On The Road Again

Tomorrow we finally leave to begin our travels. I tried to create a map for everybody to see the route we will be driving, but my lack of technological abilities have failed me once more and I wasn’t successful. Here is a list of our destinations, and if you’re curious as to where these places are – MapQuest will allow you to view the entire journey. We will mostly be driving along the Garden Route, which covers much of the southeastern coast of South Africa.

We leave Cape Town after work tomorrow to head to Hermanus, where we will spend Thursday night. Friday night we will be in Cape Agulhas, the southernmost tip of Africa. Saturday and Sunday night we will be a bit further inland in Oudtshoorn, and then arrive in Plettenberg Bay on Monday night. We will be in Storms River on Tuesday night, and then Wednesday and Thursday night will be spent in Jeffrey’s Bay. Friday morning we will drive to Port Elizabeth to drop off our rental car and to be picked up and taken to Quatermain’s Camp, where we will be camping on safari Friday, Saturday and Sunday night. Monday night we will be back in Port Elizabeth, from where we will fly to Cape Town on Tuesday to spend our last night before leaving for the States on Wednesday, August 3^rd.

I intend to keep the blog as up to date as possible about each place we visit, but this will depend on internet availability (Our average cost for accommodation is about $14 per night, so we’re just hoping for beds - internet will be a bonus.)

For any worried family and friends out there, fear not; my brother gave me a “safety kit” before coming to South Africa, consisting of pepper spray, a whistle, and other various items. I learned the hard way yesterday that the pepper spray works! When we first got here, I retrieved it out of my suitcase so I could take it with me when I ran. I wanted to test it out first, so I sprayed it in the plastic bag containing the whistle to see if it would work (no, I have no idea why I chose to do it in that bag.) After seeing that it worked, I closed the bag and put it back in my suitcase. Well, I came across the whistle yesterday and we all agreed that we should take it on our trip. So, forgetting my previous test spray, I blew on it to see how loud it was. It didn’t take long before my lips were on fire and I was running to the bathroom in a panic to run my head under the faucet. Yes, the pepper spray works. But regrettably, my lips no longer do. After I stopped feeling like I was going to die, we all concluded that we’re at least glad to know it works (I would have been happier if we discovered this information at the expense of someone else’s lips.) At least we know we can defend ourselves should we come under attack by any more baboons! Stay tuned.