Beer Olympics

From today I only have 35 days left here in South Africa. My time is dwindling and I still feel like I have a lot more I want to accomplish. Last week was hectic for me and this week we have just started will be even more so. I have tests, projects and practicals that I have to study for basically nonstop from now until about Friday. It was nice to have this past weekend off from studying and assignments though.



We kicked off the weekend with a tiny braai and I got to sleep early since I knew I had a big day on Saturday. We have been planning beer olympics for about a month or two now and it was finally time for the games to begin. There were twelve teams, each with five players. The games in the order we played them were: Team chug, speed quarters (or 5 rand), flip cup, dizzy bat and beer pong. Teams consisted of people from either Annie’s or the Bantry and had to contain at least one team mate that was international. No puking was allowed or you lost points for your team and basically everyone just got drunk. I couldn’t believe that the games actually happened because when we started out it was very hard to get organized. Once the vuvuzela sounded the games had begun and in a line each person chugged their beer as fast as they could and once you were down the person in front of you went until you reached the start of the line and everyone was done. I believe we got second and this determined our seeds for the rest of the day. I felt confident in our team (Maria, Patrick, Neil and Shawn- who wasn’t there yet) after this since we got second place. Our team name was the paralytics and we had matching team shirts that we had all bought for St. Patrick’s Day. One of the paralytics was 8 beers deep at the start of the games and was basically hammered by 3pm. Luckily some of the paralytics were either good at the games or were considered a professional “chugger”. We made it to the second round of speed quarters, but unfortunately lost to some Germans who barely chugged a beer since they had brought their own plastic cups that held about half a beer. Next up was flip cup and I thought that this was going to be our bread and butter, I was wrong. One paralytic had some problems flipping the cup seeing as I’m assuming he was already blacked out. At this point Shawn showed up so we were full caliber, but immediately following flip cup we lost two of our comrades due to unforeseen activities. We waited sometime before dizzy bat could be arranged where two teams would run the stretch of Annie’s courtyard (for lack of a better term) spin quickly with their head on a bat and run back to their team. It was a relay so the whole team was required to play, which was a huge problem for the paralytics. Two were MIA and we needed five to compete which meant that we had to recruit two more players to run with us. In the end, one of the the newly recruited paralytics took out the volleyball in a complete wipe-out. Lastly, it was time for beer pong. One more paralytic was lost after we started so the revamped team consisted of myself, two Norwegians, a Swede and another America (who was sober). The games were intense and we were 4-0 at the end of the night (which was only 10:30). Annie’s Cove was a complete mess in the morning with beer cans and bottle scattered all over the yard and even in the pool. Paralytics ended up coming in 2nd place overall and it was a very successful evening. If only I were drinking Yuengling, then the night would have been 100% perfect!



Sunday I woke up at 5am and made some pasta for breakfast and dozed in and out the rest of the morning. Thank God I wasn’t hungover, but I didn’t do much at all the rest of the day except work on a zoology presentation due on Tuesday. All in all it was a great weekend and I felt like the American’s did the United States proud showing the other internationals who can drink!

Victoria Falls. Zambia, Zimbabwe and Botswana.

The past week has been very hectic with trying to get stuff done for classes. I’ve had tests and assignments that having been keeping me plenty busy, which is why I couldn’t wait until this past weekend because I have been looking forward to it since I’ve gotten here. Our destination was Livingstone, Zambia to view one of the seven wonders of the world, Victoria Falls. Our flight was at 610am from PE to Joberg so we had to be at the airport pretty early so I was up at 330am. I skyped with my parents for awhile then packed my stuff and headed out the door. The flights were pretty smooth, but I don’t really care to much to fly so I try to just close my eyes and sleep, but that never really works. Once we got to Joberg we had about two hours to wait until out next flight to Livingstone. We looked around at the shops and I saw somethings that I might end up buying when I am on my way home (which is only in about 5 weeks or 40 days!) We hoped on our flight to Livingstone and arrived at about 130 or so. Hannah and I were having problems with attaining money because we both have mastercard and the atm wouldn’t accept it, only visa. So we had to go into the bank and run it as like a purchase then we got money in return. We had to pay $80 (yes US dollars!) for our visas to get into Zambia, but I also needed Kwacha which is Zambia’s currency. When the banker first gave me the money it sounded like I was rich because for every dollar it is 5,000 kwacha. So I had literally hundreds of thousands of kwacha in my possession. But even though you have that much, it gets spent a lot quicker. For example, a breakfast at our backpackers cost about 15,000 to 25,000 kwacha. But in reality that is only about 3-5 US dollars. After we figured out most of our money issues we got our free shuttle to the Jollyboys backpackers in Livingstone. It was such a cute place decorated beautifully! They had a desk that specialized in activities so we signed up for the booze cruise that night. They picked us up around 3:30pm and we drove down to the Zambezi River and hopped on our boat for the next 3 hours. The Zambezi River is one of the largest in the world and it runs into the Chobe River where the four countries Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Namibia meet. This is also that river that flows over the magnificent Victoria Falls.






