Well, I finally found something terribly wrong with what seemed to be a perfect trip: We had to say goodbye.

After 30 hours of traveling, over 20 of which were flying, we finally got home with fond memories (and an alive, but still ill, dog).

Some final thoughts:

• What a great group! From Australia to Ketchikan, there is not a person in this group who we would not love to go traveling with again!
• What a fascinating country! They have come so far is so short a time and have so much promise.
• What a fascinating program: From talking to the other delegations, People-to-People succeeds in its task of bringing professionals together for information, good will and diplomacy. The program was well organized and well run.
  

We hope that those on the Kruger extension are having a great time and we are looking forward to seeing your pictures. And, yes, we are jealous of you!

We hope those who left with us are having a safe trip home.

Over the next few days and weeks, I'll be sharing information with everyone - but let's stay in touch! Although we are miles away, we are fortunate to be living in an age when modern technology makes staying in touch easy.

Thanks again to everyone who has been reading this blog, to People-to-People for making this possible and most of all, to the 23 folk who went halfway around the world with us and are more informed and well rounded people as a result.

Gregg

Last day in Cape Town

Our last day in Cape Town was as full as a day can be.

It started with a sensational meeting with the "Family Law Centre" and ended with an informative meeting with the Cape Law Society, the equivalent of our bar association. In between was a quick, but impressive visit to the top of Table Mountain.

The Family Law Centre is a group of lawyers and non-lawyers who are extending family law services to indigent parties on a "pay as you can" basis. There is a focus of assisting victims of domestic abuse. Not unlike the States, there is a tremendous need for services and the enthusiasm of this group energized and thrilled our entire delegation. No question about it: This was the best meeting of the entire trip.
Next, we snuck a quick trip up Table Mountain, were the view was simply spectacular.

Then, our final professional meeting with the Cape Law Society.



Tonight we had our farewell banquet and sad goodbyes. Some will be going on to Kruger National Park and some of us will be going home.

No blog tomorrow - travel day - but please look for a final wrapup blog when I'm back home.

Monday in Cape Town

This morning, the professional delegation met with representatives of the Rights of the Child Project at the University of Western Cape. Once again, the meeting was informative and productive. Some pictures follow:
















After the meeting, we returned to the hotel and had the afternoon to ourselves. In one of the few, if not only, disappointments of this trip, it was too cloudy to climb Table Mountain and much as Tom Walsh tried to find a way (get up at 3 a.m. tomorrow morning?), it is not to be. Some of us assuaged that disappointment by going to a jewelry store. There will be fewer diamonds in South Africa when we leave than there are currently. Others of us simply shopped or walked around the Albert and Victoria Waterfront, which has hundreds of shops and restaurants.

Tomorrow is our last full day in Cape Town and includes two professional meetings.

Our delegation

I thought it might be time for pictures of our little delegation: The top one is from - where, the sign says it all. The rest are from the dinner last night at the home of Trevor and JoAnn, who hosted us for dinner at their home. Trevor is in the bottom picture with Linda. Note: Denise missed the dinner, so I have to sneak a picture of her in later!

Day at Leisure???

The question marks in the above title relate to the fact that most of us are more tired after our "day of leisure" than after a full working day!

Some of us took the morning walking tour of a township and found the experience inspiring and highly worthwhile. One person termed it "life alterting".

The three Wisconsinites spent the morning running a 10K race which we found on-line. There were thousands of participants in a huge event. I won't mention times, except to say that Tom was nice enough to wait after finishing for quite a while, waiting for me and Rebecca.

After lunch, most of us took the optional tour of Robbens Island, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for many years. At the top of this post is a picture of Table Mountain, taken from the ferry and below is Robbens Island.



After a bus tour of the island, we received a tour of the prison itself, with the guide (in the front of the picture) a former political prisoner on the island.













To the right is cell in which Nelson Mandel was held for 18 of his 27 years of imprisonment.











After returning, we went to the home of a charming South African family for dinner. More on that tomorrow.

Today was our tour of Cape Town day - the highlight of which was the quick, windy visit to the Cape of Good Hope, the most south-western point of the African Continent. It was unbelievably windy and there were numerous groups pushing to get their pictures taken behind the sign in the above picture, but we managed to get in there before any of us blew away. The sign, which is not easy to read in the above picture, identifies the Cape and gives its longitude.

The above picture is the view from our hotel room on the 25th floor. In the background is Table Mountain, which we hope to climb (some of us via cable car, others on foot) probably on Monday.



The day started early with a drive along the coast. The view was spectacular, to say the least.
The picture above is just one example of the views we had all morning as we drove along the coast, including on a road carved into the side of a mountain.







Next up was a visit to the penguins - cute little critters. They were just sort of all hunkered down on the sand (the beach was nearby) and faced away from the wind - not a bad idea at all...the wind is brutal here, undoubtedly as an effect of the two oceans (Atlantic and Indian) which meet here.









The final stop for the day was Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, which was huge and quite beautiful.











We got back to the hotel late in the afternoon and many of us went to dinner at the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront, which is lined with shops and restaurants.

