Semester Vac: Botswana, Zambia, and Zim (Second Half)

After we left the Delta, we continued traveling to Planet Boabab, a game lodge in Makgadikgadi Pans, Botswana. Of course, we were forced to slow down on the way due to giraffe and elephant crossings. Hello Africa. Then, to make things even more TIA, we suddenly realized our tire was completely stripped when we lost the entire rubber cylinder on the road behind us. While we waited on the side of the road, village people appeared out of the bush asking for our shoes. It was straight out of a movie. Planet Boabab ended up having an amazing pool and, between the hours of sitting on a truck and the fact that we were finally in close proximity to proper toilets, we went mental. We had belly flopping competitions, chicken fights, and many interesting picture moments. After a shower and dinner of vegetable stew and mielie pap, a stiff corn meal mix and staple food of a South African diet, we all went to the bar and then fell deep asleep.

The next day we crossed the border into Zambia, a rather painless process that simply involved a lot of sitting in the shade talking about life. We arrived at camp with time to get lunch and take a short swim. Then we were off to a sunset cruise on the Zambezi River. The Zambezi is the fourth-longest river in Africa and at one point touches the banks of Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. We waved to Namibia from our Zambian bank. Our cruise was filled with sightings of elephants, hippos, crocodiles, wildebeests, exotic birds, monkeys, and impalas and plenty of good laughs from the back of the boat. The sunset itself was breathtaking.

We took a game drive in Chobe National Park at sunrise the next morning and hopped back in the truck to head to Victoria Falls, the largest falls in the world (with a width of 5,604 feet and a height of 354 feet, and considered by some to be among the seven natural wonders of the world. David Livingstone, a Scottish explorer said to be the first European to view the falls, named them after his Queen Victoria. We visited the falls from the Zambia side that first late afternoon, and, upon sighting the water itself (you can hear it from miles away) we were surrounded by an unbelievably thick mist. At first, I was determined that it had suddenly started heavily raining, until I realized that the mist would clear in certain areas of the path farther from the falls. From Zambia, one can actually see very little of the falls themselves, but the experience of being there allows you to better comprehend the mass and power of the water that is falling and subsequently rising in the depths below. It was the most naturally powerful thing I’ve ever seen.

The next day, we all split off to tackle our own agendas, and, naturally, a good group of us decided to purchase an all-day adventure package. The first activity was a 54-meter abseil down fifth gorge. The second activity is the high-wire zip line over a 100-meter gorge. The third activity is the rap jump, a face down abseil down the 54-meter rock face. The fourth event is the gorge swing (the world’s first). It can be seen in the Amazing Race. The free fall is over 50 meters before the rope swings you at 120km per hour across the gorge. Unlike a bungee jump, which, to me, feels a bit like flying, the gorge swing literally feels as though you have simply stepped off a cliff to your death far down below. Luckily the free fall is over in a matter of a few seconds. In the case of a tandem swing, you must lean off backwards to avoid being off timing with each other. With a full day package, you can do each activity as many times as you’d like, but the catch lies in the ascent to the top after the abseils and gorge swings; It is definitely a hike. Thus, the day turned into free falling and running up hiking trails and continuing until they called it quits. I managed to complete the abseil, zip line, rap jump, and 4 gorge swings which all left me with a fine adrenaline rush and an excess of endorphins for the day. We slept well.

The next day we left early to get across the border into Zimbabwe. Because we were on foot, we were unable to really explore the area, but, luckily, the view of Victoria Falls is very close to the border. From there you can actually see the falls from afar in all of their glory. The sight is truly phenomenal and very worth the trip. Plus, it was fun to say we simply strolled across the Zimbabwean border. The guard at the gate didn’t even check that we had all received passport stamps because he said, “There are too many of you. Just go.” We visited a good’s market after the falls which was eye-opening and overwhelming. The vendors gladly accepted anything American, including hair ties, soap, bobby pins, clothing (even shirts off of our backs), shoes…anything. It was a different world and I felt somewhat like Justin Bieber in a crowd of over-crazed teenage girls. We spent the rest of the scorching day by the pool, while I tried to finish my book (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo- so good!), but fell prey to sleep.

