Darlene had had the good sense to write to them before we came, asking if we could again connect with Joe Mathala, the train manager we had three years ago. We had found him at that time to be intelligent, well-read, balanced in his views, and liberal. As well as being a very competent and hard-working train manager. We were both amazed when Rovos wrote to us within a day of our sending the emil to them, saying they would try to have Joe on our trip. So when we got to the Rovos Office in Cape Town (after feeling a bit lost in the larger train station next door, and being nicely re-directed by a stray Rovos employee), they told us both that Joe was there waiting for us, and that we had been upgraded in our booking to the middle level of accommodation (sadly, not the Royal Suite this time). It was wonderful to see him, and we enthusiastically shook hands in welcome.
As we climbed out of the Cape Town "bowl" onto the higher Karoo plains, I was struck by how much it resembled Australia and their Outback. Although neither quite as flat nor as dry, it was (to me) remarkably similar.
We went through an area where there were bush fires happening as we passed. Other areas which had clearly been burnt recently. We were told that SA had suffered a serious drought over the past year, a result of El Nino; and this area is dry to begin with. We also learned that this area is a part of the larger Kalihari Desert, which stretches from the West coast of Namibia south to just east of Cape Town, north to the top of Botswana, and East almost to Pretoria.
There are too many highlights of this trip to write them all down. The food, as usual, was excellent. The accommodation was superb. We met some of the other passengers (all, unfortunately, were white) and enjoyed their company. (Some of the others were from Canada—Nanaimo, Halifax, Victoria). But certainly one of the pluses was two long talks with Joe about the past and future prospects of South Africa. While everyone acknowledges the need for Zuma to go, and the need to have time to repair the damage he has done, the country has done a good job in providing education for its citizens (even university-level fees have just been reduced significantly, and are on the way to being eliminated). There is serious corruption, with Zuma in cahoots with the private Gupta family of India to control the government to their own ends and profits. But there remains a high level of electorate participation, and the opposition parties look poised to win major gains, and likely the overall government, in general elections next year. Meanwhile, the SA Rand is falling, trading at 16 to the US Dollar today. Great for tourists, but not for the economy and its peoples. Joe taught us a lot about the problems facing this beautiful country, and we are thankful to him for it.
And he also got us to Pretoria on time and safely. One of the pleasures we had was that the final kilometre of our journey was "under steam": they brought out an 1890's-era coal-fired steam locomotive, hooked it up to the train, and pulled us into the station. They can do this, since they have their own station in Pretoria.
People were so kind. One couple we met invited us to come on a safari with them in Kruger the next time we come to Africa (they travel by car, live in a bungalow on the property, cook their own meals, and so on. So not as expensive as what we are doing this time.) And Joe, our great Train Manager, has invited us to visit with him the next time we are here. He says he will arrange his time to get some time off, and wants us to meet some of his anti-apartheid friends in Cape Town. Sounds like we are coming back, and that's not a bad thing.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
1 comment:
Sounds like you are having a great time!
A couple of great photos - words are great but more photos would be welcome.
Four days now without a new post...
Keep them coming.
Richard
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