Before Cape Town...

Cape Town, South Africa for spring break? Yes please!

Wanted to get one more post out before I leave for spring break. I will be in Cape Town all of next week so I will be away for a bit. I am so excited, though. I'm sure you know that already considering I have mentioned it close to a thousand times on here ha. We are all packing our bags before the early morning start on our journey. We will be heading out around 7:30 and making a stop about two hours in to bungee jump off of the worlds highest bungee bridge! I am so stoked, it is going to be amazing! I am a huge thrill/adrenaline-rush seeker so this is right up my alley. I am not sure how many people from my trip are doing it but I would say around 10 out of the 30 will take the plunge. Hey, come on, you gotta!

After, we will make our way to a township that is just outside Cape Town and stay with a family for a night. We are all split into two person groups for this. I think this will be a great eye-opening experience as well.
From there we will head into Cape Town for the week where we will be climbing Table Mountain, visiting Robben Island, meeting with a member of parliament, going to Mama Africa's (restaurant with multiple kinds of meat - crocodile,  ostrich, springbok, and more), museums, and other fun activities. It will be a blast!

This past week went well. For music on Monday we went to Dudley Tito's house. Dudley Tito is a famous jazz musician who lives in New Brighton. My professor says he is a legend. It was cool to meet someone like that and hear him play. Service both Monday and Tuesday was great, like usual. However, Shannon and I were teaching a lesson and finally getting through to our kids right when one of the teachers came in and told them to work on something else. This was a little difficult because now the kids were distracted and we pretty much lost everything we had gained that morning. Something that could be improved about their system is sticking with a subject until it's complete or at least spend a significant amount of time on it (all morning).

For seminar on Thursday we went to the Ubuntu Education Center. This may have been the best kind of center I've seen down here. It addresses the entire family rather than just one person. It provides education (tutoring), medical check-ups, food (through their garden), and clothing. It really aims to improve everyone's life in the family. They accept anyone that they think needs help but target people infected or affected by HIV. The center was state-of-the-art so the funding for it must be doing well. Pictures of famous celebrities (Kevin Bacon, Kevin Spacey), Archbishop Tutu, and President Clinton lined the wall. The center was started by an American and his friend he met while studying down here in 1998.

Great week here in South Africa and another great week ahead! I will update you all when I get back next week - Peace!

The Wade Brigade and The Half-Way Point

The Wade's (my Mom's sister, her husband, and 4 kids) arrived on Friday! Seeing them was absolutely amazing! Seriously, so much fun being with them, showing them around, experiencing the fun of South Africa with family members, and just having someone else know what life is like down here is great.

The Wade's booked the Humewood Hotel which is right next to Langerry. Literally across the street. I happened to be on my balcony when I saw them pull up and get out of there car. I called out to them and then ran on down to greet them. I helped them unpack and then I showed them around my flat.

Zebras in the NMMU Reserve

From there, we planned where we would go and eat. We decided on Barney's because it was close, it's a place I have been and go to every now and then, and it had food everyone would like. We made the trek down the road and had a nice dinner and just chatted about what I had been up to. It was a lot of fun to tell them about my experiences while still in Africa and have them actually see the places I was talking about and to have them be where I have been. So, once we were done with dinner we walked back and on the way we ran into the few people in our group that were here this weekend. So they were able to say hi and meet my relatives. By the time we got back it was pretty late so everyone hit the sack to prepare for the fun on Saturday.

