Sorry for the lack of posts, I just got back to Stellenbosch last night at around 7pm from our epic adventure! It is going to be so hard to remember all of the things we did, but I will do my best to share some fun stories. The first half of the trip...from September 4 until September 11, we traveled with the entire AIFS group of about 30 or so people along the Garden Route (which traverses the southern part of the country along the coast). From September 11 until September 19 we split off from the AIFS group who returned back to campus and we traveled up the eastern coast all the way to Durban (yes...we skipped an entire week of school! sorry Mom and Dad, but it was so worth it!). I'll attempt to give a day by day description of what we did!
Day 1:
We piled into the vans and drove for about six hours to Buffalo Bay backpackers. We spent the afternoon playing on the beach or just lounging in hammocks on the deck with a drink in hand. The water was definitely warmer than the Atlantic, but it was still a little too cold for me to want to swim. We went to dinner at an amazing seafood restaurant in Knysna where we got to try oysters and some wine. After dinner we were told that we were going to a "surprise" and MamaH drove us around aimlessly for about 20 minutes and then brought us back to the backpackers where there was a Rastafarian reggae band waiting for us! We spent the night drinking, dancing, and celebrating our spring break. I think this may have been one of the best nights of my entire abroad experience so far, simply because it was pure fun. We were in a beautiful hostel literally meters from the Indian ocean with our whole group together dancing barefoot and singing obnoxiously. We also taught MamaH how to play kings which she absolutely loved! She told us we had to play it every night while we were there. Eventually we all faded off to bed in the early morning hours.
Day 2:
We got up in the morning and went to Judah Square...a Rastafarian community in a local township. We got a tour of the neighborhood and learned about the Rasta culture and way of life, as well as took a walk down a nature path that lead through the woods surrounding the area. The Rasta's were the same ones that came to perform for us the night before so we got another chance to talk with them and play with the children in the streets. The neighborhood was super colorful and the people were all very friendly. We left Judah Square and went to Knysna Elephant park where we got to drive out to feed and play with some elephants. Since it is spring here there are tons of baby elephants as well...which are still quite large if you ask me. We got to feed them fruit and vegetables and they will literally take it right out of your hand. After the elephant park we went down to the waterfront for a late lunch then headed back to Buffalo Bay backpackers for a second evening of beach relaxation. We had dinner at the hostel - a traditional potjie. Following dinner everyone just hung out an enjoyed the evening.
Somewhere in between Days 2 and 4:
For whatever reason, whether it was food poisoning or the 24-hour bug, starting our second night people in our group began to get really sick really fast. Literally we went to bed and four people felt sick and we woke up and 9 more felt awful. In total, 21 of the 30 people on the trip got sick for at least 24 hours. MamaH, who got sick herself, spent nearly 2000 rand on medicine for the group and she went above and beyond her director-of-program-role and entered into concerned-mother-role. I luckily escaped what became known as "the garden route plague of 2k9". People would feel fine in the morning and miserable by the afternoon, so some stayed at the hostel and slept instead of going on the daily excursions, but some would come anyways and we ended up dividing the vans into sick vans and healthy vans. It was pretty crazy! Thankfully everyone began to feel better in about 24 hours, so by the end of the trip everyone was back to normal health and strength. This garden route will defintely go down in the AIFS history books!
Day 3:
We left Buffalo Bay and headed north to Oudtshoorn to the Cango Caves. We were guided through a few kilometers of caves with plenty of places to squeeze through such as the "mail slot" which is only 27 centimeters high and a meter wide. It was surprisingly warm and damp in the caves so we were pretty happy to get back into the fresh air at the end. From there we traveled to an ostirich farm where we got to learn about ostriches, hold babies, watch chicks hatch, and play with adult ostriches as well. There was even an opportunity to ride them, but it was a little inhumane (although entertaining to watch people do). After the ostrichs we piled back into our vans and drove to the next lodge that we were staying at. The lodge was gorgeous and consisted of small houses that would sleep 2-4 people and a big house broken into smaller sections for 4-6 people. This lodge came at the right time for our group which needed some serious rest and quiet in order to feel better. We had dinner at the lodge around a fireplace, and I am pretty sure the entire group was fast alseep by 8:30 pm, in order to try and avoid/get rid of the plauge.
