For a number of very good reasons, first and foremost the government’s despicable anti-Israel activism, there is very little tourism to South Africa emanating from Israel right now. Despite our misgivings, my wife, Cheryl, and I decided to take up the kind offer of our friends to join them for a week at a time-share lodge situated just outside the iconic Kruger National Park in the northeastern corner of the country (we were born and bred in South Africa but had never made the pilgrimage to this haven of African fauna) and to visit close family members in the old country whom we had not seen for many years.
We passed through Immigrations with our Israeli passports without the batting of an eye and did not encounter any personal animosity when we produced these documents throughout our trip.
Located an easy 20-minute drive from the Phabeni entrance to Kruger, the Sabie River Sun Resort is a luxurious, manicured paradise. Our aesthetically pleasing chalet consisted of two well-appointed en-suite bedrooms, kitchen, dining room, and comfortable lounge, all under a vaulted ceiling covered by faux thatch, in the spirit of the African bushveld. The porch, with its dining and barbecuing facilities, led out to an expansive grassed area, sloping down to a river which is home to a herd of snorting hippos and an assortment of chirping waterfowl. For swimmers who may be frustrated at the inadvisability of taking a dip in the river, there is a selection of five swimming pools to choose from.
Amenities at the resort include a golf course, tennis courts, and other facilities as befits the sports-crazy South Africans. Occasional chimps, wild duck, and giant lizards made appearances in the gardens. For kashrut reasons, we did not partake of the rich fare offered in the restaurants, but our wonderful hosts provided meals fit for kings, including barbeques known to our lot as “braaivleis.” The boerewors [beef sausages], steaks, and lamb chops, sourced from Johannesburg’s excellent kosher butcheries, were stupendously succulent.
Enjoying vacation in South Africa
Following an idyllic Shabbat which included walks in the verdant open spaces of the resort, we were up at 5 a.m. and out for days of game watching. The process of entering the park was typical of our experience throughout our stay. There is no online booking facility, and the procedure which included registration, payment, entry and security check, involved interaction with five different individuals, all of whom were friendly and cooperative. In a country with the highest rate of unemployment in the world (which includes 45% of its 18-35 year-olds), labor-intensive systems are the option of choice.
If this was a lesson in patience and taking the foot off the crazy Israeli pedal, it was to serve us well on our meandering journey. The park, whose size and shape approximate those of the State of Israel, is one of those rare places where mankind has largely left nature to take its own course so that the natural ecosystem reigns almost supreme.
We humans roam the park in metal machines as outside observers of this relic of the world as it existed for millions of years before mankind, in a blink of time, planted its destructive footprint on the planet. The indigenous animals have no reason to entertain us, so it is largely a matter of luck as to what you see.
Rather than listing and counting the animals we saw, I chose to immerse myself in observing this world-before-our-world. There is a momentous lesson to be learnt here for us 21st-century Homo sapiens, given the parasitic way in which we are eating away at the tree on which our existence is perched. For this ecosystem is a blueprint for sustaining symbiotic life over eons and ensuring the future of the species and the planet.
We witnessed plenty of wildlife on land, in the air, and on water, but more than that, we got a glimpse of their interaction and norms. Reading Ed Yong’s An Immense World along the way helped to dispel the tendency to impose human-centric values and judgment on the behavior of fauna. Just one example is the complex family and congregational groupings of various animals. Seeing young elephants, hyenas, and primates suckling from their mothers was truly awesome, as was the behavior of herds of impala bachelors and the way tiny birds and massive hippopotami have a mutually beneficial relationship. Indeed, the bird life at Kruger is abundant in its variety, color and behavior.
Except for two meals and relief stops at well-appointed camps, we spent eight hours a day driving leisurely along the well-maintained roads. Fortunately, we love schmoozing with our friends!
On one day, we booked an early-morning guided jeep ride. As we entered the park, the great African sun rose to the northeast, silhouetting knob-thorn trees in dramatic orange. Our guide-driver was fascinatingly informative, and his connections with colleagues facilitated the sighting of lions which were off our beaten track.
We devoted another day to exploring the magnificent surrounding countryside, awed by the dramatic vistas of the Blyde River Canyon and Pinnacle Point. The primeval Bourkes Luck Potholes contrasted starkly with recently formed potholes that dot the poorly maintained roads in that area.
