Hello.
I haven't stopped blogging, just haven't had much time for it lately. I won't come up with any excuses because lets face it, excuses are about as useful as a fart in a windmachine.
In case anybody's wondering (thanks Annie), things are going well and I have lots to write about. This weekend I'm visiting Kimberley, apparently they have some big hole there, and an account of this trip will surely feature as soon as I get the courage to type it.
Don't stop checking in and I'll see you all soon. Figuratively speaking of course...
R in A
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Friday, May 4, 2007
All creatures great and small...well, mostly small in fact
My personal view on what qualities one needs to possess to be allowed to work in a national park are perhaps a bit idealistic. I have always naively assumed that anybody who fulfills some type of function, no matter how important or menial, needs to at least care about nature and every beautiful, slimy, scaly and hairy creature it may contain. This type of thinking is of course complete fantasy. Although I had kept that little midget of rationality and reason safely bricked up somewhere in a dank and forgotten dungeon vaguely located in the south-east corner of my brain, it still managed to escape after a recent encounter with housekeeping. Let me explain: the appartment next to mine which until recently was inhabited by a schizofrenic party animal/tourism intern had to be thouroughly cleaned before the next unfortunate student happened to wander into our park. Two lovely ladies from housekeeping came over one evening and got stuck in - literally, as it turned out the place was quite dirty - while I was observing the wax on/wax off magic from the safety of the doorframe. One of the ladies was busy with a feather duster but I noticed she wasn't being particularly focused...instead she just kept sweeping at the same spot on the wall. I quickly ruled out that she was on some type of medication when I saw a little gecko lizard happily being tickled from head to two. I mentioned that she would not be too successful if she kept up her chosen reptilian-removal effort but she would not get an inch closer to the prehistoric menace currenly enjoying a good massage from the duster. I casually strolled to the wall, cupped my hands around the little beastie and it quickly scampered up my shoulder where it took a moment to recover from what had to be its most exciting day in existence yet.
The cleaning lady with the duster looked at me as if I had just tackled a hungry lion using nothing more than some peanuts and a rusty fish-hook. I walked outside to show the other housekeeping rep my little friend, but I need not have bothered. Duster-lady was already in hot pursuit, screaming to her companion not to approach me as I was obviously carrying the devil's own offspring on my shoulder. As I walked outside both of them kept a safe distance, well, they kept their distance in any case. For my piece the resistance I then walked over to my own appartment and dropped the wide-eyed gecko on my wall with the orders to eat bugs to its heart's content. One of the cleaning ladies actually fainted at this act of surpreme horror while the other merely screamed and ran off into the night - we haven't found a trace of her since.
Some parts of the above story may have been slightly exaggerated but my point remains a valid one: appreciating nature around you is not a prerequisite for working in a national park. In fact you don't need give a crap whatsoever, although when applying for a job in the conservation department this is considered a plus. But perhaps I am just too optimistic when I expect the gasstation attendant inside the park to care more for the environment around him than a gasstation attendant outside the park. For many people their job inside the park is just that: a job.
As you may have guessed I am rather more intrigued, even captivated, by the things that live and grow around me. My house is ideally located right on the border with the wilderness and therefore many creatures pass my house on a daily basis obviously looking to get a good rub-down by a feather duster. Some days are particularly busy, especially in the late afternoon which also happens to coincide with the time that I get home from work. On days like that I do not so much feel as if I'm surrounded by the serenity of nature but as if I have been dropped into a Disney movie where no humans exist and all animals wear waistcoats and can speak.
If I just continue with the Disney imagery for a moment I will tell you about all the animals that I spotted one random Tuesday afternoon while sitting in front of my door.
