Zona_Za: REBORN AFRO-OPTIMIST

I often get a bit annoyed by Americans going on about how in Africa people keep wild animals as their pets. I now realise that a part of my being annoyed is rooted on the reality that I don't know much about my continent. We may not keep the big 5 on our back yards but they roam freely in our fields. The continent is supposed to be the home of nature, the wild and culture, as a dweller of this "mother" I should know a thing or two about my "co-dweller". I jumped at the opportunity to go for a game drive for the second time in my life last week Friday, 28 October, 2011.I was invited to the launch of the new national Absa Vuka Festival at Mpongo Park Game Reserve. The invite promised an event that will awaken my Afro optimism, and boy did they deliver!The ABSA Festival will be an annual even held in East London every year around October starting next month. The launch was modeled on what will make the festival next year. There were different stalls that "vusa" your Afro-Optimism. Vuka Sound | Vuka Taste | Vuka Vision. There were different people from different industries which contributed to the colour and feel of the event. The Vuka Sound was equally amazing, pop/classical band Coda played beautiful music, performing their own compositions and doing a few covers.I first saw this band sometime in 2009 on Top Billing but they have since changed their vocalist, introducing the very talented Zami Mdingi from Cape Town. While my tastes buds were tantalised by different dishes, from sea food to wild meat...Vuka Taste...At the bottom of my invite there was a line that said: "no ties/ cocktail dress" but ladies came out in their finest cocktail dresses..maybe I read wrong, but I went there with my jeans and flatties on, but was surrounded by ladies and gents dressed to the T. Felt a bit under dressed but who cares?...I enjoyed myself. We were all taken on a game drive, from the entrance to the actual venue. For the first time I saw beautiful, big white lions, uncaged... I just couldn't believe my eyes. I kept asking Thando( my friend and co-journo) to pinch me.and boy does he pinch hard...The icing on the cake was the Rhino though, the swagger of the creature! my gosh it's unbelievable...

Now for some pictures!