The Big African Adventure

I'm a terrible blogger.

Sat, 16 Jun 2012 10:51:41 -0400

:( I will have lots of stories to tell when I get ample internet time.

Which will be when I go home. In A WEEK AND A HALF.

Wowee.

you better not be dead

Thu, 24 May 2012 08:17:47 -0400

Haha. I’m not, it’s just that South Africa hates Macs and all the computers on campus have facebook blocked. And I’m just a terrible blogger in general. I miss you! How’s your summer going/are you in Boone?

hey this is pretty random but i stumbled across your blog, im south african but live in the uk and this blog actually brought back so many happy memories so thank you :) i hope you enjoy the rest of your time there its beautiful! :) you know you are studying abroad there, what course are you studying? x

Thu, 24 May 2012 08:16:25 -0400

Aww, that’s great! I wish I were better at keeping it updated, but once I get better internet access there will be more posts:) I love it here, but I only have a month left which is sad. I’m studying Psychology at NMMU. What part of SA are you from?

The Bridge of Death- Conquering the World's Highest Bungee Jump

Thu, 03 May 2012 08:47:46 -0400

During Spring Break Part Deux, I went on a university trip to Cape Town, and on the way, we made a pit stop at the Bloukrans Bridge in Tsisikamma, where some of us would do the world’s highest bungee:216 meters -708 feet. Now before I left for South Africa (and the majority of the time I was here) I told everyone that there was no way in heck I would pay good money to throw myself off a bridge. Eventually, however, I saw that everyone was doing it (so I would look like a total square if I didn’t), and realized that a small part of me actually wanted to also. As cheesy as it sounds, I knew that if I managed to willingly jump off a bridge that high,afterward I would feel like I could do anything. The only catch: willingly jumping off a bridge that high…

The 3ish hour drive to the bridge was probably the most stressful 3ish hours of my life. We found out the day before that instead of doing the jump on the way back from Cape Town, we’d be doing it on the way to Cape Town due to some itinerary changes the university made -giving us 5 less days to emotionally prepare. So I sat in the van, listening to some pump up music on my ipod, sweating bullets, and wondering how I was going jump off this bridge without peeing myself (or worse). When we passed the Bungy Jumping -> sign and the driver began to slow, my stomach did about 8 somersaults. But despite being too scared to walk straight, I went over to the cashier and paid the (non-refundable) 690 Rand and got harnessed up.

Our booking wasn’t until noon so we sat in the Cliffhanger Cafe and watched people jump until it was time. There were 5 of us jumping, and we met the guys who harnessed us and they gave us some last minute instructions: dive out with your arms spread, keep your head up so you don’t get a head rush, and don’t worry about having a heart attack because adrenalin (which we’d be feeling a lot of) is the cure for heart attacks. Then they led us down the walkway underneath the bridge to get to the platform. The walkway was made out of some type of fencing and it bent underneath us as we walked. On one side of us was ocean and on the other side there were mountains, and as beautiful as it was, I was afraid that if I looked down, my head would explode. My roommate, Surina was walking behind me and at one point she goes, “Ahhhh! Oh no, I looked down, I looked down!” The only sentence I managed to form was “Wow, this fence is bendy.” When we got to the platform, I was in full on panic mode but good spirits. Luckily, they started blasting music to ease our terror and get our adrenaline going. It was also hard not to be in a good mood because the guys who worked there loved their jobs and you could tell -they did everything to the beat of the music. This being said, I was still very glad I wasn’t the one going first.

We watched as the first few people went (the free fall before the first bounce was about 7 seconds) and got more and more amped. One guy came back up, looking windblown and absolutely nuts, and said, “The first part is HORRIBLE, but then it’s amazing!” I had to see for myself. Finally it was my turn and the guy tied me up around my ankles (I asked several times if he was sure it was tight enough)

and after a quick photo op

(and a quick panic attack)

I was on my way. I hopped up to the edge with a bungee dude on either side of me, looked out at the gorgeous Tsitsikamma and…. 5,4,3,2,1 BUNGY!

Even being the biggest bungee jump, it went by very quickly. By the time I could catch my breath to scream, it was almost over. But I remember diving off the platform and watching the river (which looked life Coca-Cola) spin around and around as I hurtled toward the ground. Before I knew it, I was flying back upward, and this happened about 4 more times before I finally stopped. After a couple minutes of hanging there, laughing and cursing, I wondered if anyone was coming to get me. As soon as I yelled “Is anybody out there??”, my knight in shining armor came, somehow making me upright again and taking me back to the top of the bridge.

