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January 13 thru January 21, 2006 - Graskop to Bloemfontein


Photos

Shiffy and Benny have many photos for this report, but unfortunately, the photos did not arrive yet due to inadequate Internet connection in this region.

Friday January 13

Marius, Andre’s neighbour, who is in charge of security at a near-by gold mine, told us that it would be possible to visit his work place and tour the mine. He gave us a phone number, 013-768-1030 and told us to ask for Leona.

The gold mine is located outside the city of Pilgrim Rest, a short drive from Graskop.

As we drove toward the mine, we drove on a long gravel road. The gravel was grey, even and felt soft under the wheels. Benny said, “it must be the waste from the gold mine,” and indeed it was! We were driving on the gold reject!

When we arrived at the gate, we saw hills of the same grey gravel. Johan, the plant manager, gave us each a hard hat and took us for a private tour of the plant. He is not used to speaking English. In this part of South Africa even the blacks speak Afrikaans. We followed Johan up and down narrow metal stairways, passing large machines, belts carrying gravel moving in different directions, and workers busy on every level of the construction. Johan’s phone was ringing, he was giving instructions, watching the men trying to free the belt of the grinding machine that got stuck and at the same time was educating us on the process of gold making.

In California, gold was discovered in the rivers and was panned. Here the gold is embedded in the rock. One ton of the raw material will produce 10 gr. of gold! Johan told us that the company, Smith and (?) owns three gold mines and one uranium mine. This gold mine is the smallest they have, it only produces 30kg of gold per month.

Johan explained the process: the raw material (ore), grey rock, is dug out and moves into the large grinding machine. It is being ground into smaller stones. Some of the stones contain gold deposit and some do not. The stones with the gold deposit are heavier, because gold is denser than the stone. (Density difference). Water is added to the gravel and it is being spun very fast in a large spinning machine. The spinning separates the heavier stones with the gold (reef) from the stones that do not contain gold (waste). The ratio is 70% waste and 30% reef. One belt moves the waste outside the plant to the grey hills to be sold as construction material. The stones with the gold deposit, the reef, are moved by another belt to a finer grinding machine.

The pieces of the reef are so beautiful and shiny. We were up at the plant and watched as the wet golden stones poured out of the spinning machine. Johan handed me one golden stone. I told him, “you can give me none or four, I’ve got four grandkids,” so he let me pick four pretty shiny golden rocks--some of them are very gold with some purple in them. I stood there, and took my time to pick the prettiest golden stones, and now Dean, Chad, Owen and Miles will each have his own golden reef.

The belt moves the “reef” to another grinding machine that grinds it to finer particles of 2mm.

Different materials are added to the mixture. Johan showed us a bag of very fine coal that is used in the process. The coal is imported from the Philippines and is made of coconut shells. The pieces are tiny, about 3mm and feel like tiny sponges. Cyanide is also used in the process; the cyanide dissolves the gold into liquid form. It is also being soaked in water for a day. Heated to 130 degrees, the mixture is passed through steel wool… negative and positive electric ions…. I am lost now. And the final product is 85% gold.

On our way out, Johan told security, “I gave her few rocks.” Everyone goes though a search on the way out of the gold mine.

On our way back, we stopped at the city of Pilgrim Rest. The story goes that when the pilgrims arrived and found gold they rested, and that is the reason that the place is called Pilgrim Rest. The old gold mine was turned into a museum and the city is just another “tourist trap” with lots of local merchants who sell everything from wood-carvings, weaving, ceramics, beading. Some have nice stores, some put out small stalls or just sit on the side of the road. We visited a few craft shops. Driving out of the city, we watched group of local men who were laying grey gravel on a road. Johan told us that as part of the “Black Empowerment Program” the mine gives the grey gravel to the local people so that they can use it to build roads and make bricks for their homes.

In the afternoon we drove to the Forest Fall, where we enjoyed a beautiful 4km hike through rain forest that led to the fall. Forest Fall is one of the falls along Blyde’s River Canyon. It rained on and off, but the raincoat and the umbrella help us stay relatively dry.

Shabbat, January 14

The rain finally stopped, time to witness the magic of Blyde's River Canyon, the Pinnacle, the Wonder View, God’s Window and the Bourk’s Luck Potholes.

God’s Window finally opened. I stood at the “window”, on top of the world, with about a 400 meter straight drop below me. Water was rushing below and the vast canyon was busy with a dense forest, green hills, red soil and yellow roads further down, mountains as far as you can see. Flat topped mountains and sharp topped mountains. Birds were gliding in the canyon and the air had spicy aroma.

