South Africa -Day 7

We left Hotel Numbai at 8 a.m. and headed to Graskop for some shopping "for the ladies." It is a very small town and they love tour buses. We were able to mosey through shops, and barter in the small open booths that were street-side.   

Once we pumped up the Graskop economy we headed to our next stop. On the way toward the canyon we passed several small villages with astonishing unemployment, and they also have a high number of people dying from AIDS. Three of five babies born in this part of South Africa are born HIV positive.  

We arrived at the Three Rondavels at Blyde River Canyon. It is the largest green canyon in the world. The views were stunning. 

On the drive through the area was beautiful, and very agricultural. They have irrigation (no dryland), and grow soybeans, tobacco, and macadamia nuts. Cash crops and citrus are popular in the valley. The white building type structures are actually hail nets used to protect the most valuable crop - citrus trees. The parcels of crops are broken up with tree lines for wind breaks to protect the crops. 

We visited Maepa School. This school has been built from the ground up with sponsorships from Canadians, and other business contacts. The school is comprised of 60 percent orphans. Theft is also a problem in the school/rural area. 

The school is supported by Hannah Lodge. Before this support three years ago the school were very disadvantaged. The resources now available help children learn how to read and write.  The children are from very poor villages surrounding the school. 

Then it was off to Hannah Lodge. It is a remote and beautiful hotel. We had lunch and a couple hours to get settled in before heading out for a late afternoon safari. 

Our first animal spotted was a group of warthogs. Out guide told us that when warthogs move they put their tails in the air as a signal for the family follow and stay together. 

We also spotted monkeys, nyalas, water buck, oryx, impala, tsessabe, zebra, ostriches, red hartebeast, and giraffes.

While we were out on a safari on the reserve we stopped to learn about the sable project. The project is aimed at getting sable genetics back to what they used to be. This project is big money in the area. Breeders are active in the area. The concept is similar to purebred cattle operations in the states. 

Our evening ended with a boma dinner, or bonfire. We sat around the fire and listened as Walter talked about culture in South Africa. Walter works with the lodge and is a good friend of Marius. 

Walter spoke about the influence of the witch doctors or songoma. It is a real problem in this part of the world. There is a mentality that things like killing others works to cure ailments or get rich, so a cycle continues. People here are so poor that risk taking to get rich (bringing someone a human head) is greater. 

As Walter discussed his heritage (his grandparents were songomas) a seed from an overhead tree dropped into my glass of beer. I'm not sure what this meant, but it had me on high alert. I don't think I want to mess with a witch doctor. 

Tomorrow we head to Pretoria and a goat farm and butchery.