So there you have it. I did it, and it was one of my favorite things I’ve done since I’ve been here!

Also…I’ve unearthed the adrenalin junkie inside of me.Next up, skydiving!

Coffee Bay

Wed, 02 May 2012 13:50:00 -0400

During spring break 3 friends and I rented a car and took a road trip to Coffee Bay, a tiny beach town in the Transkei, which is about 7 ½ hours away. It took us longer to get there because we didn’t have a GPS and there were about 2 signs for Coffee bay…so naturally, we were convinced that we were lost most of the trip. Also, the driving was intense. When it was my turn, I hit an enormous pothole, absolutely soaking the poor lady standing next to it, stalled out 6+ times in the middle of an intersection, and repeatedly failed to remember that we drive on the left side of the rode here in South Africa –it didn’t help that it rained the entire time and the roads were riddled with gigantic potholes. So after what was basically a long, terrifying game of Mario Kart, we pull up to The Coffee Shack, our hostel, and suddenly it was all worth it. A lady greets us and gets us our free “welcoming drinks” and shows us to our dorm room, where two German girls were already staying. There was a bar, hammocks, a big common area with a TV and newspapers, and meandering donkeys.

We ate a traditional Xhosa dinner, watched African drummers and mingled and then crashed early. I didn’t sleep well that night, and still wonder how the others did. Our room was packed –there were six people in beds, and two people on the floor because their tents flooded. People were coming in and out of the room at all hours of the night, and at one point a lady comes in requesting our presence at the bar for tequila shots (we didn’t even lift our heads). The icing on the cake, however, was the person drumming outside our window all night. At first, I was pretty pissed that I wasn’t sleeping, but I reminded myself that it was all part of the hostel experience… and at least it would make a good story.

The next morning, we got up and had a bountiful breakfast of peanut butter toast and explored the area around the hostel.

We were eagerly pursued by ladies selling beads and got suckered into buying bracelets, and then it was time to leave for our hike –we were going on a guided hike to the Mpuze Cliffs for the day along with some Norwegians, Germans, and South Africans. We hopped into the shuttle and got dropped off at the cliffs with our guide, Jerry, pieces of wood, a grate, and a huge box of Toasties (delicious grilled cheeses on crack), which the Toasty King was going to cook for us while we were hiking.

The first obstacle we hit on our hike was a river that had magically appeared overnight because of all the rain. We had to take off our shoes, roll up our pants, and wade across the slippery rocks in one connected line, holding on to each other for dear life. It was a pretty comical sight.

We climbed up steep, muddy hills (I slipped several times, of course) and down even steeper ones. Eventually we got to the rocks right on the water and had to race the tide to get to the caves.

We went through one cave and into another (it had some serious cave stank going on) and then went back to the starting point to eat our Toasties…they were so good that I snuck another one when I thought the guide wasn’t looking. When we got back to the hostel, it was late afternoon. We were exhausted, but instead of taking a much needed nap, we treated ourselves to homemade ice cream and explored the quirky little shops, whose owners were nowhere in sight. On our way home, we came across some fellas that got right to the point, telling us they had “Shrooms, things for us to smoke, and no wives.” So the rumors about Coffee Bay were true…but don’t worry, we just laughed and kept on walking. For dinner, the Coffee Shack gave us free potjies (I’m pretty sure it’s pronounced “porky”… and for good reason). A potjie is the delicious result of putting a smorgasbord of food items in a big pot and letting it sit there for a few hours –you could call it a South African Crockpot. That night, we drank cheap wine, played every card game known to man, and failed epically in the Killer Pool Competition. Then we did some wheelin’ and dealin’ with the Coffee Shack employees to see if we could get a guide to take us on the Hole in the Wall hike the next day –everyone we knew who went to Coffee Bay talked about it and we wanted to see what all the hubbub was about. We succeeded and then decided to scamper off to our beds –thankfully, I slept like a log that night.

The next morning, we got up and had another peanut butter breakfast and met our guide, Silas. We began the 3 hour hike to Hole in the Wall, and not 2 minutes in, we run into this guy:

He told us that the world is changing, starting from “The Miracle Den” (which was by Mark’s house…?). He then leapt between my friend and I, making a loud whooshing noise, and ran off. Yep, the rumors were definitely true. For the next 3 hours we hike alongside the cows while Silas tells us all about the people and animals of Transkei.

