On January 23, 2012, Chinese New Year was celebrated, one of the biggest festivals of the orient by the Chinese calendar. It’s the year of Dragon (龍) again after 12 years of from the year 2000. The dragon is the 5th sign of the Chinese zodiac and it is regarded as an auspicious symbol which stands for power, good luck, success, and happiness.
| 祝 | zhu | wish |
| 龙年快乐 | long nian kuai le | Happy the Year of Dragon |
| 万事如意 | wan shi ru yi | All the Best |
| 恭喜发财 | gong xi fa cai | Congratulations and prosperity |
Only within 122 km distance from Cape Town, Hermanus was originally a fishing village. It is now best known as a place to view whales. Between June and November, southern right whales come to Walker Bay to calve. There can be up to 70 whales in the bay at once.
Whales often come very close to shore and there are some excellent vantage points from the cliff paths that run from one end of Hermanus to the other.
Although we were too late to watch the whales, I enjoyed my stay in Hermanus. Probably also because of our very nice accommodation: The Misty Waves Hotel. We had rooms on the first floor with balcony and ocean view – what more can you wish for?
For the more adventurous Hermanus is the perfect place for cage shark diving to view Great Whites. Within Walker Bay is the infamous shark alley where you can find the most Great Whites in the world – scary thought… I have done the cage shark diving in Hawaii (and nearly died, because I was that nervous…) – it was a fantastic experience, but once is enough for me.
Once one of the jewels of the Garden Route, Mossel Bay is now slightly marred by industrial sprawl – you have to look quite hard to find its beauty…
The only thing that counted for my was our hotel, called Point Hotel. The hotel is rather an eyesore but in a spectacular location, right above the wave-pounded rocks at the Point and right underneath a lighthouse – what else could I wish for?!
Most of the rooms have a balcony with ocean views. I could have sat there all day, looking into the ocean – which I did not, of course, since there were many other things to do. But going to bed listening to the ocean and waking up listening to the ocean is just priceless!
Featherbed Nature Reserve, a unique 150 ha private Nature Reserve, encompasses the whole of the Western Head of Knysna and is one of South Africa’s Natural Heritage Sites. It is a pristine piece of paradise situated on the Western Head of Knysna and is accessible by ferry only. We attended a tour that started with a ferry trip to the Featherbed Nature Reserve, a nature drive and a guided walk with some stunning views. Have a look:
On our way from Port Elizabeth to Knysna we drove along a dirt road from Jeffrey’s Bay (big Billabong Factory Outlet!) to Cape San Francis, a small and unpretentious town chiefly famous for the Seal Point and Bruce’s Beauties surf breaks. The landscape is breathtaking and the lighthouse (build in 1888) just a bonus.
When I was planning my trip to South Africa, I was mainly interested in visiting Cape Town and traveling along the beautiful coast with its breath taking beaches. I was less interested in going on a safari (or game drive, as they call it in South Africa). How could I ever be that wrong? After attending four game drives in the Amakhala Game Reserve I have to say this is one of the best experiences ever. I am fascinated by all these wild animals that I saw that close.
Start your drive as early in the morning as possible, and continue until approximately 10 am. Resume in mid-afternoon and stay out until sunset. The early morning and late afternoon trigger all kinds of activities in the African bush. This is when many animals are most active.
In Africa, a few of the most formidable and fiercest have entrenched their place in the psyche of man – the lion with its awe-inspiring power and hunting skills; the mysterious and elusive leopard with its stunning coat; the unpredictable buffalo with its ebony flanks and horns of steel; the temperamental rhino with its insatiable appetite; and the charismatic elephant, the largest animal on land.
Although these five species are not the only ones that are rare, interesting, large, powerful or dangerous, they have captured man’s imagination and both trophy hunters and nature lovers refer to them as the Big Five.
In Amakhale Game Reserve we have seen four of the Big Five. We did not see a leopard, since there is none in that Reserve. Leopards can easily jump a two meter fence and are therefore hard to keep. Instead we saw a whole cheetah family, which was much more interesting to me, since I love cheetahs.
