Bears! (and other life-threatening wonders)
When you arrive in Yellowstone National Park, your first honest reaction might be “Is this it?” That was mine, anyway. A high, pine covered plateau without anything in the way of obvious scenery, Yellowstone is quite unlike the other national parks we’ve visited. And that turned out to be a good thing. America’s first national park (created way back in 1872) is enormous – sprawling nearly 9,000 square kilometres across north western Wyoming and the adjoining states of Idaho and Montana. But while there are plenty of bigger national parks out there (our own Kruger...
Read MoreThe gem of the Northwest
I didn’t know much about Seattle before we arrived. Good coffee, grunge rock, Frasier and lots of rain – that was pretty much the extent of my understanding. But, even though I was nursing a cold for half our stay, this genteel metropolis quickly won us over. Like San Francisco, Seattle is surrounded on three sides by water – hence the reputation for rain. But what the cliches don’t tell you is how beautiful the city is when it isn’t raining. The city’s PR team came up with “The Emerald City” a few decades ago to promote their town to the world....
Read MoreAmerica, the quaint
It’s pretty fashionable to hate on the USA. A nation of boorish warmongers with an obesity epidemic, a zealot-riddled heartland and a culture rooted in strip malls, kiddy beauty pageants and BBQ sauces. Or at least that’s what every second culture snob and trendy pinko in the world likes to opine (including me, on occasion). The reality, once you’ve actually been here, is much more nuanced, complex and interesting. It’s easy to see why so many Americans see their country as the greatest in the world. They may not appreciate public good the way Europeans do, but things...
Read MoreTree hugging in the USA
Of all the adjectives I expected to apply to this trip, “spiritual” wasn’t even on my mental list. Perhaps “fascinating”, hopefully “interesting” at the very least, or “exciting” – but not “spiritual”. But, after nearly two weeks spent gazing up at some of the largest living things on earth, it’s the only word that begins to capture how I feel. Our trip to Yosemite turned out to be quite ill-fated in terms of accommodation, but in ten years all I will remember is the Giant Redwoods, not the crappy B&B. The grove...
Read MoreSan Fantastico
San Francisco has been compared to many cities. At the turn of the century, her governors hoped to mould her into the “Paris of the West.” She is often compared -normally favourably but occasionally not – with the much bigger, hotter and more dangerous Los Angeles more than 500KM to the South. We South Africans are fond of comparing her to Cape Town. In reality though, she is not much like any of these. San Francisco is gloriously, stubbornly, sometimes imprudently unique. The physical comparisons to Cape Town are obvious. Both are ports, both are crammed onto narrow...
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