Quite a few kilometers and several falls later, we are in the town of Hole in the Wall at what I assume was a backpacker lodge. There, we eat lunch, chug ice water, and sprawl out in the grass. After ample recovery time, trusty Silas leads us to what the town was named after –you guessed it, a big rock with a hole in it. It was a very cool, quiet spot and totally worth the hike.

Now, in Africa, the phrase “lift back included” apparently means hitchiking. At first I thought this was a joke, but then Silas began his Hitchiking 101 lesson, and let me tell you –hitchiking ain’t easy. The cars that passed by either said no or laughed at us. Just as I was contemplating walking with a limp, some of Silas’ friends stopped and picked us up (on the condition that we paid them 15 Rand). We all crammed into the back of their tiny pickup and enjoyed the 20 minute ride back to the Coffee Shack while jamming to Enrique Iglesias.

When we got back, we hunted for fresh veggies for dinner (there were none because it rained too much) and cooked pasta. After dinner, we were entertained by a Zimbabwean named Hamish, who was absolutely obliterated because it was his birthday. The only actual interaction I had with him that night was checking to see if he was alive (he was sitting at the bar passed out and drooling on his packet of biltong) and him staggering up to me and declaring “You aren’t as hot as you think you are” and staggering off. The Coffee Shack gave him a free bottle of champagne for his birthday and insisted that he gave a speech –he lifted the bottle in the air and let out a “UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUNGH,” and everyone cheered. Then, we sat and watched for awhile while he and his friends cooked a pig head over the fire and then decided we should get to bed. We had to get up early for the long drive back to PE, to which we made it all in one piece.

AFRICA LOOKS AMAZING! I can't believe you went bungee jumping and you're riding freaking ostriches. I can't wait to hear all about it when you get back. I'm thinking another Which Wich date. Keep having fun! Love you!

Wed, 02 May 2012 10:37:55 -0400

Awww, I miss you! Sorry I’m bad at communicating. Haha. At first, I didn’t want to go bungee jumping at all, but all my friends were doing it, so I sort of forced myself to. I definitely was having a panic attack in that picture, but I ended up loving it! And yes Which Which sounds amazing… I was actually thinking about our adventure there yesterday. Mmmm. How have you been, missy?

Safaris and Service

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 08:08:38 -0400

On St.Patrick’s Day weekend (yep, I’m that behind on my blog), I went with a group of of international students to Addo Elephant Park and Scotia. Both are a little over an hour away from PE. Still exhausted from the previous night’s adventures, we piled into a minibus with Bradley, the same guide who took us on the City Tour during orientation week, and jetted off to Addo. It was not much of a success –we saw plenty of elephants, but they were so far away that Bradley had to point out that the boulders we were seeing were actually living,breathing things. We did, however, have the world’s best salads for lunch and stop at a really pretty overlook/quirky little museum.

Then we set out for Scotia, which was about 30 minutes away and we had a much better time there. Not only did we get free coffee and cookies, we also got nerdy green ponchos and blankets to keep us warm in the open aired vehicle. We saw Rhinos, one of which itched her horn on our car (while my roomie, Surina, snoozed in the seat behind me), and got very up close and personal with some lions, making for some epic pictures. After the ride, we sat by the fire (those of us who forgot to remove our ponchos nearly spontaneously combusted) and ate an enormous dinner and with full bellies/camera memory cards, we headed back to Annie’s Cove for St.Patty’s Day celebrations (that’s a story for another time).

The next day, a group of us went to one of the townships to help our friend Bantu (who happened to study abroad at UNCW last year:) with a soup kitchen he was holding at his house for the neighborhood kids. First, we went to the Shop-Rite to buy veggies for the stew we were making and fruit for the kids to snack on while they wait. From the Shop-Rite, we walked to Bantu’s house, met his family and then go down to business. My jobs consisted handing out grapes to the kids, and chopping vegetables and later popping then into the food processor. After this, I went across the street and sat down with a group of little boys –the majority of them just looked at me like I was crazy, but one little guy joked around with me and jumped on my back. Then several little girls came over and for the next hour, I got my hair braided and tried my best not to look like I was in excruciating pain. I attempted to ask them a little about themselves, but my Xhosa is limited to “How are you?” and “It’s hot outside,” so we ended up just talking to each other in our own languages and pretending to understand.