The sky was a piece of artwork of the most beautiful blue, darker to the very light, with curly clouds and straight clouds. Some clouds were bright white, others were very dark grey and all the shades in between. The clouds were on so many levels. Some came up from the mountains, as if they were connecting the earth to the sky, other were moving fast, some were moving slow. The cliffs were black, with white spots. Plants came out of the cliffs, ferns of different shapes. Trees, bushes, various plants and flowers were on all levels. The trees nearby had ferns and other trees looked like they were growing beards or hair with moss growing on them. There were yellow and purple flowers and white trumpet flowers. Aloe trees were hanging from the rocks. The rock seemed very old. Every shape and color was represented in this amazing Window of God. So many contradictions and it all fitted so well together. I was painting the scenery with my eyes. I will need to mix so many colors.

We were glued to the place. My heart was pounding, admiring God’s creation.

Next to God’s Window is a rain forest and we enjoyed a very green walk. Back in the parking lot, there was a long line of the familiar stalls, with the same merchandise, carved wood, wooden spoons, baskets, beads, batik, drums, animals leather, sculpting with aluminium can strips, wire sculpting, masks, ceramics and more.

The Blyde’s River Canyon is an impressive 30km long canyon. We also stopped at the Pinnacle, an impressive rock formation, and finally at Bourk’s Luck Potholes.

The potholes are bizarre cylindrical holes that were carved into the rock by a whirlpool created by the Blyde and Treuer Rivers. From the top it looks like bones or scales.

In the car, I opened my fanny pack and took out my address book, the one that Karen made for me before we left, with the family photos on the cover. How many times I have looked at these photos during our travels. I was looking and thinking, this must also be God’s creation.

Andre Lutz, the owner of Green Castle Backpacker is a storyteller. He is in the process of writing a book entitled “The Tourist History of South Africa”. I’d like to quote few paragraphs from his book:

“… Slowly the land was colonized and civilization spread over the Dark Continent. Was it really civilization? Which system worked better? Taking 6 wives and producing 50 children with 6 foremen (or women) to work the fields and tent the goats and cows. Plant enough millet and sorghum and keep the kitchen and beer factory going. Grain is stored in natural containers like calabashes or bags make of skin. Flour is made by beating the corn with two rods in a hollow log, or grinding it between a round and a flat stone. Bread can be baked in the ashes of the fire.

This way man had much free time so he could become a fat and well respected elder or “Ikehla” (ring head). When a man goes bald, his top is polished, and the ring around the edges gets built up to accentuate it, and everybody respects him as he takes his place in the board of elders, ruling the tribe with the chief.

Us Westerners, to produce more food, we would invent a tractor. To plough the fields, a planter, a fertilizer, a harvester and a mill to turn it into flour. To store it, we start an iron ore mine, a steel foundry, sheet metal work, workers unions and factories making storage bins. We need newspapers to advertise in, roads, infrastructure, electricity, water supplies, and a transport system to get it in our shops.

To buy it we need money, a banking system, credit cards and Wall Street. To equip ourselves and our children to survive in this system, they are sentenced to 12-15 years slave labour in schools and universities. Actually, most well-meaning parents add another two years to this sentence. When the children reach the ripe age of 4 years old, they are stuck in kindergartens to prepare for the next ordeal.

If you do not die at a young age of stress or from a Wall Street collapse, you will go bald early. To hide this you use hair growth hormones, buy wigs, or hide it under a hat. When you get too old to work, you get thrown in an old age home.

Would not you rather have sat basking in the sun, in a small village, looking up to the mountains, watching your grandchildren growing up?

The only work you have to do is to attend occasional meetings of the elders, preceded by entertainment. This is taking the form of sensual dancing to the beat of drums, by all the young people of the village wearing no more than loincloths. At the same time you are being served bowls of food and much more drink by young topless girls. Which one is civilization?”

Sunday, January 15

We left Graskop at 5:30am. The two young female German doctors already left, they are going to Kruger Park today and want to see the sunrise. They are doing their internship in Pretoria Hospital.

We are going to have a long drive today; we are going to the famous Drakensberg Mountains. Drakensberg means “Dragon Mountains”, and the mountain range creates a natural wall between South Africa and the small kingdom of Lesotho. It is known for awe-inspiring landscapes and provided the backdrop for the film Zulu. One of the most famous views is the curve of the amphitheatre in the Royal Natal National Park. People lived in the Drakensberg thousands of years ago. There are many caves painted with the San rock paintings. The San were the Bushmen who lived in the area before the white settlers arrived.

