The Big Hole...and The Big Storm
Day Two
I spent the early morning hours today having coffee on the OC with a Dutch couple who did not speak a lick of English. I do not speak a lick of Dutch. At least not when I'm sober.
He looks a lot like Crocodile Dundee. She is almost a spitting image of Dame Judy Dench. They are both striking in their appearance. I am certain they have a fantastic story to tell, but the language barrier here is too tall to climb.
There's a certain kind of awkwardness when you are having this pleasant experience together, but can't connect. The one thing, however, I did find hilarious about our limited interaction is that she sat quietly across from me looking through her binoculars and about every 5 to 10 minutes she would point out into the distance behind me and yell "Antelope". I would spin around with excitement to finally see some form of wildlife only to see...well...nothing. For miles. She would smile and nod her head and I'm sure the first few times it happened, I had that "where the hell do you see an antelope?" kind of look on my face. After a while - and mostly because I didn't want to crush her spirit - I began to smile and nod in return. Not because there was a single living antelope to be found but because it just seemed easier. Maybe "antelope" means something else in Dutch...like...."large expanse of nothing but valleys and mountains and absolutely no animals". I'll go with it.
There is also a lovely German woman named Eveline who has been out on the OC with us both days so far. She arrived this morning wearing Zebra pants. And let me be very clear on this: not Zebra patterned pants. Pants with actual Zebras on them. My Dad and I joked that we would encounter a few folks decked out in their "Safari Gear" who have actually never been on a Safari before. This is not the case with Eveline. She has been on 8 Safaris all across Africa. Which means - she is fully qualified to wear pants with Zebras on them...and really any other animal she chooses. She's a Safari warrior and she has Zebras on her pants and once you know her story, it all makes sense.
It kind of got me thinking that right here on this train - between Audrey, Dame Judy Dench and Eveline - we might just have our own version of "The Real Housewives of the OC". But...I digress.
Our trek today took us through Roos Canyon and up towards a town called Kimberley. There has been quite a shift in the topography over the past 24 hours. Leaving Cape Town, on Day One, we were surrounded by the Hex River Mountains on all sides. They are the highest mountains in the Western Cape and do actually see some snow at the higher elevations during the winter months. Luckily, we are in Spring here, so our first glance of snow will have to wait until we arrive back in Chicago.
Day Two brought us into the very flat and ever changing Great Karoo Valley. This covers the southwest reaches of the country's interior plateau. The name "Karoo" comes from a Khoi word meaning 'land of great thirst' and it is known for being mostly dry all year round. The color contrast of the Great Karoo is quite stunning as it has a layer of brown sediment on its floor, but also a bright white layer of this low lying whispy vegetation that almost look like snow. There are also countless bright beautiful green flowering trees and cactus as far as the eye can see. This was also where we got our first taste of African Wildlife. Sheep farming is the main economic driver of the region, so we saw many of those. But we also saw Sprinbok, Guinea Fowl, wandering Ostrich and even a few Warthogs.
We made an off train stop in the town of Kimberley, which is home to one of the oldest and largest Diamond Mines in Africa. It is considered one of South Africa's "best kept secrets" because it is a bit off the beaten path and does not see a lot of tourist traffic. The story of Kimberley is the story of diamonds: DeBeers, Cecil Rhodes and the Cape to Cairo Railway are all centered around this small town. Kimberley's Big Hole, aside from eliciting a laugh or two between my Dad and I, is really an incredible sight to see. The picture does not do it justice. It's sheer size and scale is massive. We viewed it from a rather small platform that overlooked the Big Hole and it actually kind of sways in the wind as you are standing on it. Quite the experience.
When we got back on the train, the Train Manager whispered to us to be "on the lookout" for Flamingo once we started moving. We headed off to the OC only to find that our quiet little spot had been packed with other train travelers who must have gotten the same tip. I managed to find myself a seat and readied my camera. About 10 minutes after pushing off, we made a left hand swing around what appeared to be a small watering hole. But then there they were. Literally hundreds upon hundreds of gorgeous pink flamingoes wading in this beautiful body of water. The sight of it literally takes your breath away. I managed a photo or two, which I will share in the Photo Gallery, but the photo scrum among the other guests on the train was almost too much to compete with. I decided it was better not to compete but to just put the camera away and commit this very unique and special moment to memory.
The day ended with a spectacular thunderstorm that swept across the valley and landed above our train. I've never experienced rain quite like that before, but it reminded me a little bit of my favorite Toto song (but not really). The lightning didn't seem to ever really stop, firing off from one end of the sky to the other. I know this is going to sound strange (and I HAD just taken another malaria pill) but the lightning wasn't the streak of white we experience back home. They were deep orange and yellow bolts set against this magnificent dark sky. My Dad and I love storms. Really good storms. My Dad will often sit on the deck in Long Beach and watch them roll across Lake Michigan until we have to beg him to come inside. We had talked a few days ago about how we really wanted to experience one really awesome and powerful storm while we were here.
Mission accomplished.
