Perhaps I should write a pm to Andre, but I have a question about the continent. I would like to know which parts are the nicest to see. I would like to experience the native culture, and language, and animal life.
Are the natives hostile to white people? Would it be better for me if I told them I was of Latin American origin? And which countries can I get by with speaking English, and in the Francophone countries, are most of the public signs posted in French? If that's the case, I would probably be able to get by just fine in the English and French ex-colonies.
André in Zuid-Afrika
Re: I want to visit Africa
Porthos wrote:
Perhaps I should write a pm to Andre, but I have a question about the continent. I would like to know which parts are the nicest to see. I would like to experience the native culture, and language, and animal life.
Are the natives hostile to white people? Would it be better for me if I told them I was of Latin American origin? And which countries can I get by with speaking English, and in the Francophone countries, are most of the public signs posted in French? If that's the case, I would probably be able to get by just fine in the English and French ex-colonies.
Hm, without a doubt South Africa. And I'm being serious.
South Africa offers a wide variety in cultures and languages, and natural splendour. You will get ample opportunity of seeing the traditional African lifestyle (in rural areas many blacks still live the way their ancestors did, or at least maintain many of the traditions). Plus you get the conveniences of a first world country. (Remember that we're a first world country and a third world country wrapped into one.)
OK, let me answer your questions one by one.
You need to distinguish between sub-Saharan (black) Africa and the north. I assume what you want to know more about is sub-Saharan Africa.
(Black) Africans are generally not hostile to whites. You might have a bigger problem because you're American than about your being white. And no, it won't help to tell them you're Latin American, which won't mean anything to them anyway. In SA, the fact that you're American won't be a problem, but it might be in Central Africa. In fact, avoid Central Africa anyway (undeveloped, lots of wars going on or about to erupt).
In Francophone countries (all in Central Africa), you will need French to get along, everything's in French. Remember also that quite often it's only the elite who actually speak the official language, the rest of the population often stick to their own languages.
In southern Africa English is spoken widely, with the exceptions of Mozambique and Angola (Portuguese).
Namibia is another great choice, a beautiful country, well developed, and stable. However, it's thinly populated, and you'll have to be prepared to travel long distances by road to get from one point of interest to the next. TThe same applies for Botswana. Avoid Zimbabwe at all costs (where the mere fact that you're American would be enough reason to be arrested for spying or something like that). Zambia is also a good choice, and isn't expensive, with the Vic Falls a highlight. Very popular destination for South Africans.
I'll post more info and some pics later.
Porthos
Of course, I could always walk around SA saying, "My hand is in warm water."
André in Zuid-Afrika
Porthos wrote:
Of course, I could always walk around SA saying, "My hand is in warm water."
You'll have to learn to pronounce it in Afrikaans, of course!
fab
Josh,
Africa is really a huge continent, so with a lot of varieties of landscapes, peoples,religions, languages, climates... It is a world in itself.
In fact, when speaking about Africa, I think you might think to sub-saharian Africa (or "black Africa"). I know the term Africa is mainly associated with countries of Black populations - and it may be reinforced an idea of homogeneity due to the term "African-American" associated to black people and "black-American" culture only. In reality, in Africa there is no such thing as a unique African culture or people.
In France we are generally more aware of north-western Africa (Maghreb: Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco) and western Africa than the rest of Africa, because they were former colonies and most of the people with African origins in France come from these countries.
in human geography, Africa is a quite wild continent, with generally fewer human concentration compared to its northern European neighbours, excepted some places as Nigerian regions and some spots of density in Maghreb coasts, south Africa or Nice Delta.
Huge almost empty lands exsist in two desert zones around each tropic: the sahara in northern hemisphere and Kalahari at south. Between both are tropical cliamte and then wet equatorial areas of central Africa.
The extreme north and south coasts of Africa both have mediterranean climates.
The languages are very diverse. most people speak the traditional languages as their mother language and the Former colonial power's language as the official one.
Arabic dominates in all north Africa (green), and has also some influence in sub-saharian Africa due the the influence of Islam.
The religion is very diverse too. As well as language, a lot of people practice tradtional beliefs such as animist ones, and also one of the two main "official" religions of Africa: Christianism (both Catholic and Pretestant forms) and Islam.