The protagonists or heroes (think Simba, Aladin or the Little Mermaid - so hot...) are without a doubt the klipspringers. On first glance poor excuses for antilopes or heroes, but look closer and you will find the courage burning within (cue Circle-of-Life-esque themesong). Compared to their larger cousins such as impala or springbok, these knee-high acrobats are incredibly muscly, having thick and compact bodies. On the other hand, impala and springbok are so thin it's not a stretch to think that you are able to see through them. Klipspringers are, of course, very proficient when it comes to walking and jumping along cliff-edges. This is not only because of their build but also because of the unique texture of their hooves which is rubbery on the bottom, allowing for a firm grip on almost any surface. Furthermore they are among the few animals which mate for life, never taking a new partner unless death do them part, so you will always encounter two at any time. Clearly these are the good guys. (there are actually three klipspringers which I see regularly: two parents plus their kid)
Unfortunately no leopard sightings around my house, but the baboons will make an adequate replacement. More a nuisance than outright menace, they are nevertheless always on the wrong side of the moral coin. The males will especially frighten any 8-year old Disney enthusiast with their black mane and lion-sized canines. Recently a pair of adult males has been causing some havoc around the restcamp area because they are almost unafraid of humans - a quality which can unfortunately prove fatal for most baboons. Until the reaper comes calling however (or the .22 in any case), they can make a handsome living by stealing and eating 
anything they can lay their paws on, regardless of any homo sapiens present. This I found out first-hand the other day while I was sitting outside against the wall of my house, looking at a clan of baboons doing cartwheels in the grass. Suddenly I heard the "mosquito door" (not my actual door but an iron mesh in front of it which opens seperately, no idea what it's called) open and before I could even get up, one of the villains had grabbed a fresh loaf of bread right off my kitchen counter. For the second time since I've been here I had to watch my bread run off into the sunset, this time carried on four legs instead of a few thousand (See the Klipspringer Trail story). Pure evil these guys. (baboon pics were taken while sitting on my porch as mentioned earlier...trust me it's an act of willpower to remain seated as one of these guys trudges past)
Now it's nearly time for my customary after-work shower while performing a critically acclaimed rendition of Bon Jovi's Dead Or Alive followed by an ice-cold beer, so I'm going to keep it short from now on.
Comic relief is no doubt provided by the ground-squirrels: intensely hilarious to watch whatever they're doing, eating, sleeping or fighting. Sometimes all at the same time.
The ever-present provider of wisdom would not be a dull old owl or a hooting hornbill, but the century old leopard tortoise which lives somewhere around my place and often comes out for a bit of fresh grass and a friendly chat. Here we both are taking it easy and eating some aloes after a long day at the office.
You have no idea how frustrating it is to put all these pictures in an article, mostly because they never want to stay in one place...give a tap on the spacebar and the whole kit 'n kaboodle goes haywire. So I'll save the rest of my anthropomorphically challenged friends for another time and another blog. I'm sorry if this abrupt end to what looked like a promising description of Southern African wildlife is a bit of a disappointment, but what would you like me to do? Dress in drag and do the hula?
The cleaning lady with the duster looked at me as if I had just tackled a hungry lion using nothing more than some peanuts and a rusty fish-hook. I walked outside to show the other housekeeping rep my little friend, but I need not have bothered. Duster-lady was already in hot pursuit, screaming to her companion not to approach me as I was obviously carrying the devil's own offspring on my shoulder. As I walked outside both of them kept a safe distance, well, they kept their distance in any case. For my piece the resistance I then walked over to my own appartment and dropped the wide-eyed gecko on my wall with the orders to eat bugs to its heart's content. One of the cleaning ladies actually fainted at this act of surpreme horror while the other merely screamed and ran off into the night - we haven't found a trace of her since.
Some parts of the above story may have been slightly exaggerated but my point remains a valid one: appreciating nature around you is not a prerequisite for working in a national park. In fact you don't need give a crap whatsoever, although when applying for a job in the conservation department this is considered a plus. But perhaps I am just too optimistic when I expect the gasstation attendant inside the park to care more for the environment around him than a gasstation attendant outside the park. For many people their job inside the park is just that: a job.
As you may have guessed I am rather more intrigued, even captivated, by the things that live and grow around me. My house is ideally located right on the border with the wilderness and therefore many creatures pass my house on a daily basis obviously looking to get a good rub-down by a feather duster. Some days are particularly busy, especially in the late afternoon which also happens to coincide with the time that I get home from work. On days like that I do not so much feel as if I'm surrounded by the serenity of nature but as if I have been dropped into a Disney movie where no humans exist and all animals wear waistcoats and can speak.
If I just continue with the Disney imagery for a moment I will tell you about all the animals that I spotted one random Tuesday afternoon while sitting in front of my door.