On Saturday, we met up for breakfast and then made our way to the nearby Pick N' Pay to pick up some snacks that I wanted them to try. There are a few things here that aren't in America so it was fun to have them try them. Then we all went to the NMMU campus and I showed them around and where I have class. I also took them over the wall and into the nature reserve we have on campus. When we got over we spotted a herd of zebra. We walked over to them and came within 20 or so feet from the

Republican Convention

entire herd. Absolutely amazing. Seriously, you can just do this kind of stuff here. So awesome! We grabbed some cool pictures with them and then headed out towards Addo Elephant National Park to see some more animals. I loved getting to go back to Addo simply because safaris are the best. Nothing is better than seeing wild animals that close. Steve, my uncle, had planned for us to be guided through the park by a tour guide so we went to a spot where we could meet him. The spot we went to just so happened to be a little resort that was in this rural area that had beautiful huts and a pool. The receptionist told us we could go and spend some time out by the pool while we waited for our guide to arrive. So, of course, we did. It was around 90 degrees on Saturday too, so the pool was very appealing. Once our tour guide arrived we piled into his van and sped off towards Addo. I'd say 5 minutes into our drive we had already spotted two lions, how cool! From there we spotted warthogs, jackal, dung beetle, tortoise, buffalo, ostrich, wildebeest, zebra, springbok, kudu, and mongoose. Considering it was so hot, we drove down to a watering hole where we thought some elephants and other animals would be. We were smart to do so because we practically pulled up to a Republican convention, if you get what I am saying. There had to have been 60 or so elephants by the watering hole, some even in the water soaking themselves. They all started passing the van and would come within a few feet of it. The kids were loving it! I couldn't believe that there were so many. Once we had seen all of these animals it was getting close to park close so we headed towards the exit. While driving towards the exit, we could see rain in the distance which created a bright rainbow. A nice touch to end the day. On the way back to our car some of us even saw a giraffe grazing on some brush. We arrived back at the car, piled in and headed back towards P.E. We filled up the rental car, returned it and then went to Angelo's (African/Italian restaurant) where we had a nice dinner and chit chatted about the day. We then headed back to our rooms and crashed because even though it was so much fun, it was also a very long day.

Rainbow

On Sunday morning, we met up for breakfast and made our way down to the beach to swim around. The kids wanted to try their hand at surfing too so I helped them try out my surf board. It was a lot of fun to just relax on the beach with all of them. Made me feel like I was on vacation as well. We were also able to hit up the local market that goes on near the beach. From there, it was about time for the Wade's to catch their train ride to Johannesburg where they were going to catch a flight to New York. I said goodbye and then watched them drive off. What a wonderful weekend with the family!

It's funny that I was able to see my relatives exactly on the half-way point of my trip. Right in
between, a nice time to see them. So that means half of my study abroad is over which blows my mind but it also means there are still many more fun excursion and weekends ahead. Cape Town is next week so the entire group is excited. So, another great weekend and experience under the belt.

The Wade's

Week in Review, "No Future Without Forgiveness", and The Wade's!

One more week till Cape Town woot woot! I remember back to when I would go on Facebook and see other's pictures of their study abroad trips. One thing I remember seeing is people bungee jumping. South Africa is home to the world's highest bridge bungee and now I am one week away from doing it myself! Can't believe that all of these things that I use to just imagine are now happening. Besides bungee jumping we will also be touring Robben Island which is where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 27 years, Climbing Table Mountain (One of the New 7 Wonders of the World), touring museums, meeting with a member of parliament, and staying overnight in a township. So many fun and amazing experiences packed into one week. You could say this is going to be the best Spring Break ever!

This past week was nice because I was able to finish up a lot of my projects and tests that were standing in my way of Spring Break. Now it will be a nice coast into Spring Break. Hopefully with some of the down time I have this coming week I will be able to get ahead on some of the homework that is due after break. We will see, though ha. 

Classes this week went well. I think we get to take a field trip next week for music which will be fun, especially after our test last week. In Political Science, we formed three mock parties and ran for election. I thought this was a good exercise that gave us a good feel for the multi-party system. It was also nice to do something other than just lecture for three hours. Yes, our classes are three hours. Once a week, but still. 

