Beyond Cape Town

I have been busy in the past month with lots of travelling! I mentioned in my last post that I had the opportunity to travel to George in August for a conference. Since then, I've made two big trips outside of Cape Town: to Hermanus, Western Cape and to Carnarvon, Northern Cape.

Hermanus is a coastal town about two hours away from Cape Town in the Western Cape province. I had the opportunity to travel there with one of the members on my international Rotary committee, and gave a talk to the Rotary Club of Hermanus. We were fortunate enough to travel there during whale season, so we got the opportunity to see some whales in the harbor while we were there! The species of whale is the Southern Right, which comes to the area from about June to December each year to mate and raise their calves. For those with an adventurous spirit, Hermanus also features opportunities for cage diving with Great Whites, who share the harbor with the Southern Right whales.

My trip to the Northern Cape was a research-based one, as this is where my dissertation project of a virtual clinic is being tested. The drive to Carnarvon from Cape Town is about 7 hours, with twists and turns through the mountains and deserts. About halfway through, we drove up the Great Escarpment, which is a plateau that the middle of South Africa sits atop. This line separates the Western Cape from the Northern Cape, and rises up about 1000 meters (~3000ft).

Once we got to the top of the Great Escarpment, the landscape was mainly desert-like. I say "desert-like" because this is the start of the Karoo, a semi-desert region that travels up into Namibia. Semi-desert lands receive more rain (up to 2x more) than desert regions, differentiating this area from a true desert such as the Sahara.

The towns in the Northern Cape have both British and Dutch influences. Most of the early Dutch settlers to South Africa developed farms in these areas, but the British came along later and competed for these lands. In Carnarvon, we stayed at the Lord Carnarvon Guest House, which is a restored house that served as an Officer's Station during the Anglo-Boer war in the early 1900s. Because of this influence, the community members here mainly speak Afrikaans (a language derived from Dutch and other influences).

While there, our group toured several clinical sites and learned about the difficulties that these sites face. There are two healthcare facilities in the town, a hospital and a clinic. The hospital burned down about a year ago, and has only a small functional unit at the moment. The clinic is overworked, seeing about 180-200 patients a day with a staff of only about 10 or so clinical workers. There is one doctor who services the area, leaving the healthcare facilities with difficulties servicing every patient that comes in. It was clear to me after visiting that these areas are in serious need of an intervention to help provide healthcare.

Taking these trips helped me get a broader perspective on South Africa. While I've been able to experience both the difficulties and beauty of Cape Town, it's important for me to see other sites in the country to really understand the range of contexts that are here. I am consistently reminded of what a diverse country South Africa is, whether it be culturally or environmentally. I am grateful to be able to have these experiences and use them to build solutions for those who don't have access to the services you or I may take for granted.