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For the next three days we immersed ourselves in the real Africa, trundling along the park's roads in nine-passenger safari vehicles to see an incredible array of wildlife. It was midsummer, and a severe drought had clearly taken its toll on the local sources of water (for example, we could have easily waded across the Limpopo into Zimbabwe). Nonetheless, we saw an incredible assortment of game. And the birds! I'm not much of a birdwatcher, but I couldn't contain my amazement at all the impressive storks, eagles, weavers, and other species that came our way. It helped that all of our guides had keen eyesight and an encyclopedic knowledge of the local fauna. And who could have known that our own Harvey Furgatch,
an avid birdwatcher, would surreptitiously convert us all? I can
imagine returning to South Africa some day just to |
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Photo by Mike
Curtin |
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see the incredible variety of birds once more. |
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We ate and overnighted in a series "rest camps," which proved to be more comfortable and well-appointed than that name implies. On the final night, at a camp called Olifants (Elephants), we commandeered the parking lot for some stargazing. The camp lighting was quite low key and altogether not bad, and the few intrusive lights within view were quickly "extinguished" with a combination of black plastic bags, garbage cans, and even a garden hose (don't ask).
Our journey concluded in Cape Town, a vibrant city with much more to offer than we could begin to fit into our two-day stay. Cape Town, it turns out, has deep astronomical roots: John Herschel and his family arrived there in 1834 along with a 20-foot-long telescope, and for the next four years he observed the southern sky intensively from an estate known as Feldhausen. Nothing remains of the observatory today (the scope itself is now on display at the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum in Washington). But we visited an obelisk erected in Herschel's honor at the site, on the grounds of what is now the Grove Primary School in Claremont.
In fact, besides Herschel's legacy, South Africa more generally has a
rich astronomical heritage. In fact, right now astronomers are
constructing an enormous telescope near Sutherland, a remote mountainous location between Johannesburg and Cape Town. When completed next year, the
Southern African Large Telescope, or SALT, will use its 36-foot-wide (11-meter) aperture to peer into the depths of space and time. Maybe TravelQuest and Sky &
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Photo by
Mike Curtin |
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Telescope will mount an expedition to see it someday!
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In the meantime, South Africans can expect a long wait to witness another total solar eclipse: the next one will be in November 2030. But farther north, the Moon's shadow will return much sooner. On March 29, 2006, a total solar eclipse will cut a swath through the Dark Continent's midsection — Ghana, Niger, Libya, and Egypt — before crossing the Mediterranean Sea and heading into southwest Asia. So watch this site for details! |
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Photo
by Mike
Curtin |
Photo by David Miller |
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Copyright 2003 TravelQuest
International. All rights
reserved. 800-830-1998
Revised:
December 07, 2004.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Other products and companies referred to herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of
their respective companies or trademark holders. |
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