So following the hairstyling, piggy back rides, and numerous photos(the kids loved getting their pictures taken and playing with my camera), we went down the street to Bantu’s neighbor to buy some homemade Ginger Beer and then got ready to serve the kids. Several men were waiting around for food as well, but we had to tell them to wait until all of the children had gone. I found this particularly difficult emotionally, as one man repeatedly handed me his bowl and asked for food, referring to me as “ma’am,” and I had to deny him. This whole day was one of the many humbling and eye-opening experiences I’ve had here. These kids have next to nothing, yet they still play and laugh like they don’t have a care in the world –I on the other hand, can get put in a nasty mood when Facebook won’t let me upload my pictures.

I didn’t really have a job in the whole serving process, so I channeled my inner camp counselor and tried to keep the kids in an organized line. I was very unsuccessful, so after a while, I gave up and sat down with a little girl who had a stroller carrying her teeny tiny, very sick looking puppy. This was another thing that struck a chord with me, but I’m not entirely sure why. I think it was seeing such a young person trying her best to take care of another living thing.

After everyone had been fed, we packed everything up and hopped in a Combi headed back to Annie’s Cove. I’ll always remember this day, and look forward to going back here again.

The Safari Continues

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 07:39:39 -0400

March 10thish, 2012

I don’t know what time we woke up, but it wasn’t 5AM and that’s all that mattered. We were headed to the Nkoro Lodge at the Sabi Sand Game Reserve, which bordered Kruger National Park. The drive was scenic and quite nerve racking because we were driving on bumpy,rural dirt roads almost the entire time. We passed through some tiny villages with small shops and colorful huts with straw roofs. The people were out and about, and almost all of them waved to us as we drove by. After driving forever on what seemed like an endless dirt road, we pulled up to the Sabie Sand gate around 10:30. The Nkoro lodge was very different from Satara -it was dead quiet, the rooms were ritzier, and there were no raving monkeys, just a tiny sulking dog and a Wildebeest named George.

The weather was gorgeous, so we lazed around by the pool until lunch was served –Chef Paul laid out an array of cheeses,pasta, and juices for us and I scarfed down everything. After lunch, we met our safari guide, Cedric, a tall, tan, blonde, cheerful fellow who wasn’t so hard on the eyes either. We were leaving for our afternoon/evening ride at 4, so we sunscreened, hydrated, and hopped on the massive open aired vehicle for our next adventure. Cedric talked on his radio and told us all sorts of random facts, while the tracker, Norman, looked for any signs (tracks, broken branches,etc.) of big cats. At one point they caught wind of a Cheetah in the area, parked the vehicle, and went venturing off into the woods with rifles (just in case) while we anxiously awaited their return.

They didn’t end up actually finding the Cheetah, but that whole ordeal as exciting enough. The cats must’ve been in hiding while we were out, but we did get up close and personal with a Rhino.

People believe that a Rhino’s horn has all kinds of medicinal properties and is an aphrodisiac. This being said, Rhino poaching has become such a problem in Kruger and the areas around it that the military is involved, and if a poacher is spotted, it is legal to shoot them…and with good reason. We drove around the reserve watching the sun set and running into Jackals, Wildebeest,Elephants, and Warthogs (or Pumbas as I prefer to call them). Oh and I had my first official sundowner. When we got back to the lodge, the torches were lit and an extravagant dinner (compliments of Chef Paul) was waiting for us. The eating venue was an enclosure of tall sticks, and that combined with the torches gave me en eerie sensation that we had been dropped into the King Kong movie.

After eating a delicious South African meal that any vegetarian would cringe at, we decided to turn in, as Cedric would be eagerly knocking on our door at 5AM to wake us for the morning ride.

* * *

At 5AM on the nose, there was a knock on our door and either Mom or Molly stumbled over to answer it. Good morning,Cedric.

On our morning ride, we found some lions!