In Peace Studies, we looked at two theories surrounding human rights. Interesting to see what sociologists have to say about them. In Seminar, we reflected on Archbishop Tutu's book "No Future Without Forgiveness" which led to a good discussion. The book talks about the TRC and how South Africa addressed the crimes and problems Apartheid had created. It looked at how South Africa was able to move forward even though their past had so much pain and suffering. It also gave some detailed descriptions of some of the crimes that were committed. I'll be honest, I didn't know that some of the horrible acts even happened. We usually talk about the Nazi regime, Holocaust, and the Nuremberg Trials when we think or discuss crimes against humanity. This would make sense because they were exactly that, however, we know more about those because they had the world stage and were in the public's eye. Learning about what happened down here makes you think what else is going on that we don't see or hear about.

Side Note: Today, March 21st, is Human Rights Day in South Africa. A public holiday commemorating the Sharpeville Massacre and to bring attention to human rights. Wonderful holiday, I think.
Also, ran into another Lakeville kid while out last night. Crazy how small our world is. She attends Saint Cloud State University and is studying abroad here too. 

This weekend some of my relatives are visiting! The Wade's (my Mom's sister, her husband, and 4 kids) are flying into Port Elizabeth around 5PM tonight from Cape Town. They spent a week there and will spend two  days here with me. We will go out for dinner tonight and then check out Addo Elephant National Park tomorrow. They will love it. It will be great to see them and to share a little bit of South Africa with them.

Weekend, President Jacob Zuma, and More...

I wasn't sure what I was going to be doing at the beginning of the weekend but I was hoping to go to Plettenberg Bay with a few others. However, the rental car was already full and so I decided to stay back and just surf and try to plan a scuba dive.

Cowabunga, dude!

On Friday, most of us hung out and just relaxed. I have made a few friends here and one is named Simba. Yes, Simba. He is from Zimbabwe. So he, Sam, and I went out and got some fish and chips for dinner and then met some of the girls from our group for a late night game of mini golf. I love mini golf! After, some of us headed out into town. 

On Saturday, Maddie and I both went out and surfed. The water was a little chilly but with the hot sun it became perfect. The waves were great and there was a ton of surfers out.  I can now officially
say "dude" now that I am a surfer ha! Even though I said it a lot already. I love surfing and it's so cool to finally be able to go and hang with everyone in the water. I got up and surfed a pretty big wave which was super exciting. 

When you see a wave you must start paddling and then when you hit it, it propels you down really quickly and you have to pop up fast so you can get your feet planted on the board before the wave crashes over. It seriously is loads of fun and a pretty good work out considering you are paddling all over the place. The only frightening part is when there are surfers out farther than you and they catch the wave and you are in there surf line. Meaning that they are coming directly for you. It happened once but luckily we both were able to dive out of the way. 

So we surfed for a long while and then decided to head back and see what everyone else was up to. When we got back I happened to go on Facebook and see that NMMU had posted something about the South African president, Jacob Zuma, coming to speak on campus. It is election year here (election is May 7th) and so he is campaigning to be reelected. When I saw the post, I freaked out and immediately changed and went out the door. Maddie wanted to come so we both hopped a kombi  (taxi) and rode to school. We both found it very funny that the president was coming to speak and the university was just letting people know a few hours in advance. Very African like ha, laid back and taking their time with alerting people. All I know is if President Obama was coming to speak at CSB/SJU we would know a few months in advance!

Anyways, we were lucky to see the post and were happy to make it right on time. When we arrived on campus, the students and members of the ANC (African National Congress) were having a rally

Maddie and  I with our ANC shirts on!

and singing and doing lots of cheers. Jacob Zuma is a part of the ANC party. So the atmosphere was lively and exciting. Maddie and I ran into a few SCSU students who are also studying down here. We talked to them and a few people from Europe before the doors opened. Once they did, we all poured into the auditorium after going through security scanners/metal detectors.  We happened to be one of the first people in so we got great seats in the fifth row. The auditorium became extremely loud and jam packed even though most students had just learned about his speech. When we were all in the auditorium, some ANC supporters came by and started throwing "Vote ANC" shirts into the crowd. Both Maddie and I grabbed one. We practically became celebrities after putting them on too. I guess there is something about two white American kids wearing ANC t-shirts in the middle of the party's rally that makes them love us. It was super fun to be in the middle of everyone, a great cultural experience.

