"Town... town.... town"

Week 7- Personal/Cultural

There is no doubt meeting new people in a completely new and differing environment always promotes interaction.   This has certainly been the case within South Africa!   In the time I have been here I have met many people from all around the world and I believe I have further developed my communicative skills and my ability to interact and engage with others.  The experience of being thrown out of my comfort zone has greatly developed my ability to live and work independently both in relation to my academic work alongside the day to day tasks that are completed by someone at home.

I still cannot believe the opportunity and privilege that we have been given by Stranmillis to visit; experience and learn in such a diverse and friendly nation.  It is incredible to believe that we have nearly reached our half way point in our trip and I can tell you neither us want it to end.   Spending time far from home, working within a different curriculum and with different classmates has been a fantastic opportunity for me to develop and broaden my views in regards to independent thinking and open-mindedness.

As there were a few there were a few Americans joining us for our adventure we decided we needed a 7-seater car instead of  Citi- Golf” as it might have been a bit of squeeze to say the least.  I was to discover however that our journey was going to be even more comfortable as Paddy and Britney arrived back from the car hire garage with a 9-seater mini bus, with no additional cost.  On our way to collect the rest of the girls at their accommodation I couldn’t resist the temptation of hanging out the window and shouting, “town...town...town.”   You will be glad to know that I am not crazy but I was simply embracing the slogan commonly used by the ‘comby’ drivers encourage potential customers for the taxi ride into or away from town.   

As we drove out of PE and past Jeffery’s Bay, I can fully appreciate and understand why Velton and Reid (2010) highlight the Garden route as the best know feature of the Western Cape, as it is simply beautiful! We drove along this slender stretch of coastal plain and made our first stop at the Storms River Bridge were Paddy thought it would be a good idea to check the foundations of the bridge and make sure the weight of our mini-bus would not too much for the bridge to withhold!  As you can see from the photograph he deemed the bridge fit for purpose and so we ventured further towards Knysna and our  then through to Buffalo Bay were our backpackers was located.

That afternoon we ventured back into Knysna (pronounced “Nize-nuh”) which stands at the hub of the Garden Route. Although it has no beaches this is compensated for by its hilly setting around the Knysna lagoon, it has several handsome forests, as well as  good opportunities for adventure sports, and a indeed a vibrant market, in which we purchased some tokens to take home.  I had the opportunity that evening to speak to a local restaurateur about the distinctive atmosphere found in and around the town.  JJ (John-James) explained that this atmosphere derives from the small historic core of Georgian and Victorian buildings and landmarks, which gives it the character absent from most of the Garden Route holiday towns.   You will be glad to hear as a history student I felt obliged to find out a little more about the origins of the town and how it has developed throughout the years.

 

At the beginning of the 19^th Century, the only white settlements outside Cape Town were a handful of towns that would have considered themselves lucky to have even one horse.  Knysna, an undeveloped backwater hidden in the forest, was indeed no exception.  The name comes from a Khoi word meaning “hard to reach”, and this remained its defining character well into the 20^th Century.  George Rex, a “colourful colonial administrator,” was not deterred by the distance. He later “placed himself beyond the pale of decent society by taking a coloured mistress.   This of course caused immediate uproar in Britain and he was shunned by his friends and family alike.  Rex however did not let etiquette or social position stand in his way and was determined to ‘make a killing’ shipping hardwood out of the lagoon.  By the time of Rex’s death in 1839 Kynsna had become a major timber centre, but at a price the forest was close to destruction.  It narrowly escaped devastation by far sighted and effective conservation policies introduced in the 1880s.

At the turn of the 20^th Century Knysna was still a remote place and its forests were inhabited by isolated and inbred communities made up of the impoverished descendants of the woodcutters.  It wasn’t until after the Second World War that Knysna became a popular destination for the white colonials to settle and it has continued to grow ever since.

On Saturday we travelled a little further inland observing the wonderful terrain around us to an ostrich farm.  We arrived at the farm to learn that indeed a wedding was to occur later that afternoon.  We all looked at each other and I can safely say why an ostrich farm?  But as we quickly reminded ourselves of the famous slogan TIA (THIS IS AFRICA). 

We were given a tour of the farm and were informed of how incredibly dangerous these birds could be and how quick they could run.  Needless to say our guide later said that there brain was smaller than one of its eyeballs, so this gave us a little more confidence in relation to actually riding these strange birds.  We were given a clear indication of how unintelligent ostriches actually are by watching the handlers catch each one for us to ride.   The handlers placed a bag over the head of the bird and it was incredible we saw the ostrich come to halt and remain completely calm even when being handled. Our guide told us that when ostriches cannot see you they assume that you cannot see them and therefore allow you to handle them and sit on their back.  After watching everyone else attempt to ride an ostrich, it was my turn.  However, unlike the rest of my companions the guide simply informed me to sit on the ostrich and hold onto its wings and see what happens when the hood is removed from the birds head.  As you can imagine this filled me with tremendous confidence and I successfully completed my first ride on an ostrich.  Unfortunately this was not the case; I lasted between 20-30seconds on the ostrich before it came to a dramatic end, with me lying on the ground!  This memory will not disappear too fast that is for sure!

Later that day we had the opportunity to visit a local zoo were we had been told by JJ, that we could pet and play with some cheetah cubs.  Of course I was absolutely ecstatic and could not wait to get up close to another of the big five!  The animals were not as playful as the lion cubs we had visited a few weeks ago, this was perhaps due to the clear money making environment they were being brought up in.   We ended the weekend by chilling out on the beautiful beaches of Buffalo Bay, situated just outside Buffalo Bay and explored the deserted beaches.

 On our journey back to PE we were very unfortunate to be victims of the current road works occurring along the Garden Route.  A car had decided that it was a good idea to overtake on a road that the tarmac process had not yet been completed and as a result a chipping flew up from the road and cracked our windscreen.  The drive home was the only disappointing element of the whole trip as we all assumed that we were going to be charged to replace the windscreen!  This was indeed the case and Paddy informed that we were going to have to pay £100 each to replace the windscreen!  Although we had this small blunder on our journey home from the Garden route, it is another experience in which we can all learn from and try to avoid the next time we rent a car.  This is a minor challenge in our experience here and I think it is important that we remember the once and a life time opportunity we have been given, and take full advantage of our time here in South Africa.

Until next time,

“Baai” (bye)

Callum.