It was a pack of 4 lionesses and Cedric knew their life story, something about being rejected from the pride and running away with their grandmother –for some reason, the idea of a grandmother lion cracked me up quite a lot. After stopping for a coffee break (“Don’t get to close to the water or the croc will get you!” says Cedric cheerfully) and running into our usual African wildlife friends, we were offered to walk back to camp instead of drive. Talk about an easy way to end up on 1000 Ways to Die. But we decided to go for it –we lined up behind Cedric with his rifle and Norman with his machete and were on our merry way. Much to my dismay, we didn’t run into anything too out of the ordinary, but we did see the track of a Black Mamba, one of the most poisonous snakes in Africa. We also came across a Dung Beatle and about a million piles of poo of various shapes and sizes.

Although we didn’t see any big animals on our walk, we did make it back to camp alive and just in time for another delicious meal, which was something to be thankful for. Then it was time to begin the long trek back to Johannesburg, where we would spend the night and then I would fly back to PE while Mom and Molly went to Cape Town.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the end of the Kruger Saga.

Now I am only behind of my blog instead of very behind.

Taking a Whirlwind trip to Coffee Bay and Hogsback:)

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 04:41:35 -0400

And then it’s off to Cape Town!

Spring Break 2012, engage!

(I’ll finish the Kruger Posts someday)

Dear Aliza if you're dead i'm going to hurt you.

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 04:40:01 -0400

I’m alive, Brucey! I miss you.

Hey I stumbled across your blog and was shocked to see you go to App?? me too! anyway, are you in Africa for study abroad? and how long are you there for?

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 08:13:54 -0400

Yeah I do! I’ve met a lot of people on here from App, it’s crazy. I’m in South Africa until the end of June. Living the dream. Haha.Do you plan on studying abroad too?

Aliza! Wow! I wish I could have been along with you to see these sites. Enjoying your vivid descriptions and excellent photography. Thanks for including us in your experience. I miss you, but I am so happy for you, too. Love, Dad

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 06:39:00 -0400

Oops! Thanks, Dad! I will take a lot of photos this week, I’m going to Coffee Bay and Cape Town for Easter break. It’s gonna be a big adventure! Miss you. -Aliza

LE BOEUF! -Day 2 In the African Bush

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 07:27:00 -0400

At 5AM, Mom got up and started bustling around and cheerfully attempting to wake up Molly and I. After a few tries, she finally succeeded and we staggered to the car and left Satara right when the gates opened. We watched the sunrise (which looked impeccably like the opening scene of the Lion King) and kept our eyes peeled for Lions. We saw a couple logs that looked like Lions, but we didn’t come across any real ones. Lucky for us, we bumped into plenty of other wildlife on our 5 hour journey:

…and plenty of these guys.

After a lunch break at the Oliphants rest camp, we went back to Satara for napping, swimming, and braai-ing until our guided night ride at 8. I attempted to hit two birds with one stone by napping at the pool, but I got distracted by all the different types of people and the huge multicolored lizard in the tree next to me. When it was time for dinner, Mom and I walked to the camp store to buy some braai meat, and on the way back to our bungalow, we bumped into a pack of monkeys. Residents are specifically instructed to lock op their kitchen whenever they leave, and these monkeys had clearly come across a house that had forgotten. The scene was so hilarious, it didn’t seem real -monkeys were running around with pieces of bread and hotdog buns, a couple were climbing up the drain pipe, and one had a candy bar. When I stepped a little closer to get a picture of a monkey posing with a slice of bread, that’s when things got ugly.

He started making this hissing noise and came running at me kamikaze style…naturally, I screamed bloody murder and ran and hid behind my mom. Unfortunately, this didn’t teach us a lesson, and it ended up happening again 3 minutes later to the both of us –we ran down the road screaming while a camp worker watched us and chuckled.When we made it back to our room uninjured and rabies free we braai-ed and gobbled up some borewors (a fancy word for sausage), peppers, and squash, and then headed off to the gathering place for our night ride.

Our group piled onto two massive open aired buses and waited for our guide. Our bus was uncrowded and mellow, but then a pack of drunk, raucous, and not so middle aged French people boarded. They seemed totally uninterested in wildlife and were laughing and telling what I could only assume were the most hilarious of jokes while our guide was trying to talk. Everyone on that bus (including me) had to turn around and shush them at some point. They were still carrying on when we turned out of the camp and spotted a group of lions walking like they were on a mission –they were hunting. A little while later, we came across those lions again and they were stalking a lone Wildebeest (which the French guys excitedly referred to as “LE BOEUF!”) who was making this crazy huffing noise. For the next few minutes, I wondered about whether I would be psyched about seeing a kill or if I would need psychological counseling afterward. To my surprise, I felt slightly disappointed when he escaped (and to think I used to be a vegetarian), but watching the chase is something I’ll remember forever. Not long after that,we found another pride of lions sleeping in the road, probably waiting for some happy little impala to come along so they could chow him. I got some pretty cool video footage of these guys, I’ll upload if the internet ever decides to let me.

