This is a photo from my past – walking with my dad in the alley where we lived.
And this is a photo from our (oh-so-colonial looking) past. It feels like it was done a lot longer ago than only 25 years, doesn’t it?
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[Disclaimer: The photos have been photographed from prints.]
Our boys’ school organised a millenium parade to remember the past 2000 years – all the children and teachers and many of the parents were dressed as historical figures. Our sons decided on fairly modern men (which made it easy for the costume department, aka: me) whom they admired. Meet Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela:
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[Disclaimer: The photos have been photographed from prints.]
It wasn’t quite Manama in Bahrain but Arad Fort is just next door. Actually, EVERYTHING is just next door in Bahrain. When living in Saudi Arabia, just across the causeway to Bahrain, we used to listen to Radio Bahrain and usually got a kick out of the news reader telling us that “the King has left for the interior of the country”. We thought it might be a euphemism for him having a look at how the palm trees in his backyard were coming on.
At the time, we were looking at this part of Bahrain’s past, Arad Fort was built in the 15th century. Now that I’m looking at the photos it my personal past.
[Disclaimer: The photos have been photographed from prints.]
Within one month of moving to Harare in Zimbabwe, I was part of a huge open air passion play production. Two years later we had the next outdoor production, this time it was The Book of Esther, with me playing Esther’s mother.
It was a wonderful experience but looking at the picture I’m sure my days on the stage are past.
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[Disclaimer: The photos have been photographed from prints.]
Another past time way-back-when was road racing. It was mainly my husband who indulged himself.
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[Disclaimer: The photos have been photographed from prints.]
At the southern tip of the Kruger Park is the Berg en Dal Camp and most of the white rhinos can be found in its vicinity. When we were there in the 1980s their numbers were more than three times what they are now, and even that wasn’t a glorious past for the beasts.
This much smaller armoured creature was inside one of the camps and we helped it out of the road.
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[Disclaimer: The photos have been photographed from prints.]
In the Kruger National Park there is no hiking – the humans sit in a metal cages rolling past the animals. Even if walking was allowed the distances would make it very difficult to get around. The park itself is almost 20.000 km2 in size (that’s without the adjoining private areas the parts in Mozambique and Zimbabwe with which it forms the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park). That’s about the size of the state of Israel and half the size of Switzerland.
This giraffe was very obliging, ducking its head to fit in the frame.
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[Disclaimer: The photos have been photographed from prints.]
Another hike in the Drakensberg was to the Ndedema Gorge. No need to carry a tent because camp is made under the same overhanging rocks where others have sought shelter in the past.
We didn’t leave anything behind unlike some of the people who have spent their nights in this location before us. The rock paintings are said to be several hundred or possibly thousand years old
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But in the past it was dragons.
Another one of our preferred places to go hiking in South Africa was the Drakensberg (dragon’s mountains). We hiked up what is known as the amphitheatre, a cliff face of over 5 kilometres in length and more than 1200 metres in height. Standing at the ledge is an amazing experience. While we were looking out over northern KwaZulu-Natal, a lammergeyer (bearded vulture) came up from behind us, flew overhead and then dove into the precipice.
Where else does one have the chance to see such a large bird of pride from above?
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[Disclaimer: The photos have been photographed from prints.]
Becky’s square today has a quote to go along with her photo, which spoke to me:
“The past is in your head. The future is in your hands.”
Even if the hands are small and grubby
they can make the future spin.
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pictures imperfect blog 