South Africa - the most idyllic life, in the most beautiful country

A friend wrote in and wanted me to write back detailing places to visit while he was on his official trip to Durban. As i was writing to him about the place, i was so nostalgic. South Africa, the country i went to on a project and ended up spending the most wonderful one year of my life and came back with my son as a return gift. I couldn't stop writing about things he needs to do and as it refreshed each memory of the place, it reinforced that SA is heaven on earth. And i love the country.I was in Pretoria, the capital. The assignment was an ERP implementation for FORD. The project was exceptionally well delivered. And so was the warmth from friends. People in SA loved me, and i loved them. Such vigour, warmth, enthusiasm for life and all the little celebrations on the way. Each Wednesday was a mini Bria day. Each Saturday the Bria day. We would sit around the fire, cook meat on the coal, bake bread to eat with it, gurgle with beer. The poikie (cooked in iron pots as a kind of creole on wood fire) tasted like rajma and neighbouring mush. But everything was delicious, hands-on, wrapped in nature, plentiful; there was talk, wine, mumphur (locally brewed alcohol), book reading from Bosman's book and friends. Oh yes, always friends.

Stayed in a mansion, was treated like a princess and drove the best ford cars. The beauty of the place was disrupted many times hearing about acts of violence, hold ups at gun point, shoot outs, the fact that we couldn't really leave our doors or window open, just in case. There were nights i could hear the claws of the big birds, that lived up the palm trees, on my wooden rooftop and i wondered if it was somebody trying to break through the glass door of the bedroom. Which way would i escape. But a silent prayer to God, and back to bliss. That never took precedence.

Life had never been as giving and benevolent.I would love to go back to that land of myriad shades of the sky. Every evening was a feast. I had never seen the horizon end to end and the sky studded with the milky way at a way off ranch. The kudu( little dainty deer like beauties) dot the grasslands. The hyenas so near, i was wondering if they can come into my tent. The Lil rabbit who was just outside my tent 10 minutes back, was now hurt. The hyena had attacked while i had walked into my friend Gizzalla's tent to fetch a book to read under the lantern. Gizzalla was a dog trainer with the police. She would get bitten every second day by the most ferocious terrier but she loved her job and i loved her in her uniform. They wouldn't give out guns to the police, though the terror man walked equipped with the trendiest and the fastest borer.The land of the garden route, 1000 hills and the yatch rides. The land of lion safaris and wild African elephants. The rhino inching towards my mazda truck , irritated by the faintest of sounds from the engine. The leopard who ran past the back of my car, and i caught a glimpse in my rear view mirror. The giraffes whom i couldn't even spot in the bare vegetation and the miracle of camouflaging. The South African sun that added a warmth and magical glow to every golden blade of grass.

The country was a dream, a miracle, beauty to behold.I lived each moment as i wrote the mail to my friend. And i wish i would go back someday. And the land wouldn't have turned back apartheid, now with the whites in quarantined areas. Its sad what man is capable of doing and the harm that his acrid nature can cause. I would hate to see that land dissipate. I love Suid Afrika!