Tomorrow, the Wisconsin contingent, Tom, Rebecca and myself are going to (a) try to find the starting line for a 10K run and (b) try to get Tom the T-shirt he paid for. Many of the others will be going on the walking tour of a township. In the afternoon, most everyone will be going on the boat to Robbens Island, which is where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned.

So, one more day to sightsee tomorrow before getting back to work!

Arrival in Cape Town

Short blog today - we had problems getting internet access and it's getting late...

But, we are all safe and sound in Cape Town. We toured the Origins Museum in Jo-Burg this morning, then went to the airport in more than enough time to avoid any problems with potential overbooking. We arrived in Cape Town around 8:30 p.m. or so. Our city guide, Vanessa was waiting for us and we took the bus to the hotel, arriving around 10 p.m. Then, it took an hour to get an internet connection!

Tomorrow is a long day of touring - yeah, tough job, but someone has to do it! I should have some pictures to post, but for now, the bed beckons!

Two Meetings today...

Above is my first attempt at at group picture - these are the delegates - the guests were on a separate trip. I'll try for a complete (and better) picture later.

This morning, the delegates left early for Pretoria, where we met with the lawyers who are working with the South African Law Reform Commission.

As you can see in the picture to the left, we sat around a horseshoe table and discussed their very impressive efforts at reforming family law in South Africa. In some respects - such as validating same-sex marriages - they are ahead of the U.S. (but not Australia or Canada, as those delegates pointed out). In some other respects (e.g., polygamy which is allowed by tribal law) they are still struggling. Still, it was fascinating to learn that our similarities far exceed our differences.





After lunch, we met with three members of Divorce and Family Mediators, including its director Alfred Wolpe (on the left), his partner Jackie (in the center) and an attorney, Colleen (on the right). The discussion compared mediation in South Africa with the countries represented in our delegation. Alfred, Jackie and Colleen's program is where we were in the States about ten years ago, but they are catching up fast. Our interchange with Alfred, Jackie and Colleen was so interesting, that they joined us as guests for dinner tonight so the dialogue could continue.

Meanwhile, the guests visited Soweto and an orphanage. Mike Anderson volunteered to lead fund raising efforts to assist the children at the orphanage.

Tomorrow: The Origins Museum - then, a late afternoon flight to Cape Town.

Long, but good day in Jo-burg today.

Everyone felt much better after a good night's sleep.

Our day started with an excellent orientation on South African history and culture by our wonderful national guide, Alan Petersen. Alan went through the history of the country, the geography and demographics.

Then, the guest left for Pretoria, while the delegates remained for a presentation on the status of family law in South Africa. We were fortunate to have three family law attorneys and the Director of Child Justice and Family Law for the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development. In many respects, their practice is similar to those in the delegation (we have four counties represented - five, if you include Texas). Their procedure is based on the British system, which our Australian delegates related to rather well. Their substance, however, is premised on the best interests of the child. There is a child representative in contested custody cases, whose role is a blend of best interests and advocacy. Interestingly, there are only 47,000 in the entire country (there are 21,000 in Wisconsin alone) of whom, about 80% are white, although a majority of judges are now black. Language is a problem as South Africa has 11 official languages. Also interesting is that indigents are entitled to court appointed lawyers, even in divorce cases.




















Next, we had lunch at a wonderful fish restaurant.

After lunch, we went to Soweta and the Hector Pietersen Museum. Hector Pietersen was a teenager who was gunned down during a march opposing apartheid and the museum memorializes all who similarly died.

Tomorrow: We are marching (actually we are taking a bus, but let's not get technical!) to Pretoria.

We're here....

In case anyone is wondering, it's a really long flight...

But we are all here - at least all but one who was not on the JFK-Johannesburg flight.

The flight left on time and the airline was perfectly nice - individual video screens with lots of choices for movies and TV shows. 14 1/2 hours later, we landed in J-burg. Alan, our national guide, along with our Australian delegates, were waiting to meet us. By the time we all cleared customs and changed money, it was about 10 a.m. - too early to check in at the hotel. So, a bunch of tired and scraggly delegates and guests got dropped off at a really nice mall for lunch and to browse the shops. We got the hotel about 1:30 p.m., very grateful to see a bed!

After a nap and clean up, we will all meet for dinner this evening. Then, the meetings and touring start tomorrow.

Can't wait!

Introduction

Welcome to our blog!

On Sunday, October 4, we leave for New York, then the next morning for South Africa. We will be there 9 days - four days in Johannesburg and five in Cape Town, leading a delegation of 25 family law professionals and guests through the auspices of People-to-People. Unfortunately, the above-pictured member of our family will not be going - she is packing for a stay in doggy jail, instead.








Well, unfortunately, she does not seem to have the right idea about packing!










During the course of our trip, we have seven professional meetings with family law organizations in South Africa. Plus, time for sightseeing, shopping and even a 10K race in Cape Town.

We will try to post daily to this blog starting after our arrival in Johannesburg on Tuesday. We look forward to our trip and to posting stories and pictures as we travel.