Ngala Safari South Africa

On August 7, 1998 I headed to Ngala for a safari. Safari means, "trip or long journey" in Swahili. Ngala is a private game reserve north east of Johannesburg in Mpumalanga. It was a one-hour flight and then a 45-minute drive due east over mostly dirt roads to get to camp. The camp was not really a camp as you might think,  it has 21 private chalets complete with thatched roofs and mosquito nets. There were no locks on the door except for a simple latch to keep the monkeys out. However, there were no fences surrounding the camp so you are truly in the wild. During the night you are advised not to walk without assistance. There was a small pond that the water buffalo visited each night for drinking. I should say 300 water buffalo visited each night. There was a fence between the chalets and the housing for the employees that had a big hole in it from an elephant pushing it down a few days before I arrived. They called him Justin because he was just in side of the camp. Justin was a pain because he was in season and this is when an elephant can be most dangerous. It would be this elephant that would bring me fame as "The Jungle Devil", but I digress.

The first day at camp I went out on the first game drive. We were in a Land Rover and traveled all dirt roads with the driver/ranger behind the wheel and the tracker riding on a seat attached to the front bumper. We drove off road to track animals and if we were tracking lions the tracker would eventually ride in back so as not to be eaten. Just as a side bar, there are lots of barbed trees that are sharp and in some cases hard enough to penetrate a tire. If the driver isn’t careful he might run the tracker into a few of these barbs. If the tracker isn’t talking to the driver it might be because he has a few extra holes in his body from the day before. Okay, back to the safari. Basically the big cats do not see the vehicle as a threat and so they ignore it. They don’t see the people in a truck, they just see the truck. That is not true of most of the other animals. There were a great number of birds and animals that I have never seen before. The best part of the game drives was that the animals were free to roam, eat and drink without restriction. They are not caged or tagged nor have contact with people in anyway other than the game drives. If they get sick they are not drugged and treated. Everything is left as a natural process. It is totally different than a zoo. While traveling the roads we would have to stop for elephants in the road and be careful that the pachyderm wasn't contemplating charge our Land Rover.

The evening drives left at 3:30pm and got back at approximately 7:30pm (after dark). The first night out was a full moon and we stopped and had drinks and snacks in the dark under the moonlight. July and August are the winter months in South Africa so most of the trees and grass were brown. That is both good and bad. Good because you can see the animals much better and there are no malaria carrying mosquitoes, but bad because you do not get to see the look of the bush during the spring and summer when everything is green. Dinner was at 8pm and always outside with several fires burning and excellent meals and service. Each night you eat with the ranger and other members of your drives. It was an excellent time to talk about the day and learn more about the people who were also here from other areas of the world or Africa.

The morning started at 5:30am with a knock at the door. No phones or clocks here! A drink and pastry starts the morning at 6am and the first game drive begins at 6:15am. One morning drive we saw an Eagle Owl eating a Franklin (small bird) that he had caught. He was a magnificent bird with a huge wingspan. He flew to a near by tree after we had passed under him and watched us before flying off again. Unfortunately at that early hour I wasn't able to get a picture.

A brief overview of what I saw on my safari; a pride of lions (13) resting in the afternoon sun, 300 water buffalo leaving the camp watering hole in the early morning mist, elephants ripping down small trees and eating the bark, two 20 month old leopards with their breakfast up a tree, two 4 year old male lions marking their territory, we tracked 3 rhinos on foot, giraffes, zebras, impalas, warthogs, Kudu, hornbill birds, huge crocodiles, an occasional water buffalo skull, wildebeest (pretty dumb animals), and much more.

A safari, by far, is one of the best adventures you will ever take. What made Ngala so special was that I was riding in an open Land Rover with a small group of people and a personal guide and tracker. You could decide on what you wanted to see and the ranger would then take you to the areas to provide you with the best experience. I was at Ngala for three days but experienced an adventure that cannot be measured in time alone.

