Take a Sho''t Left to Mandela's Country

Left of What's Right
By Marlan Padayachee
Take a Sho’t Left

Published in Juluka Magazine May 2008 Cover Price $4.25
A magazine embracing South Africa and her people


SOUTH Africa is still best-value-for-money holiday destination for foreign and local tourists, but they will have to take a Sho't Left to visit our revered statesman as he stands majestically in bronze overlooking the hordes of shoppers at the Sandton Square.
Sho't Left is the acronym for locals and overseas visitors to leave the motorways and take a sharp left to the beaten track to experience the sights and sounds of a fascinating landscape that criss-crosses the mountains, rolling green valleys, stretches of sun-baked beaches, flora and fauna and wild life.
Mandela in flesh is out of bounds for all and sundry. Only the high-rollers and the well-heeled icons of the world - like Richard Branson, Bill Gates, Beyonce and French President Nicola s Sarkozy and his new First Lady, former supermodel Carla Bruni, enjoy visitor's rights to Houghton home of the nation's founding father of democracy.
Mandela Square situated in the heartbeat of the nation's prestige shopping mall and financial capital and this cacophony of sounds and sights is a must-see for locals and foreigners. A spectacular bronze statue of Madiba stands tall as children play around the Old Man's iron-like legs and parents take turns with tiny digital cameras to capture this awesome spectacle.
To borrow an old phrase from the apartheid country, SA is still a land of milk and honey for a diverse mix of tourists clutching high-currency dollars, pounds, Euros and yens.
From eating succulent prawns with masala rice to whetting appetites with a classic repertoire of wines to reveling in casinos, this shopper's paradise where tourists strike bargains all the way to duty-free shopping and more wine and good cuisine on the jetliners that ferry them around the land of the beauty and the beasts.
Ahead of the FIFA 2010 World Cup Soccer, the nation is gearing up for the biggest influx of tourists since Mandela took the long walk to the Tuynhuys. Residents are transforming homes into bed-and-breakfast lodges. Townships are no longer no-go areas for foreigners. Wandi's, an African-styled eatery situated in the heart of Soweto near the homes of Mandela and Tutu, is a favourite haunt that dishes out mielie pap, samp and mutton curry and ice-cold, home-brewed Castle Lager beers.
Tourism, an important revenue earner next to gold and diamonds, is on the upswing as foreign embassies from Port Louis to Paris market the holiday landmarks and sight-seeing high spots, with Table Mountain reigning supreme and Robben Island ranking as a pilgrimage among most tourists keen to take a peek at Cell Number Five at our own Alcatraz.
The major cities – Johannesburg, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and Durban – are all preparing for the big influx of visitors and a strong flow of foreign currency.
South Africa's best showcase to the world market is through the window of opportunity presented annually by the Indaba, rated as one of the biggest tourism marketing events on the African calendar and one of the top three 'must visit' jamborees on the global calendar.
The who's who of international tourism and hospitality marketing, from the luxury Blue Train that snakes its way across the picturesque landscape from the Highveld to the Cape, to the Golf Estates tucked away among the vineyards, orchards and mountains, hold their way for a week in Durban.
Since the beginning of the year, thousands throng the grand prix of tourism, where they sample spectacular sights ranging from Bela Bela, to Thaba Chwe, the hub of tourism. Last year, 12,523 filed past the turnstiles at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli ICC. This year, almost 15 000 attended the Indaba Travel Expo in Durban.
Whether it’s God's Window or the beat of the Zulu dancers in the Valley of a Thousand Hills, or tucking into a mutton curry bunny chow on Durban's Golden Mile, the sky's limit when you take a Sho't Left. Maybe a stopover at Nyoni's Kraal for lunch in Cape Town's Long Street.
Marlan Padayachee is an independent freelance journalist and social and political commentator in Durban, where he runs GreenGold Africa Communications: greengold@telkomsa.net