The Narrative in Order
This blog has “lost” some of its entries.
If you’d like to easily read the story as it was written, please CLICK HERE for an Index of Contents in date order.
Into the Interior
It’s the three and a half day journey by train from Cape Town to Salisbury (Harare), that brings the traveller face to face with the vastness of The Dark Continent - this mighty Africa.
Train may not be the most upmarket way to travel – unless you go by South Africa’s famous Blue Train or one of the boutique steam train services – but you sure get closer to the continent and its landscape travelling that way. I’m glad we did that trip, although my memories of it are definitely influenced by the state my health was in.
Even the harbour of Cape Town with its beautiful views of Table Mountain couldn’t restore to me the full excitement of travelling – I felt too rotten. My mom and I sat in the lobby of a hotel somewhere in Adderley Street while my dad did some shopping – and that was as much as I saw of Cape Town.
I was having trouble keeping down food. People on the train got used to the sight of me careering down the passageway from the dining-car to the toilet after meals. They got out of my way real quick. Aside from that, I think I gradually began to feel a bit better, and I know I took photos of the Africans who seemed to materialise from nowhere whenever the train stopped, carrying wooden carvings and other artwork for sale.
The great plains of Africa, dotted with mopani trees that paraded past the windows seemingly interminably made a huge impression on me. I had never seen so much wide open space in my life before and it was that impact of the vastness and space of the veldt that stayed with me inwardly, so that when I was finally introduced to the outdoors of New Zealand, it was the wide open spaces that got closest to my heart.
There were no overnight stops in South Africa. We were in a tourist class coach and our cabin had 4 bunks, with the top 2 folding away to give seating room during the day. The slow, rhythmic “click-clack, click-clack” of the swaying train as it ate up the miles of this epic journey was actually soothing by day and quite restful at night.
Our last night on the train started off in Bulawayo. I can’t remember if we stayed on the same train for the final leg to Salisbury, or whether we changed trains. Something far more important happened. Sitting in the dining-car in Bulawayo station before the train resumed our journey, I felt hungrier than I had for days. I tucked into a plateful of tomato sandwiches, and can still remember my mom warning me not to eat too many. I did of course - AND they stayed down!
Technorati Tags:
journey, art, painting, sculpture, artist, landscape, wildlife, New Zealand, wilderness, travel
Voyage to the Unknown
We sailed from Southampton in the Union Steamship Company’s “Carnarvon Castle”. The first of their diesel-powered vessels, she had been built for the mail run between Southampton and Cape Town, and she could complete the trip in 12 days. She had seen World War II service, including a dangerous running battle with a German strike-vessel that crippled her temporarily. She was near the end of her service.
Our first stop was Madeira. We were already rejoicing in the warmth and sunshine. As we continued southwards, the African continent appeared on the port side, with its long, featureless flat coastline fringed for mile after mile with vegetation – it looked hot. Small boats came out to meet us, with young boys diving for coins in the clear, turquoise waters. It was like a dream.
It turned out to be an ill-fated trip, though. The same flu that I’d had earlier was circulating on board and we’d taken on bad water at Madeira. Dysentery struck the ship. Once we crossed the line barely a quarter of the passengers made it to meals at any given time. I succumbed – flu for the second time in a month and dysentery as well. I was running both ends at once and the ship’s doctor doubted I’d be well enough to get off the ship at Cape Town.
Our train journey from Cape Town into the interior of the mighty continent was already booked. We had no option. So the doctor by his own admission threw the book of antibiotics at me.
It was a very groggy girl who disembarked to a new future at Cape Town, and the extent of that new future didn’t become apparent for a year or two. I won’t go into details – suffice to say that for 20 years the medical profession had no answer to my digestive problems and weariness. It was all in my head, they said. I carried on with my life as best I could, watching very carefully what I ate, and was finally diagnosed with systemic candida from that massive dose of antibiotics. I’m actually still dealing with it.
Technorati Tags:
journey, art, painting, sculpture, artist, landscape, wildlife, New Zealand, wilderness, travel
