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South Africa: Culture/ History/ Art and Crafts/ Natural Beauty

The  People and lifestyle of the  rural areas.

The pulsating of the drums resounded loudly in the small brick tin roof building. People of all ages moved in front of me circle dancing in mesmerizing harmonious rhythm. Infrequently a younger adolescent would spontaneously burst into an array of rhythmic dance steps and movements, while others would support her expression by playing the drums, the whole group singing, chanting, smiling, and laughing, with many eyes closed in a state of spiritual rapture.

I’m in a local church in Venda, South Africa. Most travelers to South Africa will never get to experience this local religious church service, which blends local African spiritual traditions with types of modern day Christianity. They are not only missing out on a unique African cultural experience, but one of the most scenic parts of the country.
 
South Africa is a diverse travel destination. Many of the articles written about the country, and much the attention it receives from winning numerous luxury travel awards portray only half the story of the country.

I custom design packages for South Africa, the country of my birth, and I have lived there 6 months a year each of the last two years. This has given me the opportunity to travel, explore, and experience, the country in great depth and detail, allowing me to create many unique and diverse types of custom designed packages for travel to South Africa.

What many readers and travel writers miss out on, are the traditional rural areas, where the pulse of Africa is still felt, where the ancient traditions are still practiced, where you can feel and see the dynamic transformation of a people taking place, all against the backdrop of some of the country’s most beautiful landscape.

I am particular areas that I am talking about are:

1) The Venda area in the  north of South  Africa, bordering Botswana and relatively close to Kruger  National Park, the famous safari game park,

2)  and the  Eastern Cape, the birthplace of Nelson Mandela and  Steve  Biko, which  is located above the  Garden Route  on the Eastern side of the  country.

 South Africa offers beautiful modern cities, like Cape Town, complete with modern highways, unparalleled sophistication in lodging ranging from the Luxury to the Boutique, a standard of  excellence in the private guiding sector, award winning restaurants, hotels, resorts, Safari Lodges, Luxury trains, and well known areas to visit like the  Garden Route, Kwa Zulu, Drakensberg Mountains, and Kruger National  park………

This is the South Africa most travel magazines know, but if one looks a little deeper they can discover the true richness of the country. It offers an experience deeper than what most tourists receive, and yet within easy travel distance from many  of the  well known areas; a rural diversity that  can add a breadth of experience with regard to culture, history, and arts and craft’s, influenced and shaped by its surrounding natural scenic beauty. 

The Church scene described above in Venda is one of the many personal, cultural, and eco tourist experiences that one can blend in to create a balanced South Africa travel experience. This Venda area is rich in art and crafts, and you   can experience any number of unique cultural people to people highlights:

Visit artists, such as drum makers and wood carvers, in their own homes, pottery_1.jpg
Walk through a local pottery villages and/or sit and learn/do pottery with the ladies of the village,
Experience a traditional feast (when available),
Visit cultural villages, a unique tourism project run by a traditional community, that offer cultural activities including traditional dances, songs and drumming,
Walk in the rural areas from village to village, taking in sights of African life along the way,
Visit a remote school and/or have lunch at the house of one of the teacher’s families, 
Taste traditional food and beverages (optional) and discuss the challenges rural schools are facing in the new South Africa,
Stop by large open air fruit and vegetable markets.
Visit local commodity markets, where modern malls and street vendors sell there wares,
Spend some time in a Wild Dog research area,
See the United Nations World heritage site of Mapungubwe, where 3 countries  come together.


With the Kruger National Park Safari Game Park so close, this area offers an opportunity to travel through from the Northern area of Kruger down to the Central or Southern area  within the park, thereby enhancing your game viewing experience. Alternately, it can be accessed via the nearby Tuli Block of Botswana, a pristine area known for its large elephant herds.

For those interested, Venda’s valleys and mountains offer spectacular bird watching. It has picturesque scenery with local villages and small towns set within green valleys sporting a rich agricultural infrastructure that offers hugely diverse fruit and vegetable farms.

This rural area offers a special quality which will make your trip come alive, while enhancing the quality of your safari experience, and is easy add on to your urban experience of Cape Town and Johannesburg.

The Second rural area I was referencing is The Eastern Cape, which is very easy add on to a visit to the Garden Route, as this area begins where the Garden Route ends. There many unique experiences you can have in this province;

Visit the Nelson Mandela Museum,
Visit Nelson Mandela’s birth village, and see where this great leader grew up,
Visit Steve  Bikos  home  and grave,
Stay at a local B and B, while you tour a well know Black University, the oldest in South Africa, that has a wonderful art gallery for local artists
Possibly stay at the King’s Palace,
You will get to visit and experience local medical clinics, schools, and a day care center started by Steve Biko,
Taste traditional food and wine,
Experience a trip to one of the largest tea  plantations in South Africa

The eastern Cape has numerous spectacular cities that offer unique experiences like Grahamstown, which yearly has the National Art Festival, a 10-day explosion of theatre, music, dance, art exhibitions, street performances; Bisho  where we will walk in the market place where many of the people from the rural villages come and shop; Port St Alfred, a small quaint Indian Ocean sea side village, with an award winning beach; Coffee Bay, a small little village blending rural huts and ocean side hotels, along with  wonderful scenery

The Eastern Cape area is rich in South Africa history, for the British, Germans, Boer and local Xhosa people.

 The scenery is stunning, and the environment is peaceful. The area has a slow and traditional feel, and the beaches along the Indian Ocean offer numerous small moderate to Luxury beach side hotels and resorts, to compliment this experience.

One can walk in the hills and see sustainable local farms, sit with   local women and watch and/or learn to bead, make baskets, or soak up the quietness of the ocean, enjoying down time and absorbing your holiday experience.

 Alternately, you can donate some of your time and do some volunteering work as you travel, helping others as you move on by.

All these Cultural tours are privately guided, in your private vehicle with bilingual local guides, who do all the driving. Your lodging is in quaint local B and B’s with en suite   bathrooms. Your meals are Western blended with local food, native flair being always optional.

The new South Africa is based on the beautiful and deep understanding of Ubuntu, defined as humanity; I am who I am because of those around me. When visiting South Africa you have the opportunity to experience one of the major political miracles of our time. 

The combination of the modern urban vibe of the cities, especially Cape Town, as it is a remarkably beautiful city, combined with the rural beauty, a
South Africa provides a complete travel experience.

 It offers the combination of the modern urban vibe of its unique cities, particularly Cape Town, one of the most spectacular cities in the world, with stunning rural beauty and cultural richness of the traditional areas. Add this to the adventure of a wildlife Safaria, and you  have a travel experience that will last for  a  lifetime, with  memories  that will bring  a smile to your  face,
warm your heart, as  you recall the heartbeat of  Africa.

~Stephen Abelsohn

www.go2southafrica.com

Stephen@go2southafrica.com

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