As we propelled slowly up the river against the current we were treated to an open bar and a new beer to try called Mosi. It was a very nice beer and it is made in the area so all the locals love it. During our journey, we stopped to view some hippos, although they were mostly submerged under the water so all we could see was their heads. We reached our final stop where most of the other boats traveling down the river stopped too so that we could watch the sunset on the Zambezi. It was amazing to see and obviously everyone took a ton of pictures. We had a meal on the way back up the river which was some chicken and sausage that was grilled on an open flame on the boat which was very delicious! We also had some coleslaw which apparently they love in this region because I had it three times on this trip.




The way back up the river went a lot more quickly because we were gliding with the current this time. It was over before I knew it so we grabbed ourselves some extra beers and went into the sand bar on land and had a couple more drinks. The whole evening was a lot of fun and I enjoyed just floating up the river and meeting some people from the area and having a great time!
We all went to sleep very early, mainly because we were all drunk, but we also had to be up extremely early the next morning for our safari trip in Botswana to the Chobe National Park. We took 18 people in a bus that should have fit about 12 for about an hour to the border of Zambia. We piled out and made our way into the immigration office and had our passports stamped. The whole process seemed way to easy, but I assume it was because we were American that they didn’t give us a second glance. The whole area looked very shady because there were so many people just standing around doing nothing and some people who got their passports stamped from Africa only had a regular sized piece of computer paper. I think that if we didn’t have our guide from the backpackers with us, we might have gotten confused and probably hustled or robbed or something. We all got into a small boat so that we could cross the water which was the point where the four countries meet and also the two rivers. There were a bunch of larger boats that were shuttling semi trucks and cars and even some people across the river so it was a very congested area.





Once we were into Botswana, we went through the same routine and got out passports stamped and hopped back into our safari vehicle. We drove to their office and had a hard time paying for the safari because their card machine wasn’t working, but eventually they figured it out and we enjoyed a light breakfast and some coffee and tea while everything was sorted out. We then walked down to the river and jumped into our safari boat that would take us down the river to view everything from elephants, hippos, baboons, birds, impala, kudu, buffalo, giraffes and crocodiles. I can’t post all of the pictures I took, but here are a few of the better ones. Some highlights from the safari (since pictures do more justice than my words) was the baby elephants we saw trying to drink water. The guess was that he was about 3 months old so he wasn’t able to use his trunk yet to drink so he had to dip his whole head in the water and drink with his mouth. He also had a hard time standing and was overall very clumsy, but cute to watch! We also saw baboons drinking down at the river, which they lay on their stomach to drink so that they can see if a crocodile were to sneak up and attack. That way their reflection isn’t blocking their view of the waters surface. The large packs of impala we saw would only include one adult male to about 50 females and he was guarding them. All the facts our guide pointed out were very interesting and I feel as if I learned a lot on the trip and it was worth every penny!










