Art and Ruth Week 2

Week 2 with Art and Ruth. Okay, so the in-laws are still here and we're still getting along. Breathe, breathe, breathe. JUST KIDDING, Ruth! Actually, it has been a very pleasant visit thus far. Ruth and Art have been able to really see quite a bit of South Africa. This week they went to six different game parks and reserves. That's SIX different game parks. After all, it took Ruth 8 months of heavy contemplation and marital discourse to get here. So, six game parks were definitely in order. We took them over to Kragga Kamma earlier this week, which is a great introduction to wild African game life. We once again were able to catch a view of all sorts of antelope, giraffes, and rhino. As always, a lot of fun to be there. However, the kids are now getting to a point where the "normal" game, i.e., antelope, warthog, and the like, are becoming commonplace. "What is that over there?! Quick, Jack, what do you see?" " It's…it's…it's…, ah it's only a Kudu." "Too bad it's not a leopard." Even Bekah has become quite adept at the African animal kingdom. Where other 4-year olds back home are talking about bears and rabbits and deer, Bekah talks in terms of rhinos and monkeys and leopards. She can spot the difference between a leopard and a cheetah and uses elephants, lions, and warthogs as a frame of reference for animal sizes. You just can't get that from a zoo or a book. "Hey Bekah, what's the difference between a lion and a leopard?" 'That's silly! Everyone knows that a leopard is stronger!" 'Why?" "Because he can pull a small giraffe up into a tree, silly!" Kraft brothers, watch out. A day or two after the Kragga Kamma affair, we shipped Art and Ruth off to a 2-day safari that covered Addo Elephant Reserve, Schotia Game Park, and a game park we haven't yet been to, Lalibella. They had a chance to see lions, elephants, giraffes, and all sorts of other indigenous animals. Ruth came back to the flat at the end of the second day exclaiming she loved us so much for setting up a great safari experience. What a good son-in-law I am.

A day after Art and Ruth's big safari adventure, I took a day trip to Johannesburg to meet with the Wellness Council of Southern Africa. This is the group that is spearheading the wellness movement in South Africa and it was great to spend a day with them exploring the continued advancement of wellness in this country. The driver who picked me up at the airport took me through the outskirts of Alexandra, one of the major shantytowns of the city. This is apparently where Nelson Mandela and a host of other important apartheid leaders of the past spent some time. More shantys. More filth. More depression--within me as much as within the community. This continues to amaze me. Equally as intense was when Andre gave me a "tour" of downtown ghetto Johannesburg. Right smack dab center of the car jacking and bullet-in-the-head area of the city. Andre tried to get us to a "more inner city depiction" of Johannesburg but we were stopped by security guards who, in no uncertain terms, made it clear that traveling into the area driving one of these brand new Smart cars--which is a car that looks like the back end has been cut off--was not a great idea. "Andre, that's okay, I've seen enough of the inner city to get the idea." "Are you sure, Bop?" "Yeah, I'm quite sure." After all, if I want inner city risk, I can take a trip over to Detroit or Chicago anytime. Surrounding Johannesburg is a lot of mine dumps that are remnants from the gold mining era of a generation or two before. Johannesburg actually emerged as a gold mining community. The existing dumps are on the edge of the city, sort of like giant and unnatural dirt mounds every few kilometers. One old dumpsite had a drive-in movie screen situated at the top of it. Where I'm from they convert old dumps into ski hills. This is the first time I have seen a drive-in theatre on top of a mine dump within a stone's throw from a major international city. Needless-to-say, I'm glad I live near a small town in Michigan.

We took off for a weekend visit to the Karoo heartland, which looks sort of like a combination of Utah and Wyoming. The 4th oldest town in South Africa, Graaff Reinet, is located here, as is the Karoo Nature Reserve. The Karoo has a wide history of interesting sites, including the Valley of Desolation--the Grand Canyon of South Africa. We took a drive up the winding road to get to the top and stopped for a picnic lunch. What a breathtaking site for a lunch break. No one fell over the edge, much to the relief of us all. Near the Valley of Desolation was a game reserve where we were able to take in more antelope and monkey sightings. That made it number five for Art and Ruth for the week. They were even getting to the point where they could start telling the difference between a Gemsbok and a Kudu. Pretty good considering they have only been here for a few months, er, ah, I mean a few days. Ruth purchased a brand-spanking new digital camera prior to coming on this trip, unbeknownst to Art. She quickly became glued to her camera and had over 800 or so photos by the time they left us. She took a picture of everything. You name it, she got it. Pictures of streets, mountains, animals, street signs, cars passing by on the road, a plate of scrambled eggs, the kids, the grocery store sign, floors, strangers on the street, houses, water, plates and spoons--she got everything. By the time she left us, she was quite proficient at picture taking. I can't wait to hear from their friends about the 12-hour slide show presentation they'll need to endure once Art and Ruth return to the U.S. Every once in awhile I'd grab her camera and shoot a picture of my face, just to make sure I had equal representation in her pictures. Taking pictures of your own goofy face tends to be a custom in my family. A few years a ago my sister, Karie, gave me a framed collage of a myriad of family "self-portrait" shots which now proudly hangs in our outhouse at Kitchen Farm (our summer farmhouse residence). If you are ever in the area, come check it out; it's quite a piece of work.