After about an hour of parading around the auditorium singing multiple chants, the president entered. He walked by only 10 feet from Maddie and I. We were so close to the South African President! He was dressed very casual, unlike how our president would be, however, the security was similar. Fairly certain the entire police force was there along with multiple soldiers and ambulances.

Zuma got up and gave about an hour long speech on how he and the ANC had been doing good work

for South Africa and how they have improved health care, the economy, education, housing, employment, and equality among people and will continue to improve them if reelected in May. He didn't touch on how they would improve them, he just said they would. 

It was interesting to hear another president speak and talk about foreign countries like the USA. Being from the US, this speech made the world much smaller because it seemed as if everything became so tangible and real - like being so close to the South African president. It's a neat feeling, I liked it. 

South African President, Jacob Zuma

Once the speech was done, President Zuma became very much a politician (a charmer) by standing up and singing chants with the crowd and winning everyone over through excitement and enthusiasm. I loved being there and experiencing this because I think the ANC is great, however, there is some unrest with Zuma as president so it was hard to completely give into the chants. If Mandela was still the leader, we would have been going crazy! In South Africa, you vote for a party and that party elects the president. So tons love the ANC (which is why they were cheering and singing) but they don't all love Jacob Zuma. He has done some things that you wouldn't want your president to do. So it will be interesting to see if the ANC wins this election and whether or not they elect Zuma for a second term (each term is 5 years). 

Maddie and I left about 5 minutes before President Zuma did so we could get out before the crowd. We were walking down the road when we heard the sirens of police cars turn on and were able to watch the presidents caravan stroll on by. Tons of police cars, ambulances, and of course, the president's jet black and tinted car. 

It was such a great experience. I was bummed before because I couldn't go to Plettenberg Bay, but now I am happy I didn't. This was a much cooler experience and it related perfectly with what I have been learning in my political science class. Pretty sweet. 

The President's caravan

Side note: On the way home, there were multiple cars that passed and honked because of our ANC shirts ha. They got a kick out of those. Also, we passed a few friends of ours that we have made since we arrived. It's great having people wave and yell your name out their window as they drive by considering we have only been here for a month. Making connections around the world! Also, there are so many foreigners here because it is a very diverse campus. I have made friends from just about every European country (lots from Holland, Germany, the UK, and Ireland), South Africans, other Americans, and people from Zimbabwe, Mexico, and China. It's one thing I love about study abroad.

In other news, I have been talking with Pro Dive which is the scuba diving center here in P.E. Hoping I can get out in the water and go diving with them soon. I think that would be so much fun. 

This coming weekend my Aunt, Uncle, and their 4 kids will be visiting. They are taking a family vacation to Cape Town, flying to P.E. to see me on Friday and Saturday, and then going to Johannesburg by train and leaving from there. I am excited to see some familiar faces and to show them around!

Weekend, Oscar Pistorius, and Spring Break In Sight!

Another school week down and another weekend ahead. Not quite sure what I am going to be doing yet but there was some talk about scuba diving. I would love to go diving whether it's this weekend or one down the road. If that doesn't happen I'm sure we will figure something out.

It's been a busy week for all of us considering we had our papers to crank out and turn in. It's funny seeing how 30 college kids do their work. Some get stuff done ahead of time and right away, some do it in small parts, and then there's the ones that are typing it all out the night before. Fairly certain everyone finished it, though, so they all work.

On Tuesday, I finally presented my project on the South African and United States electoral systems. It was put off by a week. I thought it went well and now I know a lot more about how we elect people so that's a plus. I guess that was the point of the project, though. Ha! It feels good to have it out of the way. 

