"Crossing the Karoo" Jesshiggins's photos around Cape Town, South Africa (karoo crossing)
Preview of Jesshiggins's blog at TravelPod. Read the full blog here: http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jesshiggins/africa2005/1115019180/tpod.html This blog preview was made by TravelPod using the TripAdvisor™ TripWow slideshow creator. Entry from: Cape Town, South Africa Entry Title: "Crossing the Karoo" Entry: "Mainland Africa at last. One would think I'd have all kinds of exciting things to write, but nope--I'm still in recovery mode. I landed in Johannesburg, spoke a bunch of English, ate some falafel, marveled at all the new and shiny buildings, breathed a huge sigh of relief, and promptly got sick. It was just a cold, and a blessing in disguise. I needed a breather after Madagascar, and only the brief but utter breakdown of my body could make me take one. So I spent an unexpected five days lounging around the hostel. I was so happy to be back in the company of other travelers. Getting off the beaten track is great, but I think getting back on it is really underrated. There's not much to say about Rosebank, the Johannesburg suburb where I stayed. Much of suburban life here takes place in enclosed shopping malls, so any attempt at character seems artificial and out-of-place. I do, however, love that the ATM asks me if I want to continue my transaction in Zulu. Why yes, I do! But who knows what I would manage to do to my accounts. And it's wild to hear the people around me at lunch gabbing on in a click language (Xhosa, I think). I decided to wait on Kruger, since a 4-day tour costs about a kajillion dollars (or, 1/4 kajillion per day). Instead, I found a ride to Cape Town with a lovely Swiss-German couple who had brought six different kinds of cheese and even more kinds of chocolate with them from Switzerland. Obviously I fell instantly and deeply in love with them. We took four days to cross the country, stopping in little towns along the way. We crossed The Great Karoo, or as Roland calls it, The Boring Karoo (hey, we didn't ask him to drive it all!) It reminds me of parts of the American West, all open scrubland and irregular mesas. We passed herds of cattle and sheep, the latter sometimes being herded from horseback, and the occasional herd of antelope. And fences--miles and miles and miles of fences in the middle of nowhere. Once in awhile we'd see something exotic, like a pair of ostriches or a black-faced monkey peering at us from the side of the road. Despite these signs of life, the semidesert seemed merciless, the dusty brush withering under intense sun. It was utterly silent. It felt like one good rain might make the difference between a bleating cow and a bleached pile of bones. And in empty places like that, you know that ultimately nature doesn't care which way it goes. I'm not the first to be morosely touched by the Karoo. In Graaft-Reinet, we watched the sun set over Desolation Valley. An apt name, but terribly hard to explain to my traveling companions--how do you describe desolation? Most visitors to South Africa overlook the Karoo, since at first glance there's not much to see, and its natural beauty is eclipsed by that of the Garden Route and the game parks. But it has an interesting history as the site of the Great Trek, when the Boers set out from Cape Town to escape English domination. I suppose it would be simplistic to say that they made the trek solely because they wanted to keep slaves (and the English had just banned slavery), but that was apparently a big factor. Anyway, the Karoo is one of those unique places where a beautiful (in my mind) landscape intersects with the history of an entire country. The Karoo gradually gives way to rolling hills and green valleys, and finally the coast. So you see, even though I've done next to nothing for ten days, I can still write four pages about it. Sheesh! Next on the docket: A cage dive with Great Whites (and mom, by "Great Whites" I mean "kittens"), then an overland tour through Namibia and Botswana." Read and see more at: http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jesshiggins/africa2005/1115019180/tpod.html Photos from this trip: 1. "_Lion park" 2. "_Big boy" 3. "_A white lion" 4. "_A girl's got to eat!" 5. "_HOW CUTE IS THIS???" 6. "_The Karoo" 7. "_Hills in the Karoo" 8. "_Karoo flora" 9. "_Graaft-Reinet" 10. "_Church in town" 11. "_Door in town" 12. "_Cutest dog in South Africa" 13. "_Wait! We have another contender" 14. "_My favorite hostel" 15. "_In Desolation Valley" 16. "_Sunset over Desolation Valley" 17. "_Can't get enough of that Karoo" See this TripWow and more at http://tripwow.tripadvisor.com/tripwow/ta-00cf-b95a-7c50?ytv4=1
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Added: 151 days ago by
SAClips
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