After the safari we headed back to the hostel the same way we came, through customs and over the river and back into Zambia. We were all exhausted from the day, probably mostly from the heat since we haven’t felt the Africa sun for sometime now because PE has been so cold. We all went to bed extremely early again, but for good reason because Saturday marked the day we were going to see the falls. I got up earlier than everyone else and ate some french toast for breakfast and we hopped on the shuttle to the falls around 10am. They took us to the Zambia side of the falls and it was at first a let down because we took the wrong path that just basically showed you a glimpse of the falls and more so of the bridge that crosses over the river downstream of the falls. On the bridge they have a bungy and gorge swing, but I wasn’t really interested in doing either because there was so much else we had planned! Once we found the other path that got you up close to the falls I felt exhilarated to finally see my first of seven wonders of the world, and with all the water the thundering it made when it hits the ground is also breath taking. The sigh of it was masked by the mist from the falls. Since we went during their winter, there was much water flowing through as compared to their summer when it is dry and water is barely trickling over the edge. We rented a poncho for a dollar and looked incredibly ridiculous, but it was worth it because of how wet we were about to get. We had to cross a bridge to make it to this island that allowed you to be as close to the falls as possible, atleast from the front view. You could be standing in one stop and be completely dry and move about a foot to your left and be drenched in mist. The pressure from the water and the mist was crazy and I could feel myself being pushed by it every once in a while. I’ll never forget the sight I saw when I turned to face the falls and the mist cleared for about 3 seconds and I my entire line of vision was consumed by the falls. It was clear as day for only that short period of time and then I saw nothing but mist from there on out. I didn’t dare take my camera out to take pictures in this down pour because with my luck it would have broken. Here are some pictures from the Zambia side of Victoria Falls.





We exited the Zambia side and made our way walking towards the Zimbabwe immigration office so that we could cross over and view the falls from that side. The process was all the same, although we had to pay to get into Zimbabwe. The walk from Zambia to Zimbabwe was across a bridge and long road. It was considered safe because it was between borders and people we checked before they crossed, but I still couldn’t shake the feeling of someone robbing me so I made sure to walk as fast as possible and one guy even asked where I was from and I made sure to say Canada. People usually associate Americans as having a lot of money, making us a target of being robbed, which is why I said Canada because some people from that area might not even know where that is. Once we went through customs and immigration on the Zimbabwe side we walked up a long road towards the town of Victoria Falls.




It was a cute town with lots of shops and places to eat which is why we went. We got some pizza at some pizza place and relaxed a bit. It was weird paying in dollar though because I’ve become accustom to everything seeming more expensive that it actually is, but here it was the actual prices and there was no converting necessary. Once we all were finished eating Shawn still had some fries on his plate so some teenager that was sitting outside the restrauant asked if he could have the fries. Shawn let him and Patrick even took a picture with him because the kid was wearing a Joe’s Crab Shack tshirt from the states! We did some shopping and as we were walking (and this happens to everyone) people walk next to you and try to sell you anything they can, and they ask a million times even if you say no thank you. I can understand that they need money, but you can’t buy something from everyone so there isn’t must you can always do. I felt uneasy the whole walk back to the falls because people just kept following us, but there were police officers around so that made me feel a tad bit better although I’m not one hundred percent sure if they would actually help or not. I kept my head on a swivel the entire time and had myself ready to run if the occasion called. We made it to the falls safe and sound with plenty of time left before the sunset (which was when we needed to be back at the cabs by) We followed the path and the first sight we saw was absolutely amazing! The opening showed us the entire view of the falls and it was so clear that you could see all the water falling. Iw as seriously in awe with everything from the sound of the thunder water and the sight of the mass amounts of it falling right in front of my eyes. Also, there were rainbows everywhere in my line of vision and no matter where I looked I could always see atleast one. It was the prettiest thing I have ever seen in my entire life and this sight made coming to Zimbabwe worth it! We kept walking and every opening view just kept getting better. Once we reached the end of the trail it started to rain a whole lot more and we had to turn back because it was getting late. I honestly can’t describe the sights I saw and I know my pictures don’t do it justice. I think that everyone should make it a point in their life to visit this area of the world and really embrace all its beauty because this was one of the best weekends of my life and we were only in the area for 4 days. Here are some pictures from the Zimbabwe side.








