SOUTH AFRICA!

DAY 1 – THE WORST DAY EVER!!!!!!!!
I don’t know if many of you know the feeling of when you’re supposed to be somewhere and you’re not, that’s what I felt times a million. We woke up around 7:30 expecting to get off the boat by 8:30; however, that was not in the books. They first told us that the waters were too rough and we couldn’t get into the port -- this was at 8am. They said we should be in by 11am ….that didn’t happen. Then we had a lot of down time waiting and waiting and waiting. A life-long learner then told us that they were going to try and get in again at 11pm. That did not happen, we were then told that we would be trying to get in again until 1am and that we would be at port between those times. Stephanie and I along with every other student on this boat had every intention to get off the boat at that time no one care how late it was we were all waiting for so long just to be in South Africa and we were getting off this boat. When it was 1am and the boat still wasn’t at port Stephanie and I made an executive decision that it was time to go to bed.

DAY 2 – BUT WE NEED TO GO!
We woke up and still weren’t at port. Do you know how disappointing this was! I was mortified and this was at 6;45 - breakfast wasn’t even open yet. So I listened to the captains announcements and woke Steph up again and went to breakfast. We ate breakfast with our friends Jared and Kevin talking about how disappointed we were. I believe at one point I told the real truth and said I wasn’t mature enough for this. We kept on going right up to the port and then we would just turn around and the water didn’t even look rough!

Finally they make the announcement that we will be going into port!!!!!!!! Hallelujah!!!!! Praise be to God we made it. Now every passenger just has to do a face to face with the port agent and they were only letting the SAS trip out first. ahhhh. This was not good we had a 1:20 flight we had to make and it was already 11 we could not wait for everyone to clear! So we waited in line outside the teachers’ lounge where inside you had to talk to the port guards. Every chance there was Andy asked one of the people leading the whole operation if we could go now. If we could have our face to face, we needed to get off this SHIP!!! Finally, we get our face to face and we run to the gang way as an LLC told us we could get off. Well we get to the gangway and then we are told we have to wait for every passenger to get cleared to get off. Now this just won’t work by the time everyone is cleared we won’t make our flight. Finally, we get it through their heads and they make an exception for independent travelers and that’s how I became the first person off the boat followed by Stephanie then Bruno then Andy! We ran out of the port, which was quite shorter than the Ghana one, and found the first taxi out there. He drove us right to the airport. I ran into the airport because none of us had any Rand because we couldn’t get off the boat but we needed to pay the taxi now. Oh and when you take money out of the ATM it’s scary. Not because you are in any harm but because you have to take out so much Rand which actually converts 725 rand is 100 dollars, it’s weird! We went inside and realized that we were okay on time. So we had a quick snack and then made it to our plane. Our plane was awesome it had zebra stripes on it but then when we got on Stephanie and I were asked to move out of great seats, mine by the window and in the front of the plane, to the very last row which had no windows and right next to the engine -- all to accommodate a woman and her baby. Now maybe this is selfish of me but come on I have never been to South Africa I wanted to look out the window! How much room does a baby need and why is this woman in my seat….she wasn’t even pretending to be sorry for making us have the crappiest seats ever.

After the flight we got off the plane and met the guy who would be guiding us for the next day or 2. Vinard was his name. He was working at the hostel we were staying at helping out John the owner, who was a family friend. He told us all about himself and how he planned to come to America to farm in Wyoming. I guess they pay the best there! Anyway Vinard showed us one of the soccer stadiums the world cup was played in, just in passing on our way to Daniels Cheetah Sanctuary. When we got to the sanctuary we were able to jump right into a group and walk behind the fence to where the animals were raised. First we walked up and saw the meircats they were very cute and she had just had 2 little babies which were about the size of my hand. Next we walked on to a bridge and saw some of the older cheetahs, who at this point in the day were just lying around. Then we walked over to the cage of Olva, a 4 year old cheetah and the guide opened the gate and said go ahead in. A cheetah is the only large cat that you can fully domesticate. So we walk into the cage and walk over to her and the guide first walks up to her in order to show us how nice she really is. So we all took turns going up petting her and taking pictures. The whole time she was purring which is actually a little freaky because it was so loud it kind of sounded like a growl. Also when she licks you, yes she licks you, it feels like the roughest sand paper you will ever feel.
Next we walked into the cage of the lions. Lion cubs that is, they were only 2 months old and they would leave the sanctuary at 5 months in order to go to their next stage of their reintroduction to the wild. Because they are not trying to tame them they will still claw and bite at you but their reaction time is not the quickest yet so we were safe. We also saw a survival cat when we were in behind the fence he was just laying there but they can jump up to 3 meters and their legs are very very long.