The protagonists or heroes (think Simba, Aladin or the Little Mermaid - so hot...) are without a doubt the klipspringers. On first glance poor excuses for antilopes or heroes, but look closer and you will find the courage burning within (cue Circle-of-Life-esque themesong). Compared to their larger cousins such as impala or springbok, these knee-high acrobats are incredibly muscly, having thick and compact bodies. On the other hand, impala and springbok are so thin it's not a stretch to think that you are able to see through them. Klipspringers are, of course, very proficient when it comes to walking and jumping along cliff-edges. This is not only because of their build but also because of the unique texture of their hooves which is rubbery on the bottom, allowing for a firm grip on almost any surface. Furthermore they are among the few animals which mate for life, never taking a new partner unless death do them part, so you will always encounter two at any time. Clearly these are the good guys. (there are actually three klipspringers which I see regularly: two parents plus their kid)
Unfortunately no leopard sightings around my house, but the baboons will make an adequate replacement. More a nuisance than outright menace, they are nevertheless always on the wrong side of the moral coin. The males will especially frighten any 8-year old Disney enthusiast with their black mane and lion-sized canines. Recently a pair of adult males has been causing some havoc around the restcamp area because they are almost unafraid of humans - a quality which can unfortunately prove fatal for most baboons. Until the reaper comes calling however (or the .22 in any case), they can make a handsome living by stealing and eating 
anything they can lay their paws on, regardless of any homo sapiens present. This I found out first-hand the other day while I was sitting outside against the wall of my house, looking at a clan of baboons doing cartwheels in the grass. Suddenly I heard the "mosquito door" (not my actual door but an iron mesh in front of it which opens seperately, no idea what it's called) open and before I could even get up, one of the villains had grabbed a fresh loaf of bread right off my kitchen counter. For the second time since I've been here I had to watch my bread run off into the sunset, this time carried on four legs instead of a few thousand (See the Klipspringer Trail story). Pure evil these guys. (baboon pics were taken while sitting on my porch as mentioned earlier...trust me it's an act of willpower to remain seated as one of these guys trudges past)
Now it's nearly time for my customary after-work shower while performing a critically acclaimed rendition of Bon Jovi's Dead Or Alive followed by an ice-cold beer, so I'm going to keep it short from now on.
Comic relief is no doubt provided by the ground-squirrels: intensely hilarious to watch whatever they're doing, eating, sleeping or fighting. Sometimes all at the same time.
The ever-present provider of wisdom would not be a dull old owl or a hooting hornbill, but the century old leopard tortoise which lives somewhere around my place and often comes out for a bit of fresh grass and a friendly chat. Here we both are taking it easy and eating some aloes after a long day at the office.
You have no idea how frustrating it is to put all these pictures in an article, mostly because they never want to stay in one place...give a tap on the spacebar and the whole kit 'n kaboodle goes haywire. So I'll save the rest of my anthropomorphically challenged friends for another time and another blog. I'm sorry if this abrupt end to what looked like a promising description of Southern African wildlife is a bit of a disappointment, but what would you like me to do? Dress in drag and do the hula?
Thursday, May 3, 2007
Afrika Mayibuye II (A comment on the previous post)
An interesting comment was made related to my previous post about post-apartheid South Africa: "Seems like a rather one-sided and not very refreshing article... Since you're there wouldn't it be more interesting to relate to your readers personal perspectives and insights rather than things we've mostly already read and heard?I mean is Africa a better place now? Do people live in better conditions? Can you honestly attribute all the current problems to Apartheid? Certainly you could tell us more insightful and intriguing things on this subject..."
Reply:
The point was to give those who are not that fluent on the current situation in South Africa a brief overview of the country's past and how the effects of the white regime are still felt and experienced today. I no doubt will relate personal experiences at some later stage when I feel that I have the ability to do so in a constructive manner, not simply recounting "that time I met a racist" or "my close encounter with the ANC".
Is South Africa a better place without apartheid? Yes. Do people live in better conditions? Many do, but many more still live in townships or informal settlements. It is perhaps easier to illustrate the legacy of apartheid through statistics. Since the first free elections in 1994 the new government faced the following: first (and surpising to the newly elected government) there was no money to be spent on the ambitious development plans Mandela had promised to deliver. While the ANC had expected to inherit the wealth the white government gained from South Africa's mineral deposits, the "treasure chest" was in fact more than empty. The previous government had left a record budget deficit of 8.6 percent of the gross domestic product and its foreign exhange reserves were down to less than theequivalent of three weeks of imports. More worryingly, 92 percent of the governments revenues was spent on the cost of debt service, leaving only 8 percent for actual capital spending...that's not a lot.
Socially, the situation was just as dismal. Out of a population of 40 million, 22 million lacked sanitation (7,5 million in urban centres), 12 million lacked a clean water supply, 23 million had no access to electricity and some 2 million children were without schools. A quarter of the people lived on less than half of the poverty-line income and one-third of the population was illiterate.
Administratively: a whole new structure for local and provincial government had to be implemented because all institutions were dominated by and geared towards whites. Nine new provinces had to be formed from the former "homeland" territories and 800 segregated local authorities had to be transformed into 300 multiracial bodies. The police service required a complete overhaul (it was at the forefront of enforcing apartheid laws) and the army had to be reorganized to incorporate the ANC's guerilla army and former homeland armies. The entire education system which had been segregated for each racial group needed restructuring. And while white education offered very high standards in all levels of schooling, black public education had suffered from decades of deprivation: one-third had no electricity, a quarter had no water, a half had no sanitation, one-third of the teachers were unqualified and many more were under-qualified.
