Trip That Will Touch Your Soul
I’m Michael Killen, If you’re interested in taking a trip that will touch your soul, my guest is Patricia Meyer - she puts together trips to South Africa, and she has a new one starting on September 1st [2007] and I am going on that trip, and this will be the second time I have gone on a trip with Patricia.
MK “How are you tonight?
PM “Fine, thanks Michael, thank you for having me on your show.
MK. I just want to bring attention to the painting behind us. This is a painting that you made in South Africa?
PM Yes, I painted it in South Africa”
MK. “You are from South Africa?
PM “Yes, I am from South Africa, I was born there.
MK “And you live now in San Mateo?
PM “I live in San Mateo [California] and I can’t get back to South Africa often enough!
MK “You’re the head of a company that’s very much into flowers, and the essence of flowers?
PM “Yes, healing with the vibrations of flowers! We’re interested in the energies of flowers, and the energies of Africa too. It’s all about energy work and having us feel good, and absorbing the spirit of the place, and Africa seems to do that for me.
MK” What is it that makes us feel this way about Africa? To help answer that let’s look at some photos -
PM” This is Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens in Cape Town, one of the most famous gardens in the world to visit. South Africa has its own unique Flower Kingdom. There are more varieties of flowers in a very small area than anywhere else in the world. These [plants] are African Pincushion Proteas. They are part of the “Fynbos”, a word [in Afrikaans] which means “fine bush” referring to the incredibly varied range of indigenous plants [that grow] in the southern Cape area.
MK “Is this the Protea which is the National Flower of South Africa?
PM “The National Flower is another Protea - the King Protea. It is a much larger pink, white and grey flower – those can grow to 10 inches across!
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PM “ Colorful beach houses in a small coastal town called Saint James, next to Simonstown, where we stayed. We saw whales in the bay there from the shore. St James faces on to the Indian Ocean side of Cape Town. The other side is the Atlantic Ocean. A little further down [south] you can drive [through a game preserve] to CAPE POINT where both oceans meet.
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PM “This is called the Cape of Good Hope [at Cape Point], and there you are with Ken, our professional tour guide. He is delightful and most current about the country. I have been living here in the United States for many years and return to South Africa quite frequently.
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PM” This was in the Drakensberg mountains in the NATAL region that we visited. If you look carefully, and it is somewhat light, you can see this is a rock face with original bushman art animals and figures painted on it. Buck move across from left to right. They are painted with white heads and brown bodies. These are paintings made by early bushmen and they are very important in the history of art and early man. We will be going to see more of them on this coming trip. We will be going to a special area in the Cedarburg Mountains, west of Cape Town, which is also where that wonderful anti-oxidant Rooibos (Red Bush) tea comes from that everybody is enjoying lately in the United States and Japan.
MK “That brings us all back to our earliest roots. Those are some of the earliest paintings that man has ever done.
PM “And they are right there, and you can go to see at them!
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MK Is this a sunset?
PM “No, actually this is a sunrise, taken at Shingwidzi, one of the campgrounds in the Kruger National Game park. Visitors rise early at 4:00 am, as day breaks, have a cup of coffee and head out to see the animals early in the morning, because that’s when they may be more easily visible on the roads and the paths. There’s a better chance of seeing lions because perhaps they dislike getting their feet wet in the morning dew! They may rest in the shade of trees during the heat of the day. They normally hunt during the night.
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MK “Where are we now?
PM “This is Pafuri Campground, also in the game park. This camp is in the far north, near the Limpopo River. You actually travel over the Tropic of Capricorn to get here. The Limpopo is the border with the country of Zimbabwe--what used to be Southern Rhodesia.
MK “We’ve traveled from the southernmost point, being Cape Town, to this northern part. South Africa from bottom to top!
PM “ On this next trip we are going south to Cape Town, and then to the western Cape, then northwards to the Namib Desert and some fabulous wild flowers, and more out of the way game parks.
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PM “These are women from the Ndebele Tribe. I am wearing some of their stunning beaded jewelry tonight. One finds these necklaces there in beautiful colors, expertly made. These happen to be two women in traditional dress who are schoolteachers at a new developing school I visited last year in November.
MK “What are these people like?
PM “Those I have known, when I lived there, were very gentle, warm, caring, very motherly, and real. In fact one feels very close to the earth in South Africa. The people are so natural, so themselves! They are unspoiled and very beautiful, and now free as well.
