Laurel here…

Nick & I head out for a wonderful morning walk along the promenade of the beach at Summerstrand where we are staying. There are quite a few people out exercising and enjoying the morning and we feel perfectly safe. It is so lovely to be walking again after weeks of sitting in our vehicles!

Today we are going on a Township Tour (or more specifically a Shanty Town tour). We are picked up from our beautiful hotel at 10am by Orland from Calabash Tours. He explains that his nickname is 7/11 as he can talk virtually non-stop from 7am till 11pm! We all have a little chuckle, wondering how he would fare against Judy and her 10,000 words per day!! We have chosen this tour company as they claim to give 50% of their fee to projects to improve the lives of shanty town residents. Hopefully they do.

For now, we are shown around the landmarks and heritage buildings of Port Elizabeth. Ending with a view of the gaol in which Steve Biko was incarcerated before his 'accidental death' while being transported to Cape Town. Then out to the markets for the 'non-whites'. The area is understandably buzzing and we are interested to learn that most of the shopkeepers are Muslim, though no explanation of why is given and the muslim population of Port Elizabeth is quite small.

Then on to the shanty towns. We notice again that many of the shanty towns actually have proper (though small) houses. Apparently much of this came about during Nelson Mandela's time as President as he vowed to build 1 million houses for the people. He didn't quite reach this figure but came close with 850,000 houses and a large number of schools, 28 in fact. As well, many of the roads in these towns are now bitumen and power and water supplies are being installed, in an ongoing programme. There are still areas of the shanties we envisage ie made of tin and with no facilities, but it is heartening to see that they appear to be a minority. Apparently the houses, as they are built, are given to the people and all they have to pay for is their electricity and water. This is necessary as the unemployment rate is running at around 35-40%. It was also interesting to note that there are different levels of shanty town - ones for blacks and ones for coloureds and there are even the 'better areas' within those towns - for the more middle class families.

We were disappointed to note that there is still a high level of 'class distinction' within the society - with the 'Whites' being at the top, followed by the 'Coloureds', followed by 'Asians & Indians' and then the 'Blacks'. As far as SA has come already, there is still a long way to go.

We all felt that the tour was definitely worth doing and that we had a little more insight into South African society.

That night for our farewell dinner, we went to Yi Pin and had a lovely Chinese meal with Joe the restaurant owner entertaining us with his joviality and bubbly personality!

We all agreed that we have had the MOST WONDERFUL holiday and that it was truly enhanced by sharing it with our fantastic friends, including Kevin & Elaine! The memories of the fun & laughter we have shared, the amazing wildlife and scenery we have seen and the taste of Africa we have experienced will be forever etched in our minds and speaking for myself… to have been able to 'live my dream' in a such a way that it actually exceeded my expectations, is such a gift... and I thank you all!

Quote of the day - "Africa is mystic; it is wild; it is a sweltering inferno; it is a photographer's paradise, a hunter's Valhalla, an escapist's Utopia. It is what you will, and it withstands all interpretations." - Beryl Markham from her book 'West With the Night'