Have a look yourself:
Did you ever look at “Healthy Heart”?
Look at it again.
HEAL – THY – HEART!
If we heal our hearts from past wounds and insults, and forget about “getting even”, and don’t hold grudges, we will have a healthy heart – just a thought…
I keep saying that China is different from everything I know. Although I have been to China many times and even lived there for six months, I still don’t understand a lot of things. Reading books about China should help me to better understand. I just read the novel “Miss Chopsticks” from Xinran. It starts with an author’s note that already explains a lot:
It was in 1997 in a small village in the northern province of Shanxi, where a woman had committed suicide by drinking pesticide because she could not give birth to a boy – or, as the Chinese put it, she could not “lay eggs”. Virtually no one in the village would attend her funeral. Her husbands comment: “You can’t blame them. They don’t want her bad luck to rub off on them. Besides, it is her fault that she only managed to give birth to a handful of chopsticks and no roof-beam.”
This seems to be the manner in which the Chinese view the differences between men and women. While men are believed to be the strong providers, who hold up the roof of the household, women are merely fragile, workaday tolls, to be used and then discarded.
The book tells the story about three sisters from rural China who make their own lives in Nanjing. Sisters Three, Five and Six may not have much formal education, but they know that their mother is a failure because she has produced only six daughters (chopsticks) and no son (roofbeam). Chopsticks (girls) are seen as less valued than roofbeams (sons) for a number of different traditional cultural reasons, and a family without sons has far less face (standing).
This novel gives a fascinating picture of the new entrepreneurial China, as seen through the eyes of naive country girls who have never used porcelain toilets, ridden in a car or encountered a bignose (Caucasian) in person. But the ultimate message is one of hope for a different future. In the words of their father: “Is it possible that our chopstick girls will be able to hold up the roof?”
Sometimes things don’t work out,
This doesn’t mean nothing will.
One thing isn’t everything,
Now isn’t forever –
Even though it may feel like it.
Give yourself time
To see things clearly.
What we feel
Isn’t always true.
In time the disappointment will pass,
Your feelings will change,
Your life will be different,
You will have new dreams.
No matter how hard we try
We can’t hold onto today.
It will pass.
So we must hold its joys
And its disappointments
With open hands
Because they weren’t meant to stay,
But to fill today’s purpose.
Let go of today’s disappointments
So your hands will be free
To accept tomorrow’s blessings.
Life is not just one day of your life,
But all of your tomorrows.
Each day has its own happiness.
Enjoy today but then move on
To enjoy all of your tomorrows……
The Impression Liu Sanje on Li River is directed by famous movie director Zhang Yimou and is performed by local villagers and fishermen, particularly local minority groups as Zhuang and Yao.
This is the world largest natural theater which utilizes the waters of the Li River as its stage, with twelve mist shrouded hills and the heavens as its backdrop. Mist, rain, moonlight, the hills and their inverted reflections in the river all become the ever-changing natural background. Its auditorium is housed on the natural islands of the river with the audience standing on the designed terraces, surrounded by green plants. The valleys, the hills, the cool breeze and the gurgling streams are all elements contributing to the three-dimensional sound effect. This new concept opera uses nature as an integral part of its performers; hence its name – ‘Human’s Masterpiece Cooperated with the God’.
Maybe you have heard of the film ‘Sanjie Liu’ produced in 1961, which made the Li River famous worldwide. Sanjie Liu is a fairy singer in the myths and legends of the Zhuang ethnic minority. She is incomparably beautiful, and has voice to match her beauty. In the ‘Impression Sanjie Liu’, what you can see are the impressions derived from the daily life of the people living around the Li River, rather than the specific details of the stories. From these impressions, you will gain a realistic impression on the background of Sanjie’s birthplace and understand the beauty of the folk songs’ hometown.
There are in excess of 600 performers, all of whom are local people of the Li River. They present the reality of life for the people in Sanjie’s hometown through their primitive and wonderful performances.
