The Journey Inward

We went to Vovotelo for breakfast on John’s last morning and then I took him to my butcher and my favorite boutique. From there it was off to Rietvlei where we did a self drive through the park. It is less than 20 minutes from my house.

Most drivers are so nice and will tell you what they’ve seen and where as you pass them. One such carload told us about a gaggle of zebras and some rhinos. We did indeed get an intimate interaction with the zebras, but the rhinos had moved away a bit.

I stopped at the hide and made John go, though I didn’t think it would be that interesting for him. Sure enough we sat down and it was just a view of the land.

But the mom of the family next to us said there’s a buffalo over there. I followed the direction of her finger and there it was… The Cape Buffalo… Black death. The one animal of the big five that I hadn’t seen yet, but not for lack of trying. After several minutes of watching it, my chest started to burn, and I realized that I hadn’t been breathing! I was gripping John’s arms so tightly!

The family got up and left, but we stayed as the buffalo disappeared from sight. Several minutes later, I heard a branch break and looked in that direction. The buffalo had come in from the Brush and walked out in the open, not 20 feet from us. It was so incredible! He was so huge and intimidating, but he was wearing a circle of flowers on his head that made it almost comical.

We got an appetizer and dinner at the Social Grille which had a great soundtrack going, and then pizza at Square Time. And then it was off to the airport to send John home. He said he truly loved the people of this country.

A question he asked me one day is why the Black people were so friendly to the white people. We talked about the spirit of this country… of forgiveness. Of reconciliation. Because victims told their stories and were heard. Because perpetrators told their stories and asked for forgiveness. Because atrocities were acknowledged and grieved, not swept under the rug or denied. This country is so incredibly spiritual. I was so glad he experienced it.