In this travel essay, Kaplan returns to South Africa during the World Cup and reflects on how far the country has come since apartheid. He visits the Lost City resort built during the Bantustan era, recounts its history as a white gambling haven, and contrasts the exuberance of the new South Africa with persistent poverty symbolised by a sleeping street child at the airport. The piece uses the Latin phrase “ex Africa semper aliquod novi” to capture the nation’s capacity to surprise and notes that despite political change, deep inequalities remain.
