說到世界上觀賞野生動(dòng)物最好的地方，也許你會(huì)馬上聯(lián)想到非洲。下面我們跟隨記者的腳步來到非洲第一站——南非首都約翰內(nèi)斯堡。

The Long Journey?漫長(zhǎng)的旅途

Leaving Victoria， on September， 2014， we had a long trip ahead on our wonderful adventure. I love animals of all kinds， and so it had been my “Bucket List” wish to see the Big Five.

We started out by taking BC Ferries from the Island to Vancouver where we boarded United Airlines to San Francisco. After a considerable wait we headed off on a nine-hour flight to Heathrow Airport in London， England. We had a long layover （seven hours） so we decided to have dinner at The Harlequin. We had been FORTY hours travelling from our west coast to the heart of South Africa. On approach， Johannesburg lay beneath us. Picked up at the airport， a five-minute drive took us to The Emperors Palace， a huge Casino complex with three hotels， a food court， various restaurants and a shopping area. As soon as our room was ready at the Mondior， we decided to sleep from noon until 4 pm. when we went to explore the complex， shop a bit and have dinner. We were so ready to sack out early that night as we were being picked up at 9 am fora tour of the city.

Tip：我熱愛動(dòng)物，一直想親眼見見號(hào)稱“非洲五霸”的獅子、非洲象、非洲水牛、豹和黑犀牛，因此促成了這趟南非之行。然而沒想到行程卻如此波折。我們先乘船到達(dá)溫哥華，從那里乘坐美國(guó)聯(lián)合航空公司班機(jī)到達(dá)舊金山，等待很長(zhǎng)時(shí)間后繼續(xù)飛行9個(gè)小時(shí)到達(dá)英國(guó)倫敦，在倫敦希斯羅機(jī)場(chǎng)轉(zhuǎn)機(jī)等了7個(gè)小時(shí)，又經(jīng)過11個(gè)小時(shí)才到達(dá)南非約翰內(nèi)斯堡，全程足足用了40個(gè)小時(shí)！真可謂“好事多磨”。

The Trip to Johannesburg?約翰內(nèi)斯堡之行

Jo “burg”， a very modem city， is the seat of Govemment for South Africa. It is here that the worlds first heart transplant was done. We drove by the hospital honouring the name of the doctor： Christian Baragwana.

We were the only ones on the tour and our guide showed us around and told us many stories about the history of the city including a visit to the Apartheid Museum. Your ticket indicated which door to enter. This excellent museum tells that story through photos， documents and film footage， as well as interactive features which bring the reality of racial classification alive. As we walked outside up a ramp， displays showed the photos of children， grandchildren and great grandchildren of communities， a mixture of races occurring during the 1800s. It was this racial mixing that apartheid was designed to prevent.

“Apartheid”， meaning separateness in Afrikaans， was officially in operation from 1948 to 1994， though segregation had been a cornerstone of South African politics since the birth of the Union in 1910. Apartheid tumed South Africa into a pariah state， shunned by much of the intemational community and almost tom apart by intemal tensions， including the infamous Sharpeville riots of 1960. South Africas belated emancipation following Nelson Mandelas release from prison in 1990 is celebrated by the seven pillars of the constitution you will see in the courtyard：democracy， equality， reconciliation， diversity， responsibility， respect and freedom.

Tip：約翰內(nèi)斯堡簡(jiǎn)稱約堡，是一座充滿生機(jī)和活力的現(xiàn)代城市，它是南非的政治中心，同時(shí)也是世界首例心臟移植術(shù)的誕生地。導(dǎo)游給我們講述了很多關(guān)于這座城市歷史發(fā)展的故事，其中包括南非種族隔離博物館。館內(nèi)通過圖片、文件、影像及其他具有互動(dòng)特色的方式為人們展現(xiàn)了種族隔離制度的歷史。白人和非白人要從兩個(gè)不同的入口進(jìn)入博物館，你的門票會(huì)顯示從哪個(gè)入口進(jìn)入。納爾遜·曼德拉1990年出獄后，南非開始步入消除種族隔離制度的新時(shí)期。

Legendary Singer of South Africa?南非傳奇女歌手

Sitting outside on a covered pavilion， we were enter-tained by a 4 piece band. They did typical African music as well as Miriam Makebas songs of the fifties. Minam Makeba was born on March 4，1932， in Prospect Township， near Johannesburg， South Africa， to a Xhosa father and a Swazi mother. Makeba began singing in her school choir as a young girl， and by the mid-1950s， she was landing local gigs as a fulltime professional singer. By the end of the decade， she had made a name for herself throughout South Africa. Her singing appearance in the documentary film Come Back， Africa （1959） attracted the interest of Harry Belafonte. With his help， Makeba settled in the United States， where she embarked on a successful singing and recording career. In 1965， she and Belafonte won a Grammy Award for best folk recording. Makeba is best known for the songs Pata Pata， The Click Song and Malaika. She continued making music and working as a civiI nghts activist until her death in 2008.

Then it was back to the Mondior for dinner and packing for the next leg of our trip. I am always taking photos of rugs with their beautiful pattems. This was no exception at the Mondior. They reminded me of seaweed and bubbles.

Tip：坐在外面的看臺(tái)小憩時(shí)，我們欣賞到了一支由四人樂隊(duì)表演的非洲傳統(tǒng)音樂和號(hào)稱“南非第一女歌手”米瑞安·馬克貝的歌曲。米瑞安·馬克貝出生于1932年，成為全職歌手后，逐漸在南非走紅，并于1965年與貝拉方特共同獲得格萊美最佳民謠唱片。馬克貝終生致力于歌唱事業(yè)和維護(hù)人權(quán)，于2008年逝世。結(jié)束了一天的行程，回到酒店吃過晚餐后，我們就開始整理行囊奔赴下一個(gè)景點(diǎn)了。臨走時(shí)還不忘用相機(jī)拍下皇宮酒店里裝飾美麗圖案的小地毯。