of all that dance used to be in African 
society. Once an integral and vital part 
of African social, religious, and po- 
litical life, dance is now an empty 
mockery, choreographed to fit the 
limited floor space of a nightclub, 
gaudily costumed to satisfy a concept 
of propriety, new to Africa, that the 
West is fast leaving behind. 
Most of the tourists I met clarified 
“seeing Africa” as meeting Africans, 
although some still insisted that they 
only wanted to see the people. But 
what Africans do most tourists see, 
other than hotel and tour employees 
or the costumed dancers, who are en- 
tertaining but quite unbelievable? 
They see Africans smartly dressed in 
Western-tailored clothing, sporting 
Western manners and Western speech. 
To many that is almost as unbelievable 
as the costumed dancers, and again 
they suspect artificiality. In any case, 
that Africa, clothed by Saville Row, 
is not what they came so far to see. 
“We thought it would be more primi- 
tive” is a frequently heard comment. 
It is an innocent observation, devoid 
of insult; for many, primitive conveys 
not so much backwardness as some 
kind of primal truth, referring to a 
state when man and nature lived in 
harmony, rather than locked in com- 
bat. 
The Yorkshire moors may or may 
not be more natural than an East Af- 
rican game park, but clearly the Eng- 
lish couple, and others like them, 
came searching for some kind of pri- 
mal truth they had sensed elsewhere. 
The government and tourist agencies, 
however, make it next to impossible 
for average tourists to make effective 
contact with the Africa they hope to 
find. Motivated in part by consider- 
ations of image and financial profit, 
the agencies discourage the individual 
or family holiday on which it was once 
possible to drive freely across the Af- 
rican countryside, camping by the 
roadside, accepting the friendly and 
uncontrived hospitality of Africans in 
their rural villages, learning about Af- 
rica from them, seeing it as they see 
it, with their senses and sensitivity. 
Today it is almost impossible to avoid 
the organized group safari that leads 
the tourist from one air-conditioned 
luxury lodge to another, often pro- 
viding a guaranteed “photographic 
bag” of every major form of game. 
Some safari lodges arrange for early 
morning wake-up calls as soon as the 
tourist’s selected prey has obligingly 
presented itself for viewing from the 
For toll free Information call: 1-800-341-0358 Maine Res call 1-800-492-0554 
On June 12, 1979, the pedal- 
powered Gossamer Albatross 
flew across the English 
Channel. A member of the 
team that made it happen 
chronicles the astonishing 
engineering feats and the 
human drama behind the 
victory. 
“The Wright Brothers would 
have been proud of this book." 
-MARTIN CAIDIN 
“The gripping story of the suc- 
cessful accomplishment of hu- 
man-powered flight.” 
-GENERAL JIMMY DOOLITTLE 
“Engrossing, reminiscent of the 
early days of flying.” 
-ANNE MORROW LINDBERG 
Photographs • $14.95. now at your bookstore 
HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY 
2 Park St.. Boston. Mass. 02107 
The triumphant saga of 
human-powered flight! 
A 
by MORTON GROSSER 
New Brunswick 
Miramichi River 
Streams seen and fished by few. Talk about trout and deep-sea fishing. Pick your 
fish, then pick your spot. The catch of the day or fresh lobster served all year round. 
Come on up. 
Canada 
SO MUCH TO GO FOR 
29 
