Shouldn't Great Beauty Be Enough?

There are few places in the world with more natural beauty than South Africa. New Zealand perhaps? Or on a smaller scale Kauai or Yosemite? Soaring mountains, rivers (lots of them), lakes. Rolling grassy hills. Stark and rugged desert. Forests, two oceans and glorious beaches. God’s creativity really worked overtime on this country!

What gets me is the variety, even in what I saw in a just couple of weeks – even in my first couple of days. It is hardly surprising that the region around Cape Town, and particularly Table Mountain, is a place everyone wants go. In fact Table Mountain is one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature.

Why is South Africa so naturally rich? Apparently, it is very old, and has gone through pretty much all the earth’s geological shifts, tectonic arching, breaking and the formation of crevasses. The resulting outbreak of volcanoes, depressions, the deposition of gravel and wind and water erosion have formed a tremendously varied geological profile of the land. This is also the reason for the vast mineral resources South Africa possesses.  

This profile, and the associated climatic variation, perhaps helps to explain the amazing range of wildlife in South Africa: more than 300 mammal species, 500 bird species, 100 kinds of reptiles and countless insects. And then there are the 20,000+ plants (about 10% of all plants on earth), with a particular concentration around the Cape. Did I mention that the area around Cape Town is really worth a visit?

There are 150+ varieties of the flowering genus protea, mostly native only in South Africa and the national flower. Named by Carl Linneus after the Greek god Proteus, who could change shape at will. And there just seem to be so many shapes they can take! See here for a few beautiful examples. The protea represents change and hope for South Africans, and is the nickname taken by the national cricket teams. Change and hope. Yes!

I saw so much else: the Overberg, the great South African Winelands with countryside that reminds me of Napa and Sonoma (and rivals them in quality of wine), and the stunningly beautiful Garden Route – woods, forests, hills, mountains, and incredible varied wildlife and flora. And then the Wild Coast in the Eastern Cape.

Freeways are usually not the best way to see what a country has to offer in the way of natural beauty (though I do enjoy driving I-5 north through Shasta and the Siskiyou Mountains). But the South African N-2, its main North-South highway, is stunning. Mind you, since I used Google Maps quite a bit, I found myself leaving the N-2 and driving unpaved roads on what was nominally a shorter route. It certainly wasn’t quicker! But this gave me some other kinds of scenery – sometimes bleaker, sometimes greener, more wooded, and lots of rivers. (One of the best detours from the N-2 is between George and Knysna on the old pre-N2 road now called the Seven Passes Route. If you have the chance, do it – but take your time for the sake of your sanity and your vehicle!)

All this natural wealth, and yet South Africans struggle with unity, pride and identity. It’s like the beautiful young woman who is bright and musically gifted, admired and envied by everyone else, but full of self-doubt and even self-loathing. For those of us outside the country it makes no sense at all. But for South Africans it isn’t that simple. More on that in future blogs.