South African Township Tour
The South African townships originated when rural South Africans left their tribal areas and migrated to the cities, setting up squatter camps on the periphery. These areas later became the locations where the policy of Apartheid was enforced—with black South Africans being restricted to living in the townships while white South Africans lived in the main areas of the towns and cities. The policy of Apartheid (“apartness”) ended when South Africans achieved racial equality in 1994, but the townships live on as inexpensive places to reside, and their inhabitants are still predominantly black South Africans. Most white South Africans, and most international visitors to South Africa, have never been inside a township. Indeed, the British Foreign Office advises visitors to avoid entering the townships by themselves.
It’s now possible to visit a South African township on an organized tour, which provides a fabulous insight into the way of life of the large number of people for whom the townships are home. The tours vary from those organised on a personal basis by a township resident for a small group of two to four people, to scheduled tours conducted by minibus. I visited a Walmer Township near Port Elizabeth in 2009, and this article describes what happens on such a tour. Our guide was Wicliff, who has lived all his life in Walmer. He was there during the formative years of the protest movement which eventually led to racial equality in South Africa. He has seen the history of his people’s struggle first-hand, and participated in many aspects of it.
Wicliff picked us up by car and drove us past the Women’s Co-operative, and along the highway where unemployed tradesmen display their tools of trade in the hope of landing some work. We then turned into Walmer Township, passing the woodland which holds the initiation grounds where young men are physically and emotionally initiated into adult life. If an initiation ceremony is in progress, it can be visited. Turning into the residential streets, we saw the new buildings recently constructed by the government. Some are single-storey, some two-storey. They’re compact but functional. Other streets hold row after row of shacks: informal self-built housing. Some of the houses have piped water; others depend on a communal tap on the street corner. Some of the houses have electricity—and lying across the road are dozens of extension cables carrying power illegally and dangerously to houses without an electricity supply.
Unlit shops and little churches are sprinkled around the township. We took a short walk and saw a sample of the local life. The informal economy is alive and well here, and it seems that every block has a house with a hairdressing price list displayed outside. We visited a pre-school center and a large primary school, where the children seemed happy. A school meals service is provided for those who cannot afford lunch. The head teacher’s office had a computer and a phone, but the classrooms themselves were as spartan as could be. Wicliff then took us inside a self-built Xhosa home, which turned out to have been built by his father. This house had electricity and was equipped with a kettle, microwave oven, television set, and lighting.
All through the tour Wicliff told us of the events in Walmer’s history, and how it came to be what it is today. Afterwards he took us to the Red Location Museum, which chronicles the struggle against Apartheid (presented in what I thought was a very fair and balanced way). We arranged our Township Tour through Nelson Mandela Bay Tours, at a cost of R900 ($120) for two adults and two children. These tours can be customised to suit the needs of the client, and evening tours can include a home-cooked Xhosa meal and a visit to a local shebeen (township pub). A tip of R50 or R100 for the guide would be appropriate, and you will certainly want to make a donation to the school when you see how much it would benefit.
The Garden Route is that part of the N2 highway which follows the coast between Mossel Bay and Plettenberg Bay, but the term has no official definition and we—like many others—are extending it to the west, north and east to make a practical itinerary starting at Port Elizabeth and proceeding generally westwards towards Cape Town. Both of these cities have good air connections, and one-way car hires are readily available.
Day 1: Arrive at Port Elizabeth airport. Take a Township Tour in the afternoon or evening. Stay overnight at a B&B in Port Elizabeth.
Day 2: Drive to Addo Elephant National Park. Do a self-drive game-spotting loop or two, followed by a guided night drive on an open safari truck. Stay overnight in a chalet or rondavel at Addo Rest Camp within the park. (If you’re keen to spot all of the “Big 5″ game animals, you may wish to add extra days at Addo.)
Day 3: Head west along the N2 to Tsitsikamma National Park. Take the short walk to the suspension bridges across the Storms River Mouth, and the boat trip up the gorge (weather permitting). Stay tonight and tomorrow night at Storms River Mouth Rest Camp, within the park.
Day 4: For a quiet day, walk along the coast to the cave and waterfall and back (requires some easy boulder scrambling). If time permits, there are further walks through the forest. For the more adventurous, take a kloofing trip (canyoning or abseiling) or a zipline tour through the forest canopy.