Generally speaking Islam is dominant in the northern half and Christianism in the southern half.
Porthos
Thank you for that info Fab, but again, I already know all of that.
Porthos
André in Zuid-Afrika wrote:
Porthos wrote:
Of course, I could always walk around SA saying, "My hand is in warm water."
You'll have to learn to pronounce it in Afrikaans, of course!
Something like:
(with English phonetic spelling) My hand ees een varm vater.
Correct?
Benjamin [inactive]
So why do you want to go to Africa, Josh? I'd actually quite like to go to Uganda to see where my mum was born and spent the first part of her life. I've also wanted to go to South Africa for quite a long time — my plan is to make an effort to get to know Gordon Oliver next time I meet him at a conference and then maybe he'll let me go and stay with him sometime (André knows who I mean).
Porthos wrote:
André in Zuid-Afrika wrote:
Porthos wrote:
Of course, I could always walk around SA saying, "My hand is in warm water."
You'll have to learn to pronounce it in Afrikaans, of course!
Something like:
(with English phonetic spelling) My hand ees een varm vater.
Correct?
No, lol.
More like this: may hunt us un varm vater (with rolled Rs)
fab
I've been three times on the African continent, in three very differnt countries.
- Egypt: When I was a kid we visited Cairo region with my parents. It is a wonderful memory. It was actually with very few tourists because it was a few days before the first Gulf War, it made the tourists afraid to go in a Arab country.
- Senegal: I stayed in Dakar only one day, on the escale on way to Argentina. I had only time to visit the Ile de Gorée, which was very interesting.
- South Africa. I visited th Kruger park with my parents whe I was teenager. It was really incredible to see the unspoiled nature, animals, etc... In a park of the size of Belgium! the exact idea that we have of tipical Africa in documentaries... really a nice trip. Johanesbourg region was really "un-African", and looked like more to Australia or the US than to the image we can have of Africa.
André in Zuid-Afrika
A few pics to lure Josh to South Africa, make sure Ben can't resist, and convince Fab to return...
A Zulu kraal in the Valley of a Thousand Hills (KwaZulu-Natal)...
Springboks (our national animal)
An African elephant...
Union Buildings in Pretoria (seat of government)
Surfer at Camps Bay (Cape Town)
Parliament in Cape Town
André in Zuid-Afrika
Table Mountain
African Daisies
Protea (national flower)
African fish eagle
lioness with cub in Kruger National Park
André in Zuid-Afrika
Benjamin wrote:
Porthos wrote:
André in Zuid-Afrika wrote:
Porthos wrote:
Of course, I could always walk around SA saying, "My hand is in warm water."
You'll have to learn to pronounce it in Afrikaans, of course!
Something like:
(with English phonetic spelling) My hand ees een varm vater.
Correct?
No, lol.
More like this: may hunt us un varm vater (with rolled Rs)
Right!
André in Zuid-Afrika
Oooohhh, and I couldn't resist this one... lion cubs in the Kruger Park.
Akoni
South Africa has always been a dream destination for me. I will go there at least once in my life.
greg in noord-frankrijk
L'Afrique, c'est malheureusement le continent de la guerre.
Loic
....et de l'espoir aussi, mon vieux.
Andre, can I go hunting in the safari parks?
André in Zuid-Afrika
loic wrote:
....et de l'espoir aussi, mon vieux.
Andre, can I go hunting in the safari parks?
If you'd like a stay in a South African jail as part of your holiday, yes.
Hunting is only allowed in designated areas (not in nature reserves) at certain times of the year, and you need a licence.
We're actually quite big on nature conservation here. There are game farms which are popular with rich foreign (mainly American) "hunters". These are terribly expensive, and strictly controlled. There's a huge controversy at the moment about so-called "canned lions". This means that lions are kept in a limited area, making it easy for "hunters" to hunt them down and shoot them. Legislation against it is currently being prepared, and should go through parliament early this year.
Uriel
Hunting is similarly limited in national parks here (although it is sometimes allowed on a regulated basis), and hunting elsewhere is also subject to licensing and seasonal restrictions. Only trophy hunters usually bother with guided hunts, although we do have deer and pheasant farms and such. But most people hunt on an amateur basis out in the wild.
