Spitzkoppe campsite / Flickr photo by Tak from HK

Campfires and beer

Memories flood back to you as you become aware of your surroundings. The previous afternoon the custom-built overland truck carrying all camping necessities, pulled up at a wild camp at the base of the beautiful Spitzkoppe, a granite outcrop rising some 1700m above the surrounding gravel plains of central west Namibia. The granite rock became a playground as you explored its heights and crevices. As the sun dropped to the horizon, the dust in the air over the gravel plains created a magical African sunset, the suns rays reflected burnt orange off Spitzkoppes granite rock. A magical evening was spent under the clear starry sky, Barking Geckos called while you sat around a glowing campfire sipping a Windhoek lager with your fellow campers and guide.

Another day another destination

After a tasty breakfast of French toast, hot tea and cereal prepared by your guide, with communal effort, camp is packed up and you board the overland truck to head off to the next exciting destination – Etosha National Park. Many hours are spent travelling on board the overland truck, its kind of part of the overlanding experience. Rough gravel roads, dust, the rattle and shake of the truck, African tunes of “The Best of Johnny Clegg” playing in the background, a competitive card game enjoyed by your fellow travellers, as you watch the African savannah pass by.

Three giraffes / Flickr photo by naddel@weltfrauschaft

As you enter Etosha National Park in northern Namibia, the pace slows right down and everyone grabs a window seat to start the game spotting in this popular game reserve. Here your guides experience and knowledge of wildlife is brought to light. If she is worth her salt, she will be interpreting the signs of the bush to you, not only identifying the animal, bird, tree, rock, insect, snake species but giving you some background on their habits and habitats. Being a Field Guide means being able to interpret the African bush and all overland guides are registered field guides.

Not for everyone

Overland Safaris are not for everyone and a clear understand should be obtained before heading out on one. They are adventurous, active and continuously on the move. It’s a wonderful way to experience the major highlights of a few countries. Large distances are covered and you will travel with a relatively large group of people. You will get dirty, some camps don’t have showers and you will need to be prepared to rough it. The tour does not always run to schedule, sometimes a flooding river will stop you in your tracks or your guide will have to test the trucks 4×4 abilities and sometimes get stuck, which then requires your assistance to push. The guides have a great ability to create excellent teamwork within the group and most of the time these safaris are excellent fun!

Southern and East Africa offer a diverse range of exciting overland safaris aimed at the budget traveller. These range from 7 to 56 days long and can traverse multiple countries.

In 1966 an apartheid government declared valuable urban areas “whites only” areas and all people of colour were forcibly removed from their homes to the barren low-lying outer areas of the cities, their homes bulldozed to the ground.

Vicky's B&B / Flickr photo by firesika

Visiting a Township in Cape Town

The low-lying outer areas are now known as the townships and in Cape Town particularly, the Cape Flats.

A very popular activity for international tourists to South Africa is a guided township tour. The desire to learn how the different communities live, to meet the people and to learn of South Africa’s history is of great interest to them.

As a resident Capetonian from the “other side” of town, I decided it was time I ventured out of the comforts of my home environment into the townships of the Cape Flats. You must understand that this is not a common thing for a white South African to do.

The perception of the townships is that they are dangerous, areas where violent crime takes place and where white faces are not welcome. Well, for the most part, this is a huge misperception.

District Six Museum

African Eagle Day Tours escorted me on a half-day guided tour, which incorporated a visit to the District Six Museum, Langa and Khayelitsha. The District Six Museum, established in December 1994 (when Nelson Mandela became president of South Africa), works with the memories of the communities that used to live in District 6 and with the history of forced removals more generally. This allows a deeper understanding of the people and of the townships you visit on the tour. Langa and Khayelitsha are two of the older townships on the Cape Flats.

Black Economic Empowerment

Our tour guide, Songs, a wonderful quiet natured Xhosa gentleman who lives in the Langa Township, accompanied us. Songezo, his full name, in Xhosa means late addition, being the last child of his family. Songs introduced us to another side of Cape Town.

Repair stores in Khayelitsha / Flickr photo by kudumomo

An eye-opening stroll through the littered streets laced with the smell of barbequed sheep’s head, had me captivated (the insides a delicacy enjoyed by the locals). Small children decently dressed playing a cheerful, lively game of soccer; colourful, neatly assembled corrugated iron shacks with communal ablution facilities and water points and a mass of loose electrical wires running between homes and electrical points, any electrician’s nightmare! Most of all, what I noticed was the friendliness and welcoming attitude of the people. We attracted many young children who posed eagerly for photographs wanting in return to see themselves in the digital photo.

During South Africa’s progression to democracy, the communities have learned to welcome tourists as they realise that tourism is a good form of income for the communities as a whole. African Eagle Day Tours, merged with Grassroute Tours, is a Black Economic Empowerment company that offers informative township tours and cultural experiences in a non-invasive sustainable way, bringing benefits to the communities it visits.

Almost all of the communities of the Cape Flats remain, to one degree or another, poverty stricken. A wide range of community empowerment organisations work non-violently to combat poverty, crime and health problems and the role of civil society in many parts of the area is relatively strong.

Creative business blossoming out the townships

Wonderfully creative business developments can be found the in townships. Vicky’s B&B in Khayelitsha, included on the itinerary for the township tour, is a homely colourful engaging overnight stop for travellers from all over the world. This offers the opportunity to live in the townships and really feel the vibe!

Khayelitsha Craft Market / Flickr photo by World Bank Photo Collection

Mzoli’s Place in Gugulethu is another great example of a creative business blossoming out the townships. Mzoli’s is actually a butchery but has been expanded to include a pub next door where one can enjoy a couple of cold ones with the locals while feasting on some deliciously braaied (barbequed) meat. Its festive, its lively, its likely to have you partying until late! I was delighted to experience Mzoli’s on the evening that Bafana Bafana played France in the FIFA World Cup Soccer. What a magnificent vibe there was! What cameraderie and passion for South Africa! A truly memorable experience!

Mzoli's Meat / Flickr photo by Scott MacLeod Liddle

Visiting the townships is a wonderful eye opening experience allowing you to more fully and tangibly grasp South Africa and her people. I happily recommend it!

Sikhululekile docked at Robben Island

The island itself is relatively small at only 570 hectares and was used predominantly as a maximum-security prison for both political prisoners and convicts. In the 19th century it was used as a leper colony. Back in 1892, it was believed that leprosy was contagious and those with leprosy were banished to the island. Today one can see the graveyard of the remaining bodies. During World War 2, the island was fortified and guns were installed as part of the defenses for Cape Town.

Scenic bus tour of Robben Island

Shipwreck on Robben Island with views of Cape Town

All 285 passengers embarked the waiting tour busses to partake in a 45 min scenic tour around the island, each with its own tour guide offering an informative commentary. The busses then pulled up outside the maximum-security prison and we were taken inside on a journey of desperate struggle, of harsh labour and terrible living conditions. (The large group of 300 tourists were again split up into smaller groups). Our guide, Muthe, an ex-political prisoner, described many horrific scenes that he encountered first hand and still remembers vividly today. I could sense an intense anger in him over South Africa’s past, how things used to be, how black people in our country were treated only because of their colour. I wondered if Muthe felt there had been in a change in our country over the last 19 years (since the final release of all the political prisoners in 1991) or since South Africa became a democracy (1994), or did he still hold anger and blame towards South Africa’s apartheid era? Muthe and the other ex-political prisoners, are a product of decades of violent conflict, one that will probably take many years still to change at core level.

Continue reading this article on the Africa Tamed Travel Blog.