Monthly Archives: April 2009

Some people compare Robben Island to Alcatraz, but I think that’s a very unfair comparison. Sure they’re both notorious island prisons, but the people sent to the two prisons were very different. Those sent to Alcatraz had, in most cases, committed some rather heinous crimes. Those sent to Robben Island, had, in most cases, only committed the crime of wanting an end to apartheid and equality for blacks. I expected that a visit to Robben Island would be much more …

2 responses to “Robben Island Experience”

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Tsitsikamma National Park is known for its famous Otter Trail, perhaps the most popular hiking trail in South Africa. It runs along the jagged coastline for 42 km along the well known Garden Coast. Climbing over boulders walking a split between a roaring surf crashing onto the rocks and 200 foot high cliffs on the other side, it is not an easy five day hike. Unfortunately for us, we did not have five days, nor did we book the trail …

2 responses to “The Otter Trail (and Otters!) at Tsitsikamma National Park”

I’m nothing if not generous, and so it would stand to reason that the beach named after me, Jeffrey’s Bay, has what have often been called the “most perfect waves in the world.” Everyone’s favorite spot is “supertubes” or “supers” if you’re in the know, and it is jam packed. The beautiful beach disguises a rocky sea floor (the reason for all the great waves … and why its not a “beginners” surf spot). We stopped for a few hours, …

3 responses to “My Bay”

Just a bit north from the coastline of the Eastern Cape, you’ll find a game park called Addo National Elephant Park. While it boasts of the Big Seven (adding the Southern Right Whale and the Great White Shark, which can be found in the park’s small coastal section, to the typical Big Five), it’s named what it is named for a good reason: elephants abound. After first spotting a solitary bull male elephant casually strolling down the road and passing …

4 responses to “Elephants in Abundance”

During the era of Apartheid, blacks in South Africa were forced to move from white areas into designated black areas, which came to be known as townships. The townships were crowded and poor, and the people, many of whom had come from nice homes and stable lives, were left to live in squalid and often hopeless conditions. (Though, unfortunately, many also lived difficult lives prior to Apartheid as segregation and repression were not new ideas; simply more strictly enforced ideas.) …

6 responses to “An Insider’s Look at Life in a Township”

When we were first charting our course through South Africa, we asked at our hostel in Johannesburg whether the Karoo, an arid area that composes over 40% of South Africa, was worth a visit. The response: “Only if you like a whole lot of nothing.” Well, apparently, we love nothing, as we bucked the advice, headed into the Karoo, and then stayed longer than we planned. Though on the surface it can easily seem like vast emptiness, it’s actually not …

3 responses to “Into the Great Wide Karoo”