At 4:15 the entirety of our truck and the second truck we had been adventuring in parallel with boarded a sunset cruise on the river. Just to give you an idea, most have coined it the “booze cruise”. It was a jol; everything laughing and recounting the incredible week, together, at sunset, on a boat, in Zambia. When the boat docked at 7 pm, we all immediately ran to the auditorium to begin a dance party with music that was all-too familiar (think YMCA on repeat). It was certainly a site to be had. Most were in bed that night around 9 pm. The next morning we woke up, packed our things, and headed home. It was then that I realized what a home Cape Town really is. The trip left us with great memories, even better photos, and a good lot of new friends who we get to share the next two months with in Cape Town. I was grateful to shower and sleep in my own bed that night.

Semester Vac: Botswana, Zambia, and Zim (First Half)

The trip began with an early flight to Joburg. Of course, I wisely decided not to sleep the night before, seeing as we were meeting at 5 am. I sat next to my now-friend Felicia on the way and promptly turned to her to say, “Hi. I’m Bryn! I’m so sorry because normally I would talk, but right now, I’m just going to fall asleep immediately.” She laughed. Then two full travel days commenced on our nomad truck, through what seemed like the middle of nowhere, into Botswana. The hours passed relatively quickly reading, chatting, and some long games of hearts. Mostly it was a great chance to get to know the 20 other people from different programs traveling with the 7 of us girls on the bus.

Every night on the trip, we got into camp in the early evening, in time to set up our tents (yes, we were actually camping) before the sun went down. Britt, Taylor, and I were tent roomies each night. We shared a long-running private joke that Brittany would find something to do every time Taylor and I started to prepare the tent. Don’t worry, Britt, you pulled through in the clutch time. Norman, our top chef, prepared breakfast, lunch, and dinner for us every day. It was beyond delicious: chicken curry, steak, spaghetti….we ate very well. The post dinner plans every night usually included bar or bed and a very chilled evening. It was a nice balance to be camping and yet be in a place with sinks, toilets, lounges, and even pools. After a most-likely short night’s rest, we awoke every morning between 430-630 am to take down camp, eat breakfast, and carry on our way.

Then began my favorite part. We spent three amazing days in the Okavango Delta in Botswana. It is the world’s largest inland delta formed where the Okavango River empties onto a swamp in the Kalahari Desert. The delta is home to several ethnic groups, each with its own ethnic identity and language. One such group, with a village in the Northern region of the Delta acted as our guides and new-found friends during our short visit. After a 2.5 hour truck ride through swamp land deep into the bush, these polers picked us up and took us to camp in makoros. A makoro is a type of canoe propelled through the shallow waters by standing at the back and pushing with a pole. The vessels are made out of tree trunks and are anything but luxurious. Yet, their simplicity created a sense of easiness that made everyone instinctively feel comfortable on the wild Delta.

Taylor and I were taken across the Delta by a man called Waco. In his early 30s, Waco is already head of this lot of his village as they take tourists into Okavango even though many of them are older. He speaks English very well, and you should see him dance and sing! Waco is perhaps one of the most interesting people I’ve ever met. After a makoro ride up at the front of the pack, Taylor and I adamantly asked Waco to be our safari guide. So, he led us, namely Geo, Tay, Izzy, Lans, Britt, Eliza, and me, that first evening into the bush to take a safari on foot. Having tracked animals for National Geographic, Waco is no newbie. He could pick up a piece of shit (excuse my French), sniff it once or twice, take a wise look around (all while chatting happily with us, mind you), and turn abruptly and say, “There was an elephant 300 meters in that direction 3 hours ago; there are his footprints over yonder…oh but do you see that elephant in the distance?” – at which point we would squint our eyes and spend minutes trying to merely spot the marvelous animal with our only human senses. We saw elephants, giraffes, wildabeasts, zebras (pronounced “zeb-ruz” here), and many a poisonous spider. Waco was a safari god. The seven of us went on 3 seperate walks with him (anywhere from 1.5-4 hours long), and, at every occasion, we learned so much about the Delta and its many inhabitants, about Waco’s life, and about the ways in which our lives are filled with too much business and not enough appreciation.

