Hello Everyone,
Alright so i have been really bad at blogging in this past month- mostly due to too many late nights, too many early mornings and mostly just too much fun.
My last month was incredibly busy with work, outings, trying to fit in all those last things we hadn't done and many social events. We really had a terrific time and completely ditched all the "responsible" guidelines we had set out for ourselves at the beginning concerning money and going out. There really are too many good memories to mention- you will all just have to talk to me and see the pictures.
Luckily goodbyes were made slightly easier by the arrival of Mum, Dad and as a surprise GEOFF! ! I picked them up the last Wednesday of term and after waiting ages for mum and dad to finally come through was slightly annoyed that mum needed to use the bathroom. After finding it I turned around to find Geoff standing there which was a COMPLETE surprise (mum was only using the bathroom to try to slow me down since i practically had them at the parking lot before he came out.) It was really awesome to be all together again- and we spent many hours chatting which made for a slightly painful next day.
I am writing this post on my very last day in cape town which is very bittersweet. I had probably the best six months of my life and an absolutely fantastic visit with the family but I guess all good things have to come to an end and i do have to get back to real life. I promise to properly update the blog on our family travels- which include some pretty amazing animal sightings and some funny landlord stories- when i get home. Also have some very fancy pictures that dad took to put up. Keep checking- We arrive back tuesday night and i will try to update within the week. Otherwise come over- i have about 1000 pictures to show off!
Thanks for following.
xx Heather
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
The Last Month Begins :(
More pictures of come ASAP :)
+076.jpg)
On Signal Hill, Town in the background
Hair Dying experience. Figure 1- FEAR (after it has already been put in.) Figure 2- No noticable change whatsoever.
+069.jpg)
Dinner in the GAP wing... an awful picture of everyone except Sonia.
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Arcade Games at Grand West- This was a favourite.
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Skating at Grand West
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Camp's Bay side
The only picture I have of me in my surgery mask- the one of me in scrubs is on my phone and i can't figure out how to download it.
+076.jpg)
On Signal Hill, Town in the background
Hair Dying experience. Figure 1- FEAR (after it has already been put in.) Figure 2- No noticable change whatsoever.+069.jpg)
Dinner in the GAP wing... an awful picture of everyone except Sonia.+067.jpg)
Arcade Games at Grand West- This was a favourite.+061.jpg)
Skating at Grand West+053.jpg)
Camp's Bay side
The only picture I have of me in my surgery mask- the one of me in scrubs is on my phone and i can't figure out how to download it.Hello Everyone,
Back again for one of my last blog posts I think… hard to believe it is only 21 days till Mum and Dad get here and only 23 days of work left! I will probably write once more before the end of term and also put up pictures when I get home of the family travels.
Things have been crazy busy here since I last wrote- now that we are getting down to the wire we manage to keep everyday full of stuff and there really isn’t much down time for things like blog writing or university applications. The peace march we attended the night I wrote on the blog last was pretty amazing. It was in front of city hall here in Cape Town and it ended up that all the streets had to be closed down since so many people were there. It was nice because it really was a peace march and luckily didn’t become violent. Lots of singing and dancing and holding hands and posters. I took some pictures with my phone which I am trying to download- but some of my favourite signs were: “Hey my homeboy Zumer, (SA president) Why aren’t you home?” (He has fled the country since the attacks) and “Zenophobia- a little more ZEN a little less PHOBIA”. All the St Cyps girls were there holding up there signs and dancing- and as teachers we were all able to join in with them. Since then the protest the attacks have spread further into CT- some of the boarders have been threatened at the local mall and all of our security guards have pretty much lost everything. Luckily the school community has been amazing- many of the girls’ families have refugees living with them, loads of things are donated every day and the library is full of bags of stuff for the guards. I think pretty much everyone has been to volunteer at some of the refugee camps- delivering stuff, serving food or playing with the children. The bishops boys have been spending time at refugee camps making resumes for the people there to help them find work. It is unbelievably sad to see a country that has already been so traumatized stoop again to violence and racism but it is also incredibly hopeful since so many people are coming together and standing against it. It is truly a once in a lifetime experience for us to be here at this time and being able to do our bit to stop it.
The rest of the weekend was much less sobering and so much fun. Friday we went out with some friends for drinks at one of their apartments and then out to Claremont for “tie night” (wear a tie and you get in free!). Saturday we rolled out of bed bright and early and decided to do our epic day of walking from school to Camps Bay (about 1 ½ hours) then from Camp’s to Waterfront (2 ½ hours) and then Waterfront to school (1 ½ hours)- the things we will do to save on cab fare. Luckily we made a nice day of it by stopping for lunch at Camp’s bay and of course ice cream and then stopping at waterfront for a relaxing read and a drink at this new Starbucks-ish coffee shop we have discovered. Also marina and I have taken to reading books aloud to each other so we sat on the pier and read the riveting novel- The domestic goddess. The whole expedition took us from 10am- 5:45pm but it was a beautiful day and allowed for much chat and beautiful scenery. There are not many opportunities in my lifetime where I can stroll along the ocean for the day. Sunday we went to the Casino with two teachers from school. It is pretty much the coolest place I have ever seen, complete with casino, skating rink, arcade games, a million restaurants and a bowling alley. We skated for a couple hours (the first time I haven’t worn hockey skates since about the age of 5) which was excellent fun, especially when the “disco” started. Also marina and I made up some really cool moves, if not a little dangerous. Afterwards we played some arcade games and grabbed something to eat at the South African famous “Wimpie’s” (weird name for a burger place I think!) Luckily we didn’t get too involved with the casino part although those slot machines looked very tempting and I have actually become quite good at poker during my time here so I think I could have made some decent money.