In peace studies we discussed the principles (indivisible, universal, incontrovertible, inalienable, etc.) that surround and help define what human rights are and how complex and complicated they can get when dealing with the law. For example, the Oscar Pistorius case is gaining speed and it is the thing to be watching down here. This is the amputee Olympian from South Africa who murder his girlfriend and then said he thought that she was an intruder coming into his home. Whatever, dude. If you didn't like her all you had to do was break up with her. Unreal. Anyways, sorry for the tangent - back to my point. The judge ordered that journalists could not use social media, print, or TV to inform the public of the details of her death. The debate is that he is limiting freedom of speech, but then he countered saying that the deceased and family have a right to privacy. So, are certain human rights more important than others? One human right isn't supposed to have preference over another.So, that's the question and problem we were getting at. Pretty interesting.

We watched a documentary on the TRC in seminar today. The TRC, Truth and Reconciliation Committee, was set up after Apartheid to bring out the truth about crimes against humanity. The TRC allowed for victims and their families to hear what happened and for perpetrators to apply for amnesty, a pardon. The world was stunned at how South Africa was able to forgive. Not all, but many perpetrators were granted amnesty by the victims families so that they could move on and live their lives. A major case was about Amy Beihl. Amy was a U.S. student who also was an anti-apartheid activist. She got caught up in a riot in 1993 and was killed because she was white. They wanted to send a message to the oppressors (whites). Unfortunately, they attacked the wrong person while doing so. The parents were able to forgive the young man who committed the crime. I find this amazing because I am not quite sure how I would react if I was in their situation. Ours and the worlds justice system is more of a punishment system, for obvious reasons. However, I find it very intriguing to see this side of it, amnesty and all. It's great but tends to be hard to grasp because were so used to the punishment system. I think setting up the TRC was a very good idea that succeeded for South Africa.

Little side note: Ordered a hamburger and fries the other day and the waitress responds saying they don't have any of those. Just beef burgers and chips. Come to think of it, she's right. It is beef. Thought that was kind of funny. Interesting to see how countries and different parts of the world do things differently. Especially in what they say and call things.

Other than discussing fun topics in class and typing that paper things are going smoothly. There was some rain yesterday but the sun is back today. Nice 72 degrees. The South Africans are getting worried that winter is coming. Us Minnesotans just laugh under our breath. I'd take this any day over our -30 winters.

Looks like there's just a test and one more presentation over the next two weeks before spring break (or is it fall break?) Vacation spot = Cape Town!!! So awesome. Can't complain, life is good. Very excited for that week because I hear there is lots to do there. Should be a blast!

A month in and a hike in...HOGSBACK!

Been away from my computer for a bit so couldn't get this post out till now.

Catching some waves

I'm going to skip on the school week considering it's about the same for classes. Homework is starting to roll in so that's no fun, but when is it?

On to the fun stuff:

Wednesday was Ash Wednesday so in honor of that a small group of us decided to have Praise on the Roof. At CSB/SJU there is Praise in the Pub on Wednesdays so we wanted to do something similar. We gathered on the roof of Langerry to sing songs and give a little praise to God. It was a clear night so the stars were all out which gave it a great touch.

On Thursday, I got out and surfed for the first time ever. So fun! I am into all the extreme sports so this was right up my alley. I skateboard, snowboard, and now have picked up surfboarding. It is very much a waiting and balance game. You have to wait for the perfect wave that will give you enough force to push you forward and allow you time to get on the board. You also need good balance (just like in any sport that requires you to stay on a board) to keep you on the board while the water knocks you around. I thought I did pretty good for my first time, but hope to hit some bigger waves the next time I get out.

Hogsback

This past week a few of the guys and I had planned to backpack and hike and started getting everything set up. Unfortunately, the day before we were to set out most of them bailed and decided to spend the weekend in Port Elizabeth. So lame. I love P.E. and can understand staying in a few weekends but I want to get out and explore South Africa. How is that supposed to happen when
sitting on your underside on your free days? Exactly.

