So much to say, so litle time......

Day 17 (and now it's already day 19) of our South African travels, and this is the first opportunity I’ve had to write. My computer has spent the bulk of the last two weeks tucked neatly away in my bag, as every minute of every day has been fully scheduled. Most days have started at 5:30 a.m., and my head rarely hit the pillow before 10:00 p.m. During the few free times that our fellow travelers had, Rory and I were busy filming with William or others in the group.

Today, we are flying from Jonhannasburg (east side of South Africa), to Cape Town (the south West side of South Africa). The “soul Safari” portion of our travels with William finished this morning with a quick breakfast with many of our traveling companions, and we are now “on our own”. I am excited for the change, and will miss all the folks we’ve spent the last two weeks with. I’m now looking forward to having interactions with some actual South African folks. I’ve gotten to know lot’s about Australians in the past two weeks, but very little about the locals.

We’ve stayed at four different places along the way. 1) The casino-like hotel, 2) Malendelas/Willows Lodge, 3) The Farm (where William was born and grew up), 4) Idube Game Reserve, located in Kruger National Park. This is the largest National Park in the world is situated “next door” to Richard Branson’s outrageously-oppulent Game Reserve for all the fancy/famous folk. We actually flew into the Game Reserve by landing our tiny little 10-seater plane on Richard Brandson’s private air strip.

During our time at Malendelas we loaded into a van with a tour guide for a day of a “cultural tour”. These tours are planned based on whatever is going on that day in the area. On this particular day we visited a Chief’s homestead where a group of girls and women were practicing for the upcoming Reed Dance. This is an annual event where all of the girls/women in Swaziland (well, not “all”….. just the virgins) come together to dance for the King so that he may choose his next wife. At the same time, everyone brings with them reeds to repair the large windbreaks that surround the King’s property. The King often times has upward of 500 off spring from his large pool of wives. This country is the last truly “Living Monarchy”, and is actually run by the King (he is not just a figure head or royal family, he runs the place). They have also had the longest living King in all history. He was said to be 103ish when he died. We missed the actual Reed Dance by a week, but they expected upwards of 40,000 women. They said it’s the largest womens gathering on the planet. The girls we watched dance also had us join them, their joy and exuberance was contagious, but the highlight was a 20 something young man from the homestead named Nelson who dressed up in the Reed Dance garb and came out and danced with us.

Our guide answered all the questions we could throw his way….. how marriage works here, how homes are built a brick at a time, how chickens live in the hanging baskets to keep them safe from predators, and how religion and tradition plays in their lives.

The area was full of agriculture. Their top crop and economic commodity is timber, I think sugar cane is number 2, and number 3 is tourism. He was sure to let us know we are an important commodity.

We were also taken to a cane fire. We are here towards the end of the cane season (ends in November) and so harvest is underway. Before the fields are harvested, they are set on fire to burn away the “brushy” parts of the cane. The fires were huge and spectacular, and we had one of the cane workers hang out with us to explain the whole procedure. I wish I could tell you his name, but it was long and complicated and I don’t think I really fully understood it, even though he repeated it many times for me.

Next, we piled back into our vans and drove a couple hours to “The Farm” where William grew up. This is a HUGE area that has, since his childhood, been parceled off and developed into part agricultural areas, and part game reserve. We stayed in the Mbuluzi Game Reserve and were given two large Range Rovers to drive around. I LOVED driving those bumpy rutty roads, and finding all the beautiful giraffe, zebras, impalas, baboons, genets, kudus, wart hogs, nyala and we even spotted a rare red diker.

They call giraffes the “dolphins of the land”. We could drive up along side them and they would give us an inquisitive look and continue eating from the tops of the trees. I could feel their deep calm and gentle nature, in their enormous and powerful bodies.

The zebras had a feeling of shy and skittery. They danced and pranced around when we found them, and didn’t stay long.

Each night ended with a beautifully catered dinner alongside the beautiful setting sun and large gentle river around a big fire. And each evening was capped by a “group heart” meditation, grounding us deep into the land and into the hearts of one another, and joining us back to our homes, to our loved ones and to our purpose.

Soon we were packing up again and heading back to the airport for a catered flight to the Game Reserve. I loved seeing the reserve from the air, and seeing the towns and villages below.

We arrived at Idube after dark and were told that we are not to walk alone at night. We were only to walk with a guide as there are large game cats around. Later along the tour, we saw a leopard right at the gate of our lodge, and the driver says he often wanders into the camp. They weren’t kidding.

Adding photos with our current internet connections is taking far too long, so I imagine I'll just send along a load later........

More later, as we are off to the Roiboos farms today. Yesterday was spent high above Cape Town as we hiked up Lions Head. AMAZING!!

Mundane to the Magnificent

Mundane would be the 28 hours on a plane. I’m sure you know the drill. Tight connections, lost cell phones, bad (bad) airplane food, cramped spaces, sleepless sleep, tiny toilets and a large expanse of ocean. ( I did create my own “yoga for cramped spaces” routine that made the trip far more comfortable)

An airport is an airport, and Johannasburg is no different. It could have been Dallas for all I know. Our first night in South Africa is at a huge resort/casino built as a replica of Vegas, complete with the winding indoor mall made to look like Venice, with murals and the blue painted sky ceiling. Seriously, it is exactly alike. (mom, you’d love it).