Day 5: Visit the animal sanctuaries at Plettenberg Crags. Start with the Monkey Sanctuary where you’ll walk amongst many types of monkeys and lemurs. Next door is Birds of Paradise, a netted valley where large numbers of birds fly free. Around the corner is the Elephant Sanctuary, where small groups can have close contact with elephants (touching and even riding them). Stay overnight at Natures Valley Rest Camp, within another part of the Tsitsikamma National Park.
Day 6: Continue westwards. Break the journey at Knysna where you can drive out to the heads and look down from the clifftop lookout. At Wilderness National Park you can hire canoes and paddle to a lagoon, to the beach, or upstream to a rope-operated raft (called a pont) from which you can access a boardwalk that takes you to a waterfall. Stay overnight at the Ebb And Flow Rest Camp within the park.
Day 7: Leave the coast at George for a scenic drive to Oudtshoorn where you can visit an ostrich farm (and sit on or even ride one of these birds if you’re not too heavy). A little further is Cango Caves where you can take the Adventure Tour which adds a few tight squeezes and wiggly climbs to the usual cave tour. Stay overnight at Wilgewandel, a holiday farm 2km from the caves.
Day 8: Return to Oudtshoorn. If it’s hot, head north along the N12 to the waterfall, then back westwards to Calitzdorp Spa where you can lie in the hot springs pool under the stars, next to the hut where you stay overnight. If it’s cold, skip the waterfall because you’ll want to spend longer in the hot pool.
Day 9: Drive to Bontebok National Park near Swellendam where you can do a game drive to see zebra and bontebok. Stay overnight in the chalets here, which are delightfully situated with large balconies overlooking the river. You may see the camp’s resident tortoises.
Day 10: Head to Hermanus, a coastal town with a lovely seaside ambience. Hermanus offers the best land-based whale watching in the world. In September and October you’re virtually guaranteed to see whales passing by. At other times it varies, but there’s also a chance to see dolphins (which are really a kind of whale) and seals. Stay at a B&B in Hermanus.
Day 11: Just past Simons Town is Boulders Beach, which is colonised by penguins. You can watch them from a boardwalk for a small fee, and can go down to a beach where sometimes you’ll be swimming with penguins. Or, just head along the coastal path south of the official viewing places and you’ll can see penguins for free: those who don’t know about the “official” nesting places. Stay overnight in one of the local B&B or self-catering places, many of which have sea views.
Day 12: Head to Cape Point. You can visit the eco-observatory (via funicular railway if you don’t fancy a short uphill walk), or the Cape Of Good Hope (the most south-westerly point in Africa). There are some stunning beaches with pure white sand, and you may also see one of the local troupes of baboons. Don’t feed them! Cape Town is not far away, so you can make your way there for tonight and tomorrow night.
Day 13: If the weather is favourable, go up Table Mountain. Take the cable car, or walk up the Plattenklip Gorge track, or rock-climb the India Venster scrambling route (there are some awkward exposed bits). Have a meal at the top, while you take in fabulous views.
Day 14: Visit the V&A Docks, a “tourist trap” full of craft and curio shops, and restaurants. From here you can take a fascinating 30-minute boat trip around the working parts of the docks, or a ferry trip and guided tour to Robben Island where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned, before going to the airport for an evening departure.
My family did a similar trip to this in August 2009, although we squeezed in an extra day in Addo Elephant National Park, and a day at Karoo National Park. We didn’t do all of the things mentioned here: gotta leave something for next time!
International travellers are sometimes hesitant to drive in another country, but self-drive is a great way to see the highlights of South Africa. Driving is on the left, as in 30% of the world including Japan, Australasia, and the British Isles. Distances are in kilometers, and speeds in kilometers per hour. Your drivers license is valid if it is in English and includes your photo and signature (if not, get an international drivers license before you leave your own country). Car rental is widely available, including one-way hires. The long-distance national routes, whose route numbers start with N, are generally very well built with smooth surfaces and wide shoulders. Regional and metropolitan routes are usually also very good, although some routes are suffering from a lack of maintenance. In remote areas there are unsurfaced gravel roads, but even these are usually well-maintained. Only “off the beaten track” might a four-wheel-drive vehicle be an advantage. There are a few sections of toll road, but the charges are low.
Roads are generally well-signed, but there’s a catch. Although all new signs are in English, there are still many Afrikaans language signs around. If you’re going to the airport, you may find that every second sign is to Lughawe instead. Cape Town is alternatively Kaapstad, and Weg is a road. Geen Ingang means No Entry. Links and Regs are Left and Right, so Hou links, regs verby means Keep Left, Pass on the Right. Geen Parkering means No Parking. Verbode means prohibited. Some of the long place names are shortened in common usage. Joburg means Johanneburg, PE means Port Elizabeth, and Plett means Plettenberg Bay. Outside of the cities, traffic density is low (in line with the low levels of car ownership in South Africa). In some areas, you may drive long distances without seeing many other cars.
