In the San society, women are greatly respected and well regarded as leaders of their family. Not only do they make important decisions, they also participate in food gathering and care for their young. In fact, they enjoy a high status within their communities.

In their own simple ways, whether in lifestyle or law, the egalitarian nature of the San people has demonstrated their harmony as a people. Among the 121 distinct African populations sampled in 2009, the San were found to belong to one of 14 known ancestral population clusters from which all known modern humans descend.

The San population originally resided in the region surrounding Johannesburg, South Africa’s largest city with 4.4 million residents. A 2012 Investigative Genetics study showed that some San communities have always lived in the desert regions of the Kalahari but, eventually, nearly all other San communities in southern Africa were forced into this region. Today, arriving in Johannesburg as a tourist, one does not expect to see the San people. Joburg, or Jozi as it’s sometimes affectionately known, is a modern metropolis of concrete buildings, posh gated residences and a thriving commercial and business district. This is also where the country’s political and social transformation is most evident.

On the invitation of Thompsons Gateway Africa, we visited Johannesburg, Zambia and Botswana for a week of discovery. Most travellers would fly directly into Cape Town or Johannesburg and head off to the game reserves and safari lodges right after landing. But those seeking to get under the skin of South Africa’s culture should not miss Nelson Mandela’s home, the vivid Soweto district and the commercial hub of Sandton. Situated in South Africa’s Gauteng province, known as “Africa’s richest mile” for its concentration of top investment banks, corporate head offices and also the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, Sandton Central Business District is where a towering sculpture of Nelson Mandela stands watch over an activity square. Adjacent to this is the Sandton City Complex, where Singaporeans wishing to contribute to the South African economy can do so at over 88 stores comprising local and international brands situated here.

Sweeping Beauty: Soweto
Weaving through the city in our comfortable air-conditioned coach, the shiny tall buildings fall behind us as we drive out to the South-Western Townships, or Soweto. South Africa’s challenge to become an inclusive instead of divisive society after the dissolution of apartheid is no more evident than in Soweto, which since the 1990s has become a part of Johannesburg. Soweto is more developed than other townships because of its cultural heritage and significance. Here is where you can take a tour of Soccer City and visit the incredible World Cup stadium where Spain defeated Netherlands in the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Here is where you can walk down the street where Hector Pieterson, said to be the first person killed in a student protest in 1976, was gunned down. The Hector Pieterson Museum is one of the most visited tourist sites in Soweto.

Here is also where the “twin towers” of the Orlando Power Station, built in 1951 and which supplied coal-powered electricity to the city of Johannesburg for over 50 years, stand. It has since been shut down, and now lays claim to South Africa’s largest mural painting, and has been revived as a tourist site offering bungee jumping from the bridge between the two towers.

But most significant of all must be Mandela House, home to former South African president Nelson Mandela and his family from 1946 to the 1990s. Mandela donated the house to Soweto Heritage Trust in 1997, to be used for the purposes of promoting human rights, democracy, reconciliation, mutual respect and tolerance among the people of South Africa.

In the small and humble abode, visitors can still see bullet holes in the walls, stark reminders of the times his family was under siege. Declared a national monument in March 1999, the home is now a museum featuring the awards he has received. Mandela said of the house in his book The Long Walk to Freedom, “It was the opposite of grand, but it was my first true home of my own and I was mightily proud. A man is not a man until he has a house of his own.” 

Open Adventures
Our minds filled with the history of this strong-willed country determined to be free, we leave for the vastlands of Zambia and Botswana to discover another dimension of how its people view respect and harmony—this time, with the animals that roam the land.

On our safari drive into Pilanesberg National Park, we are informed by our guide, “The difference between private game reserves and national parks is that in a national park, you are not allowed to veer off the designated trail and get up-close to the animals. They may not like the intrusion. And it is for your safety as well as the animals’ safety that we try to leave them alone.”

The early morning safari drive brings us up-close to majestic animals such as elephants, rhinoceros and wildebeest, where we observe them interacting with their familial herds in close proximity, without barriers. A pack of hyenas scampers across our trail in the distance. Graceful impalas perk up their ears and shy away when our vehicle drives past. We are visitors to their home, and it’s impossible not to recognise what a privilege it is to have them trust us quite so implicitly with our presence.

