The street scene of Durban, South Africa.

Three weeks ago Mom and I drove to Durban, South Africa with Everett and Patti Kyle.  Mom works with Elder and Sister Kyle in Public Affairs. This is a photograph of some of the koppies along the way. Koppie is an Afrikaans word for "cup". To the average Afrikaaner these little mountains looked like upside down cups.

These koppies reminded me of some of the mesas you might see in the Southwest United States.

On the beach at Durban, South Africa with Mom. Notice the sand sculpture behind us. The 3 days we were there the surf was blown out and very disorganized. There were also lots of blue bottle jelly fish in the water.

Women selling colorful dresses on the sidewalks of Durban.

We always must visit any necklace shops Mom sees. 

Durban has the 2nd largest population, outside of India (Mauritius is 1st) of Indians in the world. The British who took over the area from the Zulus could not get the Zulus to do agricultural work they therefore shipped in Indians from India as indentured laborers on 25 year contracts. Under Apartheid, the Indians were treated just as badly as the blacks.  Above is an Indian Curry shop.

It was in South Africa as a young missionary I first had a curry meal. I've loved it ever since, but all curry is not created equal. Notice on extreme left of this photo, "Mother-in-law Curry". Don't get any ideas Phil. This curry will light a fire which will send any Mother-in-law home early.

Durban hosted some of the FIFA World Cup soccer games of 2010. This stadium was built for that purpose. Notice the little square box on top. It's actually a glass elevator which rides up the outside of the stadium. Sadly, Mom wouldn't make the trip with me.

A picture looking south towards downtown Durban.

Vasco de Gama was the first European to sail along this coast in 1497. It was Christmas time so he named the coast Natal. A Portuguese word for Christmas or Christ's birth.

Eating ice cream on the Durban boardwalk with the Kyles. Yes, Mom is very happy!

We had dinner with other senior missionaries serving in the Durban, South African Mission. It was a wonderful out door evening.

Durban is the largest container port in Africa. It was established by the British who named the port after Benjamin d'Urban who at the time was the Governor of Cape Town. The photograph was taken from our hotel room looking south down the boardwalk.  This boardwalk area runs approximately 5 miles along the beach. The harbor opening is at the far end of the sand just in front of the hill.

This is the Durban chapel of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is the 2nd oldest LDS Church building in South Africa. It was built in 1957.

Recently Mom gave a lesson to all the Sisters who work in the Area Office. Her topic was "Happy Or Not, It's Your Choice Everyday." In attendance were both senior missionary sisters and local sisters who work for the Church full-time.  I opened the door of the conference room and got this picture.

A few weeks ago on a Saturday, we went for a drive into Soweto.  This was a township of nearly 4 million people. Under Apartheid, townships were created to house all the Blacks. Soweto ("South West Township") was a place of great violence as apartheid ended. Today the LDS Church has a Stake there. This is a picture in side the Soweto Chapel.

The Soweto Stake Center for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Curbs and sidewalks in Soweto are places of commerce. In other places a curb might be a useless place; but in a crowded township, they are the seat of business empires and unbounded potential. Here they are selling onions and, my least favorite, tomatoes.

This is the Vilakazi Restaurant where we had lunch. It is named after the street it sits on.

Not far from the restaurant is the Hector Pieterson Memorial. It is dedicated to the first victim in the student riots of 1977.  The African students refused to attend school and learn Afrikaans. Hector was a 15 year old student who was shot and killed by the police. This photograph shows part of the Memorial, which has a newspaper photograph taken just after he was shot. 

In the distance you can see the Johannesburg Electric Power Plant. It was built in Soweto, but the electricity generated there was sent to the White suburbs around Johannesburg. None of the electricity made it to Soweto, which had neither electricity or sewers.  The smoke stacks are a Soweto icon. 

This is Vilakazi Street in Soweto. It has the distinction of being the only street in the world where 2 Noble Peace Prize winners lived. Can you guess them?  Nelson Mandela and Bishop Desmond Tutu.

A picture of some "Gogos" (grandmas) coming for church. Surrounding Soweto are the slag dumps of the Johannesburg gold mines seen in the background.

Yes, this is a picture of 2 Gogos.

Inside the Catholic Church of Soweto is this picture of The Black Madonna.

The church contains some wonderful stain glass. Notice Hector Pieterson on the left and Nelson Mandela on the right.

On the church registrar pages is the signature of Nelson Mandela.

Some Soweto curbside business empires in the making.

Got to have your ponchos if you're going to see Victoria Falls

Gus Hoffman M.D. up close and personal with Vic Falls.

Main Falls of Victoria Falls.

Take a close look at that sign "Danger Point". Water, water everywhere!

Just before the dance performance.

Me and my new friends. Africans are so happy it's contagious!

It's hard to express how much water is going over Victoria Falls, So here's a little video of me crossing a bridge which is getting hit by only the mist. It was actually a lot scarier than it looks. Just a little walk in the jungle of Africa.

While visiting Victoria Falls, we stayed at the Zambezi Sun Hotel.  Mother's favorite animal is a frequent visitor to the hotel grounds. I captured this picture just behind our hotel room.

Mom and Victoria Falls from the Zimbabwe side looking towards Zambia.

On both the Zambia and Zimbabwean sides of the falls are statues of Dr. David Livingstone. He was the first European to see the falls in 1855. Still known by its native name "Mosi-oa-tunya" (The smoke that thunders), Livingstone named the falls after Queen Victoria of England. He actually walked from Angola to Mozambique (West to East) transcontinentally across Africa. He died in northern Zambia May 1, 1873. His heart was buried there but his body is interred at Westminster Abbey.

Though Victoria Falls is neither the highest or widest falls in the world, it is considered the largest because it contains the largest sheet of falling water. 

This is portion of the Falls is called Devil's Catarat. 

Standing on the Zambian side.

Mom was ready to go for a ride on these Zebras, but they can be pretty mean.

These guys wanted me to join their dance troupe. Maybe next year after I work on my abs. 

The Zambezi River is a mile wide when it hits the 1st gorge. This picture was taken from our flight into Zambia. You can see why it's called Mosi-oa-tunya.