We left the park and went back through customs and immigration and grabbed a cab to drive us across the bridge and to the border of Zambia. We then went through the same process again and got out passports stamped and grabbed another cab back to the hostel. We did a lot of walking on this day and I was tired as soon as we got back, but we all ate together and stayed up chatting for awhile and meeting some people at the backpackers, who are always very interesting to say the least. I took a quick shower and we all went to bed fairly early again. The next day we woke up early hoping to go to the market, but we walked around town, which again I didn’t feel very safe doing just because we stick out like a sore thumb, but we ended up not finding the right market some people grabbed a cab and took it to the central market where people from the town actually shop (not the tourist one). I gave my money to Sara and she bought me seven “chitongas” (African fabric that women wear as a dress) I’m not sure on the spelling since I’m sure the word is in their language of Nyanja. The one cab driver told us that within the country there are around 75 languages, although most are similar, and he knew all of them. But English and Nyanja are the two main languages in the area.

We left for the airport kinda early so that we could ask to sit in the front of the plane (first class) and have the larger seats, which we did indeed get. I decided to drink plenty of wine on this plane ride (although I don’t like it all that much) so that I didn’t hear all the noises and become paranoid like I usually do. I think that I got drunk on the plane from Livingstone to Joberg because I don’t ever drink wine so it hits me like a bus, but at least I didn’t freak out; this is my new therapy for every time I have to fly. We got back around 730 or 8 pm on Sunday night and I was so exhausted. My room still is not finished and I intended to call someone if nothing is done about it by tonight. I have only a month and a week left of my time here in South Africa and only two weeks of classes! It is so crazy to think that in 40 days I’ll be back in the states and back to my normal life or working, school and so on! But I am super excited to see my family and friends although I think that when I go home I will be more likely to be on “African time” walk EVERYWHERE and enjoy life a lot more! All in all this was the best weekend that I have had since I’ve been in Africa!

Cape Town.

The best spring break I have ever had included our trip to Cape Town. We left bright and early on Tuesday morning and took about 10 hours with some stops in between. We took a break for lunch in Kynsna which was beautiful, but the weather was so nasty and cold we had no choice but to eat inside. Becca and I had a delicious chicken tramezzini and got a gelato for dessert. We arrived just outside of Cape Town in a township where we stayed the night. I was paired with Kelly and we went to our “mama’s” house for dinner. I think I must first explain townships. Townships at home are just housing developments outside of the city, I use to live in one, but it is just like any other housing development. Townships in South Africa are more or less a densely populated area (usually blacks and/or coloureds) of people that have a low income or are unemployed. Some townships are even lined with shacks made of sheet metal and wood. You see kids walk without shoes and dogs are just roaming the streets. We stayed in a safer townships where the houses were actually houses and our mama had a t.v. and running water. All she had was a living room, a kitchen, and a bathroom (which lacked a sink- so we spit out our toothpaste into the toilet). We luckily had chicken for dinner which was very very veryyy good! But for dessert, our mama brought out chicken feet. She basically just laughed at us watching the way we tried to eat it. We had to pick out the nails and eat around a ton of tiny bones. I gave up after awhile and just gave it to our mama, and she devoured it in a few minutes. I slept so well that night in such a comfy bed. I was nice and warm with all the blankets even though there was no heat in the house.



The next morning we woke up pretty early and walked to the main mama’s house. I have to admit I was pretty nervous walking through the township especially with my suitcase full of all my stuff. Kelly and I were the only white people on the street so we obviously stood out, but it was nice to know our mama was with us. Everyone we passed by gave us a warm hello or “molo ” We hoped on the pass after saying a quick goodbye and made our way to the base of table mountain. The trail didn’t look that bad from the ground, but it was basically like doing the stairmaster for 2 and a half hours on the highest level. We took breaks, but I think what got me was that I was warm from climbing, but the air was a lot colder towards the top. I could see my breath about 3/4 of the way up the mountain. We passed by a lot of people on the way up and were eventually in the cloud that was covering table mountain. Once we got to the top the cloud was still hanging over the mountain so we couldn’t see very far out, at some points you couldn’t even see anything but cloud. We all huddled in the same place and looked on as Shawn got down on one knee and proposed to Alyssa on top of table mountain. It was amazing to see! And she obviously said yes, we all drank a little champagne and walked around the flat top of the mountain. Once the cloud swept by we were able to take a ton of pictures, which I took advantage of. We had to go down the same way we came up because it had been raining so the other way that we were planning to go was a little too dangerous to tackle. The way down was very hard on my knees, but it was nice to look out onto the city on the way down since I just kept looking up on the way to the top. We were all pretty tired after the hike and we all kept saying that we were going to “go out” that night. I’m sure our guides thought we were alcoholics because we even had them stop at the liquor store on the way home. We all gathered after our showers to go out to eat at a burger and milkshake place on long street. It was amazing, I couldn’t even finish my whole burger and that is usually no problem for me. I was so stuffed and so was everyone else that once we went back to the hotel most of us just got ready for bed and went to bed early. It was a great day, one of the top ones since I’ve been here. Table mountain is such an icon for South Africa, it was nice to actually see it and climb it.






