they could not seal the first child to them because she is not legally adopted.  The father is in prison somewhere and can't be reached for adoption permission.  Sister Machiya feels she should be able to give permission because the child was given to her and she raised the child as her own.  It kind of sounds like the possession is nine-tenths of the law idea.  She says her culture does this all the time and the child becomes the child of the grandparent.  I know it happens everywhere, but here she says the child really becomes hers.  Xoliswa is such a great woman---she is now the Primary President in the Langa Branch.  She and her husband, Desmond, have two more children, a girl and a boy.  And he is in the Elders Quorum Presidency.  The men didn't seem that excited about the party or the culture - I think they were mostly outside after the food was gone!

 

Elder Herbert always likes to go to the kitchen and get pictures of the women who make the party happen.  Here she is - Sister Mzayifani and behind her Sister Fenga and some other ladies I don't really know.  I am thinking lots of people come to the parties who don't always come to church.  I wish we could see the person in the patterned stocking cap---that is another favorite here.  Lots of stocking caps worn even in the summer. 

Here is Samantha who was also working in the kitchen.  She has the cute head thing going too, but she didn't really dress up much.  Her heritage is hard to trace since she is coloured because she has some white blood somewhere in her ancestry---coloured people don't really seem to have a past or a heritage.  This does make her a class above the black people who claim the tribes as their ancestors.   I suppose many of the people in Langa have white blood in their ancestry, but they continue claiming the Xhosa lineage.  People here say that probably most of the White Afrikaans people here have black blood somewhere in their lineage too, but they try not to think about it.  Interestingly, most of the people in the Paarl branch claim the coloured lineage and speak Afrikaans --not Xhosa.  They are much more accepted in the basic culture of the Cape Town area and all over South Africa.  They have better jobs and nicer homes and many of them have a car.  The Relief Society President in Paarl drives a small SUV and takes lots of people everywhere so they can go to church meetings.  Her husband works for the government at a water purification plant and she is a nurse.  They have a fairly large beautiful home and have 5 children. 

This lovely lady really wanted her picture taken and did many things to draw our attention.  She was just a visitor at the party--not a member of the church, but very welcome and seemed to be having a great time.  This gives little better picture of the brown dress we saw before.

She put her grandchild on her back as she got ready to leave, and I was happy to take another picture of her.  You see lots of grandmothers walking around with babies on their backs.  They are baby sitting and have to run to the store or the doctor or something, so the baby goes on the back and off they go.  The must be much stronger than we are, because I know I wouldn't make it too far with a baby on my back.  I really don't know too many Grannies who could do it!

This is Sister Baba---she was the other counselor in the Relief Society with me.  She taught most of the lessons in RS and did a really great job.  She has a job with the government teaching business people and government officials to understand enough Xhosa to converse with people.  She taught the couple missionaries here in Cape Town a few Xhosa lessons and it was quite an experience.  We actually all learned quite a bit and I enjoyed it a lot.  It was frustrating because she would be late and the others always wanted to teach her not to be late.  She had so many time constraints and no transportation and there was not much patience with any of that.  She says her people are from the north, but she grew up speaking Afrikaans and Xhosa, so she speaks both fairly fluently.  She has had a hard life with many problems raising three boys on her own and working and going to school.  She has been a member of the church for over 15 years and says it has totallly changed her life.  She says she was a terrible, mean, thoughtless mother until she joined the church and learned that she should love her children.  Her brothers and sisters hardly recognized her after she changed---they still say it was a miracle.  When she was a young, struggling mother the Relief Society President took her to the store and taught her about vegetables and that you should eat them regularly.  She feels it really changed her family's health and opened up a new world to her.  Recently she found out her young college-age son is the father of a new baby with a 17 year-old girl.  He is away at school and doesn't want to talk about it!  When she found out about the baby, Baba took the mother and child into her home and has cared for them ever since.  She is so broken hearted because she wanted her son to serve a mission and he had always planned that.  But lately he had not wanted to talk about it.  Her son still has not totally accepted that he is the father, but he will be home for summer break soon and they will sort it out.  Communication is a huge problem for families here---I guess it is much the same at home. 

