The End

Well, we all made it home safely, and with just 48 hours back in the states, I think I’m ready to go back. Spending the last couple of days sharing stories and pictures with my family have made me a little nostalgic and start to miss everything about South Africa – but mostly the children (and Amy and Laura, who I didn’t spend one second away from in 2 months. I didn’t think I would miss them so soon!)

Although our time in South Africa has come to an end, I truly believe it is only the beginning of how this will affect the rest of our lives. The ways in which this experience has changed us will only now start to become apparent, and I believe the changes will be profound, continual and immeasurable. Now it is time to see what we will do with this unique experience.

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed sharing our stories with everyone through writing and am grateful to those who have followed along. Sharing such a personal journey so publicly isn’t something I would usually do, and I have been extremely encouraged by all of the positive feedback. So, thank you.

I would like to believe that this wasn’t my last jaunt overseas, and perhaps after the completion of my degree I will be more qualified to help individuals like those in South Africa. But until then, it’s back to school for me.

Cheers!

Safari

Remember all that rain we experienced on our 35 mile bike ride? Well, we didn’t know it at the time, but it was the best thing that could have happened to us. It flooded the campsite that we were originally supposed to be staying at, forcing us to be relocated for our safari. It just so happened that the nearest place to stay was a 4 star, all inclusive lodge. (As opposed to where we were supposed to be staying: a zero star tent.) Thank you, rainfall.

We arrived at the Amakhala Game Reserve on Friday afternoon, not knowing exactly what to expect at this point, but prepared for the worst. We showed up a little disheveled, none of us possessing any more clean clothes, our towels and muddy shoes strung from our backpacks, and enough Doritos and wine to last 3 girls (or a small village, really) a weekend in the wilderness. As we stepped out of the car and took note of how nice the lodge was, it was immediately apparent that we didn’t fit in. They gave us two rooms and we tried to explain that this was way too much space for us, but they insisted, and we were in no position to argue. Each room had a deck overlooking the game reserve, a bathtub, a heated bathroom floor, heated blankets on the bed, and a fully stocked (free) mini-bar. It turns out that we wouldn't be needing the 6 bottles of wine that we brought with us. None of us could believe how lucky we’d gotten; we were in heaven.

Each day we went on two 3 and ½ hour game drives, one in the morning after breakfast and one in the afternoon before dinnertime. We spent a lot of time inour safari vehicle, an open air truck resembling the cart I used to drive around the golf course selling beer one summer. I used to think that a safari included herds of animals running past your car at all times, which wasn’t exactly the case. You really have to hunt for these animals, and all of the rangers are in constant communication about where they’ve spotted certain species. We got really lucky on a couple of our game drives and eventually we were fortunate enough to see all the animals we had hoped to see, including rhino, buffalo, lion, cheetah, giraffe, zebra and elephants.

We had a close encounter with an elephant as we were viewing one of the babies from about 3 feet away. All of the sudden we heard a noise to our left, and it was his father stomping his feet and giving us warning to get out of the way. The only times we really felt nervous about being so close to these animals was when our guide got nervous, and she was very evidently uneasy at this point. We were able to get out of the way in time for the elephant to calm down, and after we realized we were no longer in harm’s way, we all laughed about how awesome it was. Talk about an adrenaline rush – I couldn’t feel my legs for 10 minutes afterwards. On another drive we spotted cheetah hunting and our guide drove us right into a pack of 6 of them. They didn’t seem to mind our presence, and it was unreal being within 10 feet of these stunning creatures. Our ranger was right around our age and really informative, so we got to bond with her as well as learn a lot from her.

Each night after we got back from our game drives, we sat around the campfire and had drinks while we waited for dinner. We ate dinner around one big dining room table every night with families from Norway, Whales, Cape Town, and Michigan. Having all of our meals together, we all got to know each other quite well, and we explained to them how we’d gotten so lucky to be staying at the lodge. They served 3 course meals every night and an onlooker could easily assume that we’d never seen food before with how much we ate and drank. We couldn’t get our wine glasses half empty before the server was filling them up again, and we like to think we at least added some entertainment to these families’ vacations. The owner of the lodge joined us for dinner one of the nights, and by the end of the meal he was talking about how he wanted to start marketing to backpackers like ourselves. Although one night at this lodge cost more than the entire safari that we had paid for, we still think that they were happy to have us. We were very sad to leave, but if we had stayed just one more day I don’t think we’d be able to fit in our pants anymore with the copious amounts of food we consumed. I would say that we took full advantage of the situation.

  

We flew back to Cape Town this afternoon and everybody is dragging, dreading the 30 hours of travel we are getting ready to embark on. Thanks to the Lunds, we are going out in style as we spend our last night in a beautiful hotel near Cape Town right by the water. (Thank you!) Everybody is getting really sad about leaving, but we are trying to keep our spirits up and enjoy our last night in town.

 This is the elephant that wasn't enjoying our company.

A sunset on the game reserve

Amy and I on one of the game drives

Each night on our game drive we got to stop and have a glass of wine and some snacks. This is us co mingling with the Norwegian family.

