Tag Archive
These are all of the articles tagged with the keyword "South Africa".
South Africa, Part VII
Posted: June 5, 2008
Category: Pastor Steve's Blog
Comments: 0 Comments
TAGS: South Africa, vacation
Here are some more pictures..including some animals.
South Africa, Part VI
Posted: June 5, 2008
Category: Pastor Steve's Blog
Comments: 0 Comments
TAGS: South Africa, vacation
The lack of internet and phone service put me behind on the blogs, but let me catch you up.
On May 20th, we flew from Capetown to Jo’burg to join Ursula’s cousin Angelika and her husband. They live outside of Pretoria on an acreage with sheep, bees (Africanized) and horses and it is their retirement dream place. While we were there, we enjoyed seeing the area and traveling to some of the local sites. One of the sites we saw was a “Voortrekker” memorial that gives the history of the Boors(dutch) as they moved from the coast of South Africa to the interior. It chronicles their journey, their meeting with the Zulu and their battles with the Zulu too. Very fascinating when you compare it to the pioneers of North America.
ON the 22nd, we take a 8 hour drive to the Kwasisabantu mission. This mission to the Zulu’s is self-supporting from a water bottling plant and the many other enterprises (including the raising of avocodo’s and peppers). We meet many Africans (of many descents) and even learn a little Zulu. To say hi, you say Sowabona (I see you) and Yebo Sowabona (Yes, I see you). We experience a very unique place and hear some stunning Zulu music at the services. Later, more information on what this mission does in the area and in the world.
After a few days, we take off for the Eastern Coast that runs along the Indian Ocean. We arrive at the town of St. Lucia (sounds like Fallujah). This town sits on a lake and river that is full of hippos and crocodiles. The hippos come into the town at night to eat. Very fun place. We take a boat ride on the lake and have some close sightings of hippo’s, crocs, birds, etc. The ride is topped off with a great sunset at the end.
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- Voortrekker memorial
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- Indian Ocean
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- Kwasisabantu Mission
South Africa, Part V
Posted: May 27, 2008
Category: Pastor Steve's Blog
Comments: 0 Comments
TAGS: South Africa, vacation
I’m at an internet cafe that I’ve found in St. Lucia. It’s a beautiful area near the Indian Ocean…we’ve spent the day seeing monkey’s, hippo’s, zebra, african antelope, etc., etc. Unfortunately, I never see phones and haven’t had a chance to call the boys…I”ve emailed them, but hopefully they think to call as directed. We’re doing great and watching the time go by quickly.
We’ll be on to another game park on Thursday, and then back to the kwasisibantu mission by Saturday morning for a wedding and then back to the cousins house by Sunday…and then it’s pack and get ready. I don’t have a way to send pic’s right now…but I’ll try another time….Tommorrow we take a boat to see hippo’s and croc’s.
South Africa, Part IV
Posted: May 20, 2008
Category: Pastor Steve's Blog
Comments: 1 Comment
TAGS: South Africa, vacation
A couple of pictures:
South Africa, Part III
Posted: May 20, 2008
Category: Pastor Steve's Blog
Comments: 0 Comments
TAGS: South Africa, vacation
Sorry that I’ve taken some days off…but the time goes by quickly.
Sunday, May 18, Day 4
Not a lot to add about the day. We have sore legs and bodies from all the walking that we’ve done while we have been here and the hike up Table Mountain took it out of us. We are the fortunate ones though, because the cable car has not worked at all. They’ve called in a person from Switzerland to come and fix the system. When there hasn’t been cable car issues, it has been the weather issues…so we are leaving town on Tuesday having seen the #1 site of Capetown.
Food…a little on the food. The experience of the South African food has been really good. There is an international flavor because of the influence of the Dutch and Germans who settled the region and other cuisines because of business travelers. We have enjoyed German beer with sausages, local game dishes (ostrich, kuzu, sprinkbok, wildebeast, etc.), South African pizza (not like Pizza Hut), and we have seen many western style eateries (KFC is real popular here).
Our breakfast each morning has been fun…I add this not because of the food, but because of the people. The staff has become our second family here. We have pictures of many of the staff and they have our picture as well. Many of them take the bus in from the outlying areas and they work among those who are “wealthy” tourists/business people. They are very geniuine and very kind. Starting the morning with a cappucino, some fresh fruit, breads, meats, and an assortment of choices (omelets, english breakfast, french toast, etc.) has made for a very relaxing time.
More on people…we have met a variety of travlers as well. People from England, Scotland, Japan, Germany, other parts of Africa, and Australia to mention a few. We have truly enjoyed the experience of Africa, but we have also enjoyed the people we have met.
Monday, May 19
Today is our chance to go to the wine country. Very old and very new wineries exist in the region of Stellenbosch. It is named after an early governor of Capetown region. He discovered and named this region after himself. It is the Napa Valley of South Africa.
We are picked up by Wayne Donaldson, who we realized later was listed in Food and Wine in 2006 as a fine tour guide. Fortunately for us, no one else signed up with Wayne for this day and so we had our own personal tour. We traveled to some fine stops for wine tasting and enjoyed each experience. At Waterford, we enjoyed some of the wine with some fine belgian chocolate and both were wonderful.