We left and went to our hostel which was about a 45 minute drive away. Along the way Vinard would show us the town that literally if you did not look quick enough you would miss it. The town was about 200 feet long and then it was gone. We soon got to our hostel and we were in the 6 person dorm room which ended up being just the 4 of us in it any way which was nice because we all got a bottom bunk. It really doesn’t matter because when you’re at a hostel you spend virtually no time in your room. Oh yeah forgot to mention our hostel was spread out on a farm there was a building here and building there but it was really just like a family living on a big piece of property.

Once we put down our stuff we head right over to the pub as we didn’t eat all day and were pretty hungry. It was a great time and we didn’t leave there until late at night. We just sat around with the locals talking around the fire all night and playing the occasional game of pool. It was a great time because, besides for the accents, you couldn’t tell who was the employer, employee, or guests. It was like we had all known each other for the longest of time.

DAY 3 – THE ANIMALS
The next day we woke up at 7 and went out for a game drive. Our game drive was 5 hours long and we were able to see a bunch of different animals. There were so many elephants and kudu; there were an overwhelming amount of them. We also were able to see some buffalo, zebra, ostrich, and mush more. I don’t really know how to tell you about the game drive because it’s odd to explain.
After that we had lunch and then went to the Reptile and Bird sanctuary. Now if you don’t know me very well you don’t know that I’m am terrified of snakes! I just plain out don’t like them they scare me!!! Well now we are going to a place that saves snakes and they love them there! WHAT AM I THINKING!!!!!!!!!! We walk into a room and its dark and there are just snakes everywhere. First we hold a gecko, I’m fine it was cute and I kind of want one whatever! Now she starts taking the snakes out and they are wiggling everywhere and I am becoming less and less okay with this situation. But I just keep thinking I am going to overcome my fear I can do it!!!! Well then she hands it to me the thing was squirming around bringing its face close to me and I’m not okay now -- like I’m trying to smile but I can’t. They get a picture of me with it -- take it back and what happens? I hyperventilate! I can’t even describe this to you, I just couldn’t breathe and that’s what happened! I was trying to breathe and couldn’t so what do I do I start laughing!! Now I really can’t breathe. What is Stephanie doing during this time but laughing and taking pictures! Every time I tried to take a breath it became harder and I don’t even understand how I finally was able to breathe but I did and I’m alive to tell you about it!! But that was only the first snake there were so many more.

I did not hyperventilate again when holding any of the other snakes - I did pretty fine. I even liked one of them enough that I named it Salizar and they said they liked the name enough that we would try and remember it. haha. I figure out I am less okay with the small ones they squirm around too much. I decided I really hate when their heads come close to my body. Oh yeah did I mention that I held a poisonous snake! Yup the lady showing us around didn’t tell me until after like what the heck!!! Oh and when we first just went into the place this guy comes into the room with the most poisonous snake in the world and this snake is more poisonous than the Black Mamba (which I saw). It was really pretty and supposedly really really sweet but I don’t trust any snake -- they have a mind of their own. I believe it’s called the Bom snake and its bright green with lime green under its skin that you can see when it moves! By the way this guy was just handling it with ease he even gave it a kiss on its…..tongue? What the heck is this guy thinking!!! We held pythons and boa constrictors -- it was all craziness!!!

Finally we finished the stressful part of the day! So we then saw some meircats that just had babies - then we went looked at the crocodiles fight over food and then went to feed the birds. We saw some eagles, ostrich, owls and other sorts of birds. We went into the owls cage and the owls perched up on our arms. This owls name was jack and had very sharp claws! Their eyes were so pretty, a bright orange! It was really cool! And then we left and went back to the hostel! Waited for a little bit talking with our new friends and then we went to the bus stop as the bus would be our bed for the night!

