At four o'clock in the morning, the world is no longer in order for me. Loud trumpets startle me from sleep. My bed, which stands on a wooden platform, also wobbles. Above me, only a thin tarpaulin protects me from wind, weather and wild animals. I am lying alone in a large safari tent, typical of game reserve accommodation, a simple camp in the middle of the African bush. I feel far away from any civilisation, although this trip to the bush is only an overnight flight away from Germany.
Now peace has returned, only crackling in the undergrowth. But I'm wide awake. The trumpeting must have been an elephant. With the abrupt end of my first night in South Africa on the edge of the Kruger National Park, I immediately learned my first lesson: elephants run almost silently through the wilderness, but their bodies, which can weigh up to seven tons, make the ground vibrate like a minor earthquake when they walk close to you.
The unusual awakening, this mixture of adrenaline, fear and happiness, is typical for a stay in South Africa. Encounters with animals in the wild get under your skin. Therefore, every round trip through the country at the Cape should include a visit to a nature park lasting several days. On a game drive, a safari through the bush, you get much closer to the Big Five than you ever imagined. No fence separates and protects you from elephant, lion, rhino, leopard or buffalo.
But to see the animals you have to get up early. The tours with the rangers start at dawn, either in an off-road vehicle or on foot. Therefore, the often-vaunted advantage that there is only a one-hour time difference in winter and therefore no jet lag when flying to South Africa is not correct. Because if you plan a foray through the savannah at the beginning of your trip to South Africa, the day will already start at dawn. A wake-up call that couldn't be more natural helps: the trumpeting of an elephant right next to the tent.
In South Africa one often experiences a roller coaster ride of emotions. Hardly any other country offers such impressive contrasts. By that I don't just mean the diversity of the landscape with its wealth of flora and fauna. Parts of the country appear like a large-scale Noah's Ark, and one believes one is witnessing what the world might have looked like on the seventh day of creation. There are both the contrasts between tropical coast and rugged mountains, between dry deserts and primeval landscapes, as well as between the highly cultivated wine regions and pulsating cities.
South Africa's potential appears to be inexhaustible. It is not only a popular travel destination for nature lovers, golfers and gourmets, but also for active vacationers and cultural tourists who can stand at the cradle of mankind in South Africa - the sites where the remains of our ancestors were found have long been included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
But in addition to these authentic nature experiences and highlights, there are also stark differences that we do not know in Central Europe: between black and white, between rich and poor, between the desolation in the townships and the five-star luxury life. At the same time, the young rainbow nation is bursting with energy and hope.
People are proud of what their society has achieved 25 years after the end of apartheid. South Africa showed it to the world with the 2010 World Cup. And those who now travel to the country on the Cape will benefit from the visible quantum leap - thanks to the major sporting event: The tourist infrastructure is in the best condition, especially for individual travelers, and the price-performance ratio is still good.
From nature it is only half a day's journey to the nearest metropolis. I admit that after moving from the nature park to the big city, I was confronted with a strangeness that I hadn't expected. Again it was in bed. Not in the morning, but in the evening: I couldn't fall asleep, even late at night.
Civilized Cape Town was too quiet for me, suspiciously quiet. Something was missing: a certain background noise. After only a few nights in the bush, the cacophony of the bush had become so familiar to me: the screeching of vervet monkeys, the grunting of hippos, the howling of hyenas in the far distance.
The dialogue of the animals had nested deep in my subconscious. Especially the sounds, which I can't assign to any creature, have suddenly become my favourites. I'm addicted to these acoustic mysteries of nature. Only a return should remedy the situation.
Sawubona - see you again.