The map is marked with many battlefields. Battles between the Zulu and the English and battles between the Boers and the British.

We stopped to shop for groceries at a small town, Bergville. We were the only whites in sight. We are so much more relaxed now. It was Sunday afternoon, many people in the street, and only one supermarket was open. It was dirty all around; young people were staring at us. Benny went shopping and I stayed to watch the car. We would have never stopped at a place such as this six weeks ago.

In the afternoon, we finally arrived at the Amphitheatre Backpackers, at the foot of the Drakensberg Mountains, with an open view of the “Amphitheatre” and the famous “Cathedral Pick”. The “Amphitheater” is an 8km wall of cliff and canyon, with the Tugela waterfall that drops 900 meters in five stages. The place has a large grassy area bordering fields of soybeans. Elsa and her partner own the place. Two hard-working women. They have a large staff of local African people that work at the place. They are building, painting, and working the fields, cleaning and washing. Elsa is the biological mother of an adorable black baby who is well taken care of by everyone in the camp. They try to sell you their tours: hike to the top of the amphitheatre, hike along the gorge at the bottom of the theatre and cultural trips to Lesotho. They tell you that you must have “mountaineer experience” to climb to the top of the amphitheatre. The guided tours are very expensive. We will do it our way.

For now, we pitch our tent on the grassy area and admit to ourselves that this is the best view we have had from our tent.

Monday, January 16

Paul and Tracy, both chemists who worked at pharmaceutical company in England and left their jobs to work as volunteers in conservation in Tanzania, will join us for the hike. Working as a volunteer is great--what does not make sense to me is that people actually pay a lot of money to work as volunteers and must provide their own transportation and accommodations. “What does it mean to work in conservation?” I asked. They told me that they survey the creatures that live in the area to determine if a company can establish a tea plantation at that place. If there are many animals that dwell in the area, the company will not get a permission to start the tea plantation.

Benny got the topographic map of the area. We got plenty of water, food and warm clothes. We are going to climb to the peak, called Mont-aux Sources at 3282m high. When we started the hike, a young German couple joined us, both engineers working for Bosch Company.

The six of us started going up the narrow path att the edge of the mountain. The view from below is spectacular. After two hours of climbing we arrived at the gulley. Gulley is a new word in my dictionary, simply because I did not have to use one before. It is the steep, narrow path between two walls of mountains. The only way to go up was to use all fours. I am glad I have strong arms and admired the mechanics of human beings at the same time. It took us about an hour to get to the top, climbing one rock at a time.

So after three hours of climbing we finally arrived to the top, where we were supposed to see the most amazing view of the amphitheatre, and a dark heavy cloud sat on top of the mountain, blocking our view. We were in heavy fog. The German couple wanted to go and see the waterfall, maybe the weather will clear. We walked for an hour, on top of the mountain, following the river. When we arrived to the edge, we heard the waterfall, but could not see a thing.

Next??? There is a ladder chain coming down the mountain. Took us another hour to find the ladder-chain. We went down the ladder, and when we came down, we realized that that was only the first ladder. There was another one, five times longer, I could not see the end of it, and it went under the cliff. My heart was pounding, how am I going to do it? The two young Germans went down. It took each one of them at least ten minutes. They were calling “next”.

Luckily Tracy said, “I am not going down this ladder, I will go back to the gulley”. Benny was trying to talk us into it, but Paul said that he didn’t want to go down the ladder either.

So now we went up the chain ladder, all the way up to the top of the mountain, trying to find the other mountain, where the gulley started. The clouds were low, visibility was very limited, Benny was leading the way, and Paul stayed at my side.

After about an hour we finally found the top of the gulley. Took us another hour to come down, me on all fours. It took two more hours to get to the parking lot. My legs were aching. It was 6 PM when we got down.

We were very tired when we got back to camp.

Tuesday, January 17

Today is a day for recuperating. I did my sun salutations just as the sun came up. Tracy joined me for yoga today. It is so beautiful at the camp. I did a big load of laundry and general cleaning. We went swimming, talked a lot. It was also a day of self-pampering, from getting a hair cut down to my little toes that were pretty abused after yesterday’s ordeal.

