Closing Reflections

And so I have been back a little over a month, and it is almost Christmas.The celebrations are in full swing - tonight (Saturday) we are having the Village Carols around the forge, and tomorrow the Youth Club will take the morning service, and the evening will be our service of Carols by Candle-Light. And, of course, on Tuesday we will welcome the King as we celebrate Christmas Day.

Yet amongst it all there is a feeling of too much - not with the services, although sometimes it seems a little over the top; but certainly with the frenetic business of it all. The shops will be shut for one, maybe two, days, and yet it seems that everyone is engaged in a frantice buying spree. The Mayans may have got it wrong, yet so many are buying as if the world will end tomorrow.

We are so fortunate to have all that we have, and sometimes it seems we just take it all for granted. It struck me particularly when we took the Youth Club to Cribb's Causeway for their annual shopping spree. The Mall was full of lights and the shops were full of glitter. Outside, the ice-rink and associated Winter Wonderland were in full swing. And everywhere, people were buying as if their lives depended upon it. And just for a moment the superficiality of it all overwhelmed me. I like my stuff - I have a lot of it, like nearly everyone else in the West. But stuff is not what it should be all about.

About a century ago W.H.Davies asked that well known question -
           What is life, if full of care, we have no time to stand and stare?
In it comes the echo of God's challenge to his people -
           Be still and know that I am God.
Whether in Africa or in the West, still the challenge comes. And somehow it is easier to pause for a while in Africa. It is not that life is easy - it certainly is not. But the clamour of stuff is not so loud, the distractions of things are not so insistent. I hope and pray that those people who graciously shared their time with me in Africa may have the opportunity to enjoy the good things of life that I take for granted as a citizen of a wealthy Western nation. But I also pray that we in the West may not be so dazzled by stuff that we forget to be still, and that our sisters and brothers in Africa may teach us how to stand and stare - even in the midst of the cares of life.

 And as we are still, may we know the hope of Christ as we celebrate his birth this Christmas.

Creatures Great and Small - 2

On the alternate days to Kruger the time was spent in Sabi Sands. Although these are private reserves, there is no barrier between them and the main park, so that the animals are free to wander through the whole of the area. However, as well as being able to go off road in the private reserves, you can also go walking. And so the days in Sabi Sands began with a walk with a guide to guard you. We did not encounter any of the big animals on our walks, but that was always a possibility - and Steve has had to deter a charging rhino in the past when out with one of his groups.

And although we did not come across any of the main animals, we saw plenty. Walking you see so much you cannot see from the vehicles, and Steve was a great guide to the trees, plants and insects - including the dung beetle. And we were not entirely short of interesting animals while we were on the ground. We found a large herd of giraffes (about 17), and spent some time stalking a wharthog - chaming if somewhat ugly beasts. And after our first walk we had the excitement of trying to find a leopard. As we got into the vehicle the ververt monkeys were, you could say, going ape - they had seen the leopard, and were warning all who would listen. Guided by their cries, Steve managed to track down the big cat to the mound where she was trying to stalk her prey - all hope of a catch thwarted by the cries of the monkeys. As we got near, she slopped off in a huff - hoping for better luck the next time.

The evening drives in Sabi Sands also proved eventful. On the evening after we had hunted the leopard, we found the cub for which she was hunting the food. Unlike lions, leopards are solitary hunters, and they leave their cubs in a safe place to go and find food. We were fortunate enough to find that hiding place. And on our last drive around Sabi Sands, the guides asked us what we would like to see. Frances of course said she would like to see a chameleon - as if there was any chance of finding this master of disguise in the dark. And suddenly we were pulling of the track as Steve shone his torch into a small tree - and there was the chameleon, trying to pretend he was a leaf.

All in all it was a fantastic time. But too soon it was time to leave for Johannesburg and home. As part of the package, on the way home the guides at Tydon take you on the Panorama Route - a drive into the Drakensburg Mountains. It was beautiful. The mountains fall away in a spectacular scarp face, with great views and high waterfalls. On the way you stop at God's Window. This is a view point on the edge of the scarp slope in a small area of tropical rain forest left behind after most of the Drakensburgs had been cleared and planted with pine and blue gum. It is a spectacular view along the scarp and over the plans that contain Kruger National Park - a great way to end the stay.