 

Crime in My South Africa Travels

One of the things I had to deal with was the high crime rate in my South Africa travels. That was especially true in Johannesburg. The stories heard are not exaggerations.  On Saturday July 25, 1998 I went to an ATM machine near the Rosebank flea market for some quick cash. I tried to put the card into the slot and it would not go in. Just then a guy walks up to me and says that I need to insert the card at a different angle and takes the card from my hand and pushes the card into the slot. He then pointed to the keyboard telling me to enter the pin number.  This happened in a mater of seconds. The criminal element wants you to act fast and not take the time to think. I could see on the ATM screen the message that this machine was temporarily closed. However, the man kept telling me to enter the pin number and was pointing at the keyboard with the hand he had used to put the card in the slot. I almost instantly could tell that he was palming my credit card just like a magician would do. He had pretended to put my card in the machine and now all he needed was my pin number. As he started telling me again to enter my pin I reached under his hand and took my card back. He said some more stuff that I could not make out and when I took a step back from him he walked away. I watched him cross the street to another machine and then saw a second man that was working with him. The idea was that he would stay with me pretending to help me until he could get me to enter my pin number in front of him. He could then pass my card off to his partner who would use my card to withdraw cash. I would be left believing that my card was still in the faulty machine. This guy was very slick. It gave me a real thrill to know that I had beaten his scheme, however, it is also a little unsettling realizing that he was able to actually get the card from my hand with absolutely no effort. I might mention that I checked to make sure he had not taken my shoes!

It really is hard to say who to watch out for. The guy was clean cut and smartly dressed (thanks to someones credit card). He was quick and was working the street like a machine. The vendors of the flea market know who these people are but say nothing. In fact I told the fellow working the stand next to the ATM that I had beaten the scheme and he confessed that he knew but could say nothing or they would target him.

My second trip to South Africa in Feb 1999 did not go without the criminal element taking notice once again. This time a would be thug tried to persuade me to follow him behind a bank building were he informed me I could find an ATM. What I would have found was a lump on my head and less my wallet, watch and shoes. I might look like a sucker but at least I don’t always act like one!

During my fourth trip in July 1999 a gentleman across the hall from me was murdered in his room overnight. I woke up to the police sitting outside his room and question people that saw him in the bar that night.

To stay safe all you have to remember is to avoid being alone and near a bank! Actually just use common sense and do not accept help from strangers, especially when it comes to your ATM card. The best advice is not to be by yourself and watch out for one another. In Johannesburg do not stay out after dark or after 11pm, which ever you feel is more acceptable of the two! The locals know were it is safe to go and the routes you can take. Of course that isn't always a guarantee but it helps increase the odds of staying safe.

See my other South Africa Travel Blogs: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

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Soweto South Africa

The continued story of my first trip to South Africa. I have posted about my trip to South Africa and my road trip to Sun City. That could not prepare me for the culture shock of going to Soweto.

On Saturday July 25, 1998, I went on a tour of Soweto. That was an unbelievable experience. Entering Soweto we were stopped by police who chatted with the driver of the van I was riding in. Just a standard procedure I was told. Sometimes stolen vehicles are stopped but if the policeman is corrupt he will accept cash and allow the driver and car to pass. As a note, I found out that 2 months after I left South Africa armed robbers stopped the tour bus I had been on and robbed the passengers at gunpoint.

Soweto has a population of 3.5 million with a mix of 9 tribes as its inhabitants. Many of the people of Soweto can speak up to 4 languages including English. Everybody gets along much better now, with local communities dealing with crime in their own way. Calling the police will normally mean the perpetrator being back on the street in hours. In the past, under apartheid, government informants were given several warnings by the Soweto community before being given a “neck lacing”. That consisted of a tire soaked in petrol placed around the victim’s neck and set a light. Sometimes the victim is made to drink the petrol as well. This could be done to a 12-year-old as well as an adult! Rapists are put to death and other criminals are tied to the ground spread eagle and beaten on the behind with a stick. There are reservoirs here that contain sulfuric acid and arsenic that are a by-product of gold mining. A criminal that is to be put to death by the local vigilantes might be taken to one of these earth damns, shot and then dumped into the pit. Our driver said that crime in Soweto was not very bad at all. While in Soweto we first drove by the homes of Nelson Mandela and Winnie’s mansion. The area is called Beverly Hills.

We went to a large open market where chickens were being killed, cooked and sold on the street corners. African medicine and herbs were also being sold along the roadside and one fellow was inspecting a handful of marijuana! Grills would be cooking up a local meat and the cook would occasionally turn around and re-leave himself while cooking. This is near the largest hospital in the Southern Hemisphere the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital. We also visited a squatter site where 12,000 people live and have only 90 port-a-johns. The city does not allow squatting but does supply running water. There is no heat and many buildings are made of metal. Trucks stop by the edge of the shantytown and sell coal for cooking and heating. Needles to say the shacks are extremely hot in the summer and extremely cold in the winter. I actually walk the muddy streets of this area and could not help but feel sad for just having nice shoes and clothes. The smell was exactly that of a barn containing animals. You see small businesses being run from steel shipping containers. These containers are also used for public telephones. It is a very strange sight. There is high unemployment here in South Africa in general and Soweto specifically. I guess maybe 30 percent. Plus there is a type of affirmative action going on here in SA similar to the 70's in the US. The poor people do different types of things to get money. Of course there is the old tried and true methods (crime and prostitution) but there are also little businesses setup on many street corners not just the steel containers. Not everybody can afford even that. Muffler shops (several mufflers complete with all pipes) propped up on a phone pole, painted silver and 4 ramps to drive your car up onto along side the road. Used clothing lying on the sidewalk for sale like a yard sale.