One of the cheetahs

All of us with our guide, Amy. She was amazing.

Two of the rhino on the game reserve. We learned that poaching is a huge problem here and two of their rhino were poached in November. Apparently the horns are used for medicinal purposes in Asia.

Our ride

A mother and baby giraffe

Giraffe

A bunch of zebra checking out our vehicle

All of us on one of the evening game drives. When the sun goes down, it was COLD.

Sitting around the campfire before dinner

One of the cheetahs overlooking the river on the reserve. Up until a couple days before we arrived, this river had been completely dry for 5 years. This rain was much needed.

The male and female lion on the reserve

Contrary to popular belief, lions are actually really lazy and spend about 18 hours of the day sleeping.

A herd of buffalo. Our guide informed us while we were viewing them that buffalo give no warning before they attack and will continue to attack their prey until they can no longer feel a heartbeat. We think she could have told us this information at a different time.

A coffee break on our morning game drive

Bundled up for a morning game drive

Another up-close encounter with an elephant

Storms River

Wednesday morning we woke up early and headed off for a canopy tour. They took us into the Tsitsikamma National Forest where we swung from the trees, learning about the forest and getting to see a few indigenous birds along the way. As we all put on our helmets that morning, we laughed about the fact that we seem to be spending a lot of time in helmets these days, an unflattering look that hasn’t done much for anybody’s ego.

After we finished the canopy tour, we swung by one of the tallest bridges in the world so that Amy could jump off of it.  My dwindling money and the desire to remain friends with my parents had me sitting this one out, and Laura promised her mother before coming here that she wouldn’t go jumping off any bridges, so we both cheered Amy on from the sidelines. She did great and had an awesome time.

After the bungee jumping was over, the daylight was running out and I still hadn’t gotten a chance to do any of the hiking that the area is famous for, so we made an impromptu decision to camp out in the National Forest instead of going to Jeffrey’s Bay. We got a great deal on a little log cabin overlooking the ocean and decided to call it home for the night. We were able to get a good campfire going, so we cooked hot dogs, drank wine and, much to our neighbors’ chagrin, sang campfire songs all night long. Falling asleep to the sound of the waves from the Indian Ocean crashing against the shore isn’t a bad way to spend a night.

This morning we hiked about 4 miles of the world famous Otter Trail. The whole trail is 41 kilometers and takes five days to complete, so I’ll have to make a trip back someday to conquer that one. The trail goes right along the coastline, weaving in and out of the forest, through meadows and over boulders. Some of the trail required a little rock climbing, and we weren’t entirely sure if we were actually on the trail for a lot of the way, but we made it to a huge waterfall where we stopped and had lunch. We even got to see a whale and some dolphins along the way. This isn’t your typical everyday hiking!

We got into Jeffrey’s Bay this afternoon and got another great deal on a little flat by the ocean. I guess the good thing about coming to South Africa in the wintertime is that everybody seems to be desperate for your business, so they’re willing to bargain with you. For around $20 a person, we got a two bedroom two bathroom flat with a fully equipped kitchen and ocean view. No more dorm rooms for us, we’re living large now!

We will leave for Port Elizabeth in the morning to drop off our rental car, and we will be picked up from there and taken to our safari. We found out yesterday that the campsite for the original safari that we booked has been flooded due to all the rain that this region has experienced, forcing us to change our plans last minute. So, none of us really know what to expect or where exactly we’re going, but we’re not too worried and feel that any safari has got to be a good one.

We don't have a very good internet connection at our current accommodation, so sorry for the lack of pictures. I am signing off for a few days as I don’t think we’ll have internet access on our safari, and even if we do, there is something that seems wrong about being connected to the World Wide Web while being one with nature. I’ll try to send an update with pictures on Monday when we return to Port Elizabeth.

The 3 of us back in our favorite attire, getting ready to go zip-lining

Me swinging between the trees

Our trusty bus that took us through the forest

Laura and I trying to get the fire started

Singing songs by the campfire

Hiking the Waterfall portion of the Otter Trail

Laura and I on the trail

Plettenberg Bay

Well, the rain continued to fall all day yesterday as we made the drive from Outdshoorn to Plettenberg Bay. Since most of the activities we want to do are outside, the rain certainly puts a halt on our plans (we don’t mind doing things in the rain, but most of the time these activities are cancelled.) So, we took yesterday to regroup a little as we tried to keep drying our belongings from the previous day’s excursion. Last night as I slept on the top bunk, I was showered with raindrops falling from the leaky ceiling all night and I realized that we may have to wait until our arrival in the States to warm up.

