A Tribute to the Country I Love Like My Own...

This is not a tourism article so I will not highlight the various and innumerable tourist destinations within South Africa. What I will do, is highlight a few proudly South African characteristics of this humble nation, that are sure to tug at your heart strings and pull you there for a visit. Once you're there though, beware, for the place tends to grow on you, slowly, gradually, like a climbing vine... You may never know how you got yourself so entangled, that suddenly you are hearing the African drums within your heartbeat and hearing Africa calling..

In her heart of hearts, it is distinct from the rest of Africa. For one thing, she is relatively more developed, yet humbled given her background. She is relatively more progressed, yet manages to support and pass on her unique and distinct culture to the generations that come. She instills the value of the 'says it all' South African caption "Proudly South African", without being a bigoted nationalist over it. It is like the soul of Africa, with aggression reserved for where aggression is required (like at the Copenhagen talks) and simplistic, humble and loving hospitality for where hearts exist.

So what is it about the country that appeals to people like you and me, that go there once and come back with a permanently tattooed imprint of the place on their minds and souls. Is it her natural beauty... the lush green, open landscape (the kind that only exists in dreams or maybe just some untouched places of New Zealand)? Is it the myriad of colors in the form of the blooming purple jacaranda or the yellow buttercups? Is it the fantastically fickle weather that lets you see dark purple nights of lightening bolts on wonderfully wet evenings, and windy, sunny, playfully yellow mornings the very next day? Or is it the connecting vein of lovely, loving and helpful people who know how to enjoy their lives with just a penny in their pockets and a wide smile on their faces?

While the landscape, the weather, the fresh air (a commodity getting scarcer by the day), the culture and the people are all indescribable, beyond the capability of the English vocabulary, I would still say none of the above. What endears South Africa to one and all is the laid back, laziness of the place that lets you catch a moment of breath, just so you can actually notice the buttercups and the jacarandas. The place grows on you not because the place is beyond beautiful, but because you have the time and the ability to notice the beauty there. There are numerous places around the world that are possibly more beautiful than South Africa, but unless I just go there on a month-long holiday, absolutely detached from my routine life, I would not even be registering them.

In South Africa, people work and people enjoy. When working they work properly, full-time and with full dedication. There are no 'do and don't' rules that suggest 'don't open email forwards during work hours', 'do not listen to the radio while you're working' and 'do not take smoke breaks'. Employees are human there and like all humans, they are allowed these small human outlets. Yet, because of them, employees are loyal and work their **** off for their employers. Things run smoothly and efficiently despite the lack of formal rules and regulations. Weekends are off and not a single person makes work related phone calls to anyone on off days. Life is perfect to take a little time off for yourself, to have a round of lawn tennis, a splash in the pool or just relax and get a tan on the lawns.

The fresh air, the fantastically hand-sculpted landscape, the human made monstrosities called malls and the absolutely adrenaline filled adventure sports can be thoroughly enjoyed in South Africa because people know they only have one life to live and they make the most of it. To top it all, forget work and play, South Africans even have time for society. Almost everybody contributes to social causes. There are campaigns during winter where people donate brand new duvets and rugs to the underprivileged, in order to protect them from the harsh winters. Humanitarian social work is a mandatory requirement during vacations, at schools and colleges. Animal related causes and rehabilitation centers have people donating the most valuable of all asset donations, their 'time'.

Who wants service in South Africa? No one, I'd say. People prefer to stay in homely 'bed and breakfasts' and self catering cottages while on vacations. They provide the perfect setting to enjoy the peace and tranquility of the place. Unlike impersonal motels and lodges, the personal touches that these humane lodging and boarding facilities provide, never fail to impress tourists and that is the local culture. Most residency establishments available to tourists have the best of Africa within them. The hospitality, the furniture and fixtures, the portraits and even the setting are all purely Africana style. Even your room will remind you that you're out in the wild, so how can you forget that you're enjoying the place.

Come to South Africa. Whether to work or to play, it definitely has something else in store for you, an experience like no other. Get some vintage wine from one of the home-grown Cape vineyards, get yourself a seat in the open porch, in the wee morning hours, under the soft sun, near the pool and relax like you've never relaxed before. The very next day, wake up fresh and wake up with a plan, a plan to explore the wilds of South Africa. Go to game drives in the Kruger National Park or learn more about animals in the Moholoholo Wildlife Rehab Center. I guarantee you'll be back completely exhausted but still with a heart that will say 'I want more'. When you've to take a break from the greener than green side of the nation, turn to concrete. Go visit Sun City, Monte Casino and Gold Reef City. Have fun while you're at it. Oh by the way, did I fail to mention this, even a lifetime there will not be enough to see the whole of South Africa. Just mark some things down that you surely cannot miss there and leave the rest for the next time. Don't forget the drive to-and-fro from Cape Town (the garden route is one of a kind and so are the beaches; especially boulder beach). While you're there, dig into places like Robben Island and Cape Agulhas (you'll think it is a parallel world and not a part of ours). Don't forget the silent Drakensberg that will give you the tranquil beauty of nature and hiking trails to get lost in. Don't forget Mpumalanga for all the adventure that Sabie can provide you with (if you like white river rafting, bungee jumping and the works. that is). The list can truly go on and on and I can swear I have missed out something special still. Yet, I must end it here. All I can say is that you can only know once you go there, and only when you do, will you know how inadequate and incomplete my article is.

Disclaimer
This article by no means intends to suggest that South Africa is only one such place in the world for none of the others are mentioned in the article. This article is an outlet to portray what I love about South Africa in particular and is hence just a very personal, very biased tribute to the place.