By the pool, we talked to the young German couple in the yellow tent next to us who are travelling Africa by motorcycle. They shipped it out from Germany. The two engineers from Ireland who are travelling with their South African friend and cook a big meat and veggie stew every night on the Poirky (???), a three legged black pot. And of course, Tracy and Paul.

Wednesday, January 18 Igal’s Birthday

The weather is beautiful today and we will hike the gorge, trying to view the amphitheatre and the Tugela Falls from the bottom. Tracy joined us for the hike. Paul is not feeling well. As we drive toward the Royal Natal National Park, we pass many small villages. The surrounding mountains are so beautiful, but the villages are not. There is not a culture of beautifying homes, around the homes or the common areas of the village. Kids in uniforms are walking to school. White shirts dark pants or skirts. Girls with no hair attachments, so their hair is very short.

We started the walk along the gorge, created by the Tugela river. We started at 6:30am to avoid the heat and it was a perfectly clear day. We walked along the gorge, with the river flowing below. We walked through a grassy path and through dense tropical forests. We saw many Portea trees, the national flower of South Africa. We crossed the river a few times and we climbed up the chain ladder. We continue climbing up a steep path, hanging on tree roots and pegs that were nailed to the rocks. At the end, we came to a swimming hole where the water was very cold and clear. We had a clear view of the amphitheatre and the water fall. We were well rewarded for the 8 hours of hiking.

Back in the camp everything hurt. I jumped into the pool while Benny was talking to the Irish couple, Kate and Jason. Jason was working on Kate’s dread-locks. Jason’s body is covered with tattoos. They are very sweet and friendly and cook delicious meals every night.

Thursday, January 19, Efi’s and Ronnie’s Birthday

We went grocery shopping at Bergville today. Tracy and Paul took a ride with us. It is really tough to depend on public transportation in South Africa. Travelling is very limited.

The main street had a lot of shops and many people walking in the streets. We started walking on side streets and the sidewalks were lined with women selling merchandise. Some were selling potatoes, others tomatoes, onions, corn, mango, bananas, peaches. Some women were roasting corn on an open fire. In another area people were eating around tables. There were “barber” shops, somebody sitting with a sewing machine, another repairing shoes. Some women had only one box with a few veggies, others have large inventories. Some women carry babies on their backs. Other had children sitting beside them. Older kids in school uniforms sat next to the mothers. Everyone is trying to make living.

It is rainy on and off.

Back in camp Kate gave Jason a full mohak, shaved both sides of his hair. His center-spiked hair is coloured red. “What does your mother think about your hair?” I could not help asking. “They blame it all on me”, said Kate, “ I am the bad influence on him”. Jason’s parents are very Catholic and his father is a policeman…

Paul and Tracy are planning to split. He wants to see the battlefields. Ever since he was 14 and watched the movie Zulu, he was fascinated by the battle and wants to see where it all happened, where the Zulu were fighting the British. The tours are expensive and Tracy is not interested. Paul plans to catch a bus to Ladysmith early morning, where he will start his battlefield tour.

Andrew and Carl work in finance in London. Benny is involved in a serious financial discussion with them and I hear: commodity, gas prices, precious metals etc. The plan for tomorrow depends on the weather. If it is clear, we will climb to the top of Cathedral Peak. If it is cloudy, we will continue to Rustler’s Valley.

Friday, January 20

It rained all night and in the morning, the mountains were covered with dark clouds. We moved the tent under the patio to dry. Hugs and kisses to Kate and Jason, Tracy and Paul and the staff.

We stopped at Harrismith. The Lonely Planet said that there are beautiful botanical gardens with flowers of the Drakensberg. Well, maybe ten years ago… There was nothing there. Just a small lake and picnic tables. The city is nice though with some old sandstone historical buildings and monuments for war heroes, the Anglo-Boer war of 1899-1902.

The plan is to stop tonight at Rustler’s Valley. The place was recommended to us by our Rainbow friends, as a spiritually inspiring place. It is a remote valley in the heart of the conservative Free State. It is the original hippy hangout, or the place for “dare to be different.”

Driving on through the providence of the Free State, we pass Qwa qwa National Park, pass through the Golden Gate National Park. The road winds along the mountains, with different shaped mountains lining the background. Some look like mushrooms, others look like bells, some have flat tops while others have sharp tops.

We continue toward Rustler’s Valley. Along the road women are selling peaches. We turned into a dirt road toward Rustler’s Valley, and when we arrived, there was a big sign in the entrance “Gone fishing. Re-opening 1st February, 2006”.

