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African safari

14 January 2009 • Travel time: with 10 September 2007 on 24 September 2007
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AFRICAN SAFARI.

"Sharks in Africa, gorillas in Africa,

There are big, angry crocodiles in Africa.

Do not go children to Africa for a walk!!!

But even Korney Chukovsky's favorite children's poems could not stop us. We are a group of travel industry professionals who traveled to South Africa to explore and develop new travel destinations. The path is not close. Only the net time of air travel along the entire route is about 35 hours. Our route is as follows: Kyiv - Istanbul - Johannesburg - Cape Town - Durban - Kruger Reserve - Zambia (Victoria Falls) - Sun City - and from Johannesburg back home.


The first big stop in South Africa is the seaside city of Cape Town. Quite recently, a representative of this South African country was in Yalta and in an interview with Yalta correspondents he said that our cities are very similar. In my opinion, the nature of the southern coast of Crimea is much more beautiful. True, Cape Town is much cleaner, the architecture of the city is well thought out, the houses in the Victorian style are especially beautiful. The main purpose of our trip is to inspect hotels where tourists stay and get acquainted with the sights of the country. Of course, we were shown the best, placed in the most expensive luxury hotels. A mere mortal cannot afford such hotels. Presidents, Hollywood stars, millionaires live in them. But there are also normal tourist class hotels. Our hospitable hosts are interested in the development of tourism in South Africa, they do not spare money for guests from Ukrainian travel agencies, they lodge in the most expensive hotels. So in Cape Town, we stayed at the Table Bay Hotel. Vladimir Putin, Michael Jackson and many others stayed here, whose names are known to everyone due to their social status, popularity and financial wealth. Naturally, a hotel of the appropriate level. Excellent rooms, well-trained staff, high level of security. Fresh press in the room in the morning, obligatory “compliment” at the expense of the hotel in the evening (fruits, chocolate, mineral water), obligatory weather forecast for tomorrow. Pleases and food in the restaurants of the hotel. Traveling in Turkey, Egypt and other countries, our client is already accustomed to the convenience of the buffet. But where do you get oysters, foie gras, sushi and other delicacies that many of us have only heard about for a breakfast buffet? Well, God be with them, bourgeois, we are primarily interested in itself, this country far from us.

The city of Cape Town was founded by Dutch navigators more than three and a half centuries ago as a transshipment base to India, where it was possible to replenish the supply of fresh water and food. The city itself is located in a picturesque bay at the foot of Table Mountain. Hence its name, which means "City on the Cape". Cape Town is South Africa's oldest proud city and is therefore also called the "Mother City". Today it is one of the three capitals of South Africa. The city is called the parliamentary capital of the country. The parliament sits here, next to it is one of the presidential residences. And yet Cape Town is recognized as the city of the popular international party "golden youth" and the capital of gay and lesbian parties. Life in the city is in full swing around the clock. During the day, a tourist basks on the beach, rides yachts, goes diving, photographs fur seals, which imposingly sunbathe in the city center on the piers of Victoria and Alfred Waterfront. You can take helicopter rides, visit the botanical garden, take the cable car to Table Mountain, visit the famous wine tour. Green Market Square is always crowded, an analogue of our embankment, with its numerous souvenir shops, a shopping center. In the evening, the city is filled with the music of numerous cafes and restaurants. There are especially many tourists where street jazz bands give free music concerts and theatrical performances take place. There is no time to be bored in Cape Town, and there is no need, day or night.

