After a very pleasant drive through the Mahangu wildlife reserve (although, I was cooped up in the back seat with a ragingly sore stomach, I still enjoyed it) we got through the Botswana border with nothing but pure, sweet ease. No queues, no troubles, no fuss. It was very quiet there, so not much to tell.
The scenery and roadside action changed drastically compared to Namibia though; people walking along the roadside everywhere, small township settlements scattered every few km, the houses were built with different materials, and donkeys and cattle walked aimlessly across the road almost every time we reached top speed!
Dare I say it, but I felt we were now officially entering ‘Africa’. I feel bad saying this, but why?
Actually, a better way of putting it is: I felt I had been officially introduced to the Africa which I was pre-programmed to envisage due to a lifetime of outside exposure; selected media coverage and constant learning of stereotyped images - Wow, I saw one of those real straw huts, and there goes a malnourished kid…tick, I must be in Africa. As bad as this mentality is, deep down it was all I had been expecting from the day I stepped off the plane in Joburg. Why was I expecting this? And how dare I build up such a prejudice as this in my head when I have never even come close to any African experiences in my life?
Obviously, there is a lot more to the countries that make up this continent than what we are able to experience from the comfort of our own homes. I am extremely grateful to be given the opportunity to bridge my own gap between what I perceived as ‘Africa’ and what I am actually seeing! Thanks Five and Stuart, you two are unreal.
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