Assignments 1

Travelling in South Africa Africa is constantly portrayed by the media as the continent devastated by famine and corruption, however beneath the false accusations actually lies an extraordinarily beautiful continent. South Africas spoilt image has been caused by phenomenal levels of crime and a high percentage of the population living in unsanitary make-shift homes. Society may view South Africa as a country with millions facing problems such as a horrific HIV/AIDS rate, but despite the statistics, the patriotic citizens continue to take pride in their country. Im proud to say that I stand alongside these patriotic citizens and I hold my own high regard for this country. On my visit to South Africa I saw little existence of the embellished reality portrayed by the media; yes. whilst journeying, I would occasionally catch a glimpse of tightly packed clusters of flimsy shacks and shanties, nonetheless, the extraordinary sights and the friendly people I would occasionally meet overpowered my pre conceived perception of South Africa. I was lucky enough to have the chance to spend the majority of my time enamored in the changing scenery; from the gentle slopes of Table Mountain to the vibrant shades of blues brought about by both the merging of the North Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean. To be honest, I had initially interpreted South Africa as a rural wasteland, inhabited by thousands upon thousands of free roaming zebra and wildebeest, with a tiny remote airport situated in the heart of the African savanna. To my surprise I was terribly mistaken; upon arrival at Johannesburg international airport I was completely dumbfounded. It had been one of the biggest airports I had ever been in, with aircrafts of all sorts aligned on the air field, being repaired and refueled in preparation for the numerous flights to all corners of the globe. Walking through immigration I held my passport in one hand and put my beanie over my hair, discreetly trying to hide my preposterous Mohawk from the public eye. The immigration officer was a black South African man. He had seen through my disguise and was pointing towards a sign saying: all hats and sunglasses to be removed past this point. Take dat beanie off and come here he spoke in a gravelly voice. Moments later, there it was, my Mohawk in exposed. I felt an impulsive jolt in the atmosphere, eyes fixated on me as if I was some crazy football hooligan with an atrocious motive. The eyes continued to stare. Not even contemplating to look back at their displeased faces, I simply snatched my passport from the desk and made a dash for it. Ironically, I spent the first week of being in South Africa eating nothing but Chinese food; this was the result of staying with elderly Taiwanese relatives that had migrated here in the late 70s. They had yet to accustom themselves with the native cuisine. My first taste of South
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Assignments 1

African food had been the South African dried meat snack biltong. To try and describe biltong would do it a great injustice, as it's truly one of those things where the whole is far greater than the sum of its parts. "Strips of meat, rubbed with spices, marinated overnight and hung until dry" doesn't quite capture the enjoyment I felt whilst eating this South African classic. The national parks are South Africas main source of tourism. They are carefully managed and safeguarded to insure they play a crucial role in the preservations of native African species. Kruger National Park, perhaps the biggest and most well-known of all parks, supports the greatest variety of wildlife species on the African continent, inhabited by 114 different species of reptiles, 507 birds and 147 mammal species. Staying in Kruger national park for 3 days and 2 nights was an experience I will never forget. I recall waking up early one morning and gazing out across the vast African plane as the dawn mists rose. The air was full of bird-songs and the nostalgic howling of a solitary hyena. Flashes of azure and crimson streaked the sky as Kingfishers swooped low over streams seeking refracted images of fish in the clear, swift waters. In the distant, the roaring chorus of a lion pride greeted the golden lights of the African sun as it covered everything in a soft amber glow. South Africa is simply a fascinating place to visit; I view it as the most exotic and captivating place in the world. The stunning combination of history, culture, people, wildlife and landscape creates one of the utmost diverse nations on this planet. My visit to South Africa had been like no other, the remarkable varieties of wildlife and scenery will be forever embedded in my memories. By visiting South Africa I believe to have unearthed my own, personal hidden Shangri-La.