We spent the evening at a bed and breakfast farm about a half hour north of Graaff Reinet. We filled up the whole guest cottage and enjoyed our sleep in the Karoo highland immensely. It's moving on toward winter here, so the evenings are actually getting quite chilly, sort of like about late April back in Michigan. After a traditional English breakfast of fried eggs, fried tomato, a single piece of toast, and a nasty tasting beef sausage, we took off on a dirt road toward Nieu Bethesda, in search of the famous "Owl House" and ancient Bushman cave drawings. I have come to learn that there are only three egg choices for breakfast here in South Africa: Scrambled, fried (which really means sunny side up), and over (which really means over hard as the yolk is cooked to the texture of a hard boiled egg). So when asked my preference, at first I was saying "over medium" as I like an egg that has runny yolk yet completely cooked whites. After a few stares I have changed my request now to "fried over, but with runny yolk." I'm still getting what in the U.S. is known as "over hard." My next tactic is to start requesting my egg "fried, flipped early, and left on the stove for about 20-30 seconds." Over medium seems so much easier to say. I'll be the first one to admit I'm not a very good cook. But one thing I do know--after spending 5 summers as a short-order breakfast cook--is how to cook an egg. My brother Bill likes his eggs basted. Good luck on explaining that one.

The Owl House is a trip. It's in the middle of a dirt-road, old time, South African village, with a couple of coffee shops and churches. The Owl House itself is the former residence of an eccentric artist who was intrigued with crushed glass and colors. She eventually started losing her eyesight so downed a glass of caustic soda and did herself in. She would have made a great Timothy Leary fan and definitely would have been front row at Woodstock; only she lived a generation or two before our 1960s radicals. Her house is now a unique museum, complete with odd art décor inside and a series of cement/mud statutes throughout the garden area. I found the statutes to be the most intriguing part of the experience. There are about a hundred figures, all heading east, with many riding camels. They have their hands in the air as if they are praying to Allah or some other higher power. At the end of the garden, where they are all heading, there are a few cement lambs entering a small house--sort like a house of God--only the house is empty. Next to the house is some prophet-looking guy pointing in a different direction for the people to head toward. What is interesting is that this whole contingent of "spiritual seekers" are passing right on by a small nativity scene, complete with the Christ child, Mary, Joseph, the three wise men, a couple shepherds, and farm animals. I found that to be very symbolic and quite profound. I felt a kinship with the eccentric artist at that point.

On the other side of Nieu Bethesda was a farm that had a recently discovered series of bushman cave drawings dating back about 8,000 years. This was quite exciting, as the drawings are well preserved and depict a hunting scene. It appears both the San and Khosian people from ancient times spent some time in this area. When we returned to PE, André shared with us that they recently discovered in the Karoo area some evidence in which animals first started changing from egg laying animals to egg bearing. Sort of the beginning of mammals millions of years ago. Unfortunately we were unable to visit this site. Also at the farm were some inscriptions in the rock that date back to the Anglo-Boer War of 1899-1902. This was the war between the Boers (Afrikan farmers) and the British. Many of the fiercest battles were fought within the Karoo area and the countryside is dotted with remnants of this conflict. The British eventually prevailed, which started a long and sordid history of antagonism between the two cultures. I would like to come back at some future date and spend time really getting to know this war, especially since we believe one of Kathy's direct ancestors (a great-great-grandfather or something to that extent) fought for the British in this war.

Our weekend in the Karoo ended with a drive through Mountain Zebra National Park, where we once again saw hoards of antelope and Zebra. The catch of the day, though, was a hyena skulking across the road. We caught a glimpse of him and were excited; especially since that was the first hyena we have seen since coming to South Africa!