South Africa

I already mentioned that we are going on vacation shortly, but I wanted to share with you a suggestion that my Mother-in-Law made when we first mentioned that we were thinking about going on vacation. The conversation went something like this...

Me: We are going to take a holiday in a few weeks.

MIL : Oh really? Where to?

ME: Not sure yet,but somewhere the flight isn't too long.

MIL: What about South Africa?

Seriously? South Africa is about as far away from the United States as you can get-a nonstop flight from New York to Johannesburg is 15 hours 20 minutes. Not to mention it's not so suitable for a young baby. He won't even be a year old when we fly out! The temperatures would be way too much for him. South Africa is generally considered an arid region; two-thirds of the country receives less than 500mm (20 in.) of rain a year. South Africa has a great variety of climate zones, from the extreme desert of the Kalahari near Namibia to lush subtropical climate along the border with Mozambique. Then there is the transport aspect. South Africa had few paved roads, and the intense heat would knock out cars with less well engineered cooling and oiling systems. South Africa actually tightened its local content rules, requiring vehicles to have domestic-production engines to be considered locally made.

Of course, I would love to visit. There is a lot of interesting things to see and do in South Africa. For example, in South Africa there is no snow, but it has many flowers, many beautiful varieties of cultivated and wild flowers being in their full pride. While South Africa has a great wealth of flowering plants, only 1% of South Africa is forest, almost exclusively in the humid coastal plain of KwaZulu-Natal, where there are also areas of Southern Africa mangroves in river mouths. South Africa is also a haven of spectacular scenery, abundant wildlife, diverse cultures and first world norms, topped with a healthy and invigorating climate.