Bellville, Cape Town, South Africa

Postcard ZA-50304 from South Africa shows car lights brighten the busy national road from the north at Bellville, a city in the greater Cape Town metropolitan area. Originally called "12 Mile Post" as it is located 12 miles or 20 kilometers from the city center of Cape Town, Bellville was originally founded as a railway station on the line from Cape Town to Stellenbosch and Strand. It was renamed to Bellville in 1861, named after the Surveyor-General Charles Davidson Bell (October 22, 1813 - April 7, 1882),  who was also an artist and designer.

The postcard arrived a few days before what would be Nelson Mandela's 96th birthday on July 18, 2014. As the former president of South Africa and Nobel Peace Prize recipient, Mandela passed away at 95 last year on December 5, 2013. His birthday was officially declared as Nelson Mandela International Day by the United Nations in November 2009; and the first Mandela Day celebration hosted by UN was held on July 18, 2010. This is the first time the day has been celebrated since his death, in honor of his legacy through volunteering and community service.

Google Doodle made a beautiful tribute to Nelson Mandela today.

Elephant Charging: An African Experience

Postcard ZA-38095 from South Africa shows an elephant charging towards the camera. On the back of the card, the description reads: "Elephants are potentially dangerous animals if provoked or threatened. They do sometimes charge cars, although most charges are only mock charges intended to scare off the offender." Indeed, a bull elephant was reported to flip over a car occupied by a pair of British tourists in in the Kruger National Park on December 30, 2013.

The park manager advised visitors that the best way to avoid injury in the national park was to keep a safe distance from these big animals. And the worst of it is that when incidents like this happened, the animal got killed.