When we weren’t on pede-safari, we were swimming or lounging as proper campers do. There was a swimming hole down the Delta a bit and several times a day we would all caravan on makoros and act silly in the water. Let me just say that mud fights and chicken fights were not uncommon. The swimming hole was very leach friendly, and it was a popular game to sneak up on each other in the mirky waters (thank you, Taylor Orr). Early on, the polers gave us the freedom of trying to teach ourselves to drive the makoros. Everyone gave up after minutes, but I was very intrigued so continued over the 2 days to try to teach myself to pole. Luckily Waco took an interest in guiding me and, with his coaching, I became half decent at it. It was so nice to be able to take it out for 20 or 30 minutes at a time and just skim down the delta. It creates a sense of peace…the epitome to me of “going with the flow”. It also acted as an escape from a busy, people-filled 10 days. Unfortunately, my new-found poler skills got me into a bit of trouble. I took my friend Julia for a long ride down the Delta on our second day, chatting the whole way. Just as we had turned around to head back to camp, I dug the pole to deep into the sand and the weight of the side of the boat suddenly broke the pole into two pieces. We just looked at each other in shock as the second half began floating away in the unknown, potentially snake/hippo-filled water. On impulse I belly-flopped into the water grabbed the floating half and clambered back into the makoro. Luckily Waco had been on his way to check on us and helped us return with a broken pole. I think I apologized to the older man who had owned the pole about 20 times before I left, making sure to compensate him generously, although he seemed very uncomfortable taking my money. I suppose, that is the best way I can think of to have spent my Pula in Botswana. It will now go to a better cause than I could have put it to myself.

On the last night of our stay in the Delta, our new friends sang and danced for us around the fire. Their songs told us a story of their village, and they were so passionate and fun-filled. Even the women on the trip who seemed so quiet became marvelous dancers and shouted in praise to their past. It was beautiful and so very natural. We, of course, wanted to reciprocate and so, naturally, I led the group in our own Delta version of the Cha Cha Slide, a song often played at homecoming dances or bar mitzvahs when you simply want everyone to do the same thing. It was hilarious, to say the least. Then all of us in camp circled around the fire in the middle of nowhere and sang songs and danced until we were sweating in the night air. It was a magical ending and created a commonality between the lot of us that no language barrier could break. In the morning, our polers carted us back to the shore to be taken back to “real life”. We sang with Waco the whole way. It was a sad moment to say goodbye, and I dare say that there were tears.

Random acts of...well life.

I thought I would devote a bit to the seemingly random activities I end up involved in here in Cape Town…what would life be like without the usual (very usual, in my case) randomness, hey?

-Catching chilled vibes at Stones on Wednesday nights.

-Spending Saturday mornings at the Old Biscuit Mill.

-Sitting on Jammie Steps before, during, and after lectures at UCT.

-“Studying” at the Clifton beaches after class.

-Spending Tuesday nights at my Safrican friends’ digs, catching up on youtube videos with their uncapped internet (can you say Rebecca Black “Friday”?).

-Driving to signal hill for sunset overlooking the coast of Cape Town. Here, pictured with Home Group.

-Attending a stormer’s rugby match.

-Seeing Michael Eaton, a biblical guru, speak at church.

-Getting dinner with the entire program at Pancho’s (what I called Nacho Libre, where my friend Mike works) for Sam’s birthday.

-Stalking Denzel and Ryan at the world cup stadium (they are filming a movie here called Safehouse)—this was only for Sam’s birthday.

-FINALLY cleaning my room (it took me almost 2 months to unpack fully).

-Taking empty minibuses to Springboks for Thursday jug nights.

-Hi-HIKING, HIKING, and MORE HIKING! Lion's Head, Nursery Ravine, Skeleton's Gorge, Table View...

-Going on chow missions with Dylan to Rock Sushi Thai and Rafiki’s for banana and avo pizza!

-Attending African dance on Tuesdays and Thursdays and laughing hysterically with the other many Americans in the class. Our performance is scheduled for May 5^th.

-Making pancakes (Safrican style) at 1 am at the digs of some of my friends and then attempting to stick them to the ceiling.

-Playing balderdash at home group. Threpterophilia: the obsession with female nurses. No one voted for that one.

-Going to play soccer with kids in 5-7 grade from the township of Khayelitsha, every Tuesday from 2-5.