So, my buddy Sam and I decided that we still wanted to go and to get some others to go with us. We talked to some friends and found that Erin and Ashleigh had wanted to go hiking too. So it was back on!

Terra-Khaya lounge through the fog

On Friday, we rented a car, packed our gear, and headed out to Hogsback. Hogsback is a wonderful place to go hiking and camping. It is about 3 and a half hours away from P.E. and rests in the Amathole Mountains. We arrived in the evening on Friday and found a spot to stay at a place called Terra-Khaya. A very cool place and definitely more of an outdoor stay (hippie-ish). We set up our tents and then met the owners who run Terra-Khaya. They invited us into their lounger/lobby area that was also the kitchen. It was covered but completely open from the side. The fog that had been climbing up the mountain side started to come right into the room. A nice atmosphere but something I had never experienced. They started a braai (South African Bar-B-Que) for us and we had roasted vegetables, slices of beef, mushrooms, bread, and tea. Most of which game from their garden or the forest. After dinner we decided to head to bed. It was a little misty with all of the fog but a comfortable temperature. In the morning we grabbed some tea and porridge that they had made for us. It was oats and apples with cinnamon... I think. Ha it was good and free so I wasn't about to complain. It all goes down the hatch the same way.

Madonna and Child Falls

From there we decided to get our day going so we left and found a nice hiking trail by a place called Away With The Fairies. We parked our car and headed off for Madonna and Child Falls. It was a nice, cool, and foggy day but I was fine with it. It kept the bugs away and the baboons that liked swinging from tree to tree up at the top of the canopy. The waterfall was fairly deep into the forest/mountain so it took us about two and half hours to reach it. Along the way, there were multiple viewpoints that allowed you to look out and capture the beauty of the mountain range and the valleys it creates. The oldest tree in South Africa also lives along this trail so we were able to check that out too. It's called Big Tree, very original. When we reached Madonna and Child falls it stunned us. We could hear it but it kind of pops up out of nowhere and then BAM. I have never been this close to such a big waterfall so I loved it! The mist rising off of the falling water was nice and helped cool us down. 

Who wouldn't grab a selfie with
the oldest tree in South Africa?

After we had explored the falls we worked our way up a part of the mountain side until we found a nice spot to rest and eat lunch. We also picked and ate some blackberries that were growing near by. We then worked our way back to the spot where we had parked our car and decided to call it a day. It was pretty foggy so we had gotten a little chilly and damp. We stopped into Away With The Fairies and order some pizzas and beers. We talked for awhile and warmed up by the fire. We decided to hit the hay after because we were pretty beat from all of the hiking. 

We camped out under some trees because we heard it was supposed to rain. Good thing we did and had also put on our rain covers because it came down all night. We woke early Sunday morning so we could check out and hit the road back to P.E. The car needed to be returned and homework awaited us. This weekend was definitely a success and I am very glad that I was able to get out and explore more. Also, hiking around Hogsback with people I barely had known before this trip was very cool. Travelling in a small group allowed us to learn a lot about one another. 

Crossing a small river with the group

Side Note:

It has been over a month since I arrived in South Africa. I can't believe it has already been that long and that a fourth of my study abroad is over. However, it has been amazing thus far and will continue to be that way up until I land back in the U.S.

Today I hope to Skype some friends (Miah, Tim, Thomas, Jon) and hopefully the parents. Daylight Savings Time helps with moving us an hour closer. South Africa doesn't participate in Daylight Savings. Other than that I will be busy typing up a paper on Nelson Mandela. Great man but this whole paper typing thing... not so much ha.

South African Frontier

Well, if you were wondering where the most beautiful place in the world is it's in the frontier of South Africa. What an incredible weekend. I find myself saying that every time I come back from an excursion but it's true. The excursions are a ton of fun and they utilize our time very well. They get in a lot of experiences in a small amount of time which is great.