We woke up at a descent time on Thursday. Today was technically our “free” day where we could do anything we wanted. The plan had originally been to either chose between a wine tour or shark cage diving, but the shark cage diving had to be cancelled because the swells were too out of control. I was planning to do the cage diving, but I was happy with the wine tour outcome. It was a perfect day outside. We hoped on the bus to first reach the Green Market Square where the whole lot of us basically drained out bank accounts. I spent a lot of money, but I think everything I got was worth every penny. I got most of my gifts I am taking back to friends and family, but don’t expect too much people because I only have two suitcases!!! Afterwards we got back on the bus and made our way out towards Praal where we had our first wine tasting. I am glad we went here first because they explain all about what and how you are suppose to taste wine. It was a great experience even though I didn’t enjoy any of the wines. The also had a cheese tasting which I liked and it reminded me of the cheese I had in Brazil that was home made. They also made their cheese on the farm from goats milk, mhmm delicious! We made our way further along the wine route and stopped at a winery that is run and the funds are shared between and entire community of blacks. It is such a greta success story. The community owns and runs the farm and all the money they make goes into a trust so that as long as you work at the winery at some point you are able to go to University for free and you also receive free housing, water and even satellite TV. I didn’t like any of the wines here either, but I drank all of them usually in one big gulp if I didn’t like the first sip. We left there and made our way to the next winery which was close to Stellenbosch. We partied and danced on the bus the entire way there. This winery let me down a little bit because the lady that served us gave us no fun facts or anything about the wine, it was like she didn’t care at all. At this winery though they only made white wines and the farm across the way made only red, so they would trade with each other so that both would have each type of wine. Our last stop was actually in Stellenbosch, which is where I had originally planned to study abroad at. This is the place where I actually enjoyed one of the wines. It was white and really sweet with a low alcohol content. I bought this one and another one to share with my room mates! I learned a lot about wine during out tour of the winelands. I learned how you should look at the wine first, then swirl the wine and watch as it slides down the side of the glass. Then you take a whiff of the aroma that they swirling leaves and take a nice little sip. All in all it was a great day! Dinner was on our own this night so a few of us just went and picked up some pizza. We then got ready to go out and party on the famous long street. It is a smaller version of Bourbon Street in New Orleans. I spent most of my time on a balcony overlooking the street that night and also dancing across the street. I had a great time and would have loved to call Cape Town my home for a semester, but I am in fact in love with Port Elizabeth and am glad that I chose this city.






Friday was a day filled with touristy things like Robben Island and Cape of Good Hope (CGH). We started with Robben Island and made our way across the rough water on a ferry for our tour. The ride was a bit wavy and there was a lot of clouds so Cape Town wasn’t very visible. Once we got to the island after about a 30 minute boat ride, we hoped on some bus’s and toured the island first. Our tour guide was great and very knowledgeable. My favorite place we stopped to view was the quarry that took so many years to dig, especially because the prisoners only were given shovels and picks. The site to see that really made my heart dropped was a pile of limestones about 3 feet tall right in front of the quarry. The stones were placed there by all the former political prisoners when they revisited the island; Nelson Mandela included. Once the island tour was over we headed inside to the actual jail and we were given a tour by a former political prisoner. It must be tough for him to relive the experience everyday when he gives the tours, but they talked about Robben Island as something to learn by and that they shouldn’t fear it. We saw Nelson Mandela’s prison cell which was about the size of a normal bathroom.




