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Ah,
Africa! One
of our favorite trips we did this year was the
Animals and Art trip we did in May.We had an
experience that was unplanned and unexpected that
stunned us all. It started out in a remote tribal
village in the Limpopo Province. Our local guide,
Abel, had arranged for some young men in the
village to perform some of the tribal dances. He
had put together this group to try to raise money
for the local high school. It was late
afternoon. The
young men started to drum and dance (after warming
their drums over an open fire in the road) and at
first they were like teenage boys anywhere --
goofing off, rolling their eyes, acting
embarrassed. But then they got into it. It was as
if the spirits of the ancestors took over. Pretty
soon they pulled us into the dancing, trying to
show us the steps. We all danced out into the road
-- soon other people in the village showed up and
we all began to dance together. We danced with the
children, moms with their babies, the elders, young
men and women. We held hands, we danced in circles.
Pretty soon it felt as if the whole village was
dancing with abandon in the road. It
was one of those rare moments in time you wish
would last forever About
SA Food
and Wine |
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Special
link provided by ATA's Pat Walker from
California TOURISTS
ARE MEETING REAL PEOPLE - AND THEIR
CULTURE Winnie
Graham Patty
McCarthy, an Irish tourist keen to meet
the local people, remembers the incident
as a defining moment of her
holiday. "I
was stroking the silky smoothness of the
baby's skin when the young mother suddenly
loosened the wraps around her body and
lifted the infant into my arms," she says.
"I was overwhelmed by her gesture of trust
and warmed by the chance of holding the
little girl for a few minutes." McCarthy's
experience is typical of a new breed of
travellers who visit faraway places, not
so much to see the monuments and museums,
but to get to know the people. These
tourists have less interest in spending
time on South Africa's beaches or seeing
the city sights. They
want to gain a greater understanding of
the issues facing people in their
communities - and, perhaps, do something
to help. At
the time, McCarthy travelled on her own,
arranging visits through friends and
contacts. She returned home, she says,
enriched by her experiences in South
Africa. Now
an American tour operator is focusing on a
growing need in the United States for just
such trips. California-based
Pat Walker specialises in cultural and
philanthropic travel, and each year brings
groups to South Africa on "adventures that
make a difference". Her
company, Cultural Explorer, has just
released its 2008 schedule, featuring
exclusive tours of South
Africa. The
tourists she brings all want to make a
contribution in some way, whether it is
helping entrepreneurs with marketing or
business practices, teaching English,
assisting Aids victims or simply buying or
promoting African art. In
2008 Walker will be bringing "mothers and
daughters" groups to South Africa in time
for Mother's Day, from May 3 to 17, and
again from June 7 to 21. Her "making a
difference tours" follow in February,
March, September and October, with an "art
and animals" tour taking place from May 17
to 31. Similar
specialised tours for South Africans are
not yet available, but with interest in
cultural travel a new phenomenon, they
could become as trendy. Walker, in fact,
has said she would love to include South
Africans "if space allows". MOTHERS
AND DAUGHTERS The
"all girls" trips are popular with mothers
and daughters, grandmothers and
granddaughters, aunts and nieces - any
women, in fact - who enjoy travelling
together. The American experience shows
that friends come along as well because
they want to meet the resilient women of
South Africa. Walker
says the "for women only" tours are
limited to daughters over the age of 15
because the travellers will witness and
discuss the impact of Aids on families and
communities. "It
has been designed to introduce our mothers
and daughters to the women and children of
your spectacular country, offering them
rare opportunities to learn and explore
together," she says. MAKING
A DIFFERENCE Another
two-week "hands-on" tour gives travellers
the opportunity of getting involved and
making a difference while they explore and
learn about South Africa. These
groups visit rural schools and develop
plans to help with computer work- stations
or the library. They tutor students in
English, visit orphanages and learn how to
help Aids orphans. The
groups are involved with rural communities
to such an extent that they could be asked
to come up with a plan to get electricity
to a Zulu village or take a group of
township kids on a field trip to the ocean
or, possibly, a place such as Robben
Island. They
get to experience life in the townships
and see what it's like to live without
electricity or running water. They
visit projects involved in helping women
to develop much-needed work skills and
could be asked to develop an
entrepreneur's business or provide
marketing advice and
suggestions. "But
it's not just serious stuff, though that's
the important part," says Walker.
"Travellers could also get to observe
animal rescue, hike in the Drakensberg
mountains, walk on Indian Ocean beaches,
tour Robben island, visit the African
jackass penguins and shop in Cape
Town." The
company's signature tour of South Africa,
Making a Difference, has been getting rave
reviews from customers in North
America. Comments
Walker: "They are eye-opening experiences
that give travellers access to South
Africans from all walks of life and a
chance to make an impact." A
young Canadian traveller, Maxine from
Vancouver, describes the experience as
riveting. "We
met South African people from all walks of
life and saw how they lived on a
day-to-day basis," she says. "We
toured numerous townships, met with Zulus
in their homes, visited children in
orphanages, and learnt about apartheid
from varying perspectives and saw the
impact it still has on life
today. "All
the while we were surrounded by
breathtaking scenery and landscapes.
Everything - local guides, itinerary,
transport, food - was first rate. It was
truly a once-in-a-lifetime
experience." The
next "hands on" tours will be held in
February, March, September and October
this year. ANIMALS
AND ART South
Africa's animals and art are the focus of
another tour with an unusual itinerary
based on exploring fine-art galleries of
Joburg, visiting white and black South
African artists in their studios, meeting
with renowned Venda and Shangaan artists,
plus viewing wildlife in the
bush. "This
has become a must-have travel experience
for anyone who loves both art and
animals," Walker says. "It's
popular because travellers are given a
unique opportunity of getting to know
various South African artists and visiting
them in their studios." The
Venda Indigenous Art tour includes
optional cultural excursions to local
villages and philanthropic
projects. The
tour includes part of the famed Ribolla
Route in Limpopo , which has produced an
array of top sculptors and artists whose
work now graces galleries and homes
world-wide. The
"big five artists" in Limpopo are
Churchill Madzivhandila, Meshack
Raphalalani, Noriah Mabasa, Jackson
Hlungwani and Sarah Munyai, all of whom
have an international
following. In
the same area are women weavers and
potters, whose work is also in great
demand. Artists
in the Drakensberg mountains of KwaZulu
Natal are also visited. Travellers
stay in one-of-a-kind hotels, visit
mystical regions that few tourists see and
view animals in luxurious, eco-friendly
safari camps. The next group will be in
South Africa from May 17 to 31. The
Cultural Explorer is a member of the
African Travel Association and is based in
San Francisco. For
more information, visit
http://theculturalexplorer.com or e-mail
the founder of the Cultural Explorer, Pat
Walker, at: pat@theculturalexplorer.com |
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The
African mother slipped the infant off her
back at a rural clinic in Limpopo and
offered the baby to the woman who had been
admiring the tiny girl.