DAY 4 – SWELLENDAM
Its 4:30 am and the bus driver calls Swellendam. Thats our exit we get off and go to our new hostel where we wait for the owner to help us! She finally shows up around 8 and points us back into the direction of town where we ask a hotel to get us a taxi. They fixed us up with a driver that would drive us to De Woop Nature Reserve and then to Gansbaai which is pronounced nothing like what it looks like!
De Woop is a beautiful reserve with sand dunes up to 300 feet tall. (When we left on the boat a few days later you could see them on the coast and everyone was envious when we said we were there!) We had a picnic lunch there and walked around the sand dune in awe. After a few hours there we hopped into the car again and went to Gansbaai, where the next day we would go shark diving! We Arrived around 8oclock got into our hostel and went to the local pub for dinner which was delicious. We stayed around talking to the locals for a while then went back to our hostel to go to bed. We had a little trouble getting in because the locks are a little different there!

DAY 5 – WE’RE JUST TRYING TO GO SHARK DIVING!
In the morning we woke up at 6:15 to go to the dock for shark diving. Half the other people we were supposed to meet us didn’t make it because the night before the times changed a little. We made it over to the dock ate a little breakfast and then went SHARK DIVING!!!! Let me tell you Steph and I had the greatest experience out of everyone. A shark came up with a fish in its mouth and rammed our cage 5 inches from our faces. It was sooooo cooool. We came up from the water screaming “did you see that, did you see that ahhhh” and then went right back down in the water. When we came up so many people were like you guys are so lucky to get to see that, even the dive masters told us that we were some of the lucky ones.
I must add to all this that before we dove the head guy told us that we were about to see something that our children will never see! There are less that 1000 great white sharks in the world left and only 300 in the area left. The sharks are going extinct because people are killing them solely for their jaws. On the black market these jaws can go for a lot of money. The other thing they are killed for is their fins in order to make shark fin soup. The only thing they use this massive animal for is its jaw and fin and throw the rest out. How sad is that! So unnecessary!!!
After shark diving we went back to the ship for the first time in days stopping at a beach quickly on the way back for a rest stop. These beaches are so cool they have about 6 levels of different waves it’s pretty amazing.

When we got back we quickly changed and Andy, Bruno, Steph, and I (our little family could not separate now) went and hiked Table Mountain. Table Mountain is amazing, on the way up we walked through a cloud. My hair was getting wet because all the perspiration that the cloud was holding, all the plants were dripping with water as well as I. Getting to the top was the coolest except we didn’t know which way to go, finally we figured it out and watched the sun set over the city. It was gorgeous. We met up with a few friends at the top and road the cable car down which was cool in itself because as it went down it spun around and you got a 360 view of the city and its surroundings!

When we got down we went to Mama Africa, a restaurant, with a bunch of people. I had ostrich, kudu, springbuck and crocodile! It was cool to try all of them I liked springbuck the best everyone should try this one day! So GOOD!!! We ate and drank South African wine and danced to the African music! We liked it so much we even bought the CD!

DAY 6 – BUT I HAVE SO MUCH MORE TO SEE!!!!
Katie, Eric, Bruno, Andy, Steph, and I started our day by going to bolder beach to see the penguins - the whole scene of it was awesome! But there is not much I can tell you about it so I will try and post some pictures of it up soon.

Next we went to the Cape of Good Hope. When we first got there we hiked up to the light house to see the view but because it was a little foggy we could not see much but when we were up there it was neat because when you went to the edge the wind would blow so hard that you thought you might blow away. Also on the side of the light house there was a post that told you how far everything was away from the point we were standing. We were able to see how far places such as New York that we live near are but also places such as Beijing which we are going to. You just felt so caught in the middle of everything. I found it really awesome to see how far we have come around the world. You could say it helped reality seep in a little deeper.
We walked back down and went to the actually point of the Cape of Good Hope which is the most southern tip of Africa. The furthest south you can possibly go! This is a very touristy spot and is somewhat frustrating to be at because if they say Americans are rude well then whoever they are never met any Europeans. We left the cape and went wine tasting. South Africa is known for their wine and now I know why. We tried 7 different types of South African wine and they all had very different taste. I have to apologize here mom - I attempted to send a bottle of red wine home to you as I knew you would have loved it but they do not ship to America because of labeling issues! Oh well!

The wine tasting left us all a little silly and as we made it back to the boat we chatted about the amazing time we had all had in South Africa! So pleased that we did so much! South Africa is definantly a place to go in your life time!