Last September I was already making plans for my vacation in Summer 2018. I knew I wanted to hit the Southwest again, especially during July to get some Milkyway photos and to spend more time in the Bisti Badlands and possibly the North rim of the Grand Canyon, but an opportunity suddenly arose when my colleague at Mt San Antonio College asked me to accompany his group to take some photos as they competed in the World Choir Games in South Africa from July 6 – 20. I had never been to Africa and he offered to pay my way there, so, not being a complete idiot, I immediately said yes. With that in mind, what follows are not photos from a photography trip, but shots taken while accompanying some very talented college singers on their two week trip through South Africa.
Our itinerary had us landing in Johannesburg, competing for a week in Pretoria before flying from Johannesburg to Cape Town. When I first got the news, I associated Africa primarily with wildlife. Most of the landscape photographers that I was familiar with were headed to Namibia for the giant sand dunes. I knew we wouldn’t have time to head to Kruger National Park, but we were going to do a couple game drives and stay in a Safari lodge for a couple of days. I purposely left the 14-24 at home as I was positive that this trip was not going to be about landscapes.
We spent our first few days in the Cradle Moon Safari Lodge which turned out to be far more impressive than what I was expecting. Having viewed a few photos ahead of time, it looked like a small set of huts with a couple of zebras and giraffes walking through the property. The property ended up being far larger than I had anticipated and it was located on the shores of the Krokodil River reservoir. While we were there, herds of wildebeests, antelopes and zebras roamed freely all around us and a family of giraffes followed me for about a mile back up the trail on the first morning, just to see what I was up to. During sunrise and sunset hours I was literally the only one on the shore of the reservoir and between the stunning reflections on the lake, the acacia trees and bird calls that I had never heard before, I truly felt immersed in Africa and just drank it in…
Then we went to Johannesburg.
While I was concerned after reading that Johannesburg was rated the fifth most dangerous city in the world in 2015, it seemed that we really didn’t have much to worry about as long as we were not wandering around on our own after dark. While we found the people of Johannesburg to be warm and inviting, the city itself seemed to be completely covered in razor wire. Every home, apartment building and shopping center was surrounded by gates and those gates were all, almost without exception, either topped off with electric fencing or razor wire, leading to the impression that each house and apartment building was a prison of sorts. Unemployment and homelessness continue to be huge problems as this country continues to grapple with issues stemming from years of apartheid followed by various attempts at desegregation . After reading Trevor Noah’s book “Born A Crime” upon my return (high recommended!) I discovered that for decades non-whites were educated at a different level before 1994 leaving most of the blacks in South Africa only qualified for low paying jobs After walking several blocks back to my hotel, my impression was that there were thousands of men and women who were now on the street looking for work.
While the students had a great time competing at nearby Tshawne, we were not sad to leave this somewhat oppressive looking city behind. The next set of performances were scheduled for Cape Town. As Cape Town is currently listed as the NINTH most dangerous city in the world, and as we had just heard on the news that a wealthy CEO had just been kidnapped from his office a few days before, we arrived in Cape Town feeling apprehensive and expecting more razor wire on every building. Fortunately, this was not the case. Not only were most of the buildings in the downtown area missing the razor and electric wire, but the area surrounding this seaside town was absolutely stunning. Right before we arrived, I struck up a conversation with a Cape Town Resident while watching the World Cup Finals in the airport. In spite of the kidnappings, he said that as long as we used our good sense and were back in the hotel before it got late, we should all be fine.
As we arrived at 11 PM, it was already late when we arrived and checked into the hotel. We didn’t really get a good look at the city and the surrounding area until the next morning as we boarded a bus for the Cape Peninsula. As we drove South through the city and down along the coast, you could immediately see Table Mountain rising up from behind. I had seen shots of Table Mountain before we left and had looked forward to shooting it, but I was completely unprepared for what followed next.