One of the farm houses we stayed at

On Friday, we departed early in the morning and headed out of Port Elizabeth. After a 3 to 4 hour car ride that winded through and climbed high into the Great Winterberg mountain range we finally made it to the two farm houses that we were going to be staying at for the weekend. The two families
hosting us were parents that had lived on the farms ever since they were very little. They were most likely in their 50's or 60's. The group was split into two groups and then from there the boys were sent to stay out in the guesthouse and the girls in the house. The houses were unbelievable. One thing that this program does well is it shows us both sides of the economic/financial spectrum. We volunteer and see the poor side often and this past weekend we experienced the very nice and wealthy side. Two opposite worlds. 

Waterfall fun with the group!

The farms are positioned in one of the valleys of the Great Winterberg mountain range. This specific valley had a population of 45 people. So the two farms we stayed at had a lot of acres. Also, when you are high in the mountains it is much cooler than down in the town. Very nice to have a cooler weekend. It was neat to be staying in a place where all you saw when you looked up were large sides of mountains. Out of all the mountains in the world I'm sure these wouldn't compete, but the highest peak here was the third highest in South Africa.

When we arrived on Friday they immediately fed us lunch and then told us to get our swimsuits on.They piled us into the back of two trucks and drove us down to a waterfall. We climbed down the rocks and then jumped into the water and swam underneath the waterfall. This was so much fun! We spent about an hour just messing around and hanging out in the water before we headed back. On the way back we stopped for a brief second to feed an Eland, which is a type of antelope that is found in Africa. The farmers we were staying with not only farmed cattle but also game. So they had a lot of interesting and fun animals on their farmland. After, we were brought to the milking station and were given the chance to milk a cow. We were also the taste-testers. This is about as organic as you can get...straight from the utter. I think the farmer got a kick out of spraying it at all of us. 

Sheering a sheep

Saturday brought multiple adventures. Right off the bat they had us piled into the trucks and sent off the the other farm house where they raised sheep. They grabbed one of the sheep so we could all try sheering it's coat off. When sheering the coat (wool) you have to get very close to the skin and then cut. I had a lot of fun doing it but was worried I was going to cut the sheep. None of us did, though.

Once we sheered sheep we drove up a side of one of the mountains and then were let out so we could climb the rest. A few of us made a dash for the top and Jake, Jared, and I topped it first. What a work-out. From the peak we could see the entire range and valley where we were staying. Being on top of a mountain is incredible! The entire group had a lot of fun up there and we were able to spend time just taking it all in. Once we were ready to go we walked back down and headed back. However, before we went back to the farm we stopped at a spring which had a small waterfall and ate lunch. We had kudu hot dogs and apples. Some of us guys then went for a dip under the waterfall. The water was so fresh you could drink directly from it which was fun to try. Once we got back to the farm we were given a chance to shoot a rifle. I have shot before but it was still fun to do. We all got a round off and then headed inside for dinner. That night we explored the backyard a bit and found a swimming pool, tennis court, and a large space for games. So we tried it all and then ended up playing a big game of capture the flag. Brought us all back to summer nights when we were ten and would run around. 

Getting in a little gun practice

Sunday (today) we woke and ate a nice breakfast before being driven down to a third waterfall. This one was by far the coolest, though. We had to hike about a mile and then swim a bit to get to it. The water had carved through a bunch of rocks over hundreds of years and made a small canyon. It was on the farmers land so we were lucky to be able to go to this secluded spot. We swam through the canyon where the rock walls rose about 40 feet above us. We all took our chances at fighting the current of the waterfall so we could get closer to it. Many of us made it back by it but it was tricky. Lots of clinging to the rocks for support but that made it all the more fun. Once we swam and jumped many times we headed back and said our goodbyes. We then made the 3 to 4 hour trek back to P.E.

Extremely fun experience. The quiet, cool, and beautiful setting of the mountains made us all want to stay. This has been the most African-like setting we have been in so far so I truly feel like I am getting a feel for it all which is fantastic!

Admiring God's work