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rapier
Joined: 16 Feb 2003
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 Posted: Sat Dec 24, 2005 2:37 pm Post subject: Africa is the Greatest. |
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Who has been there?
Who here has spent time in the cradle of mankind? Lets face it..all travel experiences are somewhat inferior until you have sampled the Dark continent.
Everything is bigger and better there...larger than life, more bountiful..more spectacular.
Africa is the crowning glory of the earth..blessed with the most beautiful people and animals on the planet. It has the most resources and potential of anywhere...in colonial days it was the place nobody ever came back from. It was a paradise...nobody touched by it failed to fall in love.
i'm talking about this...
Its where man began..vibrant, a celebration of life and diversity. of natural and warm hearted people, of wide open spaces and endless beauty.
I've been in 27 countries..and nothing has ever compared to it.
Its the best! |
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VanIslander
Joined: 18 Aug 2003
Location: Geoje, Hadong, Tongyeong,... now in a small coastal island town outside Gyeongsangnamdo!
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| Posted: Sat Dec 24, 2005 3:13 pm Post subject: Re: Africa is the Greatest. |
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I've always wanted to climb Kilimanjaro via Tanzania but since I took to seriously planning a trip I've noticed how touristy and high volume are the foreigners trapsing up and down the extinct volcano. It lost it's appeal. Egypt and Morocco too.
It's an interesting psychological struggle: the perceived safety of taking the well beaten path versus doing the less overly commercialized thing and putting oneself in greater perceived danger. The solution may be to have a trustworthy and competent personal guide to help one venture successfully off the beaten path.
| rapier wrote: |
| ...in colonial days it was the place nobody ever came back from... |
I see Africa as a dichotomy of experience opportunities: either Disneyland bubble world or Dangerous Adventure. Enlighten me on the middle ground.
I've a friend doing volunteer work there this winter for a few weeks. I'll have to ask her when she returns. |
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Wangja
Joined: 17 May 2004
Location: Seoul, Yongsan
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| Posted: Sat Dec 24, 2005 3:22 pm Post subject: |
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| Ah yes, Lagos, the armpit not just of Africa, but possibly the world. |
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crazylemongirl
Joined: 23 Mar 2003
Location: almost there...
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| Posted: Sat Dec 24, 2005 3:49 pm Post subject: |
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| Nothing like the thunderstorms that come rolling in out of nowhere in the afternoon. |
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Grotto
Joined: 21 Mar 2004
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| Posted: Sat Dec 24, 2005 4:23 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| Nothing like the thunderstorms that come rolling in out of nowhere in the afternoon. |
 Ever been to Saskatchewan? |
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mindmetoo
Joined: 02 Feb 2004
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| Posted: Sat Dec 24, 2005 4:23 pm Post subject: |
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| Wangja wrote: |
| Ah yes, Lagos, the armpit not just of Africa, but possibly the world. |
Africa is one cesspool of corruption that makes Korea look like the land of fair play. Corruption, disease, war, flies. Wonderful place. |
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joe_doufu
Joined: 09 May 2005
Location: Elsewhere
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| Posted: Sat Dec 24, 2005 6:12 pm Post subject: |
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| My little brother is in the Peace Corps in Cameroon. I hope to make a visit sometime in 2006. |
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indytrucks
Joined: 09 Apr 2003
Location: The Shelf
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| Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2005 2:43 am Post subject: |
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| Was there last Christmas. Father lives in Durban. Traveled to Swaziland and around Kwazulu Natal. Too short (only 7 weeks). Awesome. Friggin' awesome. Hope to get back next Xmas. |
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rapier
Joined: 16 Feb 2003
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| Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2005 3:43 am Post subject: |
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| indytrucks wrote: |
| Was there last Christmas. Father lives in Durban. Traveled to Swaziland and around Kwazulu Natal. Too short (only 7 weeks). Awesome. Friggin' awesome. Hope to get back next Xmas. |
Durban? been there several times..Uvongo and umhlanga..etc.. i still maintain that it probably has the best surfing potential of anywhere. Only place I've seen sich numbers (about 100) dolphins passing close by, jumping out the water. beautiful.
