South Africa:
Land of beauty and danger
Mac-Mac falls
There is no doubt about it; the
natural splendor of South Africa is
hard to surpass, its fauna and flora
unique in the world. However, the
dangers there are great and many. All
travellers face risks when they travel;
risks to themselves and their
belongings. These risks are
disproportionally high when traveling in
South Africa. The risks are not from the
wildlife as you might expect, but rather
from the people in South Africa. Here is
a personal tale of traveling in South
Africa.
Traveling on a tour bus with twelve
others our first stop after Johannesburg
was God's Window. The place offered
wondrous views of the whole Mpumalanga
area, which is in the north central part
of South Africa. It was a bright and
sunny morning so the mountains, pine
forests, and green rolling pastures
seemed amplified in our eyes. After
walking down from the summit, we
returned to the tour bus ready for the
next leg of our journey, which, as it
turned out, was never to happen. About
ten minutes after leaving the parking
lot, we heard an unusual noise coming
from the transmission of the bus; then
suddenly bang! The bus rolled to a stop
at the side of a lonely road. We
suspected, from the sound, that the
drive shaft had come away from the
transmission and this is what had
happened.
Breaking drive shaft bolts is such an
unusual thing we should have suspected
foul play then, but we mistakenly put it
down to bad luck. The sun rose higher
into the cloudless sky and the day got
hotter. The tour guide asked everyone to
walk back down the road to try to locate
the missing bolts with the hope we might
be able to make a field repair and get
back on our way. While everyone searched
the tour guide phoned his organization
and requested a replacement vehicle. He
also called a mechanic to come out to
us. When everyone returned from their
fruitless search for bolts, the guide
suggested we walk back into Graskop (a
little town not too far away) while the
driver stayed with the vehicle and
waited for the mechanic to arrive. This
decision turned out to be a big mistake.
We all naively took off through one
of the numerous pine forests following
our young inexperienced guide, mostly in
good spirits and happy to be walking
again. Eventually we left the forest and
came back out onto the road, our second
big mistake.
The group stopped for one of several
breaks, most of us sitting on a railing
at the side of the road, talking,
laughing, and drinking water. From what
seemed like nowhere a car pulled up with
four black men in it. We paid little
attention and just kept enjoying our
break. The guide went over and began
talking to the driver. He quite suddenly
and sharply instructed us to continue
walking. I was at the front of the group
and so walked past the guide first. The
driver of the car, now out and standing
beside it, gave me what I thought was a
smile as I passed him. At that moment, I
heard a hubbub behind me so I stopped
and turned. It was then I saw the rifle
in the driver's hands. It was a hunting
rifle with a telescopic sight on it with
the barrel cut off to make it shorter.
The driver did not look at me directly
and seemed to be looking everywhere all
at once, but he did raise the rifle to
ensure I saw it. I looked at the front
of the car and saw that the passenger
had gotten out and was brandishing a
shotgun. The driver was saying something
to me, but I did not understand him.
The sun was shining even harder now.
People from our group were scattered all
around the car. I moved back closer to
the rear of the car that is when I heard
a banging sound coming from the trunk. A
muffled woman's voice pleading for help
followed the banging.
Everyone seemed to be moving in towards
the car now. I too, unthinkingly,
automatically was drawn closer to the
car. I found myself standing by the back
passenger window when I finally heard
and understood what the gunmen were
saying; they wanted us to put our
belongings into their car. How slow I
was to realize that we were being
robbed. Not only robbed, but also robbed
at gunpoint. At that instant I realized
I could be shot; I mean for real. I felt
a wave of terror pass through me. I
heard the gunman at the front of the
car, now just a few feet from me,
shouting to the group, "Put your stuff
in the car, now! Why are you taking so
long do it, now!" The muffled cries for
help from the trunk continued as I took
off my backpack and slid it into the
open rear window of the car. Someone had
moved next to me so I helped her put her
backpack into the car too. The soul
wrenching sounds from the trunk got
louder. Finally, I understood that
someone was locked in the trunk. I guess
it was my fear that made me so slow in
realizing this.
Just as quickly, as they had arrived
the gunmen sped away in their car. We
were alone again under the hot midday
sun. All we could do was mull around
stunned not saying a word. The guide
instructed us to leave the road and to
wait in the grass at the side; we did
this gladly. As we walked the true
feeling of loss, danger, menace, and
peril came on us. Some of us cried,
others stared into the distance, and
some, like me, just remained stunned.
None of us had been shot or hurt, but
the fate of the woman in the trunk was
unknown.
South Africa is a beauty-filled
place, but make sure you are fully aware
of the dangers of traveling there.