Before we leave the Kruger, here is the Mangrove Kingfisher that spent a lot of time perched on a branch near our mansion at Berg-en-Dal. He wasn't too bothered by the human presence but flew off if we got too close, only to return within minutes. Only after leaving the Kruger did we discover we'd been looking at an endangered species; found only in the south-east of Africa.
After a long drive back to Johannesburg on the Friday, we enjoyed a restful night before heading off to Soweto the next morning. Soweto is one of the biggest and most well known township areas in South Africa and in the period before 1994 it would be rare for a white tourist or citizen to visit the area for any reason. When I grew up in the eighties, the old regime in South Africa was beginning to unravel, but from (at least) 1948, when the National Party gained a majority in parliament, the word "apartheid" was synonymous with South Africa. The government which divided up land, power and opportunities along racial lines increasingly found itself isolated by national governments worldwide because of its reactionary stance. We wanted to spend the morning in Soweto to see a few sights of national significance. (One of the most significant things about them is that until very recently they were woven out of the national fabric, or at least its official presentation.) Our "guide" Simon would be our entry point into the culture.
We managed to squeeze 5 stops into our tour. With Lianne behind the wheel (our tour guide neither drove nor had a sense of direction), we first headed off for Walter Sisulu Square of Dedication in Kliptown. Here in 1955, initiated by Professor ZK Matthews and other members of the ANC, members of Soweto's disgruntled general public gathered in order to form a document advocating democracy. This became known as the "Freedom Charter." Oliver Tambo and Nelson Mandela, though present, were banned from addressing the Congress, though they would later go on to write many of its principles into the constitution once they were voted into power in 1994.
I found this monument a very powerful and effective symbol of the democracy movement in South Africa. The ceiling of the silo-shaped monument is sloped and faces north, so the cross (which represents the vote) casts its light on the wall unreservedly from sunrise to sunset, a symbol of the equal scattering of rights across the land under the new regime.
The author, our man Simon, and Lianne on the spot where the young Hector Pietersen was shot and killed by police in the uprisings of June 1976. I could have spent all morning in the adjacent Hector Pietersen Museum, but we were being ushered along by a tight schedule.
On the floor of Mandela's Soweto home, the feet of tourists frame an explanation of the nature with which Mandela would shield himself and his family from police attacks.
Tourism can be misleading. Our guide (forearm visible) told us of the existence of 5 black madonnas worldwide, of which this one in Regina Mundi Church was the only example in South Africa. However a simple internet search yields results describing a pretty widespread phenomenon through history in Europe, Asia and the Americas.
Lastly, we visited the home of a lady who for years had sheltered the "Young Lions" - a group of activists who opposed the apartheid regime and were often arrested, interrogated, beaten, gaoled or any combination of the above for their troubles. "Mavis" was a wonderful old woman who told us her story and Simon emerged as a good interpreter for us (his flair for languages was typical of so many black South Africans who enjoyed fluency in 5 or more languages but were denied the right to work at higher levels of employment under the apartheid regime). Without knowing it, or even wanting it, we later sparked a debate regarding the current efficacy of the ANC, as it emerged that one of the young men present had apparently been forgotten by the government he suffered for, and had helped bring to power. By that stage, my belly was rumbling, and I was already smarting about the absence of homebrew we were promised. On Mavis' front lawn, as her young friends discussed a lifetime of need and obtaining the proper tools of change, all I needed was a sandwich, a beer, and a little less history.
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