And so it was back to Johannesburg and thence to Birmingham. We had a meal with Tim and Bryony before saying goodbye, as they were flying to Heathrow via Doha. Our flight left two hours later. It was a decent enough flight home - even with a six hour lay-over in Amsterdam. But it was a bit of a shock scrapping the ice off the car windscreen the next day.

But it had been a great adventure, and I want to thank all who helped my, and all who joined with me, on the journey. And so there is one last post left to do - as I try to reflect on what I have seen and done.

 

Creatures Great and Small - 1

The final week of my African Adventure was spent in the Kruger National Park. We had found a company called Tydon Safaris, based just outside Kruger Park. It is classed as a tented camp - but the tents are the most luxurious I have ever been in, being at least as comfortable and well appointed as any en suite guest room. And the position is ideally chosen, allowing alternate days to be spent in the Kruger National Park and in the private reserves of the Sabi Sands. The food is good, the guides are excellent, and they will taylor the safaris to your desires - if you want a safari in southern Kruger, this is a great place. So much for the advert - but it is really good.

We were picked up in Johannesburgh by Jackie, one of the guides, and on the way collected Bryony and her husband Tim at Nelspruit - they had spent a few days walking in the Drakensburg Mountains.

Even after we had picked them up, it was still quite a long drive to get to the camp. Once there, we just had long enough to get settled into the tents before we were off on our first drive - an evening drive into Sabi Sands. There are three advantages to being able to use the private reserves as well as the main national reserve - the vehicles are more open, you can drive off road, and you can stay in the park until later in the evening. This means that on the days you are in Sabi Sands you stop for a sundowner - getting out of the car for a drink, some snacks, and a chance to watch an African sunset.

We arrived back in camp in time for the evening meal - and the first one was a traditional braai. The evenings are certainly a feature of the stay at Tydon - all the meals are traditional Africaans fair, and the guides stay with you for the whole evening - so that you end up telling tales around the camp fire. Mind, we did not stay up too late - whatever you are doing, the day begins at five.

On the days in the main park in Kruger there are drives in the morning and the afternoon - returning to the camp for a light midday meal. Because Kruger is public land the rules in the park are tighter than on the private reserves - the vehicles are more enclosed, you have to stay on the tracks at all times, and there are only a few places where you can get out of the vehicles apart from the main lodges. But there is a much larger area to explore, and a much greater variety of terrain to be found, so that on any one day you are more likely to see a greater variety of animals.

Of course, everybody wants to see the 'Big Five' - the main traditional game animals, and in the old days the ones that were the most dangerous to hunt. These are: lion, leopard, elephant, rhino and buffalo. But there are so many more animals to see than these, and in the time we were there we saw most of them - the only conspicuous missing sightings were the cheetah and the painted dog (both quite rare sightings).

Probably the most frequently sighted are the impala - the antelope that is the logo of the park, and is also frequently a meal for the big preditors. But on our drives in Kruger we saw so much - including baboons that had worked out how to stop cars and try to get food (they can be quite a nuisance), the strange ground hornbill (somewhat threatened because too many elephants push over too many of the trees they would normally nest in), and beautiful Nile monitors.

Of the times in Kruger, two events stand out. The first was the opportunity to spend time with a lioness and three cubs - two of her own, and one older one she was fostering to allow the other mother to join the pack and go hunting. She was on one side of the road, and we were on the other, and we sat and watched the group for quite some time, until the cubs decided it was time to wake mum up and get her moving. The second was going to the bird hide on one of the lakes in the park. This was a beautiful and quiet place, with only eight cars allowed to park at any one time. The main animals there were hippos and weaver birds, but the most unusual was probably the goliath crane. This was a beautiful and serene spot, and our last stop on our second day in the national park.

Having a Whale of a Time

I have been home just over a week now, processing the many photos I took while in Africa. And it seemed a good idea to end my blog with a couple of posts of the holiday I had with Frances in South Africa over the last two weeks of my stay there.