For the next hour and a half we only saw a chameleon, a Genet, which is basically the cute lovechild of a raccoon and cat, and the hind end of a lion cub. I was so giddy from all the lion encounters that I didn’t mind one bit, especially since our rambunctious bus-mates had finally chilled out.

Next it was time for another night of sleep in air conditioned comfort. Thankfully, we didn’t have to get up at five the next morning, but we did have to venture to our next camp, which was in a private game reserve called Sabi Sand. Who knows what kind of adventures we would have on this drive.

Day One in the African Bush

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 10:02:00 -0400

Oh, geez, I’m really behind on this blog now. So many adventures, so little internet access/patience for writing. I’ll set the scene for you: A hotel in Johannesburg. 5AM, March 8th. Two travellers are being enthusiastically awakened by the third traveller. Action.

It was so early and I was so bleary-eyed, that I don’t remember much besides rolling out of bed and into the car, in which Molly was about to impress us with her Washington D.C driving. Off we went on the 5(ish) hour drive to the illustrious Kruger National Park. You’ll have to ask Molly more about this, since she was the driver, but it felt as though we were in some real-life South African version of Mario Kart -there were cows in the road, speed demon drivers, Hippo and Kudu warning signs, and abundant potholes between us and Kruger. But after several pee and snack breaks, a quick stop in a cute little town called Sabie, and a wrong turn thanks to our GPS, we arrive in one piece at the Orpen Gate. We check in and drive another hour to the Satara Rest Camp, our temporary home and popular lion hangout spot. On the way, we encounter herds of Wildebeest, Impala,and Zebra, a giraffe couple on their evening outing, and of course, many birds. We make it in the gates of Satara just in time -they close the gates at 6PM to prevent any beasties from roaming around the camp at night and eating the tourists. Our room is an adorable little bungalow with an outdoor kitchen,a braai area and air conditioning, a luxury we residents of Annie’s Cove do not have.

Since we cannot leave the camp, we poke around the gift shop, braai some chicken and head off to bed in hopes of recovering before yet another 5AM morning.

*I didn’t want to put all the Kruger stuff in one post because it would be really long and annoying. Look for the next post within the next couple days (I know the suspense is killing you). Also, I’m on a computer at school, therefore I don’t have any cool pictures to upload. So I’m just going to leave you with this:

Aliza! How are you? MB

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 08:29:05 -0400

I’m good! I have to register for classes at App in about 30 minutes, and I’m hoping the 6 hour time difference and slow internet connection don’t mess anything up. Everything is great though, I was at the Elephant Park and doing work in the township last weekend, and this weekend, I’m hoping to go pet baby cheetahs (Don’t tell Jen). How have you been?

What in the UNIVERSE is a kudu? Want pics plz :) <3

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 08:25:52 -0400

It’s a wittle deer type thingy with huge ears. Haha. It’s super cute, but not very cuddly. I’ll see if I can find that picture!

Pre-Kruger Shenanigans

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 06:29:27 -0400

At the crack of dawn on March 7th, I made my way to the airport to catch my flight to Johannesburg. My mom and my cousin, Molly were visiting and I was meeting them there. The next morning, we would drive to Kruger National Park for our safari (SO unreal).The whole getting to Jo’burg thing,however, was a little difficult because the nationwide protest (over new tolls on roads) just so happened to be that day. As soon as I got in the check in line and looked up at the departure screen, I saw what no air traveller ever wants to see:

