Exchange to South Africa

The club went on an exchange to the Mispah Club in South Africa, located in Athlone, a suburb of Capetown, with Ches Tredway as exchange director,March 19 to 26, 2011. Most of those attending went on an optional safari immediately after the exchange.

Sunday morning, some of the visitors went to an African Methodist Episcopal (AME) church which is the sponsor of the Mispah Friendship Force club.  It was a lively service, with lots of singing and lots of “amens”.  That afternoon, several of the group went to a market area at a seashore, which had lots of local crafts and food.  From there, everyone went to the home of a member of the Mispah club for a multi-course meal.  The hosts had a very comfortable back yard where everyone visited for a while, before going into a sun-room for the dinner.  The group went from this house to another home of a club member, for another big meal.

On Monday, we returned to the AME church that many had attended on Sunday morning, this time to meet the transportation which would be used for the rest of the exchange.  Everyone arrived promptly, and were off on the first real day of the exchange.  They went first to the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden, where they saw many plants and a few animals, and a beautiful spring feeding a brook.

The next stop was the cable-car which took the group to the top of Table Mountain.  This vantage point provided spectacular views of much of Cape Town, the harbor, and the Atlantic Ocean.

The next stop was the old slave quarters, now a museum of the history of slavery in Cape Town.  The group was told that the European settlers of the area had not captured slaves themselves, but they accepted  “gifts” of slaves through trading or military action.  The slave trade was abolished in the British Empire in 1807, but slaves already in place remained slaves.  The slaves in Cape Town were emancipated in 1834, but were required to continue to work without pay for two more years.  It’s interesting that this preceded the United States emancipation by about 30 years.

After completing the day’s tours, the group returned to the AME church for a welcome dinner.  There was lots of singing and fun.  There were some really powerful voices in the host group.

Tuesday morning, the group was transported to a dock area, where there was some spare time before a boat ride.  Most of the club members took advantage of the shops near the dock.  The boat took the group to Robbin Island, where Nelson Mandela had spent his many years of imprisonment.  The group learned a great deal about the history of apartheid and its ending.  One fascinating fact was that “colored” people, which in South Africa means anyone with mixed ancestry or someone from the Indian subcontinent, were second-class citizens during apartheid, and still are today—because now there are affirmative-action programs for blacks, that exclude both whites and colored people.

Wednesday morning brought a trip to parliament.  South Africa has a bicameral legislature, similar to the United States government.  Their equivalent of our House of Representatives is the Chamber of Deputies.  Members of the Chamber of Deputies are selected by the political parties, in a number determined by the vote for parties—if a party gets 60 percent of the vote, they name 60 percent of the members.  Since that arrangement was established, the African National Congress has always had a majority.  The Chamber of Deputies elects the president, who then resigns from parliament and is replaced by another member of the majority party.  Their equivalent of our Senate is the Chamber of Provinces, which has six members from each province, selected in a parallel way.  The West Cape Province, where Cape Town is located, has a majority in its delegation of the opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, but all the other provinces have a majority in the ANC.

Next was a very long bus trip to Cape Point, which is the location of the Cape of Good Hope.  Many of us had thought the Cape of Good Hope was the southernmost point in Africa, but it turns out that is Cape Agulhas, about 90 miles away.  Cape Point provides some spectacular views of the Atlantic Ocean.  The group ate at a restaurant called the “Two Oceans Restaurant”, even though it is 90 miles from the second ocean.

After lunch, the minibus drove south along the seacoast, stopping to see a colony of penguins, and driving past an important base for the South African Navy.  It then proceeded to Hout Bay, where there was an optional trip to Seal Island.  There was also a stop at a tea-bag factory, where used tea bags are made into artistic items for sale to tourists.

Thursday morning brought a trip to a school in a poor neighborhood.  The kids were extremely well-behaved, and joined in songs in our honor and listened to our speeches.  The school consists of grade 0 (which we call kindergarten) through grade 7.  The principal told us one of his biggest problems is that thieves break into the school and steal anything that has market value—for instance, all the copper plumbing.  I asked him what would probably happen to his students when they finish grade 7.  He said most would probably terminate their education at that point.

The afternoon brought a trip to a high school in a prosperous area.  The school had wonderful facilities.  The group observed a class in finance and economics, and asked one student what his dream was.  He said he plans to be an engineer.  A student jazz band performed for us.  The school had a swimming pool, and the buildings were surrounded by athletic fields. 

That evening, most members took their host family out for dinner at a restaurant.

Friday morning brought a trip to the Bergkelder Wine Center, for sampling four wines and touring the wine production area.  The next stop was a place where several cheetahs and other animals are kept on display. 

That evening was the farewell dinner at the home of a member of another Friendship Force club, who offered to host the dinner partly because she and some friends had stayed at Big Canoe at the time of the International Conference in Atlanta.  It was a spectacular home on a hillside looking over the lights of Cape Town.  The group enjoyed the opportunity to link up with the three people who had stayed at Big Canoe.

A flight from Cape Town to Nelspruit, South Africa, in the east-central part of the country, began the next part of the trip.  This was followed by a bus ride to the Elephant Plains safari lodge, near Kruger National Park.

After a few minutes to refresh themselves, everyone left on the first tour of the animal areas.  The Friendship Force group was assigned to two safari vehicles (one a Land Rover and one a Toyota Land Cruiser).  Each one was equipped for up to 10 guests, plus a driver and a tracker.  The tracker sat on a seat over the left front fender.  On this trip, the group saw two tortoises, nine hippopotamuses, one rhinoceros, one elephant, a wildebeest, several impala, and three leopards.  They returned to the lodge for a delicious meal under the stars.

Sunday morning everyone got up at 5:00 a.m., in order to go out before sunup.  This time, the group saw lots of impala, an elephant, three giraffes, three kudu, and two jackals.  The group returned to the lodge for a delicious breakfast.  The middle of the day was free time, and some used the time to play a few hands of bridge.  At 4:00, there was another trip to the animal areas.  This time the group saw lots more impalas, an elephant, and several animals whose names many didn’t recognize.  A favorite event of the whole safari for some was watching a pride of five lions.  Our guide explained they are familiar with the pride, and it consists of a grandmother lion, two daughters, and two granddaughters.  The pride was followed for 15 minutes or so.  At one point, the younger lions stalked a giraffe, while the grandmother held back.  Some of the group were rooting for the giraffe to escape, and others were rooting for the lions to make a meal of the giraffe.  The giraffe escaped, and the pride continued their search for a meal.  This time our meal was indoors, but it was just as delicious as the evening before.

Monday repeated the pattern of the previous day.  In the morning, the group saw more impala, two elephants, a baby wildebeest and its parents, several giraffes, and three cape buffalo.  Again some played bridge in the middle of the day.  In the evening trip, the group saw several monkeys, several mongooses, a baby wildebeest, a water buck, and a leopard.  The evening meal was again under the stars.

Someone commented to the guide that he found it interesting that the animals neither seemed interested in attacking the people, or in running from them.  His response was, “We smell to them like diesel, perfume, insect repellant, and sunblock.  None of those odors represent food, and none of them represent danger.  So we are just a part of the landscape as far as they are concerned.”

Tuesday brought another standard morning trip.  This time brought the pleasure of watching two elephants collaborating to demolish a tree.  They had pushed it over before the group arrived, and they were making a meal of both the roots that had been exposed and the delicious leaves that were out of their reach while it was in its natural position.  There were also lots of impala, several more mongooses, and several baboons.  The two previous mornings had been cloudy, but on this day there was a brilliant sunrise, with light puffy clouds reflecting the sun’s rays.