south africa

when i planned south africa as part of my itinerary, it was  because: 1. i wanted to visit the 'real' africa (i don't really see egypt as africa), and 2. i wanted to do a safari, see animals in the wild and such. it didn't even cross my mind at the time that they were hosting the 2010 world cup..

and there i was, only around a month and a half before the world cup, seeing the city still under construction.. like the taxi driver said: "before, all people would talk about was animals.. now, it's all football!".. and i'll tell you it's good to be a brazilian when all they talk about is football!

it was a long journey (35 hours door to door, bali to durban).. i flew into jo'burg, but went straight to the bus station to durban.. jo'burg is known for being one of the most dangerous cities in the world, and durban is known for being one of the friendliest cities in south africa (and it's by the beach).. the choice was clear to me..

so there i visited the spankin' new moses mabhida stadium, where amongst other games, brazil is going to play against portugal.. it was some experience, going inside with it empty, walking on the grass, and then going up the 550 steps to the top of the 106m arc that holds up the roof, and having a 360 degree view of the city and the ocean..

still craving for some local culture, i visited the isithumba village, in the valley of a thousand hills, outside of durban.. there was a zulu wedding happening the whole weekend (it was a sunday), so i went with a local and saw some of the traditions, like all the singing and the zulu dance (videos to come)..

and then it was time to the much expected hluhluwe-umfolozi tour: two days seeing (or trying to see) animals in the wild.. it started with a ferry ride up the santa lucia river, where we spotted lots of hippos, a couple of crocs and some interesting birds, like the beautiful african fish eagle..

from there, a quick visit to the cheetah rehabilitation center, where they take care of the cats and, when possible, return them to the wild.. it was feeding time, and i saw wild african cats, servals (and went inside the cage with them!), lynxes (jumping up to 3m to grab their food) and cheetahs (not amazed by our presence)..

next day, the real thing: game viewing (safari) in the national reserve.. the park is known for the good chance of spotting the big five (lion, leopard, elephant, rhino and buffalo), and the large number of rhinos and elephants.. well, i was only half expecting to be lucky enough to see the big cats.. and i didn't.. but no elephants? that was a bummer!

but it still was good, as i spotted giraffes, rhinos, buffaloes, wildebeests (gnus), zebras, warthogs (pumbas), impalas, monkeys and a very venomous looking snake.. sometimes you could barely see the animals, but other times they were right there, up close, and that was the awesome part, especially when we were in a hide, where they had no idea they were being watched.. killer! (no pun..)

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zakumi, the world cup mascot

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inside moses mabhida stadium

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zulu dancing in isithumba village

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the not-so-happy-with-our-presence cheetah

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view from the hide: zebra, giraffe, warthogs and an impala

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bushes, trees, and my trademark: clouds!


--- pt ---

quando eu coloquei a africa do sul no meu itinerario, foi porque: 1. eu queria visitar a africa "de verdade" (eu nao considero muito o egito como parte da africa), e 2. eu queria fazer um safari, ver animais no habitat natural deles. nem me passou pela cabeca que eles estariam sediando a copa do mundo de 2010..

e la estava eu, apenas a um mes e meio do inicio da copa, vendo a cidade ainda em obras.. como o taxista me disse: "antes, todo mundo que vinha pra ca' so' falava de animais.. agora, e' so' futebol!".. e eu ja te digo, e' bom ser brasileiro quando o assunto em todo lugar e' futebol!

foi uma longa jornada (35 horas de porta a porta, bali ate' durban).. eu voei pra joanesburgo (jo'burg), mas fui direto pra rodoviaria, pra pegar um onibus pra durban.. jo'burg e' considerada uma das cidades mais violentas do mundo, e durban e' considerada uma das cidades mais amistosas da africa (e fica na praia).. a escolha era clara pra mim..

entao fui visitar o estadio moses mabhida, novo em folha, onde entre outros jogos, o brasil vai enfrentar portugal.. foi uma experiencia, entrar no estadio vazio, pisar no gramado, e depois subir os 550 degraus ate' o topo do arco que suporta a cobertura (106 metros), de onde eu tive uma vista de 360 graus da cidade e do oceano..

ainda querendo ver mais da cultura local, visitei o vilarejo de isithumba, no vale dos mil montes (valley of a thousand hills), perto de durban.. durante todo o fim de semana, estava acontecendo um casamento zulu, entao eu fui com um local e vi algumas tradicoes, como as musicas e as dancas zulu (videos em breve)..

e entao chegou a tao esperada hluhluwe-umfolozi tour: dois dias vendo (ou tentando ver) animais na selva.. comecou com uma volta de barco pelo rio santa lucia, onde pude ver varios hipopotamos, alguns crocodilos e uns passaros interessantes, como a bela aguia pescadora africana (traducao?)..

de la, uma rapida visita ao centro de rehabilitacao para cheetahs, onde eles cuidam dos gatos e, quando possivel, os liberam de volta ao habitat natural.. era a hora da alimentacao, e eu vi gatos selvagens africanos, servals (e fui dentro da jaula com eles!), linces (pulando ate' 3 metros pra agarrar a comida deles) e cheetahs (que nao estavam muito felizes com a nossa presenca)..

no dia seguinte, a coisa seria: o safari na reserva nacional.. o parque e' conhecido pela boa chance de encontrar os '5 grandes' (big 5: leao, leopardo, elefante, rinoceronte e buffalo), e pelo grande numero de rinocerontes e elefantes.. bom, eu nao esperava muito ver os gatos.. e nao vi mesmo.. mas nem elefantes? isso foi frustrante!

mas ainda foi bom, porque eu vi girafas, rinocerontes, bufalos, gnus, javalis africanos (pumbas), impalas, macacos e uma cobra que parecia ser bem venenosa.. as vezes mal dava pra ver os animais, mas outras, eles estavam bem ali, pertinho.. e essa foi a melhor parte, principalmente quando a gente estava nos 'esconderijos', onde eles nao tinham ideia que estavam sendo observados...

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(foto 1)
zakumi, o mascote da copa do mundo

(foto 2)
dentro do estadio moses mabhida

(foto 3)
danca zulu no vilarejo de isithumba

(foto 4)
cheetah, nao muito animado com a nossa presenca

(foto 5)
vista do 'esconderijo': zebra, girafa, javalis e uma impala

(foto 6)
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