André in Zuid-Afrika
BTW, something I still wanted to say about Josh's first post on this thread. If you do come to Africa, never ever refer to the local population as "natives", especially in South Africa. It's considered racist. Also don't use the word "Bantu" (unless in its proper anthropological context). It's fine to refer to "blacks" and "whites". The word "coloureds" refer to people of mixed race, and is also acceptable. Interestingly, the politically correct term for this group in Afrikaans is "bruines" (browns), as the Afrikaans word for "coloureds" (kleurlinge) has become unacceptable, but "coloureds" is acceptable in English.
Also don't refer to (white) Afrikaans speakers as Boers, which is a politically loaded word unless used in its correct historical context.
André in Zuid-Afrika
In fact, since several people here have expressed a desire to visit South Africa, I believe a few pointers are in order.
The very first South African you meet after getting off your plane at Johannesburg (or Cape Town) International Airport, will ask you: "So, how do you find South Africa?" This person is not under the impression that the country has been missing, and that you have somehow managed to find it again. He/she simply wants to know what you think of the country. The fact that you have been in the country for only five minutes, is of no relevance. We are very eager to know what foreigners think of us, and we want to know immediately.
When you arrive at your hotel, do not ask for directions to "downtown". To South Africans, "Downtown" is some mythical place where American TV characters sometimes go, and which does not actually exist. The right term here is "city centre", which is most probably not in the centre of the city at all. You can also simply ask for directions to "the city".
The directions will include a sentence like this: "At the third robot, turn left." Don't go in search of some Star Wars machine, robot in SA simply means traffic light.
If you're lucky, a local might invite you along to a rugby match. It is very important to find out before the time which team your host supports. Cheering for the opposite team, will make your host a life long enemy.
You will need to take along a bag of biltong, a bag of oranges (injected with some alcoholic drink like brandy), and a bag of naartjies (a fruit similar to nectarines). Now, the naartjies are NOT for eating. They are for throwing at the referee whenever he makes a decision against your team. They're great for this, as they explode on impact, spraying a sticky syrup all over the referee (or whoever else you hit).
During the match, it is also appropriate to verbally abuse the referee, by shouting things such as: "Hey, Mr Ref, where's your guide dog", "Mr Ref, go home, your mother wants to count her kids", and other clever remarks. Remember that you should address the referee as "Mr", after all, you don't want to be disrespectful.
In order to cheer on your team, you can shout out the word: "Vrystaat!" every now and then, especially when your team does something good (such as scoring, or injuring a player from the opposite team). The word means "Free State" and is the name of one of our provinces, and also of the team situated in that province.
But you can shout "Vrystaat" even if you don't actually support the Free State. You can even shout "Vrystaat" in support of a team playing against the Free State. Compare this for instance to a supporter of Michigan shouting "Texas!" while Michigan is playing Texas. In the same way, when a supporter of the Western Province shouts "Vrystaat!" while Western Province is playing the Free State, everybody around him will understand that he supports Western Province.
I will post more pointers later.
Loic
Of course, I do want to visit a jail - Robben Island, in fact! But being locked for a spell in some ghoulish prison is certainly not my cup of tea!
So I guess I'll put away my Winchester for now and train my sight on those magnificent lions with my Sony DSU-U30 instead.
Can I get a season's ticket pass to The Wanderers, please?
Fredrik
Interesting facts, andré!
I'm afraid the safari part of Africa has no appeal for me. After having grown up with an endless line of African nature documentaries on TV + seeing those animals for real in safari parks in Denmark, my curiosity is satisified.
But I might still be lured down to Africa by the prospect of just walking down a dusty red-soiled African dirt road, seeing how people live, how the real Africa beyond the safari documentaries look.
Pauline
I think that South Africa is very beautiful and interesting and some other african countries as well, senegal, morocco, tunisie, egypt, etc.....
André in Zuid-Afrika
Fredrik wrote:
Interesting facts, andré!
I'm afraid the safari part of Africa has no appeal for me. After having grown up with an endless line of African nature documentaries on TV + seeing those animals for real in safari parks in Denmark, my curiosity is satisified.
But I might still be lured down to Africa by the prospect of just walking down a dusty red-soiled African dirt road, seeing how people live, how the real Africa beyond the safari documentaries look.
