cape town, south africa

[theblackhole]

Our African Dinner....

In Africa, the big five game animals are the lion, African elephant, Cape buffalo, leopard, and rhinoceros.The term big five game (sometimes capitalized or quoted as "Big Five") was coined by big-game hunters and refers to the five most difficult animals in Africa to hunt on foot. Subsequently the term was adopted by safari tour operators for marketing purposes.The term is used in most tourist and wildlife guides that discuss African wildlife safaris. The members of the Big Five were chosen for the difficulty in hunting them and the degree of danger involved, rather than their size.

The big five are among the most dangerous, yet most popular species for big game hunters to hunt.

The 1990 and later releases of South African rand banknotes feature a different big-five animal on each denomination.

Countries where all the members of the big five can be found include Namibia, South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Botswana, and Democratic Republic of the Congo. According to recent studies, it is difficult to spot the rhinoceros in Botswana.

Because the hunt for rhinoceros is not currently allowed in any African country, hunters are beginning to adopt the diminished "Big Four", without rhinoceros.

 

[neddy]

South Africa is that special place in the "Dark Continent"

A tough but beautiful place, a place of reconciliation.

To appreciate this country better as a traveller, it helps to understand some of the underlying culture

And the national anthem deserve a mention.

The new National Anthem actually ends with the start of the old National Anthem.

The anthem is sung in with a hybrid of 5 Languages, Xhosa;Zulu;Sesotho;Afrikaans;English. See below

Lyrics

Nkosi sikelel' iAfrika
Maluphakanyisw' uphondo lwayo,

Yizwa imithandazo yethu,
Nkosi sikelela
Thina lusapho lwayo.

Morena boloka setjhaba sa heso,
O fedise dintwa le matshwenyeho,
O se boloke, O se boloke setjhaba sa heso,
Setjhaba sa, South Afrika — South Afrika.

Uit die blou van onse hemel,
Uit die diepte van ons see,
Oor ons ewige gebergtes,
Waar die kranse antwoord gee,

Sounds the call to come together,
And united we shall stand,
Let us live and strive for freedom
In South Africa our land

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/uhUMsqei7kM?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

RSA makes me feel very small, petty & spoilt as a human being, living so lucky in Singapore & Australia.

Perhaps I will also write about my Southern Nam/Bots/Zim Safari experience one day.

 

[kopiuncle]

Yes Neddy, I agree with you. A soft spot for the people....Freedom and democracy come with a price.....I hope the people will come together and build the country ...there is so much that can be done .....

 

[scroobal]

One tip when ever you visit any country in Africa is to patronise a restaurant that specialise in steaks and a variety of meats. You get a lot of these in SA, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Botswana etc. They take the meat seriously and lots of variety. Check with concierge. These are not game meat though some do have them. Its a legacy of the colonial era. The lamb, beef and chicken etc are quality stuff and reared for these places. The way they are cut, marinated, cooked and presented are however different. Some well known ones are the Carnivore, the Butchersshop, etc.

 

[kopiuncle]

Another great place to be...South Africa's Boulder Beach in Cape Town where you can see the cute penguins....

These African penquins are all well protected....and they are safe from poachers and predators......

 

[neddy]

Yes Neddy, I agree with you. A soft spot for the people....Freedom and democracy come with a price.....I hope the people will come together and build the country ...there is so much that can be done ......

Kopi, very nice places.

Yes. One of the things I noticed is how Africans will walk for miles to go to school, work, etc.


One of my favourite places is the province now called Mpumalanga.
http://www.southafrica.net/sat/content/en/us/where-to-go/mpumalanga/

And at the end of the panoramic route is the Kruger National Park. I called it the RSA's MacDonalds. (Land of the "M" Impalas )


The Historic Pilgrim's Rest
http://www.pilgrimsrest.org.za/
http://www.pilgrims-rest.co.za/

Blyde River Canyon and the "Three Rondavels"

God’s Window features prominently in the plot of the 1980 film The Gods Must Be Crazy. Near the end of the movie, the Bushman travels to God’s Window, and due to some low-lying cloud cover believes it to be the end of the Earth.

The parking area around these places are good places to buy the wooden statues of the Big 5. I remembered that the locals just lay the souvenirs on the ground to sell.

 

[kopiuncle]

This is interesting....from a treacherous cape of no hope to one of THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE!!!

the ultimate challenge to sailors and boats in the oldern days....many had died trying to pass this dangerous and deadly cape...

 

[neddy]

This is interesting....from a treacherous cape of no hope to one of THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE!!!

the ultimate challenge to sailors and boats in the oldern days....many had died trying to pass this dangerous and deadly cape...

It was then known as the Cape of Storms.

Explorer Bartolomeu Dias navigated the cape successfully but ran short of water. He found water at Mossel Bay which is in today's tourists' Garden Route.

In fact, sailors have sought shelter at Mossel Bay after navigating the CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. Some wrote accounts of the storms in old shoes which hang from a tree.

This is the history of the now famous Post Office Tree.

 

[kopiuncle]

The Twelve Apostels of the Table Mountain Range.....