On our way back to the hotel we visited a "rich" and "middle" class area of Soweto. The middle class was what we would consider poor. They make on an average R12,000 a year (about $4,00/year in 1998).  The rich lived in what we might consider upper middle class. We also visited a Soweto restaurant that was once an illegal Shebeen (selling food and drink without a licence). There were African dishes available but we did not eat there in fear of getting a stomach virus. We did have a cool drink of water and survived that! It was probably safe to eat there but better safe that sorry.

This particular tour was unlike any other I have ever taken and probably ever will. It was both sad and yet at the same time uplifting, because you could see the pride the women took in what they had. Laundry was hangout to dry and the  one and two room shanty homes were kept as clean as they could make them.

 

Sun City South Africa Travels

Continued story of my first trip to South Africa.

On Friday, July 17, 1998, we left for Sun City South Africa to stay the weekend in the Palace of the Lost City Hotel. Sun City is a mini Las Vegas style resort.

On the way there we stopped by a flea market where we had lunch and visited the small stands. I bought a few souvenirs and then ran into a fellow who wanted to talk to me. He was Zulu, obviously poor and unemployed. I am not sure if he was looking for someone to talk to,  a hand out or wanted to eventually rob me. His English wasn't very good but passable.  He complained about people from overseas coming to his ancestral homeland  and that none of the local stand owners would give him any money. He said that the area we were standing in was at one time owned by his family. He then told me what choice did he have but crime. I asked him why nobody would help him and that every country in the world has overseas visitors and that I really could not sympathize with him on that one. He looked at me a little funny and had no answer for me. He never actually asked me for money but he did want to give me a personal guided tour of the area. I am sure the tour would have included the short end of a very big stick. I told him it was nice talking to him but I was leaving and didn't want or need a tour. Thanks to fellow traveler Roger Klicman for rescuing me from this guy. We left there and on the way stopped to take some pictures of squatters. They live in shacks made of corrugated metal and have little to no income. While stopped some kids saw us taking pictures and ran to us and posed for some pictures. When we were through they waved and started to leave. We called to them and gave them some coins. Maybe about R20 in total. They were very pleased and one of the young boys blew a kiss to us and gave us the peace sign. They were poor but nice, well manured and decent children. Back at home, kids with a lot more are a lot less. If you get my drift. Just as an FYI - the Palace of the Lost City can be seen in the movie "Ernest Goes to Africa".

In contrast to what we saw during our road trip, the Palace of the Lost City was very nice with water falls and swimming pools. No movie stars but Elton John and the silver gloved one Michael Jackson had stayed there.  The story I heard was that Jackson was upset because his entourage had smaller rooms than him. Aaah gee, that bums me out. The entire place was just as artificial as Jackson (fake rocks and water falls) but still very nice.

On Sunday we went for a ride through the nearby Pilanesburg Game Reserve and Park were I actually saw 3 of the big 5 animals (Rhino, Elephant, Lion, Water Buffalo and Leopard). I also saw other animals in their natural habitat including impala, giraffe, monkeys, wart hogs, ostrich and other animals that I have no idea what their names are. This was just a warm up to the big safari that was to come soon and that would end with me being known by the locals as “The Jungle Devil.”

 

Sun City, South Africa

My First trip to South Africa

South Africa Flag

I began the first day of my trip, destination Johannesburg South Africa, on Monday July 13th, 1998. The trip was comfortable considering it was 14 hours from JFK! Business class on South African Airways certainly helped with that. However, when I went to sit down in my seat on the 747 a fellow had taken my seat and insisted that it was his. When he realized that it was mine (I had to give him an education on how to read a seating chart on the plane) he told me that it did not matter. Because, now get this, he had a note from his doctor that would allow him to sit in my seat. It wasn't long until I was seated and he was looking for a new one. I guess I was being too kind to him. He was traveling with some companions and I explained to them I was sorry but I specially requested an aisle seat. They said not to worry because they did not want to sit with him anyway. They owed me!