Yeh, I know what you mean. But, while I'm a city boy myself, seeing animals such as springbok, elephants, giraffes, lions and cheetahs in their natural environment still does it for me.
A dusty red-soiled African dirt road? Oh, we have plenty of those!
André in Zuid-Afrika
Of course, we also have these...
How South Africans shop...
Canal Walk Shopping Mall in Cape Town (The biggest in the southern hemisphere
Spaza shop (small shop in township, selling only basics at low prices)
How South Africans live...
House in Clifton (Cape Town)
House in Khayelitsha (Cape Town)
fab
South Africa is really a enigmatic country. It seems that it is two completly different countries put one over the other.
André in Zuid-Afrika
fab wrote:
South Africa is really a enigmatic country. It seems that it is two completly different countries put one over the other.
You're right. Remember that, until 1994, it was indeed basically two different countries occupying the same land. The challenge is to bring the two together...
Benjamin [inactive]
I remember Gordon Oliver talking about how most of the time when you're in South Africa, you're either in white South Africa or you're in black South Africa. However, he did mention some places (can't remember where now) which he felt were simply South African — are there any places which you would describe as simply South African without feeling that any other qualifier could be appropriate, André?
André in Zuid-Afrika
Benjamin wrote:
I remember Gordon Oliver talking about how most of the time when you're in South Africa, you're either in white South Africa or you're in black South Africa. However, he did mention some places (can't remember where now) which he felt were simply South African — are there any places which you would describe as simply South African without feeling that any other qualifier could be appropriate, André?
I understand what Oliver meant, and I agree with him. One such place (for me, and most probably for Oliver) is the Nelson Mandela Gateway to Robben Island, a museum at the Cape Town Waterfront depicting the history of the struggle against apartheid. Even though I found myself on the "other side" for a big part of my life (or perhaps because I did), I found it a moving experience to be there. Also to be at the exact point from where the boat left which took Mandela to Robben Island. While wrestling with a feeling of guilt, I also felt pride in that we've managed to overcome that, and to reach the point where we are now.
André in Zuid-Afrika
I thought this would be the ideal thread for these pictures I took on my recent trip.
Donkey carts are still used as a mode of transport by many black and coloured people in the area.
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A kudu in the veld.
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Boesmansgat (Bushman's Hole), the second deepest natural water hole in the world. It is 279m deep.
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A herd of Blouwildebeest.
André in Zuid-Afrika
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The entrance to the Wonderwerk (Miracle) Cave. The cave is hundreds of thousands of years old, and is considered a valuable archeological site. It runs horisontally into the mountain for 139 m.
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Inside the cave.
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Some of the rock formations inside the cave.
Many Bushmen drawings have been found inside the cave.
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ddog800
André in Zuid-Afrika wrote:
When you arrive at your hotel, do not ask for directions to "downtown". To South Africans, "Downtown" is some mythical place where American TV characters sometimes go, and which does not actually exist.
Looooooooooooooooooool, hilarious, hehehehe. Yes, actually I would absolutely love to take a trip to SA as well, but I cringe every time I check airline ticket prices from the States
Deborah
What a fabulous trip, André! I'd love to see those places.
André in Zuid-Afrika
Those pics are where I live now. There are some more of the town and area in "Your pictures".
André in Zuid-Afrika
For the past week, I've been travelling over a considerible part of my country. Over the next few weeks, I will be sharing my pics and stories of this trip with you... Perhaps you'll find it boring, but I hope you'll find it interesting.... Anyway, I had a fabolous time!
André in Zuid-Afrika
Finally getting around to this...
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Actually this one is not from my recent travels, it's close to the town where I live. A Bushman drawing in the Wonderwerk (Miracle) Cave, which is estimated to be a million years old.
Well, back to my trip. Some of the beautiful birds in the Kalahari...
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Deborah
Never boring!
André in Zuid-Afrika
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The cabin where I stayed about 2km from the tiny town of Vanzylsrus, close to the Botswana border. The cabin is situated on the second highest dune in the area.
(Sorry, for some strange reason I cannot post more than one pic a post, so I'll do them one by one...)
Elaine
I'm going to have to make my way to Africa real soon. After all, I can't keep my new boyfriends, Eugene and Phil, waiting. They need me (but, shhh... don't tell their wives.)
And I'm being serious.