We drove and looked around. Another sign read “Welcome to Rustler’s Valley retreat. This is experimental area. Please respect the mental and physical environment.” It reminded me of the yoga camps that I used to attend.

We will continue to the next town, Ficksburg. On the way we stop along the road to buy peaches.

Our tent is pitched today at the Caravan Park in a town called Ficksburg. We took a walk through the town. Many old sandstone buildings. Shops, street vendors. We notice many Indians, fa ew Chinese, some Muslims. We both craved something spicy. We stopped at the only restaurant in town, the Lemon Cottage Coffee Shop for vegetarian pizza.

The young woman serving us told us that there is not much to do in the town, but she keeps coming back because the small white community is very close and every one knows everyone. Her father works in Lesotho, as a supervisor in a diamond mine. She added that her father will not let her go to Lesotho by herself, because the people of Lesotho hate South Africans.

Back in the caravan caravan park, it is a beautiful clear warm evening. We talked to the couple from Newcastle.

At 7:15 pm I heard the muezzin call for prayers. Are we in Turkey? No, there is a mosque here in Ficksburg in South Africa.

Shabbat, January 21, 2006

Last night we slept in the dorm of the Naval Hill Backpackers in Bloemfontein. It was too wet to put up the tent and the inside here is very inspiring. The old water pump station was converted into a hostel. Basic dividers were added to create smaller spaces. It is very rustic, yet warm and comfortable and there is a computer in the basement that I can use!!!

The water pump was built in 1896 and survived the Anglo-Boer war as well as World Wars I and II.

The old gentleman at the Anglo-Boer War Museum was surprised to see us. Very few visitors come to that museum. He was further surprised to see that we knew something about the events of that war.

War brings out the worst in nations and people, but sometimes also the best. We have an image of the English gentleman, but how does that fit with the imperialism, burning homes and farms and putting the women and children in concentration camps? The British considered themselves superior to the Boers and when they established social clubs, non-English were not welcomed.

We associate concentration camps with Nazi Germany, however, according to local accounts; the British invented the concept of concentration camps in 1899 during the Anglo-Boer war. The Afrikaans brought upon the Apartheid and converted the natives to Christianity. However, at the same time they were teaching them reading and writing and contributed to the overall education of South African blacks. The Afrikaners consider themselves the real South Africans and they are very connected to their land. They were the pioneers who went into new territories, were very brave, lived under difficult conditions and worked very hard in their farms. They developed the country and created their own language.

The older man at the museum was so passionate, so angry at the British after 100 years. “They could not win us at war so they try to win us through the women and children. They killed them in concentration camp, read the account of Emily Hobound, she was there. They starved them to death and did not have proper medical care. We had to give up in order to save the women and children….”

South Africa’s history sounds different depending upon who you speak with— Afrikaans, British, Zulu or Xhosa. So I am trying to make some sense of it to understand it better:

The Dutch East Indian Company
1652 – Settlement in Cape
1688 – French arrived – introducing wine
1795 – Some Boers move eastward

The British
1796 – Take control of the Cape from the Dutch
1801 – Return the Cape to the Dutch, only to take it back five years later
1820 – 4000 British settled in Eastern Cape
1833 – Slavery abolished in Cape
1848 – The British defeated the Xhosa and claimed their territory

The Boers
1835 – Move to new territories
1852 – Transvaal becomes an independent Boer state
1852 – Orange Free State becomes Boer Republic

The Zulu
1815 – King Shaka becomes a mighty force
1835 – Conflicts with the Boers, many casualties

The Pioneer Period
1860 – Indian labor was imported to work the sugar plantation
1867 – Diamonds found in Kimberly
1880 – The first Anglo Boer War, lasted a few weeks
1886 – Gold found near Johannesburg
1899-1902 The 2nd Anglo-Boer War

The Struggle
1910 – South Africa becomes Union
1912 – Establishment of the ANC (African National Congress)
1948 – Apartheid
1949 – Prohibition of mixed marriage
1962 – Mandela arrested
1964 – Mandela is sentenced to life in prison

Peaceful Victory
1990 – Mandela released
1994 – Mandela becomes the President of South Africa, preaching forgiveness and promoting a Rainbow Nation.

From there we continued to the Oliewenhuis Art Museum, which is housed in a 1935 mansion. It holds a collection of works by South African artists.

Our next stop will be Kimberly, where the first diamond was discovered.

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