Mid-term report

Hi

After a long time with little exciting happening, here is another entry from me.

Almost 3 weeks ago, a great road trip began, which I would like to tell you about. After a night of partying, we spontaneously set off on the back seat of a VW Vivo heading north, packing only the essentials and doubting whether it was really a good idea.

But already after the first kilometers, we were quite impressed by all the new things that were hitting us. Our first destination was Sun City. The 'Vegas of South Africa'. I've never been to Vegas, but the name seemed a bit exaggerated to me when there was only one arcade on the premises. In contrast, the city's water park will definitely stay in my memory. In addition to 3 fun slides, the 'Valley of the Waves' offers a huge wave pool and all kinds of buzz around it. Besides loud music, there are a bunch of restaurants and an impressive, although artificial, backdrop.

We spent the next two nights at the 'Bush Pub Inn' near Kruger Park. We were warmly received by the bartender, who immediately invited us to spend the evening with him and his other guests. We were not deterred by the machete that he carried in his back pocket for reasons unknown to us and had a 'memorable' evening. I can highly recommend this place to anyone staying in the northeastern part of South Africa.

This area also has a lot to offer in terms of landscape. As you can see in the pictures, both the 'Clyde Canyon' and the Kruger National Park did not disappoint us. The landscapes of South Africa are beautiful and very diverse.

We also visited Lesotho in the following days. After being luckily taken to the border of the 'Sani Pass' by two miners, we decided to simply hike up the nearest interesting-looking mountain. A good idea, as the view from up there proved.

Now we continued to the coast, along the Garden Route towards Cape Town. On the way, we got a small glimpse into the nightlife of East London. In summary, it can be said: it was not boring.

When we arrived in Cape Town, we were invited by a Namibian man who spoke fluent German and provided us with one of the tastiest barbecue evenings so far.

Cape Town itself was a bit too 'unrestrained' for my taste. If you take a wrong turn, you can't walk 3 meters without being offered drugs or sex. Almost makes you wish for the conservative Bloemfontein. But only almost. Surely the city has more to offer that I couldn't explore during my 3 days stay.

Unfortunately, there were also sobering moments on the journey. Although when we accidentally turned into one of the townships, we didn't feel like we were in immediate danger, we did get an impression that we were not used to. We also spoke to many residents who were very concerned about the current development of the country. Many people here do not have access to proper education. Alcoholism is spreading in the townships. The people are not being educated to be informed voters and the corrupt government is stoking racism and prejudices to maintain their power. It is sad to see such a beautiful country stumble. During my time here, I always felt very welcome and I would like to express my heartfelt thanks for that. I wish all the people here to reconnect with their joyful core and overcome the current tensions.

Greetings also to home :D

Max