Returning to Johannesburg, we found it to be a desultory, depressed city. The smell of cooking fires hung heavy over the upscale suburbs, where those with means, having lost trust in the government, have devised their own water, electricity, and security supply systems, with solar panels on their roofs, water tanks in their gardens, and privately contracted personnel patrolling the streets.
South Africa, which spends material resources in obsessive Israel-bashing (some say funded by Iran), yet refuses to condemn Russia for its invasion of Ukraine or China for its vicious abuse of the Uyghurs, is a failed state when it comes to providing basic safety, utilities, and welfare for its own people. While apartheid as a system of governance has disappeared, there is still by and large a huge gulf between the mainly white people with means and most people of color who live in abject poverty. Looking into their eyes, we got a sense of a lack of spark and hope in so many of these people. This despair is reflected in the poor voter turnout in the recent election, with just 58% of the population casting their ballots, down from the 89% who voted in the first democratic election held in 1994.
According to the 2023/4 Human Development report, South Africa is the most unequal country in the world, where the richest 20% of the population earn nearly 70% of the income, and the poorest 40% earn just 7%. South Africa also has the third-highest crime rate in the world, with especially high rates of violent crime. This has been attributed to several factors, such as high levels of poverty, inequality, unemployment, and the normalization of violence. Shockingly, the BBC reported that more than one in four men surveyed by the South African Medical Research Council admitted to committing rape.
Johannesburg is at the epicenter of these phenomena, whereas Cape Town, even with its huge shanty encampments, has a different feel. The city is universally ranked as one of the most beautiful in the world, and it is run by the DA party whose approach to governance is vastly different to the decrepit, corrupt ANC. We encountered many homeless people lining areas of the city’s sidewalks, which contrasted starkly with stately mansions and sea-view penthouses, as well as stupendous vistas of ocean and mountain, rocky cliffs, and rolling, green valleys.
However, as Jews, we felt more secure in Johannesburg, where I walked around wearing a kippah. Although the number of Jews in the city has dwindled to 25,000 compared to 70,000 in the 1970s, the number of schools, synagogues, kosher restaurants, and other communal facilities has multiplied, signifying a huge rise in religious observance.
We flew into Cape Town on a Friday just as the Jews in the city were informed by their community leaders that a massive pro-Palestinian march would be taking place the next day and that it would be advisable to stay away from the city center and not display any discernible Jewish paraphernalia. Shades of London, Sydney, New York, et al. Yet, despite the presence of hundreds of thousands of Muslims in the city, as of writing there have been no violent antisemitic attacks post-October 7.
We enjoyed another serene Shabbat at our friends’ house overlooking Boulders Beach, renowned for its penguin colony. We marveled as the sun set over the ocean and the mountains in the far distance. The next morning at daybreak, we ended our jog along the beautiful Kalk Bay shoreline by jumping into one of the tidal pools that dot the coast, joining a host of hardy enthusiasts braving the bracing water.
Spending money in South Africa that has been earned in Israel is a rare pleasure! The bill for a delicious, filling meal at Nando’s kosher chicken restaurant in Johannesburg came to NIS 140 for four; and we stocked up on gifts for the family back home at an array of department, gift, and sundry stores at Cape Town’s world-class Waterfront entertainment and shopping complex, occasionally checking the tags twice, in disbelief at the prices.
Having been hosted for so many nights, we decided to splurge the day before we left, and booked into the Winchester Hotel. As teenagers, we would hang out on the weekends with friends at the beach front, looking at the beautiful façade of this iconic building designed in the Cape Dutch style, never dreaming that one day we would be able to afford to spend a night in this very posh hotel. Our generous, luxuriously furnished suite looked out on a 180-degree view of the Atlantic, and the service-with-a-smile befitted the hotel’s reputation. We sat out on the veranda, where I remembered staring at the R&Fs (“rich and famous” in the local jargon) and ordered “Kola Tonics and lemonade, with ice and a slice of lemon,” which produced another blast of nostalgia. Yes, we could have found less expensive accommodation, but you know, you only live once. The bill, including the tonics and multiple free shuttle rides to the Waterfront complex, totaled NIS 700.
As we boarded our Ethiopian Airlines flight, we felt a sense of gratitude at the completion of a memorable journey, but more so, that we were flying home in the same direction we had traveled 40-plus years ago.■