AFRICA

And so it begins...

At 2pm on July 23, 2006, the four Compton's boarded a plane bound for Southern Africa. More than 24 hours later, we landed in Johannesburg.

This trip was one of National Geographic's many excellent Expeditions, but our Africa Trip was made particularly special because we were joined by our good friends Tom & Cathy Buck and their four lovely daughters, Ann, Elaine, Christy and Emily.

We were also guided by two extraordinarily capable, knowledgeable and fun National Geographic experts, Bill Branch and Derek Solomon.

This was a remarkable trip and this is our story...

First Stop - Cape Town, South Africa

Cape Town is easily one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Nestled between Table Mountain and the harbor, the city is clean, organized and modern. The harbor is loaded with shopping and excellent restaurants.

We spent three days here and loved every minute. (click on photo to enlarge)

Langa Township

The tragic aspect of Cape Town's beauty is that much of the urban landscape was taken by force under the aparthied laws beginning in 1948. Over four decades, hundreds of thousands of people were brutally moved out of the city and "resettled" in townships.

I spent an afternoon visiting Langa Township about 20 minutes outside of Cape Town. Now housing over 250,000 people, Langa has 60% unemployment and a serious issue with the spread of HIV/AIDS.

What struck me as most tragic is the sense of dependency that the township people have -- on their goverment and on foriegn aid. Without the tradition of small family businesses and entrepreneurship that I saw in India, South Africa's poor seem to face a daunting task in striving for a culture of self-sufficiency.

Africa's Problems - Never Far from View

In the border crossing offices, in elementary school, in the lobby of the airport.

Robben's Island

We spent several hours out on Robben's Island off the coast of Cape Town. This is where Nelson Mandela was held prisoner for nearly two decades.

Our tour guides were themselves former political prisoners with Mr. Mandela. What impressed me most was their complete forgiveness of the former apartheid regime and their insistence that the only right way forward for South Africa was total reconciliation.

Cape of Good Hope

About 30 minutes drive from Cape Town harbor, around the mountains, is the Cape of Good Hope.

Mala Mala Game Reserve

We didn't exactly rough it on our first stop in the African bush. We stayed at the Mala Mala Game Reserve bordering Kruger National Park.  Fodor's ranks Mala Mala in the Top Ten Hotels in the world - the only one on the list in Africa. Compton's and Buck's concur.

Africa's Birds

As we looked forward to what we would see in Africa, the mental image was always of large mammals. Never once did we talk about Africa's birds. Thanks to our two National Geographic experts on the trip - Derek Solomon and Dr. Bill Branch -- we learned Africa has a rich and varied collection of spectacular birds. See Bird album for more images.

Range Rover

We spent a lot of time in Range Rovers. According to our guides, the animals see the Range Rover as a single large entity and won't attack unless you leave the vehicle. We took their word for it.

Cheetah Resting After a Kill

We didn't see the cheetah make their kill, but we saw them immediately after they finished eating - cleaning each other and resting in the shade. I set the video to the music of Ladysmith Black Mambazo.