Die Tuinroete: The Garden Route

A few weeks ago, we, namely Georgie, Taylor, Ilana, Izzy, Molly, Jack, and I, took a tour of the garden route, commencing with a very bizarre early morning cab ride to the rental car company. The Garden Route is a popular scenic stretch of the south-eastern coast of SA. Starting in Cape Town, the excursion is a simple, but not-so-brief drive up the N2 coastal highway. For someone who can’t find her way out of a parking garage, I was thrilled to hear that our driving directions never deviated (yet, I did manage to drive the wrong direction on the N2 for about ten minutes...so sad).

The first day, we made our way up the coast to Tsitsikamma National Park, a coastal reserve well known for indigenous forests and dramatic coastline. We arrived in the early evening, in time for dinner at an Elvis Presley-themed diner next to our backpackers (what Safricans call hostels). It felt odd to be looking at old Ford convertibles and jukeboxes in the middle of a national park in Africa. Before we headed out the next morning, I took a brief run around the area, only to run into a big family of monkeys playing on the side roads. TIA. We left early and arrived at Bloukrans Bridge in Storms River around 8:30 am. The bridge stands at height of 216m above the Bloukrans River (which forms the border between the Eastern Cape and Western Cape), making it the highest single span arch bridge in the world. It is known as the World’s Highest Commercial Bungy Jump. It took them a total of 15 minutes to suit us up and lead us to the bridge. In that time, I must have peed about four times. In order to get to the jump spot, you must walk along a corridor overlooking the river, over 700 feet below.

Then the music starts. It’s quite nice to drown out the magnified bass of your heartbeat with a little house music, blaring from the speakers on the arch of a bridge over 700 feet from the ground. There is a camera filming the jump itself so you can see your friends fall as you wait for your moment on the bridge. I was so stoked once I saw people jumping; it’s exhilarating, as if new live were pumping through your veins. When it’s your turn, they set you up and hop you to the edge (your feet are bound) so that your toes hang over, peaking at the ground far far below. The moment you jump, the world goes silent. It is just you and air and a feeling of pure weightlessness; you are flying. It’s as if you are still and the atmosphere moves around you. It was one of the most incredible things I’ve ever done. I was giddy; like a little kid in toys r us.

From there, we sped off to Plettenberg Bay and went kayaking. I offered to kayak in a double with the instructor so my paddle workload was much easier—a good thing, considering I fell asleep in the kayak every time we would pause to check on the group. After a refreshing, relatively warm, ocean swim, we journeyed to Knysna and took a sunset oyster cruise around the large warm-water estuary that the town is built on. It is a truly beautiful place and very attractive for fans of water sports. My friend Dylan had generously offered that we stay in his house that night and even drove to Knysna to spend some time with us. We all went to dinner and then back to Dylan’s for our first night sleeping in a proper house in months. Of course, he had a perfectly good, single bed frame outside and, regardless of the extra beds available inside, I chose to sleep under the stars in my sleeping bag. It was a wonderful night’s rest under a full moon.

The next day, after a run and a short swim off of Dylan’s dock, we all hiked down to a river outside of Knysna. This location is remote and relatively unknown, so we were the only people there for the majority of the time. We spent the day swimming upstream through slender passageways and into open pools, cliff jumping, and basking in the sun on the rocks bordering the river. It was serene and adventurous all at the same time and a great break from the touristy aspect of traveling the garden route. When the day came to an end, we said our thank yous and goodbyes and headed to Wilderness.

Wilderness is a seaside town known for its long white sand beach and lagoons. We arrived to our backpackers in time to race to the beach for sundown. Taylor and I were so awed and excited by the beauty of the beach (and the warmth o the water) that we began running along the water’s edge down the coast in our bathing suits. After a while we stopped and ran back, laughing all the while. It was a sight to be seen; the beach stretches on for miles and has such a sense of raw beauty. Later, that night we went to dinner. Taylor, Geo, and I awoke at 6 am the next morning to catch sunrise over the ocean, and I took a morning dip in the warm water and a walk down the beach a ways. Then we were off to the Cango Caves and eventually, after a long, traffic-filled drive (yes, I did drive- for hours in fact), we ended up back home again.