Virtual Africa

Ok, I have to admit it in a public space: I, Tinus le Roux, grew up in Camps Bay, Cape Town, at the foot of the famous Table Mountain.

Now, if you haven’t been to Camps Bay, you won’t understand why most of those readers who have, just had a negative emotional response toward me.

If I take my life of reactions to this tidbit of useless information as a guide, most of them would think one or both of the next two things:

1. “Ahhh ….. rich kid” or
2. “You privileged little ………”

The irony of growing up in paradise though, is that you don’t have the capacity to realize it.
You don’t know anything else – it’s just how it works.
(The other reality not many people take into account, is that Camps Bay of 30 years ago, was not the ‘playground of the rich and famous’ as it is today”.  Yes, Madonna and Sting do have houses there , but I know for a fact that my high school science teacher also still lives in The Bay  – and we know what they earn.)

This is the view from an top of Table Mountain.
(click here to see a full screen version of this panoramic image)

Anyway, why all this rambling about where I grew up?

Well, it’s quite simple…….I spent my childhood playing in one of the most amazing, most important places of natural beauty and biodiversity in the world, and I never knew or appreciated it.

The fact is, 20% of all floral species in Africa are found in the Cape Floral Kingdom.
It only takes up about 0.5 % of the African landmass, but 1 in 5 species of plants are found in a series of 8 protected area’s in and around Cape Town – my backyard.
Table Mountain alone has more floral species than the British Isles.

The point is this: as I was oblivious to the importance of things I accepted as ‘everyday’, so many South Africans, like me, are oblivious to the wonder and importance of this country we have the privilege of calling our ‘backyard”.

My hope is that the next few posts, which will look at the 8 South African World Heritage sites, will help cultivate a greater appreciation of the privilege of visiting and or living in South Africa.

14 years after Apartheid, the people living in this beautiful country are struggling to find a collective identity a history they can all claim and be proud of.

The South African  World Heritage sites can help us because they are more than 8 interesting spots on a map -they represent very real and very important stories.

Stories of the first ‘ape-men’ surviving in the caves near Johannesburg.
Stories of the Nama people of the Richtersveld, still living the way they did 2000 years ago.
Stories of an ancient golden rhino, the biggest meteor crater in the world and people sitting in an island prison because the stood up for equality.

• Have you been to Robben Island?
  • (take a virtual tour of Nelson Mandela’s prison cell.)
• Do you know why the Richtersveld is a cultural heritage site?
  • (see the 360º images and interactive map)
• Do you know where Mapungubwe is why it is important? (take the virtual tour)
• Do you know where Maropeng is or why it is the Cradle of Humankind?

South Africa is a wonderful, wonderful place and we invite you to discover a small part of it – with us.

In the coming weeks we will publish maps and interactive images of each of the 8 South African World Heritage Sites.

We will do our best to (virtually) take you there and give you a feel for each of these extremely interesting places.

We will share links to more information, video’s and stories and ask you to share these with friends and family in an effort to spread the ‘gospel’ of being Proud Africans.

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Related posts:

1. The Cape Floral Kingdom: South African World Heritage Site (#2 of 8 ) In this second installment in our Virtual Africa series on the South African World Heritage Sites, we take a brief look...
2. 8 South African World Heritage Sites: a Virtual Tour There are a thousand reasons why I am proud and privileged to be a South African – and recently I found 8 more to add...
3. African Heritage Epic goes 360º If you're a regular here at Virtual Africa, you would know that we have a soft spot for World Heritage Sites. We've had the privilege...
4. THE RICHTERSVELD – South African World Heritage Site ( #1 of 8 ) The Richtersveld is found in the north-western most corner of South Africa, right up against the border with Namibia.It’s a...
5. Why you should vote for Table Mountain as one of the New 7 Wonders of the World Table Mountain has been nominated to become one of the New 7 Wonders of the World and the World (that's us) has until 7 July...