Day 4:
We woke up and had a delicious breakfast on the veranda in the middle of the lawn. That morning I was supposed to go sea kayaking but the weather wasn't cooperating, so I got to sleep in instead. After breakfast I headed out with a smaller group to go on a canopy zipline tour! Our group, aptly named "team extreme" geared up with all our carabiners and helments and set out to the trees. There were ten ziplines in total, the longest one over 90 meters. The tour lasted a few hours and we got to swing around and learn about the trees in the forest. After the canopy tour we met up with the rest of the group at Tenikwa, a reservation for wild and rehabilitated cats. We got to see and pet cheetahs as well as see leopards, caracols, and tons of other cats that I do not remember the name of. After Tenikwa we went to Monkeyland! There were literally hundreds of monkeys just wandering around us in this huge preservation area. We got to see gibbons and the blue-butt monkeys like in the Lion King, as well as the black and white striped lemurs from Madagascar. After Monkeyland we headed to a pizza place on the ocean for endless amounts of pizza. Although we are a comparably small AIFS group this year (there is usually around 50 or 60 people) we are becoming famous for our appetites. We ate copious amounts of pizza and then headed back to the lodge for a rather unsettling night of sleep due to the looming bungee jump in the morning...
Day 5:
We all woke up pretty early and stomached whatever breakfast we could before packing the vans and driving to Bloukrans Bridge in Tsitsikamma national park. Driving over the bridge does not give you the full story of just how high that bridge actually was. We got out of the vans and went into the bungee cafe to get a full view of what we were about to jump off of. I took one look and turned around to sign up before I got too scared. We signed the forms, got weighed, and then strapped into a harness. I was with the first group of jumpers (about 22 of 30 in our group jumped that day and many who didn't have already jumped in the past). We walked out to the middle of the bridge on a smaller suspended bridge where you could see the ground the whole time. Once we got on the bridge (there was about 17 of us in our group) the workers blasted pump up music and we all decided to dance instead of wait and be scared. All of a sudden a worker just starts screaming out names...Paden was first! They literally call your name, strap you in, and away you go. It took maybe half hour for all of us to jump off that bridge it was so crazy! I was jumper number 12...right after my roommate Kimmy! When they called my name I stopped talking and just sat and waited as they attached these shin pad-like cushions to my legs and tied them together. They attached the bungee cable and stood you up to jump. This entire time they are talking to you and telling you about the cables but I sure wasn't listening to them, but I could hear my friends yelling and cheering me on, as we did for everyone who jumped. Finally they stand you up and you hop to the edge...you have to scootch up with your toes hanging over the edge. I looked down just long enough to see my toes, then looked back to the horizon as I heard "5...4...3...2...1...BUNGEE!". I closed my eyes just long enough to get off that bridge and then I opened them on the way down and it was AMAZING. All you hear is air rushing by you...I screamed at first but then decided to listen to the air as I literally flew down the 216 meters. I only felt my stomach drop for the first second or two, and then the rest of the time I felt like I was flying, but waiting for that bungee cord to pull was almost torture. Once the cord streches you swing under the bridge to the other side with full views of the ocean and mountains surrounding you. After you stop swinging you wait for about a minute upside down for the worker to come down and attach you to him to be pulled back up. Waiting there seems like much more than one minute, but it was the most peace I have ever felt. My head was completely clear and there was nothing but natural sounds. I looked back up at my feet and the bridge seemed light years away. For all of your viewing pleasure, I bought the video that the FaceAdrenaline company makes and the pictures they took of me jumping! The rest of the day everyone walked around exhausted from adrenaline but very happy. That afternoon we traveled to our final stop in Jeffrey's Bay at Island Vibe backpackers. This place was also right on the beach and since we are a small group we were all located in the Beach House with rooms that led right out to the beach. We had a delicious dinner and hung out for the night in the bar/lounge area with tons of other students and travelers who were staying with us at the backpackers.
Day 6:
Day six was filled with various activities depending on what everyone signed up for. That morning I spent downtown shopping with some friends at the Billabong and Roxy outlets...J-Bay is an avid surf area with some of the best waves in South Africa, so needless to say the beach and the people are awesome. In the afternoon I went on a township tour with a few people. We got to explore the streets and learn about the culture of the area. We went to a man's house for tea and delicious Xhosa bread and then our guide took us to the local shabeen or bar for a drink. We got to meet tons of people from the community which was different from the other township tours we have done in the past. After the tour we went back to the hostel and had a fantastic steak dinner before partying our last night away. At some point in the night a local traditional dance group of children came through and we got to watch them perform. We were up until about 3 that morning playing pool, hanging out, and being obnoxious as usual with the drivers.
Day 7: The Split
This morning we woke up and packed our stuff with the group. However, eight of us went to pick up our two rental cars at around 9. We left J-Bay at the same time as the AIFS group and there were plenty of hugs and well-wishes all around before we left. MamaH told us to be careful of course, and we all climbed into our cars and started our adventure.
Okay so I am running out of time to finish this post...so I promise there will be a part two in the very near future! Be well everyone!
Totsiens,
Megan
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