Would you visit South Africa if it was accompanied?
Would you visit South Africa if it was accompanied?
If you have ever thought to visit South Africa, this is your opportunity to let us know where you would want to go, what you would want to see and if you would prefer it to be accompanied.
South Africa is a land of immense physical beauty and magical landscapes.
A land of extraordinary contrast, rolling sand-duned desert to snow capped, craggy mountains, great wealth and extreme poverty, despair and hope, 11 official languages with cultures to match and all in an area just five times the size of Great Britain and three times that of Texas.
It is also home to the big five: lion, elephant, buffalo, rhino and leopard among many other truly captivating animals.
The neck-dancing giraffe, cheetah (some say part dog, part cat), curious zebra, quirky warthog, fascinating, but exceptionally dangerous hippo, all types of buck and a panoply of birds roam the reserves all over South Africa.
To be in the great Kruger National Park is to feel an ancient land.
It beats to a rhythm far older than mankind itself. Where the lion stalks is where they have stalked forever.
A rainbow-coloured nation so fittingly describes South Africans. Diverse, speaking many languages, supporting many cultures and yet fiercely loyal to their country.
The history of South Africa is both brooding and enlightening from way before Chaka Zulu, the Boer War and apartheid to the triumph of Nelson Mandela and the courage of the people to embrace a new nation.
Today what besets one besets all South Africans, the tragedy of HIV AIDS and the legacy of the AIDS orphans.
A visit could include the history of South Africa with a guided tour of Soweto and Nelson Mandela's original house. You could meet the children who you support, with a tour of Hotel Hope, the wild animals in Kruger National Park, Cape Town, one of the world's most beautiful cities and Robben Island where Nelson Mandela and other ANC activists were once incarcerated.
But we would also bring to the tour, the benefit of local knowledge, meeting with ordinary South Africans going about their daily lives, and of course, the women of Soweto Comfort Club who are organising the sewing and distribution of the blankets.
Cape Town, South Africa, one of the world's magnificent cities.
We may be biased, but it would be a wonderful thing if everyone could experience Africa in their lives.
The people, the animals and the land itself are a magical combination that will put a hook in your heart and provide you memories for life.
Such as the night we travelled in an open jeep for half an hour, among a very large pride of lions as they slowly paced up a hill, their cubs in tow. A privilege so powerful in our memories, and yet, relatively common place in the Kruger National Park.
It is a place of experiences so extraordinary, they take even the guides by surprise. This video amply demonstrates that!
If you visit South Africa, it will make your endeavours, for the children and AIDS orphans you knit for, even more meaningful. And you will be accompanied by those who love the country and will bring their passion to your experience.
Don't forget to join Square Circle for stories of the children and their blankets.
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