After a few stops, we went to Spier to see and interact with Cheetah’s. Next door is also a “bird of prey” sanctuary. Ursula had a chance to go in and pet cheetah cubs. No time for the eagles, but we enjoyed the cheetah section. Both are trying to save the animals. Like our country, their is an encroachment of the world of man on the world of the cheetah. They are raising dogs who can protect the herds so that the farmers are not trying to shoot or poison the cheetah. They take in the injured animals in order to bring them back to health and re-settle them to other areas.
We had a wonderful walk around the town of Stellenbosch as well. It has the look of an old dutch settlement in the buildings and yet it is a tourist area with the availability of shops and food stops. It is our last full day in Capetown…Tuesday we fly to Johannsburg. Not sure when I will next post on the blog, because we may or may not have internet service.
South Africa, Part II
Posted: May 17, 2008
Category: Pastor Steve's Blog
Comments: 1 Comment
TAGS: South Africa, vacation
More on May 16, Day 3…
Too much to tell. But, we also had a chance to see African Penguins in great quanity. Took a short boat ride out to catch the seals in Hout Bay. Way too tired to really enjoy, but we also went to the Botanical gardens at Kirstenbosch. We had hoped to see Table Mountain, Chapman’s Point and a rock formation known as the 12 Apostles, but the mist was again very heavy on this day.
May 17, Day 4
It was the first morning that we woke up to clear skies. Good news, we can now go up to Table Mountain. The Cape of Good Hope and the ride to the top of Table Mountain were our big two sites that we wanted to see! So, we grab a taxi and take it to the mountain right after breakfast. They are supposed to take the first travelers up to the top at 8:30 a.m. We arrive at 8:30 a.m. Three hundred plus people who are waiting around to either get on the cable car or to buy tickets. Buses pulling up with more and more tourists. The line we’re in isn’t moving. Finally, we hear that the cable car is broken (common occurence) and that they will refund money. A few begin to leave. Then they announce that it is going to be a long, long time. Suddenly people move in droves to reach the “refund” window.
We look at each other. We flew 11,000 miles. We don’t know if the winter weather will allow for another clear day while we are here. So, we ask where the path is to the top of the mountain. You walk down about a mile or so and then you begin to make the mile long climb that will go up to 3100 feet high. Are we game? You bet ya. Of course, many times we wondered about the sanity of this plan. Others were trying the same plan, and they were turning around and passing as they came back down the path. We met others who decided to descend from the top because of the broken cable car. We thought we’d at least reached the 1/2 way point and they indicate that we’re only 1/4 of the way there.
But, we’re having as much fun as you can on three bottles of water and a small can of trail mix. So, we press on. It took us from 10 a.m. until noon to reach the top. It was a sense of accomplishment and we had the place to ourselves. Only about 60 or 70 up top during the time we were there instead of hundreds. We prayed that the cable car would take us back. They were running it every 90 minutes(for extra time to fix it) and only for taking people down the mountain. So, we waited until 1:30 p.m. and went down the mountain tired, sweaty and satisfied.
South Africa, Part I
Posted: May 17, 2008
Category: Pastor Steve's Blog
Comments: 1 Comment
TAGS: South Africa, vacation
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- Windblown at the Cape
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- Ursula convincing him to escape
Good day,
Sorry to take so long to write a travel blog. It’s been hectic since we arrived in Capetown and the chance find the time has been difficult.
May 13, Day 1
Trips went well. Ursula left from Newark and I left from Houston through Atlanta. We both arrived in Amsterdam about 1 hour apart. (U at 6:15 a.m. and me at 7:20 a.m.) We found each other and relaxed until about 8:50 a.m. Our flight went 6000+ miles and arrived at 9:30 at night on May 14th. We were afraid we wouldn’t be able to sleep, but fell asleep fast and slept all night.
May 14, Day 2. Woke up and had a wonderful breakfast. After becoming acclimated to our area and options, we went down to the waterfront. After spending a few hours walking around shops and other interesting sites, we decided to go over to Robben Island (named by the Dutch for the number of seals they saw when they arrived - seal = Robben). A fascinating trip. Robben Island has been used as a prison outpost by various countries, a leper colony for a number of years, a base during WWII and as a site for medium and maximum security. The medium security was for hardened criminals and the maximum security was for political prisoners generated from the apartheid issues of the 60’s through 80’s. One of the big parts of the tour is seeing the cell that housed Nelson Mandella. The trip to the island meant going on a catamaran both ways. Ursula wasn’t to pleased with how it pitched back and forth on the way there, but it was better on the way back.
We met a number of people from all over the world. Very good trip.
May 15, Day 3. Another good breakfast and wonderful staff that we look forward to seeing. Today is a day long trip that will take us to many spots, including Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope. We had a marvelous day seeing such beautiful area and a lot of variety. We came home bone tired, but it was great getting down to the lowest southwest spot on the African continent.