Leaving the hospitable Cape Town, we are moving east. 12 km. from the Cape in the ocean is the island of Robben Island (Robben Island). The small island is known for the fact that for many years a prison was located on its territory. Nelson Mandela, a fighter for the rights of the black population of South Africa, spent 18 years in this prison. In guidebooks for South Africa, you can read the following lines: "During the years of apartheid, the island became a prison, famous for its cruel treatment of prisoners. " Our country guide, former Muscovite Ivan Zdersky, openly laughs: “Well, if we consider that a black prisoner was served tea without milk for breakfast, or a guard refused to throw a tennis ball that had flown over the fence, then indeed, the treatment was extremely cruel. ”

Further, our path lies to the Cape of Good Hope. The cape was discovered in 1486 by the brave Portuguese navigator Bartolomeo Dias, who, on behalf of the king, was looking for the mysterious country of India, with its untold riches. Dias named this place "Cape of Storms". However, the Portuguese king Joã o II ordered the cape to be renamed. Hoping to open the way to India, this place was called the Cape of Good Hope. The dreams of the Portuguese came true. In 1497, the great navigator Vasco de Gama rounded the Cape of Good Hope, and on May 20.1498, for the first time, a European set foot on the southwestern coast of India. Not far from the cape, the waters of two oceans merge into a single whole - the harsh and cold Atlantic and the warm Indian, so beloved by tourists. On the cape itself, in 1860, a lighthouse was installed at a height of just over 200 meters. As it turned out later, the lighthouse was installed extremely unsuccessfully. Low clouds covered the lighthouse from sailors. Knowing that there was a lighthouse here, and not seeing it because of the clouds, many sailors were shipwrecked. Later, the lighthouse was moved down, closer to the sea. The old lighthouse has become a historical monument; its observation platform offers a beautiful view.


Leaving the Cape, we drive to a small coastal town called Simonstown. The Boulders penguin colony is located here. Penguins appeared on the local city beach not so long ago. The joy of the local population knew no bounds. Such cute, clumsy animals! But the joy quickly passed. "Lovely" penguins crap everywhere. Not only on the beach, but also on the streets, in the yards and pools of the citizens. The people rebelled. "Let's resettle the penguins! " But the authorities did not make a decision in favor of the townspeople. Environmental protection, animal protection first. So part of the beach was taken away from the city, it was fenced off and a huge, more than 1000 individuals, colony of penguins appeared. The city resigned itself, especially after cheerful tourist people with tight wallets poured in here.

Further, between the Cape and Cape Needle, there is another small town of Hermanus. Life here flows peacefully and calmly, but only until July. From July to the end of October, the city is unrecognizable. During this period, a huge number of whales migrate from Antarctica to raise their offspring. In total, 29 species of whales can be found off the coast of South Africa, including the killer whale. The most popular humpback or "correct" whales. Whalers called them "correct" centuries ago. If other types of whales, after they were harpooned and killed, sank to the bottom of the sea, then the carcasses of the “correct” whales remained afloat, it was much easier to pull them aboard the whaler. Hence the name.

To see the whales, it is best to come to South Africa in September, for the Whale Festival. During this period, they can be observed even from the shore, but our group, having received life jackets and water-repellent jackets, goes out on a boat into the ocean. Just a few hundred meters from the shore, on a small island, there is a huge colony of fur seals. Some of them bask on the rocks, the other, most of them, swim up to our boat, study the uninvited aliens. Of course, seals are good, but our main goal is whales. We're moving on, deep into the ocean. Shouts of "Here they are!!! " are heard from the starboard side. The spectacle is impressive. There are many of them and we are getting very close. Huge carcasses are visible (much larger than our boat), fins and tails of whales flicker. Whale snouts also occasionally peek out of the water. The shutters of cameras and movie cameras are clicking all around. It seems that animals specially pose for us. And already at the end of the walk, the young whale simply jumps out of the water, as if putting a logical conclusion to the chic performance of the entire group of whales.

Returning to the shore, we met another boat in the ocean. On its deck, a group of extreme tourists diving into the ocean with sharks. Predators are being fed, shark fins are visible. An iron cage with the first tourist descends from the boat into the ocean. The rest are looking forward to their turn. After exchanging greetings and wishes of good luck, we hurry to the shore.


The first part of our journey is over. We fly to Durban to continue our journey inland.

