South Africa and thereabouts

Appropriately enough for the title of this blog, I'll make my first post of this newly minted blog with a brief recounting of my recent visit to the Republic of South Africa. It was a treat to visit this spectacular country, and it comes with my highest recommendation to visit.

The purpose of my travels: Ostensibly, to investigate the ins and outs of the South African National Biofuels Strategy (Dec 2007) and to see whether it has been--or will have the potential to be--an effective tool both for bringing underutilized land into production and raising the rural poor out of poverty. While of course we discovered the potential for biofuels--when done correctly--exists, we certainly came away from our crash course in SA politics with a healthy respect for the difficulties in policy making within a country so recently unfetterered from the apartheid regime. We'll be working hard this semester to pull together a respectable analysis of our findings for our client, CSIR.

But on to more immediately fascinating topics, of the safari variety. It would've been criminal to visit SA and not see the spectacular wildlife on offer. Indeed, in addition to feeding giraffes and ostriches, petting lion cubs and wading with penguins, we spotted black and white rhinos, African elephants, zebras, wildebeest, springboks, meerkats, hippos and so many more animals. What's more, we came within three feet of a fully grown male lion roaming his natural habitat. I'll let the pictures give you a sense of our sightings.

Now our travels did take us into some rather mundane parts of SA, but even in these remote corners we found little gems. One such treasure was a B&B near to Bothaville run by perhaps the sweetest woman in SA, Elma. Her hospitality was unmatched, her breakfast beyond comparison, her unbridled enthusiasm and joy a genuine treat, and her husband's skill at the braai (SA for grill) was a welcome sight our first evening. SA is full of wonderful people, we discovered, and so long as you're careful to mind your safety and valuables, a trip there will be immensely rewarding.

Finally, I'll put in a word about Cape Town. This is perhaps the loveliest place to be around New Years, because of course it's summertime down there at the turn of the year. CT has all you'd want on offer: the flora and fauna of Table Mountain, the Cape of Good Hope, Nelson Mandela's former confines on Robben Island which serves as a stark reminder of SA's very recent past, the art of the informal settlements, surfing, the wine country of Stellenbosch, and so much more. Put this city on your list for next year!

This, in a nutshell, was my semester break. It's nice to think I've recuperated some small measure of the hefty price tag of attending SAIS. But regardless of who foots the bill, this country truly has a lot to offer the traveler looking for adventure, luxury and/or spectacular scenery.

Photo Album (click below)

South Africa