Driving is differently-disciplined to what westerners may be used to. It’s a custom for slow vehicles to drive on the road shoulder when being overtaken (if the road has a tarred shoulder), after which the overtaker will briefly flash the hazard warning lights to say “thanks”. Speed limits are signposted, and are generally 120 km/hr on motorways and national routes, 100 km/hr on rural roads, 80 km/hr in congested areas and 60 km/hr in urban areas. Always expect to encounter pedestrians, even on freeways. They may be on the shoulder, or in the traffic lanes. People without cars use the roads to get wherever they are going. They may be carrying heavy loads in their arms, on their heads, in shopping trolleys or on makeshift trailers. Animal-drawn vehicles are sometimes encountered, as are herds of animals being driven along the road. Animals such as baboons or various kinds of antelope may jump across the road at any time.
On minor roads in rural areas, children or the impoverished may occasionally run out in front of you, to get you to stop so that they can beg. Whatever you do, don’t collide with them. The trick is to deter them by driving as if you have no intention of stopping, whilst being prepared to stop or take evasive action if necessary. The “four-way stop” may be familiar to Americans but not to Europeans. It’s an intersection where each road has a Stop Sign, usually with a “4″ attached underneath. Everyone must stop when they reach the intersection, and whoever got there first has right of way. In ambiguous situations this is usually sorted out with generosity, good humor and hand gestures. When parking, you may be ushered into a vacant spot by a car guard, who may be working formally or informally and is usually wearing a green safety vest. This person acts as a car watcher to protect you car while you are away. These car watchers are a recent institution, and not universally welcomed, but they give some reassurance to the tourist worried about security. They are usually unpaid and appreciate (or sometimes expect) a tip. Tip R2 for a short stop, or R5 for a long stay. You can pay when you return to your vehicle. For safety, always drive with your doors locked, and do not drive in unfamiliar areas at night. Always know where you are and where you are going. Don’t unintentionally drive into the townships or away from the tourist routes. The mobile emergency numbers are 112 and 911. It’s prohibited to hold a phone while driving.
Petrol stations are called garages, and are all full-service. The pump attendant fills the tank, collects payment through your car window, and delivers the change. He isn’t paid enough to live on, and depends on tips. It’s up to you, but typical amounts would be R2 for a fill, and R5 if the attendant has cleaned your front and rear windows (which would be expected if you’ve been driving through dusty rural areas). Until mid-2009 garages were not permitted to accept credit cards as payment for fuel, so make sure you have enough cash. Although this law has been repealed, it’s likely to be many years before credit card payments become commonly-available. Garages commonly have toilets and a small shop attached. Finally, don’t panic if you see the word “ROBOT” painted on the road ahead. That’s just the rather quaint South African term for a traffic light, and the sign is warning that there are traffic lights ahead. When traffic lights were introduced they replaced the hand signals of traffic policemen, and became known as robot policemen which was later shortened to robot.
When you see the animals, you can stop a while and watch their natural behaviors. You can see the elephants looking after their young, the lions stalking their prey (and killing it if you are in the right place at the right time), the leopards with their kills dragged up into the trees, the antelopes in all their gracefulness, and the rhinos and hippos looking like they own the place. The animals are used to seeing cars, so they are usually not bothered if you drive close by and stop for a look. But for safety, don’t put any part of your body outside the profile of the vehicle, because the animals are not used to seeing human flesh. You need to get back by dark, when the camp gate closes, although you can go on a ranger-led safari drive after dark where you will see what goes on at night, picked out by the ranger’s spotlight. The camps feature a wide range of accommodation – from tent and caravan sites through basic huts and rondavels through to luxury chalets, with prices to match. You must pay a daily conservation charge to enter the park. It’s low for South Africans (who are already supporting the conservation activities through taxation), and higher for international visitors. If you’re a regular visitor you can buy an annual pass, which is around $400 for a family (2009).