The city of Durban is located in the southeast of the country in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. There are other names for the province - the land of the "Thousand Hills" or the "Kingdom of the Zulus". The names speak for themselves. About the amazing and fabulous city of Durban, many of us have read more than once. True, we knew him from childhood, as the city of Zurbagan. This is how Alexander Green called his magical city, and he described it from the real city of Durban. The original Zulu name of the city was Tekweni. The first European who saw these places was most likely Vasco de Gama. The modern name of the city is given in honor of the governor, Sir Benjamin D, Urban in 1835. In addition to the indigenous population, the Zulus, the descendants of the Dutch and English colonizers and Indian traders live here.

Today Durban is the third largest city in South Africa and the largest port in the country. In the world ranking of ports, it takes an honorable 9th place. Durban is also famous as a popular international resort. Along the always warm waters of the Indian Ocean, a string of comfortable hotels and casinos with the defiant common name - "The Golden Mile" stretches for six kilometers. Unfortunately, in recent years, this beautiful place has lost its original image. At best, the "Bronze Mile", or even the "Wooden Mile" is spoken by the locals. No, excellent hotels and casinos remain, but it is not safe to walk along the beaches in the evening. This is due to the growth of crime in the country, the problems of the relationship between the white and black population, the increase in the number of emigrants from neighboring countries. I will talk about all these problems a little later, and now we are waiting for a real safari in the oldest national park in Africa - Kruger Park.

The park was founded back in 1898 at the behest of then President Paul Kruger. The park was named after him. Even when, during the Anglo-Boer War, Kruger fled to Europe, the new authorities did not change the name of the park, remembering the merits of the former president in creating the national park of South Africa.


Our path to Kruger Park lay through the Dragon Mountains, where the River of Sorrow and the River of Joy merge into a single whole. Truly this is one of the most picturesque places in South Africa that we have seen. The park itself is located on the territory of two provinces - Mpumalanga and Limpopo, which in turn border in the north and northeast on Zimbabwe and Mozambique. Speaking in dry statistics, the park occupies 2 million hectares. 33 species of amphibians, 114 species of reptiles, 147 animals and 507 birds live on its territory. Of course, today the Kruger Park is the pride of South Africa. Most of the tourists traveling to this distant African country set the main goal of their stay to go on a safari. Hunting in South Africa has become part of the global hunting culture. Real hunting with a gun is not allowed in the national park. Next to it there are a large number of private parks that specially grow wild animals for the fun of hunters. The number of wild animals is also replenished at the expense of the national park. Mostly those animals, the number of which is excessive. Moreover, let's say you can buy an elephant for your park for a nominal fee. The main costs are associated with the transportation of the animal. Hunting fans dream of adding the so-called "African Big Five" to their collections of trophies. It includes: lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo and rhinoceros. Prices for hunting are cosmic. So, hunting for a lion, can be equal to the cost of a new prestigious car, can be even higher. But there are gamblers who, in one visit to a safari, set themselves the task of hitting the entire Big Five at once.

We came for a peaceful, but no less exciting photo hunt. And we were lucky: for two safaris, evening and morning, we saw all five. Even the experienced rangers who accompanied us during the photo hunt said that it was a great success. We were able to take not only a huge number of photos of trophies, but also heard a lot of interesting things about African animals. So, the African elephant lives 60 years. Every 10 years he gets new teeth. But new teeth grow only six times. When the last ones are erased, these giants simply starve to death. All stories about elephant cemeteries, where animals supposedly come to die on purpose, are stories. It's just that animals are looking for places where there is softer and easier to chew food. This is where they die. It turns out that no less sad fate and the king of beasts - a powerful lion. There is no stronger and more powerful predator in the savannah than a lion. He commands his pride, guards the territory from rivals, and is the first to get the best pieces of prey that the lionesses got. But all this lasts while the lion is young and full of strength. With old age, a younger and stronger lion takes its place. The old leader is forced to simply leave the pride. And here comes the tragedy of the whole lion's life. Old lions are dying of hunger. They simply do not know how to hunt, they do not have any skills, lionesses have been doing it for them all their lives.