Makes for very dull reading perhaps but by no stretch of the imagination can you expect all these issues to be smoothed out in ten years time. It is impossible to claim that South Africa is either going to win the struggle of the post-apartheid years or lose it, but nothing's ever been accomplished in Africa (or anywhere else) through negative thought so I remain quietly optimistic about the future of this country.
Can I claim that all current problems are related to apartheid? Of course not. But the facts stated above do show us that the country was in already in trouble during the final years of the white regime. In later years no doubt these economic problems would have worsened regardless of government: a white government would have been sinking slowly due to international sanctions and desperate attempts to hide 22 million people; a multiracial government could expect to be struggling for a long time, as it is currently, because 22 million people suddenly all need to be "part of the system". The only difference is that the whites ruled through oppression and racism, not democracy and equality.
I realize that this particular article is not that interesting to you, but I'm targetting a slightly larger audience who perhaps do not know some of the details of South Africa's past and present. Knowing its past is in the end the only way to fully understand the present.
On a side-note, I did not intend this blog to be academically sound but merely relate my own expriences while in South Africa. The whole racial issue, as well as South Africa's current social and economic climate, are however so complicated that I chose to devote one article as an introduction to more personal stories.
The information related above was found on several SA government websites (notably the department of statistics), the autobiography of Nelson Mandela "The Long Road to Freedom" and the excellent recent publication "The State of Africa" by Martin Meredith.
Reply:
The point was to give those who are not that fluent on the current situation in South Africa a brief overview of the country's past and how the effects of the white regime are still felt and experienced today. I no doubt will relate personal experiences at some later stage when I feel that I have the ability to do so in a constructive manner, not simply recounting "that time I met a racist" or "my close encounter with the ANC".
Is South Africa a better place without apartheid? Yes. Do people live in better conditions? Many do, but many more still live in townships or informal settlements. It is perhaps easier to illustrate the legacy of apartheid through statistics. Since the first free elections in 1994 the new government faced the following: first (and surpising to the newly elected government) there was no money to be spent on the ambitious development plans Mandela had promised to deliver. While the ANC had expected to inherit the wealth the white government gained from South Africa's mineral deposits, the "treasure chest" was in fact more than empty. The previous government had left a record budget deficit of 8.6 percent of the gross domestic product and its foreign exhange reserves were down to less than theequivalent of three weeks of imports. More worryingly, 92 percent of the governments revenues was spent on the cost of debt service, leaving only 8 percent for actual capital spending...that's not a lot.
Socially, the situation was just as dismal. Out of a population of 40 million, 22 million lacked sanitation (7,5 million in urban centres), 12 million lacked a clean water supply, 23 million had no access to electricity and some 2 million children were without schools. A quarter of the people lived on less than half of the poverty-line income and one-third of the population was illiterate.
Administratively: a whole new structure for local and provincial government had to be implemented because all institutions were dominated by and geared towards whites. Nine new provinces had to be formed from the former "homeland" territories and 800 segregated local authorities had to be transformed into 300 multiracial bodies. The police service required a complete overhaul (it was at the forefront of enforcing apartheid laws) and the army had to be reorganized to incorporate the ANC's guerilla army and former homeland armies. The entire education system which had been segregated for each racial group needed restructuring. And while white education offered very high standards in all levels of schooling, black public education had suffered from decades of deprivation: one-third had no electricity, a quarter had no water, a half had no sanitation, one-third of the teachers were unqualified and many more were under-qualified.
Makes for very dull reading perhaps but by no stretch of the imagination can you expect all these issues to be smoothed out in ten years time. It is impossible to claim that South Africa is either going to win the struggle of the post-apartheid years or lose it, but nothing's ever been accomplished in Africa (or anywhere else) through negative thought so I remain quietly optimistic about the future of this country.
Can I claim that all current problems are related to apartheid? Of course not. But the facts stated above do show us that the country was in already in trouble during the final years of the white regime. In later years no doubt these economic problems would have worsened regardless of government: a white government would have been sinking slowly due to international sanctions and desperate attempts to hide 22 million people; a multiracial government could expect to be struggling for a long time, as it is currently, because 22 million people suddenly all need to be "part of the system". The only difference is that the whites ruled through oppression and racism, not democracy and equality.
I realize that this particular article is not that interesting to you, but I'm targetting a slightly larger audience who perhaps do not know some of the details of South Africa's past and present. Knowing its past is in the end the only way to fully understand the present.
On a side-note, I did not intend this blog to be academically sound but merely relate my own expriences while in South Africa. The whole racial issue, as well as South Africa's current social and economic climate, are however so complicated that I chose to devote one article as an introduction to more personal stories.
The information related above was found on several SA government websites (notably the department of statistics), the autobiography of Nelson Mandela "The Long Road to Freedom" and the excellent recent publication "The State of Africa" by Martin Meredith.
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