We arrived in Piet Retief by bus from Drakensberg an hour later than expected. This made for mad dash to our hostel, where we had to change and be at the venue ready to sing in an hour’s time. Thanks to our terrific staff and army of chaps, it was clock work. The boys actually got off the bus, found their rooms, got dressed, and got back on the bus in silence. Scary. As I’ve said many times, this sort of challenge is what I love about live performance and especially concert tours. Like in life itself, nothing goes smoothly, if something goes wrong, it will, and you have to be ready to roll with the punches, get down to business, and make it happen.
Our audience in Piet Retief was just lovely. This is a very conservative part of the country – a kind of Afrikaaner bible belt. They love Jesus first and foremost, but music is a close second. Apparently, the last time they had a visiting choir from oversees was 2003! The community was over the moon at our presence in their little town.
View the Photo Gallery on Flickr: Piet Retief
The format for the evening was unique. The concert opened with prayers by a local minister. He followed his scripture quotes with a “blond” joke. (He’s allowed one a night.) We then heard from the Highveld Youth Choir, who sang beautifully. At intermission we were given a bowl of beef and rice (lekker!), and then we came back and did a second half of our music. Boy did they eat us up. They gave the Grads a standing ovation after the very first piece they sang – which the Grads just loved as you can imagine. We also got a standing ovation after “Baba Yetu.” It was a love fest.
After the concert we went to the local Wimpy, the big fast food chain here. The wait and kitchen staff were stunned at the thought of serving 86 people an hour before closing. But they did it, and we treated them to a medley of old and new South African songs. Another tour moment. To see the entire Wimpy staff singing and dancing with us, beaming from start to finish, was an uber tour moment. The formal concerts have all been great, but these impromptu concerts are magical. You’d have to see it to believe it.
We’re now on our way to Kruger National Park. The boys are psyched. The vistas we’re seeing are other-worldly. It’s always an effort to keep the boys in the moment. Tour, and life, is a journey, not a destination. They’re so excited at the thought of seeing “the big five” in the wild that they could easily miss the live National Geographic show outside the bus windows if we let them.
Don’t worry, we’re not letting them.
View the Photo Gallery on Flickr: July 15 – from Piet Retief to Safari!
July 15th started with a “goodbye sing” to the folks at Piet Retief who hosted us and who rose extremely early to feed us. The ride through the South African countryside never fails to enchant all of us as we move from round-topped hills to flat-lands and from dried grasses to green pine forests to banana trees. The scorched roadsides (and the fires we saw everywhere) were finally explained to us. Farmed and grazed fields go right up to the edges of the 2-lane highways. If there were to be a vehicle accident which caused a fire, then entire farms and livestock would go up in smoke. The owner of the farm where the fire started would be responsible for the damage caused by the spreading fire. So, the farmers create a fire-break by burning a swath along every road or driveway. (There are no mowers). This both decreases the risk of fire, but also increases visibility along these roads.
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