I have a few more pictures of heritage day.  These are the newest family of members in Langa.  Just a mother--no father---so priesthood leadership is still not helped.  But look at those faces---the Lord is sorting out the flower of South Africa to build up Zion in this beautiful land.  And if you can imagine---the 12 other units of the Church in Cape town are stronger and better than this one!  These people are not what you would call the best of the best and yet the Lord loves them and is blessing their lives as they turn to Him and become His children.

This is Xoliswa and her little brother who has just come back to church after going to some gangs for a while.  His nephew was knifed and beaten by a gang and Elder Herbert and I went to the hospital and he gave him a blessing.  It was touch and go at that point, but within two days he was much better and basically made a miracle recovery.  They were sure he had  lot of brain damage, but he can talk and walk.  His speech is slow and he still has a long way to go to full recovery.  I think this young man really learned from that about the life that can come from being in a gang.  He started coming to Institute within a few weeks of the beating and has come to Church ever since.

Nozuko - leader of the young women at this point.

Here you can see that her skirt is just a blanket wrapped around her.  We worry entirely too much about clothes in America, I think.  These women can make an outfit out of anything!  Resourceful!

It's all about color!  they love it!

I think he is trying to look like an older man---note the cane.

This is Brother Mzayifani ---he is a special Priesthood leader in this branch and a great example and friend to all the young men. 

Brother and sister Mzayifani---she gave him her shawl so he would look like he was in costume for the picture!  You can tell that many of the ladies are wearing little t-shirts to make their outfits more modest.  These are people who share the gospel readily with friends and neighbors and are always there when someone is in need.  What a heritage their children and grandchildren will have!  Hope you enjoyed seeing a little bit of Heritage Day.  I have given very brief explanations of very deep traditions that have lots of meaning to them that I cannot begin to understand.  I honor them as people of the future and not the past. 

Here are a few other interesting sights you might see as you drive through Langa---not necessarily on Heritage Day.

As we drove away from the Church that day we saw that the neighbors were getting ready for a BBQ--they call it a Brai--pronounced bri with a long i.  Because of the tent on the front of the house, we sort of thought this might be a funeral celebration.  It was Friday night and when they have a funeral, they meet and mourn every night for a week and then have a big party on Friday and feed everyone before the funeral on Saturday---we think those are sheep being prepared for the big meal later that evening. 

This is a tent seen from a better angle.  It makes a shady and private spot for the family to meet together and mourn.   It is really a pretty good idea, but it makes the funeral seem like a circus to us.  The tent will stay up for at least a week---sometimes more like two weeks.

As we drive down the street and around the corner, there is a little shopping area where you can buy "fresh" food.  Those chickens sit out there all day---but don't worry about it--they're frozen so they stay okay.  What?  You don't believe that?

 You can't really see this very well, but this is a drum band and they are playing music for everyone to enjoy in the shopping area.  Lots of people stop for a while and listen---especially the kids.  The shipping containers in the back are where people have little shops and the hairdresser is there (she has lots of wigs and braids to weave into your hair) and others sell various foods that you can "take away" ---that's fast food in Langa---no McD's here.

If you need some new clothes or a hat or something, you can probably find it here.  You can probably find just about anything you want and at a pretty good price too.  Some of the things are new and some are used, but they will lay these all out on a good day and then come deal with you if you are interested in something.  I have never bought anything here---I am a little afraid of the fleas possibility. 

I think we might have taken you for a drive through Langa before, but I have never shared some of these very special pictures.  We missed the goat heads---somehow we have never gotten a good picture of those.  We'll save that for another day when we are in the mood for a good scare.  We have always felt safe in Langa.  There are lots of people everywhere and they are usually friendly and helpful.  We know there can be danger and we are very careful of where we go without a Langa native.  Life here is a world away from our little home town of Pocatello, Idaho in many, many ways.

We love you all and we hope you are enjoying your beautiful life in the land of the free and the home of the brave.