At some picnic sites within the park, you are allowed to get out of your vehicle. These sites are not always fenced, but they are generally elevated with a good view, and prominent signs warn that you should check for lions before getting out of your vehicle, and that you do so at your own risk. There are also a range of carefully-controlled adventure activities such as horse-riding and foot safaris. On these events, you are accompanied by an armed ranger who will advise you how to keep out of trouble, and at a last resort can shoot a charging animal, though this is almost never necessary. At some game parks there are no dangerous animals such as lions or elephants. At Bontebok National Park, for example, the main large animals are bontebok (a kind of antelope) and zebra, and you are allowed to leave your vehicle. At other safe parks, there are hiking trails which may take you past duiker, monkeys etc.
Life in the overnight camps offers a unique African experience, with the sights and sounds of the nocturnal animals, combined with the smell of the braai (barbecue) and the dazzling starry nights so often found away from the city lights. Game parks are massively popular with international visitors, and accommodation must be booked well in advance. There are also many privately-run game reserves in South Africa, although most of them cater for the ultra-luxury market and the prices can be astronomical.
By some statistical measures (but not others), South Africa has the highest crime rate in the world. Robbery, murder and rape are astonishingly high. How can people live in a place like that? First, it should be said that the statistics, horrendous though they are, are somewhat misleading. South Africa is unusual in that it has high crime levels combined with a reasonably reliable reporting infrastructure. It’s likely that there are many other countries, particularly elsewhere in Africa, where crime is as high or higher but does not appear in the official statistics. Second, it’s the case that South African crime is not evenly distributed. It is much higher away from the main tourist areas, and is particularly high in downtown Johannesburg and in the high-density urban areas around Johannesburg. By way of contrast, crime levels in the coastal and inland towns of Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces are lower, and life in these parts seems almost normal.
Even so, tens of millions of South Africans live with a very high risk of crime every day. How do they cope? Humans are remarkably adaptable creatures, and by taking a range of precautionary measures the personal risk of crime is greatly reduced. Here are some things which we noticed in our travels through the Cape provinces, including Addo, Cape Town and the Garden Route:
- In most places, people don’t walk around at night. If you go out to a restaurant, drive there, and drive straight back afterwards. There’s no taking a stroll around after dark. Save walking for the daytime. Away from the Cape, there are places where people won’t even drive at night.
- An industry of car guards has sprung up in recent years. These car watchers patrol a car park or a stretch of road, keeping an eye out for crime. They are generally unpaid and depend on tips for their income, and they sometimes put pressure on motorists to pay. It sounds like a protection racket (“better pay me, otherwise something bad might happen to your car”) but that’s not how it works because you can pay the tip when you return to your undamaged and unstolen vehicle. The expected tip would be R2 or R5, which is less than a US dollar.
- Are you wanting to walk through a quiet park, or go on a hike? Better go in a group instead of alone. Four people is generally considered enough to greatly reduce (although not eliminate) the risk of mugging.
- Don’t display valuables! Make sure your car looks completely empty (even if you have valuables in the boot). Don’t display jewellery, flashy watches, mobile phones, etc. Oddly enough, despite this we did see a large number of photographers with expensive cameras and big lenses.
- You may wish to fit your car with smash-resistant side windows. And always drive with the doors locked.
- Protect your house with burglar bars on the windows, an outer steel door, and a high wall or fence (possibly electrified).
- Perhaps live in a gated estate.
- Don’t use ATMs in quiet areas. Find an ATM in a bank, shopping mall or hotel. Don’t approach the machine if there are people “hanging around”. If anyone approaches you while you are withdrawing money, cancel the transaction and leave the area. The US Department of State advises that if you see a device attached to the ATM you should move away and take cover to avoid shrapnel wounds, because someone may be in the process of blowing up the ATM. Really!
Around Johannesburg, the rate of car-jackings (a car being stolen by forcing the driver out of the vehicle) is very high. When stopping at traffic lights, many drivers leave an extra gap as “wiggle room” to make a hasty exit if attacked. Some drivers always keep the gas tank less than half-full, believing that the car-jacker is likely to choose a car showing a full tank of petrol.
How can you ever relax in such a place? Well it turns out that you can. Many places are gated, with an attendant controlling the entry and exit. If it’s also a place that has an admission charge, that keeps out most of the troublemakers. And so you will find that as you enter the gate around (say) a fenced national park, you’ll need to show your identification and booking details. Once inside, you can relax and enjoy life as you would in other countries.
I don’t want to discourage people from visiting South Africa as tourists. It’s a fabulous place, but you need to switch your default behavior from “there’s not much risk of crime happening to me”“crime is all around, and I need to modify my behavior to make it unlikely to happen to me”.
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