Leon Benade: A nation on the move

The first view of the wide highveld from the air quickens the pulse. One is immediately struck by the vivid colour of the big sky, the warm morning sunshine and the noise.

Johannesburg International Airport is a microcosm of the rest of South Africa: fast in places, a breezy attitude, unkempt in places, a raw bustle of humanity, clearly an African country, yet very mixed and integrated.

Nine years away revealed astonishing changes. There is a building boom that makes the eyes water; everywhere, it seems, no open land is safe.

The "concrete highway" well known to Johannesburgers is literally lined on both sides with impressive office parks and elegant, if sometimes brash, evidence of corporate muscle.

The northern suburbs of Johannesburg are literally bursting at the seams around the new financial hub of Sandton. Impressive shopping centres and casino complexes are patronised by well-heeled patrons of all shades.

An ongoing economic boom sees a stable currency that has moved little against the US dollar in two years, helped along by strong gold and platinum prices.

Property prices have risen, and it is difficult to find an average middle-class home in a city for under a million rand.

This boom is fuelled by a massive growth in the black middle class.

For anyone who has not been to South Africa in at least the past five to 10 years, the sheer number of people of colour who drive luxury German vehicles is mind-boggling. In the past year or so, new car sales have outstripped used car sales.

The massive residential property building boom has placed enormous strain on road infrastructure, and here the change is readily apparent, as traffic is constantly heavy and bottlenecks badly at peak times.

But the much-trumpeted notion put about by some recent South African migrants to New Zealand that the country is falling to pieces, and that the roads are in hopeless disrepair, was not readily evident.

Travel of 2000-odd kilometres through both large urban areas and small rural towns in South Africa revealed a burgeoning country that still has some of the finest roads one may wish to travel on.

These are roads that allow one to travel safely at 120km per hour, something we in New Zealand can only dream of.

In smaller places, there is less evidence of infrastructural investment.

However, it is apparent that there has also been a redistribution of spending priorities, as new schools and low-cost housing have sprung up in many places, particularly those previously disadvantaged.

The drive from Joburg to Durban that so many "vaalies" (those from the old Transvaal, now Gauteng, region around inland Johannesburg) were brought up on, continues to be a ritual, and the years do not remove the sense of anticipation derived from the pre-dawn start along the 600-odd km trip that takes one through some truly wondrous landscape; neither do the years remove the anticipation of first seeing the beauty of the Indian Ocean.

What made this trip different was to see the delight of black, Indian and Coloured families also enjoying what the beach has to offer.

A superb marine park, newly created on Durban's South Beach is world-class and hugely popular.

The changes wrought by a relatively peaceful struggle to democracy have created a nation that displays a pride in itself.

There is a positive mood, despite the fact that there are problems that relate to crime, Aids and allegations of corruption at different levels of government. A gratifying sense of purpose and desire to "get it right" are impressive.

Many of these changes have been purchased at the expense of the previously privileged position of whites. Evidence of black empowerment is everywhere.

However, evidence of a continued comfortable lifestyle for whites is also evident.

The poor are still poor; shanty "suburbs" are a frequent sight, although these are slowly being replaced with low-cost housing developments.

The crime phenomenon in big cities is a plague that the ANC Government has yet to solve satisfactorily.

Grand houses of old on large sections of land in the upmarket suburbs are steadily giving way to "lock and go" multi units, as these are not only less bother to maintain, but help to better protect the wealthy, as crime continues to be a serious issue.

Suburbanites live behind high walls, razor wire, electrified fences and spikes.

Many neighbourhoods are gated and fenced in, although the authorities are in dispute with these communities, which, it argues, have no right to restrict people's access.

As a result, the access booms are really cosmetic, yet are manned 24/7. Crime has spawned a massive security industry that includes armed response and security companies.

South Africa continues to offer a life experience that is unique and outstanding. It is fast, frenetic and not for the faint-hearted.

The return to the "beloved country" is one that helps to renew one's familial and ancestral roots.

However, as for generations of migrants throughout the world, there can be no going back. The most heart-warming words were addressed by the Customs officer at Auckland International Airport: "Welcome home".

* Leon Benade is a naturalised New Zealand citizen of South African birth who settled in Auckland, where he has lived with his family for the past nine years