Traveling vs. Taking a Vacation: On the Road in South Africa & Namibia

There are vacations, which I think of as totally relaxing affairs and involve non-stop flights under 6 hrs. On this kind of trip, lying on a beach, reading a book, ordering drinks with little umbrellas and ordering chi chi’s and pupu’s are the only decisions that need to be made during the course of the day.

Then there is travel, which usually involves a bit more stress, including airport travel hassles, long flights and multiple plane changes before arriving at exotic destinations that challenge and inspire.

Both have their virtues, but since I live on the north coast of California surrounded by mountains and redwoods and the wine country is only a 45-minute drive away, I prefer putting up with the hassles and exerting the extra effort to fill my memory bank with visual fiestas, opening my heart and expanding my understanding of this amazing planet we inhabit.

My work recently took me to luscious Cape Town, South Africa where I was a speaker at a Women’s Innovation Conference. While on the African continent, I travelled extensively through South Africa and Namibia. Here are some highlights from the trip I took with my husband to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary. The gorgeous photos were mostly shot by my husband, Bill Apton, who is a professional photographer.

I will do my best to share interesting stories along with the images, and hope that you will enjoy the blog. So… for the many people that have said, “I want to hear about your trip,” this is for you!

CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA

The catalyst for the trip was my precious friend Dot van Hoorn. Dot and I bonded a few years ago when we traveled to 14 countries facilitating customer service workshops for a client. In early 2014, she arranged for me to be the keynote speaker at the Women’s Innovation Trade Fair. Speaking to such a diverse audience was deeply rewarding.

Meeting people doing fascinating, creative work like coach Renee Lighton, was extremely stimulating.

Cape Town is one of the worlds’ most beautiful cities. Located near the Indian Ocean and surrounded by mountains, it is geographically similar to Rio and Vancouver. It is truly a stunning place with a thriving beach culture. Protea  is the country flower and they are everywhere in colors I have never seen before.

A great way to see Cape Town is to take a hop-on hop-off tour on a red double-decker bus. The tour uncovers the beauty and culture of Cape Town as well as providing a historical overview of South Africa.

‎Here I am sitting on a “No Whites” bench, a reminder of the nightmare of apartheid.

The neighborhood called District Six had literally been mowed down during apartheid. As a defiant comeback, residents painted their houses with vibrant colors.

The “Central Park” of Cape Town, called The Company’s Garden, is filled with little treasures.

It is not often that one can participate in a local event, but meeting Dot and Curtis at the end of the world’s largest bike race, Cape Argus Pick ‘n Pay Momentum Cycle Tour, fulfilled that goal.

I wrote about our private tour of steam trains in a previous blog.

Of course, one of the gifts of being a concierge and involved in Les Clefs d’Or is connecting with concierges around the world. I met with the extremely helpful Hoon Kim at The Cape Grace. Hoon is of Korean descent and has settled in Cape Town.

The South African Jewish Museum

I absolutely loved the Jewish Museum in Cape Town, which had much less to do with being of Jewish decent then simply appreciating the design and layout of the space and the many significant topics expressed.

The museum itself is filled with religious artifacts, each a historical treasure, all displayed in South Africa’s first synagogue. Each piece is carefully explained, which makes it exponentially interesting. After visiting the synagogue room, the history of individual Jewish South Africans is cleverly depicted through high-tech exhibits and interactive multimedia displays. The history of these immigrants mimics the history of South Africa itself. Featured are Max Rose, the humble peddler from Lithuania who went on to become the multi-million dollar king of the South African ostrich feather industry, as well as Cecil Rhodes, who founded the De Beers diamond and diamond mining company.

Nelson Mandela officially opened the museum in December 2000. In his dedication, Mandela expressed his opinion that Jews understood persecution better than any other people.

The replica of the shtetl  in the lower level was fascinating. It felt like “Anatevka” from Fiddler on the Roof  come to life. Many of the Jewish settlers to South Africa were from Lithuania and it was actually a replica of a shtetl from that part of Eastern Europe. It felt so real to explore each room and to experience what it was like for these people before they immigrated.

Right next to the replica of the shtetl was a huge room filled with Netsuke. Donated by philanthropist Isaac Kaplan, it is one of the world’s finest collections of Japanese miniature ceremonial carvings worn by the affluent merchant classes during the time of the Samurai.

The exhibit was a surprising contrast to the rest of the objects on display. I kept thinking what a great environment this was to have conversations with children about history and culture. It is truly one of the best museums I have ever visited.

My favorite exhibit among the many wonderful displays was a wall of screens dedicated to life-cycle rituals, from birth to death. Rather than just showing Jewish rituals, which are beautiful and interesting, it showed life-cycle rituals from South Africa ethnic groups, Muslims, Christians and, of course, Jews. It was a mesmerizing display and I studied it for a great deal of time. Ritual gives our lives meaning and the visuals showed how we are all connected. I am so glad we made the effort to visit and would suggest you do the same if you ever find yourself in South Africa.

