Nelspruit and the Rugby

This past weekend I traveled to Nelspruit to stay with my classmate and good friend Graeme (aka Goochi).   Nelspruit is 3 hours east of Pretoria, very close to the border of Mozambique and Swaziland and is the nearest city to the famous Kruger National Park.  This area of South Africa is called the Lowveld (the “low bush”), because as you travel from Pretoria you come down off a giant plateau called the Great Escarpment that makes up the horn of Africa.  Driving for an hour down into the lowveld the landscape changes from grassland to savanna due to temperature.  Savanna is the most typical African biome and is commonly called the African “Bush” because of the constant layer of grass with small trees and bushes mixed in.

City of Nelspruit

We went to Nelspruit to get away from the hustle and bustle of Pretoria and most importantly to watch the Rugby.  I’ve always found it difficult to watch organized sports such as American football, however there is something about rugby that excites me.  First in rugby there is constant action; there are two 40 minutes halves where there is few pauses in the game.  Secondly is that rugby is an international sport.  Unlike American sports such as baseball, football, hockey, and basketball, which are all privately owned teams that may represent an area, but most players are from all over the country or other countries.  In Rugby you have regional teams that represent a province or region and then there is a national team called the Springboks. 

In what is called Super Rugby, teams from 15 major rugby countries such as New Zealand, England, Australia and others compete against each other.  Going to a Super Rugby game is truly a national experience as all South Africans are there to support their country. Unlike many American sports, when a super rugby game is playing the entire city and country is involved, because it is truly international competition (where South Africa happens to be one of the best teams), it’s sort of like having the Olympics every month. 

On Saturday we donned our South African jerseys, occupied and supported our local pub at 10am, before marching in a procession to the stadium.  Helicopters and jets flew overhead with “Go Bokke” written across their sides, the Afrikaans chant for the Springboks. In the stadium we first watched Samoa take on Italy in an exhibition game prior to the main event. In a stadium of 45,000 a sea of green and gold proudly sang the national anthem of Nkosi Sikele’iAfrika and thousands of the rainbow nation’s flags were feverishly waved…it was hard not to feel South African. 

Gooch and I supporting the boks 

You may have seen the movie Invictus about how Nelson Mandela (Morgan Freedman) and Springbok captain Francois Pienaar (Matt Damond) united the nation through winning the 1995 World Cup. This sport once represented apartheid and the white community, but now being in that stadium it truly has brought the country to life. Playing the Scottish (who are not the best team), the Springboks put forward their second string team at first, however after a sorry first half they upped their game to win 30-17. Two weeks ago the Springboks played the American team and beat them 109-0. 

After the game we traveled back to the pub on a bus where a race fight almost ensued amongst my friends and a group of other locals, reminding us that perhaps tensions were not completely dissolved. However at the pub we got the chance to meet and have drinks with the players! Including Eben Etzebeth the 6’8” lock and Booby Skinstand longtime flanker and previous captain of the Springboks.

As of today I am finished with my exams after over a month of work and I’ve been in ZA for 5 months…I’m looking forward to more great weekends like this one.

But first here's Bob with the weather....

    While most of you are getting geared up for summer back home, here at the bottom of the earth winter has definitely arrived.  Winter in Pretoria means no rain, no humidity, and no central heat.  Temperatures at night can dip into the 30’s(2-5), but usually stay in the low 40’s(5-7).  Once the mornings heat up the temperature go into the 60°’s and 70°F’s (20s) and is actually quite pleasant.  With never a cloud in the sky you can still feel the heat of the African sun as if you were on the beach.

    It doesn’t sound too bad does it? But there’s a catch and the reason why I’m sitting here wearing pants, socks, and a sweater.  When people build houses and buildings in South Africa, they have a decision to make.  Would I rather bake in the summer or freeze in the winter, obviously most have chosen the latter. So most buildings are designed to stay cool during the long extremely hot and humid summers and offer no insulation for the 3 months of winter. It makes sense since summer is most of the year and quite intense. 

