The New Year in Pretoria, South Africa, was marked by tremendous displays of private fireworks all over the city. Since it is more than 15 Rand to the dollar, everything seems cheap here. I got 6 huge fireworks, each one shooting 100 times, for about $2.25. This is the time to visit South Africa, because restaurants, movies, museums and food all are relatively cheap when thinking in dollars or Euros. It reminds me of being in Southern California, for one third the price. I saw Star Wars at a huge Imax theater, better than what we have in the USA. I must say, that I liked the original better, but that is probably because I was a kid when I saw it. Some of the mansions of Pretoria look like they could be in Beverly Hills, with 6-car garages, and massive windows overlooking golf courses in gated communities.

The Apartheid museum documents the history of oppression in South Africa. When you get your ticket, it states either “white” or “coloured” on it, and you enter the museum through different entrances, depending on your randomly assigned ticket. I got “white”, but I recognize that I would have been classified as “coloured” if I had lived in South Africa at that time. There are disturbing videos and photographs but also the optimism associated with the end of Apartheid. This is a thought provoking well-designed museum in the center of Johannesburg, and certainly worth visiting. There is certainly still racism, bit now the separation is based on economics; rich and poor.

I also got to see the Cradle of Humankind museum in Maropeng outside of Pretoria. This is the region where our ancient Australopithecus africanus ancestors were discovered. The caves in the area are still an area of active research and the Homo naledi was uncovered here recently in 2013. The museum teaches evolution effectively and has a fun boat ride through the ice age, and interactive games for children, including a talking dodo explaining extinction.

Now I am on my way to Cameroon. Flying Rwandair through the green hilled city of Kigali, and over the huge megacity of Kinshasa before crossing the mighty Congo river for a stopover in Brazzaville: finally to Douala. I will soon be in the rainforest working with Cameroonian professors and students studying the incredible diversity of birds and their diseases.