South Africa Sampler

By Abby Mercado

I did not know that one can crossbreed a zebra and a donkey, and call
it a zonkey. That was up until my last trip to South Africa, and I actually
saw my first zonkey.
I travelled to Johannesburg in June 2012 to see if a project
management strategy being implemented by an international development
organization that works for poor children is getting the job done. The
research covered eight countries in Southern Africa Region and although I
was based in Johannesburg, I got to travel around the country and within the
region. It was my fourth trip to South Africa, but it was also my longest stay
at two months.
I did not have to go far to see a zonkey. On my second week, I stayed
in a conference lodge set in a safari ranch near Johannesburg to interview
some of my research participants. Heia Safari Ranch is home to several
giraffes, zebras, wildebeests, blesboks, impalas, springboks, and alas, one
zonkey. For about a week, I had to get used to seeing giraffes lazing by my
door and making me wait until they feel like letting me through, zebras
crossing the pathways and turning a swimming pool into a waterhole, along
with other game or wild animals leaping right in front of me especially when I
am trying to sneak out desserts from the dining area to secretly devour in
my thatched hut.

Jozi, Joburg, Joni or Johannesburg

Following my week-long homestay in a game lodge, I spent my
weekend to see more of Johannesburg as a progressive city with good quality
roads, contemporary architecture and manicured parks that boast of
economic success. But behind the shiny surface also lie telltale signs of

poverty as a result of its tragic apartheid history, HIV & AIDS, and the
massive

gap

between

the

uppermost

class

and

the

extremely

disadvantaged. Also called Jozi, Joburg, Joni, eGoli or Joeys, Johannesburg is

the largest city in South Africa and the provincial capital of Gauteng.

It

includes the historic township of Soweto whose original residents are the
native African workers in the gold-mining industry, and once a town
delegated to segregate the black African residents of the city. Gauteng,
meaning gold in Afrikaans, reflects the gold rush that prospered in the
province after its discovery in Johannesburg in 1886. The mining industry of
gold as well as diamond continues to make Gauteng the wealthiest province
in South Africa to date. While the sparkle of South Africa may be partly due
to its gold or diamond mines, its vibrancy is certainly due to its characteristic
colors. Even in the most difficult times of the apartheid government (19481994), the artistic South African spirit survived and thrived. Graffiti art along
Joburgs freeways are just one of many testaments to its colorful culture. One
caf that caters soulful African art, crafts, cuisine and music is moyo, which
means soul. moyo Zoo Lake (a moyo branch found at the heart of a park
next to a zoo and a lake), offers traditional South, African dishes, such as the
boerewors (South African sausage usually for weekend barbecue parties or
braai), vetkoek (fat cake made of deep-fried dough balls either stuffed with
meat or served with jam), and potjekos (Afrikaans stew made with meat and
vegetables and cooked over coals in cast-iron pots). South African cooking is
a concoction of its indigenous African roots, its colonial history (Dutch,
German, British and other Europeans) and its immigrant ancestry (slaves
brought by the Dutch East India Company to the Cape from Bengal, Java and
Malaysia, and the laborers from India). An indulgent lunch at moyo Zoo Lake
prompted me take a walk at the Walter Susuli Botanical Garden right
after. Voted the best place to enjoy nature in Gauteng, the Garden is home
to over 220 bird species including a breeding pair of black eagles nesting on
the cliffs alongside the Witpoortjie Waterfall. Antelope, jackals, and other

reptiles and small mammals also make surprise appearances along the
walking trails in the Nature Reserve.
In South Africa, iconic images of The Great Nelson Mandela are as
ubiquitous as the popular salty dried meat called biltong. While I would go
for the Filipino version tapa over biltong anytime, I cannot let go of the
opportunity to visit the Apartheid Museum when in Johannesburg. The
passing of Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela on December 5, 2013, placed South
Africa once again in the international headlines. For rights advocates and
the survivors of the South African apartheid, they lost their greatest
defender; for the selfie generation, they liked how the heads of superpower
states took a candid picture of themselves during the Mandela memorial
service; but for people across the world, to mourn for Madiba (Mandelas clan
name) is to know more about South Africa beyond its sad history, and more
about its triumphs as a nation and as a people. And this is what the
Apartheid Museum hopes to communicate to its visitors as it attempts to
showcase a balanced account of 20 th century South Africa. It was impossible
not to feel the anguish of those who struggled due to a state-sanctioned
system that is based on color as I walked through highly creative and very
dramatic assemblage of film footage, photographs, text panels and artefacts
featuring the rise and fall of the apartheid.
Art deco, Bo-Kaap and the City Hall in Cape Town
My Madiba briefing and his catalytic role in the country did not begin or
end at the Apartheid Museum. The City Hall, where Nelson Mandela
delivered his inaugural presidential speech in 1994, and the Robben Island,
where Mandela was imprisoned for 27 years, are among the popular tourist
stops when in Cape Town.