NAMIBIA

Sossusvlei

After six days in Cape Town, we then went on an amazing and treasured adventure to Namibia. Since we were celebrating our wedding anniversary, we booked a luxury safari with Wilderness Safaris  and they were awesome. I believe traveling in Africa and staying at 5-star camps, in the middle of serious nowhere, is a privilege. While there, the song that kept going through my head was “I Wonder What The King Is Doing Tonight” from Camelot.  It just felt so decadent to experience extravagance in the wilderness.

The first stop was Sossusvlei, where we stayed at the Safari Camp Little Kulala. The sumptuous touches after spending many hours in a Land Rover were appreciated.

While it is in fact luxurious, one can never become too comfy. A horn for emergencies and a spray called Doom spray  is in every room.

After a balloon experience and a helicopter ride, I was literally “farklempt” and overwhelmed by the beauty. It felt like an endless hallelujah.

Sossusvlei is famous for its spectacular red sand dunes, stargazing (including amazing views of the Southern Cross and the Milky Way constellations), and Deadvlei, an enormous clay pan with many thousand-year-old dead trees, standing and seemingly dancing against the red backdrop. It gives new meaning to the concept of deadpan!

One of the sweetest moments in Sossusvlei was when our guide Stuart showed up at our door after dinner carrying a special light that when shined on scorpions made them glow. He spent quite a bit of time digging around in the sand trying to find scorpions so we could see the light show. While he was not successful in showing us glowing scorpions, I was grateful for his sincere willingness to go the extra mile and deliver something special. Quite frankly, I am happy we missed that particular African moment, but I loved the gesture.

Few animals can survive the harsh climate

We took 3 bush planes and an hour drive over rocks and sand dunes to our next destination, Serra Cafferma Camp. Located on the border of Angola and set on the banks of a crocodile-infested river, the camp is 800 miles from a city and 500 miles from a paved road. I was reminded of the  old joke from my youth that talked about the famous  “Wherethefukarewe tribe.” This made what I thought was the middle of nowhere actually feel like Grand Central Station.

The camp itself was amazing, if for nothing else then the fact that we could have a luxurious experience this deep into the wilderness.

While riding in the Land Rover over sand dunes and rocks out in the middle of what seemed like nowhere, we came across a fabulous sculpture that reminded me of artist Andy Goldsworthy’s work. I was amazed to discover it in the wilderness.

Himba People

The highlight of the entire experience, however, was the visit to the village of a nomadic tribe, called the Himba people.

To experience an indigenous people that has not been spoiled by exposure to the modern world is a rare and wonderful treat. The Wilderness folks have a relationship with one Himba family that allows guests to visit. I have seen hill tribes in Vietnam and Thailand, but I have never seen anything like this. The Himba only bathe with sand, do not write or read, and live as nomads in the wilderness. I guess in this case a picture really does speak a thousand words.

Even in this place, far far away from civilization as we know it, money still rules and I could actually find something to buy. I purchased a carved bracelet made out of PVC pipe for a whopping $10 US dollars. No matter what, it seems as if human nature has a gene called “buy my stuff.” By the way I think this is my favorite photo from the trip.

Damaraland

Our next stop was Damaraland Camp. While visiting the Himba People in the North of Namibia was an authentic cultural experience, the Damaraland Living Museum provides a re-creation of ancient life. We were given a tour complete with demonstrations on how to make fire, weapons and jewelry. We were even taught a special game where the winner takes the loser’s wife and cows… quite the high stakes.

Our main tour guide was Clarence and he was awesome! He loves his job and thrives on keeping the past alive. I asked him where he lived and he told me the nearby village. My husband asked if they had electricity and he said that of course they did. I casually asked, “Well then, I guess life is a lot easier!” His response surprised me and still haunts me. He said, “No actually it wasn’t easier because  modern life is hard!” I asked him to elaborate and he stated,  “All everyone ever does is worry about money.” Wow, so true!

The experience there was powerful in no small part to Clarence’s passion. At the end of the tour, I asked him if he thought it would be rude or funny if we put our new bracelets on our noses. Since he said it would be funny, we went ahead and did it. Do we look native?

One of the big attractions of Damaraland are the ancient rock carvings.

One of the biggest surprises of our journey were the local desert-adapted elephants.

Don’t worry. My husband Bill definitely photoshopped the following photo. The chances of me getting this close to wild animals are less than zero. It did make me laugh though.

So, in a nutshell, that was Namibia. It is a spectacular and exciting destination.

GARDEN ROUTE, SOUTH AFRICA

After Namibia, we explored the varied ecosystems of the Garden Route, which is lovely, but not spectacular. One of the attractions was a waterfall. It made me laugh out loud to realize that we canoed for 45 minutes and hiked for an hour to get to this waterfall that was much smaller than expected. I guess all the wondrous waterfalls that are found in California’s Yosemite National Park have spoiled me.

I do love my ostrich feather key ring and duster I purchased along the road.

WINE COUNTRY, SOUTH AFRICA

Our last stop was the exquisite South African Wine Country. It is the most beautiful wine valley I have ever seen.

We ended our journey by meeting up with my friend Dot, her Mom, Curtis and his son Daniel. I just love having friends across the globe

Bill and I celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary in grand style. Thanks for sharing with us.

I’d like to end this post by extending gratitude to Terri Goldstein of Travels with Teri for designing and planning our wonderful tours in Africa.

All photos © Bill Apton