We woke up to some sunshine today and it brightened everybody’s spirits a little. We headed out to the Plettenberg Game Reserve where we went horseback riding and saw wild animals. While on our ride we got to see rhinos, wildebeests, hippos, zebras, crocodiles, springboks and giraffes. This is the first time we’ve been able to see some of these animals since our arrival in South Africa, so we were all really excited. It was a little unnerving when we saw the hippos and our guide told us how dangerous they are and how many people they kill each year. He told us to walk very slowly past them, as if we had any control over this or knew how to convey this message to our horses. Chestnut, Roy and Blast were our horses’ names, and they treated us very well. Laura’s horse, Roy, was a lazy horse and was always quite a distance behind everybody else. My horse Chestnut was a little mischievous, constantly wanting to eat and stubborn about letting anybody pass him, he actually reminded me a lot of myself. Amy’s horse Blast cooperated perfectly and mostly hung back with Roy. By the end of the journey the horses are usually excited to get back home, so it’s normal for them to take off running. Our guide told us that “this is the time when so many people fall off the horse,” reminding us to hang on and making us all feel very comfortable. It may not have been graceful, but at least none of us fell off!

After our horseback riding was over, we drove to Stormsriver Village, where we will stay for the night. We have now officially made it to the Eastern Cape! This place is an odd little town surrounded by mountains and the Tsitsikama National Park, and I would say the word “village” accurately describes it. It looks like everybody will get a chance to shower tonight, which is a rare occasion these days and also quite a treat. Tomorrow we are booked to do a canopy tour in the rainforest before making the drive to Jeffrey’s Bay, where we will stay for two nights before taking off for our safari. Stay tuned.

Me and Chestnut

Amy and Blast

Off to find some animals!

Laura and Roy

Rhinos

Springbok

Stopping to look at the giraffe

This picture is for Laua H. who requested a picture of a giraffe.

Zebra

Crocodiles, it was a little scary being so close to them...on horse.

Roy and Blast bringing up the rear

As soon as the rhinos heard us coming they jumped in the water. They can only stay under water for about 5 minutes before they have to come up for air.

No more sitting "by" the fire, it's so cold that it's time to sit in it.

Oudtshoorn

If I had to describe the last 24 hours in one word, cold would be it.

Last night, we braved what has been our coldest night yet. It was a night that called for multiple pairs of pants and all the jackets we brought along with us. Despite the fact that I wouldn’t use the word “bed” to describe what we slept on last night; we were able to get a little bit of sleep before our bike trip today.

We woke up to pouring rain this morning, rain that hasn't relented all day long. We loaded up the van with our bikes this morning before a driver drove us to the top of the mountain, where our bike trip would begin. As we approached the summit and saw snow, we realized that gloves would have probably been a good idea. (Laura was the only one smart enough to pack them, Amy and I had to use socks.) Once again, we were the only people embarking on this journey, and the way the people at the backpackers kept referring to us as “brave” got us a little nervous about to what we had gotten ourselves into.

We had a 54 kilometer trip from the top of the mountain back to our backpackers. They drove us to the top, unloaded our bikes and bid us farewell, leaving us on our own to navigate the journey back. They gave us a bike pump and spare tires in case anything should happen, which is wonderful, except for the fact that none of us have the slightest clue as to how to change the tire tubing. We didn’t let this slow us down and had faith that we could figure it out if we needed to.

The first few miles were a steep incline as we descended rapidly, our knuckles white as we gripped our breaks and held on for dear life. I don’t think anybody pedaled their bike once for the first 5 miles. Things calmed down a little once we got to the paved road and actually had to start pedaling. The rain seemed to be coming down harder as the day progressed, but we made it to the Cango Caves in pretty good time, where we had an hour long tour and a hot cup of coffee. After our tour of the caves we hopped back on our bikes to head to the Ostrich Farms, and at this point it was raining so hard that it proved to be a challenge just to open our eyes while the rain pelted us as we rode through the countryside. We made it to the farms in time for them to tell us they were closed because of the rain. Feeling sorry for us and how we were drenched with rain, the owner invited us in for tea before we got back on the road.

Despite encountering a few baboons and Amy losing the chain on her bike, most of our trip was smooth sailing. (Except the fact that all of our limbs were numb from the cold.) We made it back to our backpackers and learned that the power was out not only there, but all over town and in the surrounding cities as well. In desperate need to get warm, we decided maybe we should hit the road a day early and try to find accommodation elsewhere. We were all excited about our new plan until we realized we didn’t have enough cash to pay for our room for the previous night as the ATM had been down all day because there was no power, and they didn’t accept credit cards. After offering both American cash and our services washing dishes in the kitchen, we were quickly denied and left with no other option but to spend another night. Luckily there is a fire that has kept us warm for the past few hours, and the power returned not too long ago, so we’ll be able to check out tomorrow morning and head toward our next destination. It has been several hours since our return from the bike trip and we are still waiting for the feeling to return in our fingers and toes. Rain and all, we had a great day and had tons of fun. We wanted an adventure, and I’d say we’re getting one!

Amy and and in the van on the way up the mountain

Getting ready to start the descent

Trying to figure out a way to keep warm!

Riding down the mountain

Amy and I with socks on our hands to keep them warm. This worked well for the first hour, until the rain had completely soaked them.

On the way down the mountain

Laura and I in the cave. Pretty wet at this point in our journey.

This is us after we showed up to the Ostrich Farm. I think they felt sorry for us.

Amy toward the end of our trip. Such a happy camper. 

Laura and I on the trip

Amy and Laura inside the cave

Amy and I in the car that we rented. Amy got upgraded to front seat this trip.