南非之行（一）奔赴约翰内斯堡

说到世界上观赏野生动物最好的地方，也许你会马上联想到非洲。下面我们跟随记者的脚步来到非洲第一站——南非首都约翰内斯堡。

The Long Journey 漫长的旅途

Leaving Victoria， on September， 2014， we had a long trip ahead on our wonderful adventure. I love animals of all kinds， and so it had been my “Bucket List” wish to see the Big Five.

We started out by taking BC Ferries from the Island to Vancouver where we boarded United Airlines to San Francisco. After a considerable wait we headed off on a nine-hour flight to Heathrow Airport in London， England. We had a long layover （seven hours） so we decided to have dinner at The Harlequin. We had been FORTY hours travelling from our west coast to the heart of South Africa. On approach， Johannesburg lay beneath us. Picked up at the airport， a five-minute drive took us to The Emperors Palace， a huge Casino complex with three hotels， a food court， various restaurants and a shopping area. As soon as our room was ready at the Mondior， we decided to sleep from noon until 4 pm. when we went to explore the complex， shop a bit and have dinner. We were so ready to sack out early that night as we were being picked up at 9 am fora tour of the city.

Tip：我热爱动物，一直想亲眼见见号称“非洲五霸”的狮子、非洲象、非洲水牛、豹和黑犀牛，因此促成了这趟南非之行。然而没想到行程却如此波折。我们先乘船到达温哥华，从那里乘坐美国联合航空公司班机到达旧金山，等待很长时间后继续飞行9个小时到达英国倫敦，在伦敦希斯罗机场转机等了7个小时，又经过11个小时才到达南非约翰内斯堡，全程足足用了40个小时！真可谓“好事多磨”。

The Trip to Johannesburg 约翰内斯堡之行

Jo “burg”， a very modem city， is the seat of Govemment for South Africa. It is here that the worlds first heart transplant was done. We drove by the hospital honouring the name of the doctor： Christian Baragwana.

We were the only ones on the tour and our guide showed us around and told us many stories about the history of the city including a visit to the Apartheid Museum. Your ticket indicated which door to enter. This excellent museum tells that story through photos， documents and film footage， as well as interactive features which bring the reality of racial classification alive. As we walked outside up a ramp， displays showed the photos of children， grandchildren and great grandchildren of communities， a mixture of races occurring during the 1800s. It was this racial mixing that apartheid was designed to prevent.

“Apartheid”， meaning separateness in Afrikaans， was officially in operation from 1948 to 1994， though segregation had been a cornerstone of South African politics since the birth of the Union in 1910. Apartheid tumed South Africa into a pariah state， shunned by much of the intemational community and almost tom apart by intemal tensions， including the infamous Sharpeville riots of 1960. South Africas belated emancipation following Nelson Mandelas release from prison in 1990 is celebrated by the seven pillars of the constitution you will see in the courtyard：democracy， equality， reconciliation， diversity， responsibility， respect and freedom.

Tip：约翰内斯堡简称约堡，是一座充满生机和活力的现代城市，它是南非的政治中心，同时也是世界首例心脏移植术的诞生地。导游给我们讲述了很多关于这座城市历史发展的故事，其中包括南非种族隔离博物馆。馆内通过图片、文件、影像及其他具有互动特色的方式为人们展现了种族隔离制度的历史。白人和非白人要从两个不同的入口进入博物馆，你的门票会显示从哪个入口进入。纳尔逊·曼德拉1990年出狱后，南非开始步入消除种族隔离制度的新时期。

Legendary Singer of South Africa 南非传奇女歌手

Sitting outside on a covered pavilion， we were enter-tained by a 4 piece band. They did typical African music as well as Miriam Makebas songs of the fifties. Minam Makeba was born on March 4，1932， in Prospect Township， near Johannesburg， South Africa， to a Xhosa father and a Swazi mother. Makeba began singing in her school choir as a young girl， and by the mid-1950s， she was landing local gigs as a fulltime professional singer. By the end of the decade， she had made a name for herself throughout South Africa. Her singing appearance in the documentary film Come Back， Africa （1959） attracted the interest of Harry Belafonte. With his help， Makeba settled in the United States， where she embarked on a successful singing and recording career. In 1965， she and Belafonte won a Grammy Award for best folk recording. Makeba is best known for the songs Pata Pata， The Click Song and Malaika. She continued making music and working as a civiI nghts activist until her death in 2008.

Then it was back to the Mondior for dinner and packing for the next leg of our trip. I am always taking photos of rugs with their beautiful pattems. This was no exception at the Mondior. They reminded me of seaweed and bubbles.

Tip：坐在外面的看臺小憩时，我们欣赏到了一支由四人乐队表演的非洲传统音乐和号称“南非第一女歌手”米瑞安·马克贝的歌曲。米瑞安·马克贝出生于1932年，成为全职歌手后，逐渐在南非走红，并于1965年与贝拉方特共同获得格莱美最佳民谣唱片。马克贝终生致力于歌唱事业和维护人权，于2008年逝世。结束了一天的行程，回到酒店吃过晚餐后，我们就开始整理行囊奔赴下一个景点了。临走时还不忘用相机拍下皇宫酒店里装饰美丽图案的小地毯。