     Now any of you who know me at all are wondering, “why the hell are YOU wearing pants”! For those who don’t know my past; first I have always been known to be a 4-season shorts and sandals attire person.  Then after living in Alaska where winter temperatures are commonly -40°F(-40°c) and the lowest I’ve experienced is -59°F (-51°C), there are very few “normal” temperatures that bother me.  I can remember when after weeks of -30°(-34°C) or so in Alaska, it would warm up to 0°F(-18°C) or 5°F(-15°C) and we would go out in shorts and sandals and sun bathe.  This last summer I worked in Canada where it snowed quite frequently throughout July and June in the mountains.  Thus I’ve always have had thicker blood and am rarely seen in pants, unless social circumstances require it. 

      However it seems like the African sun has thinned my blood a bit.  Also the 7’x7’ single pan glass window next to my bed makes sure that I never get warm in my flat when the sun goes down. It is that constant cold that starts to get to you. Even when I go into school, I walk down the hallways and see professors in big winter coats huddled around electric heaters.  Most people do not think that Africa can get cold, but even last year it snowed in Pretoria for the first time in 10 years.  During the day in the hot sun I watch the leaves fall off the trees, yet most trees are evergreens (not pines).  So you still have typical African trees flourishing in the cool hot sun, but an autumn scene of crunchy fallen leaves surrounds them.  

It is definitely an interesting experience!  I’m not at the point of needing a coat yet, but I am wearing pants at night.

A hipster day in Jozi

   Today I went to the iconic city of Johannesburg for the first time or Jozi or Joburg as locals call it.  A mere 40 minute train ride on Africa’s first 21st century train system called the “Gautrain” takes you from Pretoria to the city center of Johannesburg.  After emerging from the train station we found ourselves in the center of Sub-Saharan Africa’s largest city, a massive urban sprawl of towering new age skyscrapers along side intense poverty.

 

The Gautrain.  It only goes back and forth from Pretoria, the airport, and Johannesburg and is often not on time or running since people are constantly stealing the electrical conductors for scrape. 

Walking briskly down the streets, my three female companions and I felt out of place as the only well dressed Caucasians walking rather than driving.  However it is hard not to first notice the smell of human urine and feces down most streets.  Hairdressers, hair extension and cell phone shops line the street level in between massive abandoned buildings all with signs “for let”.

Notorious for it’s crime, it’s hard not to think of the number of murders that occur in this city as well as the accounts of friends who have been mugged in recent days. Friends who go to one of the universities in downtown Joburg have claimed to carry dummy phones and wallets in an attempt to fool criminals.

However 5 blocks from the train station a magnificent transformation occurred, as the filth-ridden streets suddenly opened to an area of boutiques, pubs, penthouses, and general prosperity.  We were going to the Kitchener’s Carvery Bar, a 100+ year old hotel and pub that was hosting a performance by South African singers and musicians Victor Wolf and Andre van Rensburg.

 

Kitchener's Carvery Bar, named after a British military hero from the Boer Wars.

Sitting in a large smoking room, of 19^th century English décor where English explorers, hunters, and entrepreneurs once puffed away at pipes with gin in hand, we lounged to acoustic folk Afrikaans and English music.  In this room the old Africa met the new, young and old folk, black and white sat side by side, white women danced with the small black children playing with their plastic swords.  While outside a free concert was starting in the streets, skateboarders and break dancers were showing off their talent, and the local farmers market was full of fresh food and unique cooking. 

I was told by some of the Johannesburg natives that 10 years ago we would have been shot or stabbed if we were standing where we were.  30 years ago we would have been arrested for just hanging out with people of another color, let alone enjoying each other’s company.  However as we stood there in the middle of a giant street party, a diverse crowd of black, white, brown, yellow, and others joined in around us.  

Andre Van Rensburg avant-garde composer, producer and instrumentalist

Victor Wolf, formerly huge Afrikaan singer Riku Lätti 

Johannesburg is known as a more "English" and liberal city, whereas Pretoria is very "Afrikaans" and much more conservative.  Despite the crime and the horrible poverty, even in the middle of the city, Johannesburg has a unique culture going for it, that can only be described as Williamsburg Brooklyn in NYC. It could be all the hipsters, but the diversity and mix of culture and music was so unique and amazing to be in the middle of. 

A truly unique experience and in many ways reminded me of being in parts of New York, which made me feel at home. 

A sign in a bar from the night before in Pretoria East....seems self explanatory