As you round the corner from Bantry Bay into Clifton heading South, the view changes dramatically as the West side of Table Rock opens up in front of you. The “Twelve Apostles” stretch down the peninsula as far as you can see, green Hawaiin looking peaks on one side and the bright, aqua colored Antalantic on the other other. The coastline is very reminiscent of Carmel and Big Sur except it’s far more dramatic and colorful. If you make the trip during the South African Winter, which is our Summer, the mountains will most likely be very green as the rainy season should be well underway.
As you continue South, the road in front of you might actually be closed if it’s after a big storm, or if the wind gusts are too severe for traffic. If the road is open, the drive through the Oudekrall Persevere is well worth the extra fee as you will climb high along the coast before arriving in Hout Bay. From Hout Bay, you can either continue exploring the coastline or head inland and make a beeline for the Cape of Good Hope, like we did.
The hours of this park are not exactly friendly to landscape photographers as the gates don’t open until 7 AM which might be a bit too late for sunrise color and they close at 5 PM, Not sure if they just stop allowing people IN at 5 PM, but if that were the case, you might have time for some sunset shots before leaving. (A word of warning about the baboons. Yes, they will definitely rip the food right out of your hands, and rip your fingers off if you don’t let go, so it would probably unwise to view them while eating.)
The view here is from the Lighthouse looking back toward the mainland. (I cloned a radio tower out because it was truly offensive considering the view behind it.)
The light house is perched far out at the bottom of the point and the view is spectacular. As you stare South it is sobering to think that there is nothing beyond that horizon until you get to Antarctica.
Before you get to the lighthouse you will pass the Cape of Good Hope, which is the most Southwestern point on the continent. You’ll probably want to take the obligatory group shot before moving on:
If you decide to head back up on the Eastern side of the peninsula, you’ll find Boulders Beach and a colony of South African Penguins. I can’t remember what our guide said as I was pretty wiped out at that point, but I think they are there year round. We only had about an hour, but I could have easily spent a day there shooting.
As I was officially on a tour, I wasn’t able to do much shooting on my own, but I had enough opportunities to realize that South Africa has a tremendous amount to offer photographers outside of Kruger National Park. It has the third longest coastline on the continent and much of that coastline is comprised of amazing sea stacks and caves. A bit further inland you’ll find some incredible waterfalls. I had no IDEA how much South Africa had to offer until I headed below Capetown and caught a glimpse.
On one of our last mornings we caught the cable car to the top of Table Mountain which gives you a pretty amazing view of South Africa from just about every angle.
On my final day there, I got up at 4 AM and hiked out to Signal Hill as it seemed to offer a better view of Table Mountain than the Lions Head. Both of these hills offer wonderful views of Capetown below and views of the sunrise over the Atlantic. The angle of the sun threw me off as I was on the West side of South Africa, but Signal Hill swings out to the West of the harbor and in the Winter months (July!), the sun is pretty far North so it shows up nicely over the water.
My short time in South Africa gave me a glimpse of what I consider to be a largely untapped potential for landscape photography. After I got home, I kept investigating and found that South Africa is definitely more than a wildlife destination (Kruger National Park) as it offers stunning mountains, dramatic coastlines and waterfalls. Some photographers might be put off by the somewhat dubious reputation that South African cities have picked up, but all of the South Africans we met were warm and friendly and no one in our group experienced any thefts or felt in danger while we were there. I walked back to our hotel in Pretoria from Tshwane and my walk definitely looked sketchy as I passed mile after mile of barbed wire, but I made it back without incident. That’s not to say that you shouldn’t be extremely careful if you decide to make the trip down there. It might take you well over 24 hour hours to make that journey (we changed planes in Dubai) but it would definitely be worth the trip. I’m hoping to make another trip down there in the not to distant future and possibly work in a trip over to Madagascar while I’m down there.
To conclude, here are a few more of my wildlife shots from my trip. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to post them below.
Thanks for reading!