My cousins live in natal, i know it fairly well too...all round there.. |
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indytrucks
Joined: 09 Apr 2003
Location: The Shelf
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| Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2005 4:04 am Post subject: |
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Natal was beautiful. Went to Hwehwele(sp?)/Umfolozi Park, then up to Kruger, then around Blyde River Canyon/Graskop area, Howick for a day, and a couple of trips to the Drakensberg thrown in (Giant's Castle and Ijasuthi). Giant's Castle was my favourite; the hiking was superb.
Swaziland was okay. Malolotja Nature Reserve had great hiking and was good value for money. Mbabane was a dump. Hated it. Not to mention the driving is terrible in Swazi. I nearly jumped out of the car and kissed the ground on the SA side when I crossed back.
Next time I want to do the garden route then up through vineyard country and into Namibia.
Loved Africa. Loved it. Got loads of great photos. |
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rapier
Joined: 16 Feb 2003
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| Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2005 4:37 am Post subject: |
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| indytrucks wrote: |
| Natal was beautiful. Went to Hwehwele(sp?)/Umfolozi Park. |
Ah yes, Hluhluwe. Great park with good visitor facilities. Certainly It hosts the highest density fo White Rhinos anywhere i think. And i watched Hyaenas tearing up a carcass there for a couple hours, quite a sight.
I was last there in 97. Unfortunately SA seemed decidedly more unsafe then than how I remember it 10 years earlier. If i was to visit again I'd stick to the national parks and avoid Joburg etc a lot more.
I see Table mountains just had a fire again, presumably they've been neglecting their fire-protection measures. They used to cut the brush away in regular stages and firebreaks which controlled it very well.
The most breathtakingly picturesque part of the country for me was always driving around the Drakensberg:
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The Man known as The Man
Joined: 29 Mar 2003
Location: 3 cheers for Ted Haggard oh yeah!
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| Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2005 2:25 pm Post subject: |
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Former Mayor of Toronto Mel Lastman is taking a safari in January.
It's true, Yata-Boy, it's true.
ps not a real country |
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Demonicat
Joined: 18 Nov 2004
Location: Suwon
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| Posted: Tue Dec 27, 2005 5:31 am Post subject: |
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| lived for 18 months in West africa (mali). It was a harsh, unforgiving time and I witnessed many things that I will never forget...in a good and a bad way. It is an exciting place, but it is also tedious. It is the birthplace of humanity, but it is also a land of death. Many people (most on this thread thus far) post pictures of South Africa or Kenya, with lions, hyenas, elephants and the like, but Africa is much larger, harsher, and older than that. |
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rapier
Joined: 16 Feb 2003
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| Posted: Wed Dec 28, 2005 1:00 am Post subject: |
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| Demonicat wrote: |
| lived for 18 months in West africa (mali). It was a harsh, unforgiving time and I witnessed many things that I will never forget...in a good and a bad way. It is an exciting place, but it is also tedious. It is the birthplace of humanity, but it is also a land of death. Many people (most on this thread thus far) post pictures of South Africa or Kenya, with lions, hyenas, elephants and the like, but Africa is much larger, harsher, and older than that. |
Great reply, I wish more people had actually been there to share their impressions.
Someone like wangja would have been horrified and vowed never to return after his suitcase was stolen at the airport in Ghana i guess..or perhaps he had to pay a bribe to pass a roadblock.
But for those who've known it a little longer there is a far deeper feeling.
As you say demonicat it also is riven with backwardness and desperation... but there are also areas where culture and wildlife have been well preserved and protected.
I have seen plenty of both...been bombed mortared and harrassed, cared for limbless orphans and spent time in diseased slums...diseased myself to boot. But the most striking images to remain are the grandiose landscapes, the funny and warm hearted people, the beautiful wildlife and the urgent vitality and beauty of life there. |
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JacktheCat
Joined: 08 May 2004
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| Posted: Wed Dec 28, 2005 1:24 am Post subject: |
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This thread is making me so homesick.
As I sit here in the land of the not quite right, freezing my African ass off, it's the height of summer back in Africa.
The hot African sun beating down on the bush veldt, the sound of the doves in the morning air. The acacia trees blowing the in the soft hot breeze. |
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