I was in Cape Town way back in 2007 when I

participated in a training to know more about how to monitor and evaluate

development projects. I asked my airport cab driver to give me a heads up
once I am about to see the Table Mountain so I can ready my camera; he

had a funny smile on his face when he answered, Maam, you will not miss it
even if you try. And true enough, with clouds layering its top like a
mantelpiece, the Table Mountain welcomes Cape Towns every visitor as soon
as out of the airport driveway and into the busy but impressive roads of the
city.

With its tall buildings built in art decorative manner and its flashy

restaurants, cosmopolitan Cape Town is also branded the culinary capital of

South Africa with its traditional and international cuisines made available in
almost every corner of a well-planned city. After all it is where bobotie, South
Africas national dish made from spiced minced meat and baked with an eggbased topping, was first introduced and popularized. Bobotie with its Cape
Malay origins can be traced to the residents of Bo-Kaap, also known as the
Cape Malay Quarter and the spiritual home of Capes Muslim community.
Situated at the foot of Signal Hill, Bo-Kaaps history is as colorful as its
houses, hence adding even more flavor to the already multicultural
aesthetics of Cape Town. Its residents, who are descendants of slaves from
Malaysia, Indonesia and various African countries (transported to the Cape
of Good Hope by the Dutch during the 16th and 17th centuries), are called
Cape Malays even though most of them are not of Malaysian lineage.
Whether one is a shopaholic, a fashionista, a foodie or a culture
vulture, the Victoria & Albert Waterfront with its classy hotels, designer
mall, fine restaurants, arty galleries and trendy tourist shops set against a
boundless view of the Atlantic Ocean, Table Mountain, Table Bay Harbour and
the whole city is a must-go, particularly since it is where one can take a ferry
ride to cross the Robben Island and visit prison cell 46664 (Mandelas
prison number).
Given its mountainous landscape and location next to the Atlantic
Ocean, Cape Town can get really chilly even when the rest of the country is
warm. For the short time that I was there, I felt fortunate to have stayed at
the District Six Lodge, which is partly popular because Nobel Laureate
Desmond Tutu once stayed in it, and partly because of its location. District
Six is historic for the removals due to a government declaration during the

apartheid, which forcibly relocated its thousands of non-white residents to a

nearby township to make it a white-only area. Outside the city proper, I
spent days in scenic Kleinmond for the training, and from there took a short
trip to the coast of Hermanus for some souvenir shopping, fine dining and
whale watching. Kleinmond and Hermanus are Cape Towns popular city
getaway for the natural beauty and serenity they offer to worn-out city
dwellers.
Curry capital Durban
It was winter time when I was last in South Africa, and when the
temperature dropped to zero the thought of going to a place where I did not
have to wear warmers for a day summoned me to take a short trip to
Durban-- the countrys warmest place with its sub-tropical climate and
extensive coastline next to the Indian Ocean. The largest city of the
KwaZulu-Natal province, Durban is the busiest container port in South
Africa, and could well be considered the curry capital of the country
considering its residents of Indian descent. The Durban atmosphere seemed
seasoned with the aroma of cumin, curry and cardamom. It was there that I
indulged in a different curry every meal, Yorkshire pudding to go with my
roast beef, and Durbans fresh sea produce; and I had the luxury to dig into
these dishes in the company of South Africas award-winning wines.
Incidentally, the hotel where I stayed in hosted the Durban International Film
Festival, and along with rising stars and starlets, I spotted the film of Filipino
director Brilliante Mendoza among those featured. Just when I was starting
to feel dazed with the glitz and glamorous events in the hotel, I discovered
that the Moses Mabhida Soccer Stadium right across my hotel is hosting
a match between the English premier league Manchester United and the
local team AmaZulu.

I did not watch the live game, but even from my

window I could go blind by the flashing lights from the football field and go
deaf by the roaring cheers of die-hard fans. And if the cultural and sports
attractions are not enough, Durban is also a destination for its uShaka

Marine World-- a theme park popular for its oceanarium, amusement park,
cafs and restaurants, shopping and beach bumming. Yet for me, strolling
by the beach across a long row of hotels is my favorite must-do in Durban as
it brought back to mind the scenic Roxas Boulevard when most of its hotels
were still new and shiny, and the Manila Bay is still a swimmers delight.
South Africa beyond the safari
When I asked a friend about the first thing that comes to mind when I
speak of South Africa, she beamed at me and answered, Giraffe!; I took her
reply to refer to the common picture of the African safari. South Africa is
famed for its game adventures, yet in all my travels to the country I did not
get to explore one of the largest game reserves in Africa-- the Kruger
National Park; but I did get to hang out with three gangly but gracious
giraffes. Through this sampler, however, I hope I was able to feature the
other flavors of South Africa that are sometimes overshadowed either by
news of violence or poverty in the country, or by the more popular images of
the big five next to a waterhole, if not towering over a tourist in khaki outfit
wandering out in the bush. -X-