I went over and did some wheelin’ and dealin’ at the South African Airways counter and got on the 10:20 AM flight (2 hours later than I was supposed to leave.Oy.), but I had no idea how I was going to find Mom and Molly at the airport since Mom didn’t have her phone and I couldn’t get ahold of Molly. So, I paid a painful $20 to use the Wi-Fi to send Molly a Facebook message with my new flight info and hopped on my plane to the City of Gold (and crime) and tried not to panic -the gaggle of hot rugby players on the flight eased my anxiety a little. After I landed I wandered aimlessly around the airport for a while, trying not to get hustled out of $20 like I did the last time I was there (Revenge is sweet,James), and miraculously,I bumped into Mom and Molly. I cried, partly because I was happy to see them, and partly because I was extremely relieved that I didn’t have to camp out in the Jo’burg airport until my return flight to PE. From there, we drove to the hotel and I realized that maybe Joey wasn’t as scary as I initially thought…I had myself convinced that we were going to get car-jacked and murdered the second we left the airport, but after a few death-free car rides, I felt much better. After checking in at the hotel, we left for the Apartheid Museum where we were going to meet Molly’s friend, Riaz, who happened to be waiting for us at a different Apartheid Museum across town (Whoops). So Molly gave us his description, and we went in to look for him while she waited outside.

The museum really shows up the one in Port Elizabeth -the architecture was much more interesting, and there was a huge Nelson Mandela exhibit. Not only did I learn all about Madiba, it also eased my guilt about not finishing the hefty Long Walk to Freedom. My Mom and I were sitting at the museum cafe eating fries and drinking cold Black Labels when we spotted a bearded man dressed from head to toe in all white Muslim garb.That has to be him. We regrettably abandoned our beers (we didn’t want to offend him since he doesn’t drink) and went outside to catch him. Riaz is a teacher at a Muslim school and has a heart of gold -he volunteers at the hospital and raises money for kids who need expensive operations, and has an aura about him that makes you feel at ease. He took us out to dinner that night at this little Indian place that a no tourist could ever find and we ate seafood and the best curry I’ve ever tasted. I talked to him about my upcoming trip to Cape Town and how I’m going to conquer the terrifying bungee jump at Bloukrains (It’s the highest commercial bungee jump in the world, roughly 700 feet).

I am scared absolutely shitless about this endeavor, but a small part of me is aching to do it, so I know I’ll regret it if I don’t. Then, Riaz interjects with a comforting tidbit of information: “Do you see that street out there? It’s one of the most dangerous streets in Johannesburg. You’re more likely to get killed out there than bungee jumping!” After dinner, we stopped at a little place on the street and he bought us Pan. Basically it is a leaf covered with a plethora of unidentifiable sweet things, and you chomp on it/stick it in the side or your mouth like a dip. It tasted like incense and had a really unpleasant texture, but I kept it in my mouth to be polite, my eyes watering from trying not to look totally disgusted. Haha. Just another experience while completing my “Eat as Much Weird Food as Possible” goal. We drove home in the first African thunderstorm I’ve seen (Gah, life is so hard living in a city where it never rains:) Unfortunately for us, our hotel got struck by lightning, so when we returned,ready to plop by the TV and drink a Hunter’s Dry, we were greeted with no TV, no working outlets, and no toilet paper (Who knew lightning storms could zap your toilet paper too?) So instead, we plopped in our beds and awaited my mom’s always enthusiastic 5AM wakeup call.

Frontier Fun Part II

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 07:42:47 -0400

(See Frontier Fun Part I)

After a trillion photos and quick pee break behind a boulder, I rejoin the group and we began the treacherous descent in the trucks. We had a little picnic at the bottom and went back to the second farm house for a little R & R aka: lazing around by the pool and eating cheesecake/drinking tea all afternoon. Then, it was time to shoot some rifles out by the equipment shed. We each had a go at shooting at a target and the winner, once again, got a bottle of wine. I was just happy I even hit the darn thing.

(Note the look of sheer confidence on my face)

When this was done, we went back to the house and lazed around some more (I spent a good chunk of time in front of the TV trying to understand the oh so riveting sport of Cricket) until the braai feast was ready. We had steak with this dank mushroom sauce, vegetables, pasta salad, cheesey potatoes, and something else that I’m forgetting -It was scrumptious. We did a little more sitting around to digest and then we hopped in the backs of the trucks once again for a night time game drive. I stood in the front holding a spotlight, which ended up suffering a terrible death because the cord got caught in the wheel. Luckily we didn’t really need it because we had terrible luck seeing any animals -we saw goats and sheep, and whenever we saw something else it was either too far away to identify, or it was a rock. That didn’t ruin our fun, however. We got one of the guys on our truck to jump off and hide in the bushes and scare the absolute shit out of the other truck (because we’re the fun truck). They tried to return the favor, but Marnus was the only person who was remotely startled.