The African safari made an indelible impression on us. If you yourself are going to Africa on a safari, then it is best to do it in autumn (African spring) or spring (African autumn), when there is not much greenery and animals are clearly visible. A huge number of lodges (hotels) of various levels of comfort have been built on the territory of the park. We stayed at Tinga Lodge, Legend branch. The level of accommodation is a five-star high-class hotel. Each lodge has its own pool with Jacuzzi. In the evening, guests will enjoy the presentation and tasting of African game dishes. The rooms are arranged in such a way that literally 10-20 meters behind the fence, you can see an impala, giraffe, zebra or elephant. In the evening, an armed ranger escorts the guest to the guest's room, because the animals are still wild. I really did not want to part with the Kruger Park and its hospitable hosts. But ahead of us was another wonderful part of our journey - Victoria Falls.

You can see the Victoria Falls either from the territory of Zambia or Zimbabwe. Therefore, we fly from South Africa to the city of Livingston, the former capital of Zambia. We fly not by chance. Victoria Falls is included in one of the seven natural wonders of the world and is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Victoria Falls is one of Africa's top tourist attractions. The Lozi locals call this miracle of African nature "Mosio-ao-Tunya", which translates as "Thundering Smoke". The people of the Tonga tribe believe that by standing for a few minutes under the rainbows that are born over the waterfall, you can be cured of the most dangerous ailments and get rid of the most evil enemies. For Europeans, the waterfall was discovered by the famous Scottish traveler David Livingston in 1855 and named it in honor of Queen Victoria. The waterfall so fascinated the traveler that he left us the following lines about the spectacle he saw: “Angels in flight must have looked at places so beautiful. ” The height of the water falling into the gorge is more than 100 meters, the length of the waterfall is about 2 kilometers. The waterfall is especially magnificent in February - March, when the river is full of water and every second more than 5 million liters of water fall down with a roar. The walls of the gorge are not visible. Only a solid wall of water and a veil of water sprays covering everything, similar to smoke. A very accurate name was given by the local tribes - "Thundering Smoke".


Unfortunately we were at the falls in September. There was not so much water and the waterfall "worked" not at full capacity. We were on the territory of Zambia, the most spectacular places were on the side of Zimbabwe. Therefore, the decision was born to fly around the waterfall by helicopter over the territory of the two states. The decision turned out to be correct. We saw both the powerful jets of the waterfall and the “thundering smoke”. And how beautiful are the rainbows over the waterfall! This flight will be remembered as wonderful moments for a lifetime. I also remember a trip on a sightseeing boat along the Zambezi River. The quiet waters of the river in which hippos are periodically visible both to the left and to the right, crocodiles swim about their business. This is wild Africa. In the rays of the sun setting over the savannah and the river, we say goodbye to Zambia.

There are two more stops on our South African itinerary - Johannesburg and the famous casino and entertainment capital of Sun City.

Our journey is drawing to a close. It remains to see only the famous Sun City - "City of the Sun". Once casinos were banned in South Africa and therefore the South African analogue of Las Vegas was created. During the construction of this entertainment complex, no money was counted, everything was built and made according to the best world standards. So a whole city arose - the new Hollywood and at the same time Las Vegas, 200 km from Johannesburg. Sun City area 150 sq. km. It has its own forests, lakes, waterfalls, rocks. The city never sleeps, life in it boils around the clock. For lovers of excitement, casinos operate, there are golf courses, rock concerts and boxing championships are held. Those who want a more relaxing holiday can visit the "Bridge of Time", plunge into the world of pristine nature in numerous parks, go on a safari, spend a day in the "Valley of Waves" - an artificial lagoon where a wave of up to two meters periodically rises. There is something to do for both adults and children. You can come here for several days (the complex accepts more than 2500 tourists at the same time), you can come for one day without staying in hotels. Not a single person will leave the "City of the Sun" indifferent, not a single person will leave the dream of visiting here at least once more.

Our plane takes off into the sky, leaving behind an amazing country - the Republic of South Africa. Farewell, distant and already beloved Africa.

Our address: Yalta, st. Sadovaya, 19. Tel: 27-29-61.27-29-98

Translated automatically from Russian. View original
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