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PM “ Talking about being motherly - This is a mother elephant teaching her very young calf to drink water. Because of frequent terrible droughts the Parks board has installed water troughs in many places in the Reserve. Windmills, usually close by among trees, may provide the water. We watched her encouraging her baby to crouch down low enough to draw water in with its trunk first, and then drink by itself. She was gentle and sweetly nurturing with her baby. It was a visual delight!Each time you visit a game park, the most exciting part is that you never know what you’re going to be blessed to discover!
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PM “These are children at what they call a ‘creche ‘or pre-school in Soweto, and most of these children are AIDS orphans, and many have AIDS. Visiting this preschool is one of Ken’s [our tour guide’s] pet projects. The children danced and sang for us. We delivered soft toys and some clothing we had brought from America.
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PM “This is my husband in the picturesque Malay Quarter of Cape Town. In this district many of the homes are painted in bright colors. We had a delicious meal at a Malay Restaurant there of varieties of different curries, using fish, lamb, as well as vegetables.
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PM “This is a view from the summit of TABLE MOUNTAIN looking outwards towards the ocean. And that’s one of our destinations. Table Mountain is called the ‘mother of the continent.’ It is a massive mesa-like, [flat] mountain overlooking the city of Cape Town and the dockyards. We ascend by cable car. I think that’s Signal Hill on the left and in the distance you can see Robben Island, which has the prison where Nelson Mandela was incarcerated for all those years. I believe a visit to that island is on the itinerary.
MK “I think the views from Table Mountain are the greatest views I have ever seen!”
PM “ Yes. From several viewpoints one can see amazing vistas! The scenic beauty of South Africa is remarkable!
MK “ A guest on another show plans to visit the wine country there. South Africa has a wine country like our Napa Valley in California.
PM “Also in the Cape is the home and center of Jannet Unite Penney, creator of the South African Flower Essences. She’s very fortunate that her property adjoins Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, and she had permission to utilize flowers from there for her fabulous range of flower essences. I first visited her about 10 years ago and she showed us around her own gardens. On my last group trip, we visited her home and she most kindly served us all a traditional South African tea including sweet “Melktert” [milktart]. She also walked us through Kirstenbosch and pointed out the trees and flowers that she had included in her work.
The essences are used for healing on an energetic, consciousness level. I can give you an example: The essence of Sunflower is to support people who don’t feel they can be truly themselves. They may lack self-esteem, or confidence, may feel inadequate in life. Taking the energetic essence of Sunflower helps that person find their feet, stand tall and face their world full on, with a sunny face, perhaps feeling better about themselves. That’s been one of my favorite essences, I needed it myself because I tended towards shyness.
MK “ I just want to summarize what we have talked about of South Africa.
It is the tremendous beauty of the flowers, the tremendous landscape, Table Mountain, the bushveld, and it is the people.
PM “There is all that and more! Definitely the people are fascinating! We will be looking at some of the different cultures, and also watch traditional dances in costume. We will meet a Sangoma, known as a witchdoctor or Shaman. We’re also planning to visit Namaqualand, a desert area which flowers in spring, after late winter rains have fallen – this desert’s fabulous blooming is one of the attractions of this trip.
MK “ And the Kalahari?
PM “This is a game park I’ve not visited yet – always yearned tosee its animals and birds – it’s a much drier [desert] area than Kruger Park. Known now as the KGALAGADI TRANSFRONTIER PARK, it borders on Botswana. I understand the lions there are enormous! On the way there we will also visit another park, also new to me - AUGRABIES FALLS NATIONAL PARK, which contains many rhinoceros. We travel northwest to these areas. My trips cover different areas of South Africa each time – which enables me to revisit and show off what I love, and also discover the new! A personal benefit is reconnecting with family and friends residing there.
MK “ Do you have a web site?
PM “ I do! It’s
MK “ I want to say, my wife and I have bought our tickets already!
PM “ I have mine too!
MK “ You are accommodating my interest as well – I want to go to the best restaurant in the wine country!
PM “ Yes, it is called “Le Petit Ferme” [The Little Farm] in Franschoek, it is also a fine small winery and restaurant set in a jewel-like green valley between purple mountains – slightly north west of Cape Town itself.
MK “ I love your outfit! And that is an Ndebele necklace and a South African “whatever’….
PM “Just a little black and white zebra energy - actually found the shawl in the states!
MK “And this is your painting behind us….
PM “ Yes, it’s of Plettenberg Bay, a wonderful resort town on the southern coast east of Cape Town – heart of an area known as the Garden Route. This route has lagoons and inlets, so special I hope to go there on the trip after this upcoming one.
MK “ Thank you, Patricia Meyer of San Mateo, California for being my guest tonight.