by Philip G. Coggin

Created on: September 13, 2009   Last Updated: April 01, 2010

Poverty and inequality in South Africa

South Africa - A view on findings as a visitor, from a none political perspective.

This article is written because as many people as possible should see and comment on the shame of a people trapped in poverty.

I flew to South Africa and in doing so fulfilled a dream, that of seeing all of those animals I have been watching avidly on TV for many years.

My interest in Africa's wild life, not just the big game but all of its wild life started when I was very young and with the advent of television, albeit black and white TV, along came two people who served up a regular cocktail of Africa's wild life almost weekly in the sixties and for many years, Armand and Michaela Dennis were the pathfinders when it came to photography and wild life.

My interest has not waned ever since those early days of TV and as photography has improved over the years, pictures have got better and better.

So it was that my wife and I took a long haul flight and spent ten days first in Cape Town then in Port Elizabeth and finally onto the famous Shamwari Game reserve.

The game reserve is really awesome (25.000 hectares) or (61,000 acres) because it has many animals but also due to its vastness, those animals are spread out relatively thinly.

Clearly if you have any knowledge of big game animals you also will know that area size plays a very important roll in maintaining the health of the animals that live within it, I have to say that Shamwari game is some of the healthiest you will ever see.

Even at the time of our visit in August 2009, the area had not seen rain for many months but somehow the greenery there still seems to sustain and keep those animals it supports very healthy indeed.

Lions need to walk and hunt over reasonable distance just as the animals that they prey on too need to have plenty of room, grazing animals must move around to let the very grass and plant life they eat recover.

Elephant, Rhino, Springbok and Eland etc. all need great space so that the land they live on is able to support their varying diets and feeding habits.

I was lucky enough to see a tortoise because being early spring in South Africa they should still be in hibernation, although as we watched it began to feed on some of the very short grass that gains only a small amount of moisture from the dew and dampness in the evening and early morning air.

South Africa has got a hell of a lot going for it, I visited the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens and I went up Table

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