Days 79 thru 81

(Dan’s comments are italicized)

It was with heavy hearts we left our beautiful beach home…but Durban was beckoning as there was a museum we wanted to visit.

The Kwa Muhle museum was in a beautiful old building; a building that had a horrible history. It was here that apartheid was enforced as it was here all non-whites had to go to get their pass papers (or dompas). The pass papers was similar to a passport that controlled where non-whites were allowed to go, and for how long. Permission was granted at whim, rendering the non-white totally powerless!  Anyone could be stopped at any time and not having the correct stamp in the dompas resulted in instant imprisonment.

Once again, we were fortunate to speak to a very learned and well-spoken black S African (of Indian descent) and he filled in many gaps for us. Just as in America and Europe, some people in S Africa wanted to tear down symbols of oppression (including this building), but it was decided that remembering what happened is important…as is turning symbols of oppression into those of power. Consequently, Street names have been changed from those of oppressors to those of freedom fighters, and the buildings themselves have been turned into things that empower, rather than disempower, the people.

Other than the history of apartheid, one section of the museum really affected me; the HIV/rape section! The following set of photos are not the best…but they speak volumes about the rape-culture in sub-Saharan Africa!

Perhaps the most poignant artefact was the following…

The exhibit that has affected me most was a full room devoted to Andrew Zondo, who became an MK soldier operative for the African National Congress (ANC) at the age of 16. When he was 19, he planted a bomb in a trash can outside of a market two days before  Christmas. He tried to warn people that a bomb had been planted as his goal was only to destroy property; sadly, the guard wasn’t at his post so, as no warning ensued, five (white) people died…including two children. He was found guilty of murder and executed the following year at the age of 20. Before dying, he said that he used to believe that they could end racism if they got rid of the white man; but he was wrong as he now realized that the enemy wasn’t the white man, but racism itself. I think that’s profound; the tragedy of racism isn’t that people believe others to be inferior because of their skin color, but that the people themselves actually start believing that they are inferior! Apartheid has a lot to answer for!

The following day, we were driving 650 km to East London. Google said it would take 8 hours 40 minutes but we thought that must be wrong. It’s a good thing we left early in the morning because…

…Google was right! The road was a 2 lane road full of lorries that wound up and down mountains. Oh, and almost every bit of the road had road works going on! Sometimes you waited 20 minutes for your turn to drive the ONE LANE that was open! I loved people’s entrepreneurial spirits though…ladies walked up and down the queue of cars selling bananas, tangerines etc.

Finally, after 8 hours 45 minutes, we arrived in Gonubie Beach and our home for the next 3 nights. I had not got out of the car once for that whole journey. I was so frustrated that I started making some very risky decisions in driving. Many times I saw Rhia quietly gripping the door handle. I hope she will appreciate it when I begin to, as she puts it, ‘tootle’ again.

The beach was stunning and so relaxing! We both fell in love with the place! The ocean is turning out to be so invigorating! Rhia is correct in saying that we LOVE the place!

Once again, we slept with the window open and slept to the sounds of the crashing waves.

It’s such a pretty place and has the best Pancake house I’ve ever been to!

It was certainly worth the horrendous 8 3/4 hour drive to get here!!