Our guide told us some facts about the prison life like doors were locked at 330pm and they weren’t reopened until 7am the next morning, which meant that if you had to use the bathroom you had to go in your bucket and it had to sit with you all night. The bucket then had to be cleaned in the morning so that it wouldn’t stink up your room. He also talked about how the prisoners correspondent with relatives by post. All their letters were censored meaning that if they included something that the guards didn’t agree with they could easily just cut it out, and many times the prisoners wouldn’t have anything left but the heading and sincerely. I really enjoyed the island and I feel like I learned a lot in such a short amount of time. After the island we ate lunch on the road and stopped for ice cream on the way to a very scenic drive along the coast, which is ranked one of the top drives in the world. We stopped at the top to take some pictures and it was honestly breathtaking. The pictures don’t do it justice at all.



Afterwards, we made our way to the CGH which took quite a while. Along the way we pasted by a section of beach that was very exclusive and only contained 500 housing plots. They are extremely expensive and top celebrities like Tom Cruise and many others have houses there. Once we got to CGH we saw a baboon straight away. We see monkeys all the time here, but this was the first time I have seen a baboon and it was a lot bigger.



We made the trek up the stairs to the lighthouse and looked out into the ocean. This is the place were people consider it that the two oceans (Indian and Atlantic) meet. Looking out you couldn’t see anything but water and it was pretty cool to get almost of 360 degree view from the lighthouse vantage point. We took a bunch of pictures and were rushed to leave or we wouldn’t make it to the penguin beach.






Once we got there, we took a scenic walk along a boardwalk and were able to see a ton of penguins along the way until we reached the beach and could take a bunch of picture up close of the penguins. They are now known as the African Penguin, but they use to have the common name of the Jackass Penguin because they sound like a jackass when they make noise or are calling. It is very loud and I couldn’t believe how similar the two sounded. The sun was setting on the way home and we called it a day with a bunch of adventures under our belt. Some people went out tonight, but I had a serious headache so I went straight to bed.




It was already Saturday before I knew it and we were already leaving Cape Town. I felt like we did a lot and saw many of the highlights of the town, but there was still more to do and see. As we made our way to Oudtshoorn, I tried to snap a few more pictures of table mountain from a distance. Oudtshoorn is a city that is along the scenic Route 62 and further inland. The terrain was very mountainous and rocky with many shrubs with an occasional “African Tree” (which is what you would picture from the Lion King). The main focus of Oudtshoorn is its ostrich farms and Cango Caves. We first went to a tiny place to eat and I tried Eland which is Africa’s largest antelope. It was delicious and I wish I could bring some home for my parents to try, Dad you would love it! Next, we ended up at the Cango Caves, just before the last tour left. We went on the adventure tour which takes you deep into the cave and requires you to shimmy and squeeze through some tight spots. The formations inside were amazing, Dr. Johnson you would have loved it! Some of the formations were around a million years old (estimated) I wasn’t scared at first of the thought of being so deep into a cave and not being able to get out, but then when we went through the “tunnel of love” which is named that because it squeezes you from every direction. This was a very tight squeeze, but what made me more nervous was the fact that it was such a long tunnel and I went into it when people were still in front of me which meant that I couldn’t go anywhere when we stopped. It got hot really quick in the tunnel and some people started to freak out which in turn made me nervous. I had no desire to go on after that, but I ended up doing it because I calmed down once we were into a more open area. We then climbed up the skinny Devil’s Chimney and slid through the post box which was pretty cool. I was proud of myself because I didn’t want to keep going at all after my minor freak out, but I ended up going the whole way and it was awesome sliding down the post box.



