The sound of waves crashing into the rocks, a slight sprinkle of rain beating on your cheeks and the sharp scent of sea salt at your nose. . .and you are at the Indian Ocean. The sea reaches out into nowhere, just beyond the half-sunken shipwreck scene- swimming distance from the jagged boulders on the shore.

I never realised how much I missed the ocean until I got to the coast for the festive holidays. White sandy beaches, sparkling blue warm water and hot sand underfoot- it can only happen in a summer December in South Africa (Australia too, I guess). Surfers were abound, kids were shrieking and playing in the ocean water as if they were in nature’s wave pool. Tanned and lazy, I could barely move from my spot just inches from where the tide ends. It was beach after beach for me, Plettensberg Bay, Brenton-on-sea, Jeffrey’s Bay, Gonubie Beach, Summerstrand. . . jumping into the Indian Ocean was so refreshing.

Welcome 2004

New Year’s was spent partying on Jeffrey’s Bay. Crowd came in hoards, trying to be hip and cool, showing off their best spoilers, purple sports car model pumping testosterone dance music. With mattresses and okes (guys) piled up behind a clunky bakkie (pick-up), my group arrived with enough booze to inebriate an entire herd of elephants. People started moving onto the beach area and gathering with their friends. Some were starting bonfires. A South African girl and I started doing the rounds to random strangers, introducing ourselves as Canadians. (“What does lekker mean?” she asks in a perfect South African accent.)

Later on into the night/morning, we join bonfire groups because it was getting cold. Among half-passed out people. a sliver of light begins to shine and we see the sun rise like a raw egg yolk hovering over the ocean.

What I noticed during my holidays is that I didn’t feel like I was in South Africa. All the bodies burning red from the sun were White to begin with. This is the population that can afford to vacation to resort-like pristine beaches. Only on Christmas Day and New Years day do most Black and Coloured South Africans enjoy the beaches. The general White South African response to this that I heard was disguised fear and they wouldn’t hit the beaches on those two days. “Dangerous” and “hectic” were only two of many other reasons why. “The beach is all Black,” somebody explained to me.

If they didn’t tell me those things I don’t think I would even feel a twinge of intimidation when I ventured out into the streets filled with holiday crowds. Would they be so intimidated if the streets and beaches were filled with White bodies instead?

National Holidays

Other than Christmas Day and New Years Day, South Africa has its own unique National holidays. September 24 is Heritage Day, celebrating the diverse African cultures of the country.

December 16 is Reconciliation Day. On that day many years ago, the Boers (Dutch Voertrekkers colonists) waged a battle against the Zulu people. They prayed to God that if they won the battle, they would dedicate and commemorate the day in God's honour. There was indeed a Boer victory and they originally named the day after the Zulu king who was conquered.

Years later, when the walls of Apartheid came down, a Truth and Reconciliation Council formed under the direction of Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Confessions of those who murdered, tortured and committed other inhumane crimes came out during these sessions. The first day of the sessions fell on December 16, so the name of the holiday became Reconciliation Day, a day of new beginnings, and forgiveness for all South Africans.