You’d think that after 3 months of being here, I’d learn to
blog regularly. Apparently not. Nevertheless! Here is yet another for your
reading pleasure and/or obligation.
For our fall break (or spring break, depending on which
hemisphere you live in) all of us AIFS people took a road trip on South
Africa’s beautiful Garden Route! To be honest I’m not really sure how to
explain what exactly the Garden Route is, but look it up on Google images, and
you’ll understand why it’s such a big deal. Here’s a lil’ rundown of all that
we did!
Day 1
-
Leave Academia at 5 am. Woof.
-
After a number of hours on the road, we make it
to our first destination. The Cango Caves!
o It
should also be noted that I only threw up twice on the way there! Yipee!
o The
Cango Caves are these absolutely insane underground caves that were discovered in 1780.
o Being
the agile young explorer that I am, I took the adventure tour of the caves!
This means that I got to climb around in the dark and wet crevices of the
caves. It was super cool.
-
After we left the caves, we went straight to the
ostrich farm!
o First
we had a little sit-down session to learn some fun facts about ostriches.
o Then
we got to meet the ostriches! They were super soft, and they even gave us hugs!
-
Our final stop was the backpackers we would be
staying at for the next 2 nights. They had puppies running around all over the
place, so I was a-ok with our accommodations.
Day 2
-
Kloofing!
o Kloofing
is quite possibly the coolest thing ever. It’s kind of like canyoning, hiking,
and swimming all wrapped into one.
o We
put on wetsuits and climbed on some big boulders and floated down some rapids.
It was sick.
o Only
downside: We were so cold!
-
Horseback riding!
o I
hadn’t been horseback riding in forever! So much fun! A little scary at first,
but I had the best horse ever, so it worked out great.
Day 3
-
First Stop: Knysna!
o We
spent the first part of our day in a small town called Knysna. It was on the
waterfront and was too cute. However, they clearly knew that it was frequented
by tourists, because it was insanely overpriced! But that didn’t stop me from
treating myself to a clock with Nelson’s Mandela’s face on it :)
-
Knysna Elephant Park
o After
lunch, we visited Knysna Elephant Park. Our visit mainly consisted of us
feeding them pineapples and butternut squashes, petting them, and taking tons
of pictures. They were so friendly!
-
Antler’s Lodge
o We
stayed at the best backpackers ever! It was so beautiful! And our
accommodations were nice n’ fancy! Plus, this place also had 2 dogs frolicking
about, so, again, I loved it. There was also a nice big campfire, perfect for
AIFS bonding.
Day 4
-
Big Time Bungee
o First
thing in the morning, we drove to a huge bridge just outside the border of the Western
Cape, and watched some of our friends bungee jump off one of the highest
bungees in the world! Sam and I hung out in a nearby café, documented the
festivities and kept our feet planted firmly on the ground.
-
Playing in Plett
o After
the bungee, Sam, Raemy, Miranda and I spent the afternoon in downtown Plett. We
had lunch and did some souvenir shopping. Nothing too special, but we enjoyed
ourselves quite a bit.
Day 5
-
More playing in Plett
o We
spent the morning in Plett again, but Sam, Meg, Halie, Kelly, Janien, Corie and
I went to the beach and played in the Indian Ocean!
o They
keep telling us that the Atlantic coast is much colder than the Indian coast,
but we thought it was quite chilly in the Indian Ocean! But we stuck it out and
kept swimming! It was the clearest and bluest water I’ve ever swam in. It was
amazing.
-
Big Cats / Monkeyland
o In
the afternoon we visited a sanctuary for big cats! We got right up close with
some cheetahs and a few other fairly obscure but equally cute and ferocious
kitties. We even saw a leopard! But he was very shy.
o After
the big cats we went to Monkeyland! Monkeyland is a big sanctuary for, you
guessed it, monkeys! They have tons of different species and they basically
just run around you, bein’ cute. They said that sometimes Monkeyland is where
they send monkeys after they retire from show biz! So basically I was in the
presence of celebrities. Do y'all remember Ross' monkey Marcel from those early 'Friends' episodes? He lived in Monkeyland!
-
Talent Show
o In
the evening, since it was our last night, we decided to do something special
and put on a talent show for each other. Chris, James and I put on a little
concert for our comrades. I created instruments by filling empty beer bottles
and filling them with various amounts of water. I’m so innovative. Sam and I
also did the Tina Fey dance for James since it was also his bday. Everyone had
great acts and it was super fun to just be silly for a few hours (as if that’s
not what I do all the time anyway).
The next morning, it was back to Stellenbosch! By the time
we got home, we were completely exhausted, but it was so worth it. We had such
a great time!
-
G Dawg