It was already Saturday before I knew it and we were already leaving Cape Town. I felt like we did a lot and saw many of the highlights of the town, but there was still more to do and see. As we made our way to Oudtshoorn, I tried to snap a few more pictures of table mountain from a distance. Oudtshoorn is a city that is along the scenic Route 62 and further inland. The terrain was very mountainous and rocky with many shrubs with an occasional “African Tree” (which is what you would picture from the Lion King). The main focus of Oudtshoorn is its ostrich farms and Cango Caves. We first went to a tiny place to eat and I tried Eland which is Africa’s largest antelope. It was delicious and I wish I could bring some home for my parents to try, Dad you would love it! Next, we ended up at the Cango Caves, just before the last tour left. We went on the adventure tour which takes you deep into the cave and requires you to shimmy and squeeze through some tight spots. The formations inside were amazing, Dr. Johnson you would have loved it! Some of the formations were around a million years old (estimated) I wasn’t scared at first of the thought of being so deep into a cave and not being able to get out, but then when we went through the “tunnel of love” which is named that because it squeezes you from every direction. This was a very tight squeeze, but what made me more nervous was the fact that it was such a long tunnel and I went into it when people were still in front of me which meant that I couldn’t go anywhere when we stopped. It got hot really quick in the tunnel and some people started to freak out which in turn made me nervous. I had no desire to go on after that, but I ended up doing it because I calmed down once we were into a more open area. We then climbed up the skinny Devil’s Chimney and slid through the post box which was pretty cool. I was proud of myself because I didn’t want to keep going at all after my minor freak out, but I ended up going the whole way and it was awesome sliding down the post box.


Once we were out of the cave entirely it was already getting dark and everything was closed. We traveled back to the backpackers for some dinner which was cooked by the chef of the hostel. We partied at the hostel that night, which is always fun because you don’t have to worry about calling cabs or driving anywhere and plus you get to meet some of the most interesting people. The next morning we packed everything up and had some breakfast and made our way to the ostrich farm, which was our last excursion of the trip. We were able to pet the birds, hug the birds, and the guys even got a kiss from Betsy, one of the lady ostrich’s on the farm. I never realized how strange these birds are and they will honestly eat anything you give them, including rocks. It was interesting to find out that since they don’t have teeth to crush their food, they have a small collection of rocks in their stomach that work to crush their food as they eat it so that it can be digested. Another fascinating fact was that the bending part of the birds leg that is very obviously and visible is the ostrich’s ankle and their knee is located all the way at the top near the wings. We got a chance to sit on the ostrich and even ride it. It was super fast, but a very smooth ride which I was surprised by. Then the jockeys that were helping us demonstrated the real way to ride an ostrich which they were obviously really talented at. He jumped on and in order to steer the ostrich, you have to push its neck in the direction you want it to go! It was so awkward to watch! We then got a chance to check out some ostrich eggs, which are a huge item that they sell in the markets here.








A little side trip to a waterfall just outside of town was our very last stop along Route 62. It was the clearest water I have ever seen, but also very cold. Some people were brave enough to cliff jump in, but the cold water wasn’t for me. I just took some pictures and admired the high rocky cliffs around me with a cool mountain breeze. The ride back was long, but we stopped in Kynsna again for lunch. The pit stop was way more nice this time because it was actually warm and sunny. On the way back Chelsea called me to her seat and she told me that she had gotten a call a few days earlier from Robbie, who is my neighbor at Annie’s telling her that him and Kyle heard water running in my house so they told our “landlord” and apparently they shut the water off for the entire complex without notifying anyone. So since the water was off my room mate turned the shower on and noticed no water was coming out so she left for the day without switching the handle back to off. Meaning that our entire house flooded. So Robbie and Kyle told our “landlord” about the water and he simply went into my room, turned the water off and went back to bed... He didn’t care that there was about 2 inches of water on my floor and to make matters worse I hid my computer under my nightstand while I was away. Chelsea remembered me telling her and everyone else this so she told Robbie that he had to go in and get my computer. So Kyle and Robbie got a car jack and jacked up the bars on my bathroom window and broke one off. Kyle squeezed in and saved my computer. I really owe them two so much they don’t even know. Thank god for them. So I get back after the entire trip to my room smelling like moldy wet carpet and my “landlord” wouldn’t even do anything about it. He told me that I shouldn’t come to him and attack him; I’m sorry, but I basically had no where to sleep and all my laundry was drenched. I think I had the right to be a tad bit mad seeing as I didn’t nothing wrong and my computer and my laundry were all messed up.





All in all it was a great and by far the best spring break I have ever had. I got to see and do so much in such a short amount of time. I really loved Cape Town and I definitely want to come back at some point in my life. Cheers! Miss all of you at home!