The first week of the holiday was spent on the Cape Coast in a town called Gansbai - justly famous as a place from which to watch the migration of the Southern Right Whale. Although it is well worth taking a trip in a boat to watch the whales at sea, you can get almost as close to them sitting on the rocks that overlook the bay. These are magnificent creatures - not quite as acrobatic as the humpbacked whales we saw in Australia, but still a spectacular sight when they do breech.

As well as the whales, many people come to Gansbai to see the great white sharks - dressing in a wetsuit and standing in a cage to watch the sharks as they are lured to the side of the boat by a simulated seal. We saw quite a few boats on our trip to see the whales, and I have to admit that the image of the people waiting to see the sharks reminded me of sardines in a tin.

As well as the larger animals, the sea around the Cape coast is also home to the local penguin. Known as the Jackass penguin, it gets its name from the call of the male. It was a joy to see these birds as the waddled around their colonies. On the rocks nearby there were also colonies of various species of cormorant.
 
On our walks along the shore we also saw another unusual sight - a wedding by the sea. We had gone to see some neolithic cave dwellings, and suddenly came across an arbour in the middle of the sand. we soon realized what was happening, and were able to watch the wedding after we had finished exploring the caves.

But it is not only the sea that is fascinating in this part of Africa. Just inland there is an area called the fynbos - a limestone habitat of great variety and beauty. In the centre of this area is the town of Elim. This is a Moravian settlement, famous for its thatchers. Much of the land was settled by former slaves after they had been emancipated, and their descendants have maintained the old buildings with their simple lines. Certainly this is a site worth visiting - even if the route from Gansbai takes you over some gravel roads.

We did not see much of Cape Town, as we were anxious to spend as much time as possible on the coast. When Fran first arrives, we thought she had brought the Welsh weather with her, but on our way back to catch the plane to Johannesburgh the clouds had lifted - the Table Cloth had not quite left the Table Mountain, but the views from Signal Hill were lovely, and a suitable end to this part of the holiday.

Wildlife in Zimbabwe

One of the joys of staying at Morning Star is the chance to get up in the morning and go for a walk on the dwala. This beautiful countryside, and the wildlife here is great. The long period without rain has just broken, and suddenly - within a few days - the land is getting greener and the flowers are beginning to show. Now we are all hoping that what has begun will continue for the next few months, especially after the poor wet season that came last year.

So as my time is Zimbabwe draws to its close, it seemed a good idea just to put up a few pictures of the animals I have seen in and around Morning Star and on those early morning walks across the countryside. It is a beautiful country, and the people are very welcoming - I hope others will come and find the joy and abundant life that I have experienced over the last few days.

A Stone of Help

One of the projects supported by BMS is the agricultural college at Ebenezer. This is based on the farm of the Cunningham family on the edge of the Matopos national park. Set up in 2007, Ebenezer currently has about 70 students taking its two year course.Over the two years the students are given training in both farming and the business of farming, putting the theory into practice as they work on their three 30mx30m plots. Undergirding it all, the farm has a strong Christian foundation, with prayer and Bible study built into the curriculum.

As we turned off the main road onto the dirt track to the farm we picked up some extra passengers - our visit coincided with the family open day, and many of the students relatives had travelled three hours and more to come to the event. When we arrived the site was full of proud students showing their folks what they had been up to over the past few months, and soon we were also being shown around by some of the friends Elliot had made when he had stayed in the college a few weeks earlier. We were taken aound various aspects of the farm's work - the plots, which were still being supplied with water from the dam built near by; the bicycle powered threshing machine; and the chicken houses which supplied both birds and eggs for sale through a national distributor, these being part of a project which also encouraged local farmers to build their own chicken houses and join the cooperative.

      

After the tour we all gathered in the main 'hall' or the formal part of the day. This was attended by various village elders and the local village headman, and included songs and sketches presented by the students as well the speeches by the staff. The day as apprciated by all those who came, as as the meal that followed shortly afterwards.

 

          

Once most of the parents had left, there was time to relax - which  large group of the students did by setting up an impromptu volley ball tournament, joined by one of the lecturers along with \Elliot, Tristan and myself. It as an enjoyable workout at the end of a very good day.