Driving the Garden Route

While travelling around with my folks we drove the Garden Route from Port Elizabeth all the way to Cape Town. We started in Jeffrey's Bay where we had a fabulous view of the ocean, palm trees and had buffet breakfast every morning with all kinds of cheese enough to make you drool. I was told that there are dolphins that frequent the bay which got me all sorts of excited. They are my favorite animal on earth and one I've never had the pleasure of seeing in the wild. Every morning I would wake up and run outside to the dock to watch for them. The second afternoon we were lounging after a terribly hard day of eating, swimming, walking and more swimming. I went outside to dry my towel out and happened to glance at the waves. Out of nowhere, I saw a silver bullet shoot from the water. I watched again to make sure and sure enough, Dolphins were everywhere. I shouted to have my parents come see as I was glued to my binoculars.

As I watched, I realized that I was seeing literally over a hundred dolphins so close that I could see their eyes. When it became clear there were dozens of pods out there, I ran down to the shoreline. From the bench there, without help from binoculars, I was able to watch them feeding, riding the surf and playfully soaring through the air. For the next three days we had the joy of watching hundreds of dolphins play right before our eyes at several different beaches. When we reached the next beach town, Knysna, we had a private balcony overlooking a small and secluded beach. The first morning there, for hours, dolphins came and plopped themselves directly in front of our view while they ate, swam, splashed and performed our own special show. Dozens at a time simultaneously jumped through the sky, sped through the water and the water was so clear you could see them ride in the waves before they crashed over. It was amazing.

At each place we stopped, the views were mesmerizing and the food was fabulous. However, it's not all glitz and glamour. There was no place we visited where you were able to completly remove yourself from this country. It's easy to think you've walked into the Italian Riviera or the beaches of Greece as the appearance of incredible oppulence takes over. The castles we saw along beaches are for vacationing soles around the world. Hotels and B&B's are of such class you may not even find it most places in the States. But when you look closer and drive along the roads, not one kilometer away are townships and informal settlements housing only the black population with broken windows, holes in the rooftops and incredible amounts of garbage. There often seemed to be little or no electricity and portable toilets often lined the perimeter of the township. We noticed in most places, with the exception of Cape Town that the only available employment for most blacks working was cleaning or serving. The level of poverty compared to the wealth next door often left a pit in my stomach, as well as my parents.

I suppose I've become accustomed to this way of life here as I work in these townships daily, while going home to my apartment. I asked some of the B&B owners how they feel about having to drive past the poverty daily. Most responded by saying they don't like it so they don't drive there. In other words, people are turning their heads. It still strikes me just how much poverty exists in this country. Elections are coming up in SA soon and a new president will take place. I can only hope after years of broken promises and failure to meet the needs of the people, this new man will make a change. As incredibly beautiful as this country is, I feel that unfortunately most are not aware of what is happening here. While I watch Dolphins swim and eat way too much French cheese, others are unable to eat anything other than bread. I turn this thought over many times a day and hope that one day the wealth will become a bit more equal.

When finally arriving in Cape Town, I was so happy to see that the city has done well in providing equal job opportunity and there are numerous reminders throughout the city of Apartheid. Means to prevent that level of oppression are in place and people speak of everyone as equals. It was peace of mind to finally speak with multiple ethnic groups and background where you didn't have to hold your tongue in fear of sounding racist, discriminatory or degrading. It is my hope that one day anyone here will have the means to sit on their own private balcony while watching dolphins swim free in the ocean, drink their coffee and take in the clean ocean air the way I was able to with my family.