Saying good byes!

At top, we have our group about to board our little buses to leave. We had had such a wonderful with these people that there were tears on both sides. Even the pet kudu seemed to be saying good bye. Then Winnie, the wife of the couple who owned one of the farms, and Telie, one of our students, you can't quite see that both have tears on their faces. At bottom is me with one of the farm couples whose house I stayed in during the visit. Very nice people.

Contrasts

At top, we have a kudu being fed by one of our students. He was a family pet and was very friendly. At bottom, not far from where the kudu is being pampered is what I seem to remember as a Hartebeest, hunted and shot the farmer's son.

Visit to the trophy room

After a great dinner, we visited the trophy room. The gentleman I'm pictured with obviously has done a lifetime of hunting in South Africa. There were an amazing array of mounted heads, most bizarrely a giraffe.

Back at the Afrikaner farm IV

One of the money making aspects was the raising of sheep for the wool. At top, the farmer shows us what a fleece neatly sheared off in nearly one piece looks like. In the middle, the sheep shearer, clearly and expert, handles and shears the sheep. Some of us, myself included got a chance to shear some wool. A challenge to do it well. At bottom, the students investigate the very thick fleece on the sheep.

Goats galore

It is kind of hard to explain these photos. We were rolling down this endless dirt road and turned a corner and slowed down at this farmhouse. Suddenly, the little goats, having heard us, just came pouring out of the barn. They seemed so happy to see us! The students instantly embraced them.

More British Military Sites

We had the chance to investigate an abandoned British military camp. For those of you have have read of Rorke's Drift or seen the movie, Zulu, one can imagine a Zulu impe approaching these walls.

British military sites

Near the Afrikaner farmstead was much evidence of the fronteir wars fought by the British in the 19th century, primarily against the Xhosa. Hollywood has given pride of place in the native resistance to the Zulu the fact is that Xhosa resisted much longer before ultimate defeat than did the Zulu.

Visit to an Afrikaner farm III

At top, we have two photos of students enjoying a break and a chance to view some beautiful country. We ran across a couple of herds of animals enroute to our next stop. First are some wildebeest and then some zebra. At bottom is a shot of some of the scenery we were able to view on our excursion that day.

Visit to an Afrikaner farm II

In the morning, it quickly became clear just what a beautiful place we were in with mountains rolling off into the distance. The students also got some lessons in life on the farm, herding some baby goats, milking cows, and feeding a pretty domesticated Kudu.

Visit to an Afrikaner farm I

One of the highlights of our visit was the visit to a couple of Afrikaner farms in the moutains near Port Elizabeth. They were wonderful hosts. The students learned a good deal of what it meant to live so far from any of the common amenities of city life in America and learned a good deal about this hearty people.

After a long drive, in which we got lost and extended our trip for about two hours on dirt roads, we arrived at our destination. The bottom two photos illustrate the drive and one of the sights we passed was this abandoned Afrikaner church. The vast changes still taking place in South Africa have resulted sometimes in whites not feeling safe in the bush and moving into more populated areas.

When we arrived at the farm, we had a feast waiting for us. Two new experiences I had was accidentally eating a fried sheep testicle - thinking it was a breaded mushroom - and on purpose having some porcupine snacks that were sort of like little meatballs. We spent much of the evening at fireside talking with our new hosts long into the night.

Trip to the mountains

As part of the broad=ranging experience of South Africa, we took a long drive to the mountains northeast of Port Elizabeth. We spent a chilly night at the King's Lodge Hotel in a mountainous area knows as the Hogsback. Beautiful and remote, about 140 miles from Port Elizabeth. There was another group of students with us on the trip and our students meshed well with them.