As it turned out this would be only one of my five trips to African countries during the next year and a half, but that is a story for another day.

I arrived in Johannesburg on Tuesday 7/14/98 at approximately 3pm (24 hours clock time including a 6 hour ahead wind on the old watch). I passed through customs with no questions and except for the wait on the baggage everything went very smooth. I was traveling for the company I worked for to set up the computer systems for a new business we were starting. The Company driver/handyman picked me up and took me to the Park Hyatt Regency Hotel (hang out for Winnie Mandela). On the way to the hotel we passed by Standard Bank in downtown Johannesburg. The companies contract with Standard Bank is what brought me here! It is a large complex taking up several city blocks. There is another huge building downtown that looks like a diamond. Of course built by a diamond company because of the diamond mines in the area. The Hyatt is a very nice hotel and I paid 800 Rand a day ($134 at the time). The staff was very friendly and helpful and always had a lot of questions about the US. I stayed there a total of 6 months so they got to know me very well.

In 1998 Johannesburg had a population of 2.5 million people (4.5 including the surrounding areas). The traffic was actually pretty light and I saw a lot of mini buses carrying people for a fraction of the cost of a cab. A series of hand signals are used to communicate with the driver and he will stop if they apply to his destination. What a sight! Be careful of the drivers, they drive like maniacs. It is also common to see 10 people crammed in a car. Many of the street corners have people selling papers and handing out brochures for local business. A common sight was locals carrying cards of SUPER GLUE proclaiming “3 FOR R5”.

There was an outbreak of Bubonic Plague in Johannesburg in 1904 as a result of people living in shacks with no plumbing facilities what so ever. The shacks were burned to the ground in 1905 and the people were relocated to Soweto (SOuthWEsternTOwnship) which is about 15 kilometers from Johannesburg. The people were upset over the move because of the distance from the Johannesburg mines where they worked! I guess their feeling was “What’s a little plague now and then?”

South African Slang and Phrases

Braai: A braai is a backyard barbecue but not limited to hot dogs and hamburgs. A South African braai is a feast of all types of meats and dishes. Something for everyone.

Biltong: Similar to jerky in the US and is made of all types of local meats/beasts. The ones I bought were actually on the sweet side. I got hooked on the stuff.

Isit?: I heard this all the time. It is just something you say as someone is talking. I might say that after I finish up in South Africa I am headed to Germany. What I would hear is "Isit?".

Lekker: Afrikaans word meaning nice. Lets go the the new restaurant, I hear there lamb chops  are lekker! My reply? Isit?

No: Hear it actually means Yes and many other things. Many times a sentence will start with No. "Would you like to go see a movie? No, that sounds lekkerr!"  I heard No used the same way in the Philippines.

Here are some other words that are different here in the US but I am exhausted with examples so you can use them in a sentence and see how well you do.

• Robot                    Traffic signal
• Serviette               Napkin
• Nappy                   Diaper
• Panel Beaters       Auto body shop
• Cold drink             Pop, soda, soft drink
• Hawker                 Door to door salesman
• To let                     For lease
• For hire                 Rent
• Set a light             Set on fire
• Doobee                 Marijuana
• Lift                         Elevator
• Cheers now           Good-bye
• Quite nice              Very nice
• Stiffy                       3.5 computer diskette
• Flat                         Apartment

Watch for my follow-up stories about South Africa. Unfortunately not everything is a great story, I met a few people who were car jacked, beaten and even killed during my stay there. Johannesburg can be as fascinating as it is dangerous.

 

Balloon Classic Invitational

The last weekend in July is time for the Balloon Classic Invitational in North Canton, Ohio. A tradition since 1984, hot air balloons fill the sky for 2 days with the pilots participating in piloting skill competitions. On Friday evening there is a glow event that is a beautiful site to behold, which is great family entertainment. In addition to the hot air balloons there is the Jackson-Belden Food Fest, where you can enjoy your favorite carnival foods and the Friday "glow" event and the Saturday night Fireworks show. A great time for the entire family. All of this is the kickoff to the Football Hall of Fame festivities. Below are several pictures that I took at the 2010 hot air balloon event and a skydiver from the Saturday night events in July 2009.

Typically there are 75 balloons at the invitational with a great "glow" event after sunset Friday night. Relax on the hill side and enjoy the warm evening and glowing balloons. For more information about the invitational follow this link.

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