the new petro power paradigm - Diplomat Magazine

destinations|DELIGHTS
Mary Alexander/MediaClubSouthAfrica.com
The Maropeng Cradle of Humankind is a UNESCO World Heritage Site which contains
limestone caves where the 2.3-million-year-old fossil Australopithecus africanus was found
in 1947.
week-long festival is held in late March
in Grahamstown, Eastern Cape where
some 600 events include a laser show,
workshops, lectures, sunset shows, game
drives, robotics competitions and a science
Olympics.
Visitors can enjoy an old tradition of
a festival of theatre, notably the groundbreaking
musical King Kong, based on
the 1950s movie. Theatre created in South
Africa by South Africans has showcased
local productions at the Johannesburg’s
Market Theatre since the mid-1970s. Such
internationally acclaimed plays as Sarafina
brought audiences worldwide to the stage.
Festivals such as Arts Alive premiere artistic
expression as dance companies expand
their repertoire.
From the end of May to the end of
November, every year, the southern right
whales travel thousands of miles to the
Cape south coast to mate and calve in the
bays. The villagers of Hermanus hold an
annual festival that features the best landbased
whale-watching in the world. The
dolphins also come to play, and if you stay
long enough, you may even see a humpback
whale.
Music and Dance
Music and dance pull in new audiences
and a number of home-grown productions,
particularly those aimed at the
popular market, have taken South Africa
and, in some cases, the world, by storm.
Where else would a visitor hear a rendition
of Carmen, an adaptation of Georges
Bizet’s 19th-Century opera relocated from
a Seville slum to a contemporary black
township and sung entirely in the Xhosa
language? Dubbed UCarmen eKhayalitsha,
it is sung by young musicians with a
South African twist in a township in Cape
Town.
If you like the blues, the Oppikoppi
Easter Festival takes place over the holidays
and its stage draws a traditional
blues-and-folk audience.
I am almost certain that, somewhere in
history, we invented the voice as a musical
instrument. South Africa stands out as the
only place you can go to a concert knowing
nothing about the artists or their music
and come away feeling overwhelmed by
the performance. We have festivals featuring
everything from choral music to
reggae, Kuwaiti and Magana. Our music
has passion, musical excellence, diverse
tradition, mass participation, prestige and
uniqueness.
Not only can we sing, we are a nation
with rhythm. We were born dancing. Even
if your dancing is sub-standard, the South
African shuffle done in straight line with
many people will hide your less-than-coordinated
efforts. The choral festivals have
multiple choirs in extraordinary venues
and diverse and sizeable audiences. You
will experience African rhythms, dancing,
and their wonderful, unique singing.
This festival is different from our other
festivals as it includes adult choirs, university
choirs, bluegrass, symphony, reggae,
Cajun and opera and the modern popular
music styles of Kwaito, House Music and
Mbaqanga.
Sampling the provinces
The Eastern Cape Province is the home
and birthplace of President Nelson Mandela.
There is a Hole-in-the-Wall at Coffee
Bay, an intriguing landmark formed by
millennia of constant erosion. The headland
has stood while surrounding land
masses have crumbled back into the sea,
which adds to its significance. The sullen
crashing roar of the sea through the hole
has given this famous natural feature
the isiXhosa name esiKhaleni (the place
of sound). Access to Hole-in-the-Wall is
mostly along paved roads and features a
hotel which also offers surfing lessons. The
beach at Hole-in-the-Wall is excellent for
swimming, fishing and snorkeling. While
there, it’s worth going to e-Mvezo, the village
where Mr. Mandela was born, in order
to taste his favourite traditional Xhosa
dish of dried maize and bean mix called
umngqusho.
Mpumalanga
Mpumalanga is one of South Africa’s top
tourist destinations. People are drawn to
it by the magnificent scenery, its fauna
and flora and by the saga of the 1870s
gold-rush era. Few regions in the world
can match the extraordinary beauty of the
Mpumalanga Lowveld and escarpment.
Mountains, panoramic passes, valleys,
rivers, waterfalls and forests dot the landscape.
This is also Big Game Country, the setting
for dozens of sanctuaries teeming
with wildlife and birds. Among them, the
Kruger National Park is world-renowned,
as are several of the luxurious private
reserves on its western boundary. The
entire Mpumalanga area offers exceptional
opportunities for bird-watching, hiking,
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