Since we weren’t having any luck with fining any kudu or sasqautches, we went back to our respective farm houses and conked out. Luckily, Mr.Rooster wasn’t as loud the next morning, and I was also feeling a lot better thanks to Winnie’s mystery pills. After breakfast and tea, we packed our stuff and set out for another adventure, saying goodbye to Winnie and little Charlie Brown. We were going on another hike to another waterfall -the hike was much longer this time, and the enormous spiders looming in every tree made things exciting. Also, we had to swim to be able to see said waterfall, and when we got to where we were supposed to hop in, I immediately got scared. Not only was the water fresh, it didn’t appear to be moving either -an extra big no no for swimming. Ah,skrew it. A bunch of us got in, waded through the slimy mud, and swam to the waterfall. It’s hard to explain how cool looking it was – you know the wishing well scene from the Goonies? It was kind of like that. If I had been brave enough to swim to the bottom there probably would have been some type of treasure waiting for me, but since I was already convinced I was going to die from swimming in that water, I didn’t want to push my luck.

This was our last frontier adventure -it was time to head home to PE. Good thing it’s beautiful there too!

P.S

Stay tuned for posts about safari adventures!

Frontier Fun Part I

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 05:29:00 -0500

This past weekend, a group of international students, 2 international teachers and some NMMU staff hopped on 2 minibuses and journeyed into the Eastern Cape’s frontier. It was quite a long drive (about 4 hours), and I didn’t have anything to do since I didn’t know I was going on this trip until about 30 minutes before departure- a whole different story.Like any other drive in South Africa, however,there was plenty to look at while my peers snoozed in their seats (how they could sleep while our driver was blasting R&B music was beyond me).

After reaching a tiny town called Adelaide, we drove through the mountains for an hour on a bumpy gravel road and reached our destination. I was surprised when I saw the spectacular farmhouse before me because when I heard we were staying with farmers for the weekend, I pictured sleeping in the loft of a barn and using an outhouse (which I would have been totally cool with, don’t get me wrong). Our hosts were Marnus, a portly jokester of a fellow, and his wife, Winnie, a wacky, kind lady. Oh, and their Schnauzer, Charlie Brown. After lunch and tea, we went out to do a little sheep wrangling, which I was unsuccessful at-we had to chase this big herd of sheep and try to catch the ones that still had tails (and balls). Once I found out we were castrating them, I wigged out a little, but instead of cutting the sheep, they put an elastic on the bits and pieces and after time, they are supposed to fall off. Not enough to make me participate.

After that, Marnus crammed all 18 of us in the back of his pickup and took us to swim at a waterfall. We were all a little skeptical at first, worried that we might contract some kind of awful waterborne parasite and die, but we were assured that the water wasn’t infected, so we took the plunge.

When we got back to the farm, we fed this huge creature (an Eland) who ironically went by the name of Tiny and then we went to milk cows. One by one we each had a go at milking Ol’ Bessie and then Marnus would squeeze the utter and shoot the warm milk into our mouths. I can’t say I was a huge fan of this either, but the photos are hilarious.

Next, it was time to chill. We sat around the back yard eating and drinking wine while the sun set and continued far after it had gone down. We all crashed pretty soon after dinner, but Marnus said that if we got up at 7, we could help him feed the baby Kudus. Lucky for me, I was up long before then because I was awakened by a cacophony of unrealistic sounding bird noises (well,except for the rooster), so I got dressed and stumbled out the back door with two other girls. The Kudu was a shy, lanky little fella with enormous ears – there was another one that was even smaller, and Marnus had taken them both in because they were orphans. He also had baby Springbok, ducks, kittens, and a variety of other deer-like critters that we would encounter throughout the weekend. He led us back to the house where we had morning tea –I had a killer sore throat and a headache, so Winnie gave me some Med-Lemon tea and two mysterious pills –and then we headed to the their friend’s house (which was also incredible) where the other half of the students stayed.From there we piled in the backs of three trucks and drove a good hour on another bumpy road to our hiking destination next to the Winterburg Mountain. The first guy and gal who got to the top and touched the truck won a bottle of export wine, but when I saw how steep the hike was, I decided I would take my sweet time (even that was strenuous). I arrived at the top safely between the people sprinting to get free booze and the stragglers, and the view was incredible as usual.

Just sent in the deposit for my SCUBA course.

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 08:42:13 -0500

Cue little girl excitement!