Hunting and gaming are prohibited in the national park, and security measures are present to arrest any poachers. Unfortunately, with national parks like the Pilanesberg being as large as 55,000ha, poaching activity can still been found. What if our future generations do not get to see the rhinoceros cuddle its young or ride an elephant through the bushes, or only recognise the zebras or giraffes from their rugs on the floor? This unthinkable scenario is what drives national parks to protect the wild animals of their land — starting with educating tourists.

And because there’s nothing like first-hand experiences to make an impression, we were invited to the Mukuni Big Five Safaris, where first-hand interactions with cheetahs and lions awaited. Of the nine cheetahs bred and nurtured here, only four are used for interaction with visitors. Mukuni Big Five has ongoing programmes, including lion releases and cheetah educational school visits where schoolchildren in Zambia are taught about the Safari’s conservation work.

There are fewer than 12,000 cheetahs in the world and fewer than 100 in Zambia alone, and out of the 19 national parks in Zambia, only one has cheetahs. At Mukuni Big Five, visitors not only get to witness the agility and speed of the cheetah cubs up-close, they also get to walk these beautiful cats through the bush and learn about their nature and habits. One would imagine that with their nose for a kill, their sense of smell must be keen—but the guides inform us that their sense of smell is only average. “They rely on their speed, stealth and vision to make a kill,” our guide says.

The lions are a different matter altogether, impressing us first with their size—being much larger than cheetahs despite their cub status—then with their heart-melting open fawning. “Our cub lions are still young—between two-and-a-half and three years old. But they are much bigger, stronger and instinctively wilder than cheetahs,” the guide shares. “The lion also has a short attention span. If he stares at you, he will pounce in just a few seconds. But you can distract him by waving a stick and breaking eye contact. Whatever happens, do not run,” he cautions.

Cuddling close in the morning sun, the pair of lioness and lion cubs look adorable, playfully pawing and lovingly looking at each other as they tumble on the ground, purring with contentment. It is an amazing experience to be able to observe their unabashed display of affection at such close range. Just as with the cheetahs, we are given the opportunity to pat, take pictures with, and walk the lions—though with the pride, you do not leash them but hold their tails and let them lead you.

From Zambia, it is relatively fuss-free to cross the border into Botswana, where we are headed for a visit to the Chobe National Park for land- and water-based game viewing. Our driver parks the van next to a small, single-storey building next to the Zambezi river with no armed guards or strict security in sight, but is bustling with traders, women carrying goods on their heads and children on their backs, truck drivers and peddlers adding to the conviviality of the atmosphere.

The cross-border checks are far from lax, though—we are asked point-blank to state the nature of our visit, and to declare if we had been to the Ebola-affected Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. With no further fanfare, our passports are stamped and we are ushered to the river’s edge to clamber aboard a low, narrow boat with a jet-propelled engine that takes us across the river to Botswana in less than 10min.

Chobe National Park is home of the African elephant. More than 11,000 elephants roam the vastlands of this park, roaming with their families into the mud-bathing river, to feed off the bushes on the plains and to seek shelter from the scorching sun in the forests fringing the waters. “Even if you’re a frequent visitor of national parks, you’ve probably never seen this many elephants first-hand anywhere else in the world,” our guide says proudly.

South Africa, Zambia and Botswana in the space of one week—the contrasts at every turn drug you with their visual, aural and olfactory assault on your senses. The great continent of Africa affects you in a way that unnerves and thrills. It’s not just about the game watching which, in all great probability, is what draws the majority of tourists to this great continent. Rather, when you look beyond the romantic premises of its wild animal vastlands, it’s the enchanting vibe of its people, history and the whole culture of the land that draws you in.

In the aftermath of Ebola, which incidentally has not affected South Africa, the tourists are returning—slowly, hesitantly, but surely. With a government and people intent on succeeding, there can only be enchanting discoveries for visitors to this beautiful land.