Who Run the World? Backwoods Bitches.

This past weekend, we AIFS kids went on an excursion to the Cederberg Mountains. They are about 4 hours away from Stellenbosch and absolutely beautiful. We were under the impression that we were going to be camping, but we turned out to be living better in the mountains than we do back in Academia (my dorm)! We stayed in several very nice mountain cabins complete with a big ole braai pit out front. The first night, Hestea (our resident advisor and temporary mama) made us some sausages complete with her special secret sauce. We then rested up for the big day ahead of us. We got up bright and early to head over to the trail that leads to the top of the mountain.

The first half of the climb was about 2 hours and brutal, mainly due to the fact that we were in direct sunlight almost the whole time. The second part, however, was absolutely fantastic. It was nice and shady and instead of basically just walking uphill, we were climbing over big boulders. I felt like Indiana Jones. Not sure why, but I did. Once we made it to the top, we had the most bitchin’ view ever. Mama H told us that we were over a kilometer above where we started from. What an accomplishment, especially for someone like me who has no muscle whatsoever. We stayed at the top for about and hour and a half, and then made our way back down.

After our hike, we changed into our swimsuits, grabbed some beers and headed down to the little river next to our cabins for a swim. The river was the perfect temperature and the water felt amazing on our skin and muscles. Mama H also told us that the water in that river was cleaner than our Stellenbosch tap! So we took a couple gulps. We did a little bit of chicken fighting and played a few rounds of sharks and minnows and then called it a day. Swimming in that river has been one of my favorite parts of the past month. The fact that I was wading in a fairly remote African river with some of the best people I know overwhelmed me. I couldn’t get enough. I can only hope that I have similar experiences in the Kalahari and on the Garden Route, but I’m gonna go ahead and say that I probably will.

Ginny