Where am I again?

There are 21 of us traveling in our little group. Everyone, except Rory and I, are from Australia. Everyone, except Rory and I, have been “doing the work” with William (the author/guide/workshop leader we are here to work for) for about a year or more. They all know each other rather intimately and we are a bit of a novelty. They are a lovely group.

A city tour helped me to feel a bit as if “we have arrived”. I was deeply moved by the tour of Soweto (the home township of Mandela), the recent history of Apartheid, and was surprised to learn that Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela lived only a few houses apart. Visiting the township and homes really brought home this painful and inspiring story of cultural change and the power of community.

A visit to the slums was sobering. It was cold and hailing when we arrived. We visited the home of Harriet, a round, shinny, grandmother who came here 17 years ago to improve things for herself and her children. Harriet and her family live in a tiny tin shack with a wood stove and barbed wire fence. There are 7 of us on the tour and we all wedge into her small living space (smaller than the master bath of the last home I lived in). She seems pleased to have guests. Her small patch of garden cannot grow edibles because of the hundreds of large rats that come around and eat the shoots as soon as they sprout. There are 25,000 people in this particular settlement. They have 66 water faucets to share, and 1,000 toilets. Their shacks are built one upon the other. This settlement is a far cry (but not a far distance) from the $300 a night rooms at the casinos. Such disparity continues to startle me.

Another 4 a.m. departure, more air travel, and now I get to see South Africa from the air – and it is rich and textured and green and beautiful.

I still do not feel as if I have arrived.

A day of driving, flat tire(s), broken car doors, boarder crossing, cold weather and stories of the surrounding area. It is spectacular. William was born and raised here, he knows the area and it’s history well. He has explained that while we started out in the lap of luxury we will gradually enter deeper and deeper into the “real” Swaziland over the course of the next few days. He seems to be leading us on a journey in such a way that we will acclimate a bit before diving “all in”. We are currently at a beautifully rustic resort. The views are stunning, the food fabulous, the workshop revealing, and the weather bitingly cold. They call this area the “Switzerland of Southern Africa” because of the beautiful mountain ranges (it’s not quite the Alps, but it is stunning). I’ve under-packed and under-dressed. It’s winter here, and I packed for fall in Ashland.

My sleep is still erratic and it’s currently 3:30 am. The alarm is set for 5:30. We’ve more touring tomorrow before heading to The Farm and safari on Friday.

South Africa... with ease

It is Monday. I am boarding a plane for Johannasburg, South Africa, on Saturday morning at 5 a.m. The trip is approximately 36 hours. And now, I’m loosing sleep over what to pack, my lack of knowledge about where I’m going, and all the loose ends I need to have tied up before I leave. Yikes!

My mantra for the trip is “ease, simplicity and joy”. And, I must say, for the most part, that is exactly what is happening!

This is a work related trip. Our company has been contracted to create a variety of DVD products, an online course, multiple promotional pieces (and more) for an author who lives (currently) in Australia, and hosts a “Soul Safari” for 20 participants in Swaziland twice a year. His name is William Whitecloud and we are also rebuilding his website. You can see a bit about him at his old website You can also click here to check out the trip specifically.

When we were first approached about the idea, I just about came out of my skin. South Africa has been on my wish list of places to visit ever since Kayla did an extensive report about the area in her 8^th grade project. I’ve always wondered how I’d get there.

The initial plan for the trip was to send Ed, my brother and videographer-extrodinare. He’s really good. There was one small hitch – he was already committed to another project in Italy at that time. Then the idea continued to grow, and Ed came up with the alternative to send Rory Finney. Rory is an extraordinary photographer (and dear, dear friend). Rory’s current body of work is just exactly what this project needed. So, instead of Ed going it alone, the project is now getting Rory and Kim. Ed likes to say that it takes two of us to be one of him. He’s only teasing us, so don’t tell him, but I think he’s right.

I’ll be working on writing an online course from the body of work that William teaches, as well as logging and coordinating the material we need to capture, and Rory will be behind the still camera as well as the video camera. I’ll be helping Rory with sound and lighting and all those tech things. It’s a big project. It will be lots of work. And, it’s called a “soul safari”…….

Part of our contract with William says that we are to also experience the work for our own personal growth as well. We will be attending a workshop, exploring the wild with the animals, and touring around Swaziland.

To add to the excitement, after scheduling this part of the trip, Rory contacted a client of his who works with the collaborative Rooibos farms outside of Cape Town in South Africa. This has caused us to extend our trip by a week to travel even farther south and visit the farms. We will be creating a documentary for next years Film Festival based on the collaborative farming, and on the people of those farms. We've rented a car and will be driving from farm to farm ourselves. I'll be writing and interviewing, he'll have the cameras on.

I’m thrilled beyond words.

And so, stay tuned…. Departing Saturday.