This past week at school I have been teaching in the grade 4 classes instead of doing admin work in the prep school. It has been loads of fun- I especially enjoy taking math and English lessons although I don’t know if I would actually consider taking up teaching as a profession. One of my favourite parts (this sounds quite power trip-ish) is at the end of the lesson when they have to curtsey to the teacher they say “Good morning and Thank you Miss Heather” haha gives me a kick each time. I also take great pleasure in marking since the teachers believe the girls are too “sensitive” to get Xs but I always forget so they love getting their work back from me with giant Xs all over the pages instead of the customary dots. Also we have two more netball/hockey tours coming up so the Sports department has been rushing around trying to get that organized. Too add to everything the senior school is now in exams so Marina and I have been helping the Matrics study at night plus it was parents teacher interviews for the prep school so we have also been doing a lot of after school prep duties which are the most exhausting things ever.
Last week we also hosted a dinner party in the GAP wing for a bunch of the sports department/ science teachers. (No boys of course!) It was great fun trying to improve the GAP wing enough for company although it is official that one couch MUST have been put into the room before it was built because it is literally impossible to move out (either that or extremely logical and we were just incapable of figuring it out.) We made delicious pasta and teachers brought dessert and wine and garlic bread. It is good fun to all get together- especially to hear everything from the inside sources! This week we are going to Sarie’s house for thai green curry- yum!
This past weekend was quite hectic- Friday we went to Bishops and we all played a giant game of pig out which is hilarious. Also Marina and I attempted to highlight our hair which we decided was like Russian roulette. Funny enough both of us seemed to have blanks since there is no apparent difference. Saturday we walked up to signal hill- another slightly cross-country experience, but the view from the top is amazing. Then we went out for lunch at this popular vegetarian restaurant where I discovered rice wraps! Next we made the mistake of going to a market where we fell in love with everything and managed to buy quite a few scarves/ items of clothing/ ki kois- a trip to the ATM was involved.
That night we were working at Jenn’s bother’s benefit dinner (to raise money for a sugery he needs since he has Parkinson’s disease.) it was hosted by dish- an absolutely amazing catering company and the theme was black and white with a touch of madness which was good fun. We had a fantastic time, the food was amazing, the wait staff was very cute and I think it can be considered a good bonding experience with the St Cyps staff.
Sunday we walked down to another market at waterfront which is giant and only open on Sundays. We also managed to do some damage there but luckily it was for other people instead of ourselves. Then we wandered over to waterfront so see the new sex and the city movie- awesome costumes but weak story line. That night George took us all out to this fancy bar in the Mount Nelson Hotel (where Paris Hilton stayed in CT) that his cousin designed. It was hilarious to get all dressed up and go to this super pretentious bar with the wealthiest tourists in South Africa but there was a huge group of us so it ended up being really fun. Also a new girlfriend was introduced to the group so the rest of us were able to make things funny and awkward.
This is the week for birthdays- Feroza on Thursday, Sarie on Friday and Tam on Saturday. Tonight we are meeting up with the bishops crew in town, tomorrow we are going out for a big thai dinner with everyone to celebrate Sarie’s BIG birthday and Saturday we are heading to Tam’s for a night of wine and cranium! We are also hiking Lion’s head with everyone one day and seeing the movie Prince Caspian at some point (we just watched Narnia last night and are eager to see the next one!) Next week we have tons of big stuff happening including COUNTING CROWS CONCERT with a huge gang of people and our friend Matt’s 21st birthday which will be taking us to Stellenbosch again.
Unfortunately I have been quite ill lately and not too sure why. After needing to call the boarding matron at 4 in the morning we nearly went to the hospital because of an appendicitis scare but I am feeling slightly better and just ate some soup so hopefully it will be uphill from here. Luckily I have lots of mums here that take care of me including visits from Jenn, all the boarding matrons, Trilby and of course Marina. I don’t have any spare time to feel sick so hopefully it passes quickly!
Tons of exciting things coming up- including Mum and Dad’s visit- I mapped it out last night and we are going to be quite busy. Wine tour has been booked, Game Park is all organized and many activities lined up.
Love to all,
Heather
Back again for one of my last blog posts I think… hard to believe it is only 21 days till Mum and Dad get here and only 23 days of work left! I will probably write once more before the end of term and also put up pictures when I get home of the family travels.
Things have been crazy busy here since I last wrote- now that we are getting down to the wire we manage to keep everyday full of stuff and there really isn’t much down time for things like blog writing or university applications. The peace march we attended the night I wrote on the blog last was pretty amazing. It was in front of city hall here in Cape Town and it ended up that all the streets had to be closed down since so many people were there. It was nice because it really was a peace march and luckily didn’t become violent. Lots of singing and dancing and holding hands and posters. I took some pictures with my phone which I am trying to download- but some of my favourite signs were: “Hey my homeboy Zumer, (SA president) Why aren’t you home?” (He has fled the country since the attacks) and “Zenophobia- a little more ZEN a little less PHOBIA”. All the St Cyps girls were there holding up there signs and dancing- and as teachers we were all able to join in with them. Since then the protest the attacks have spread further into CT- some of the boarders have been threatened at the local mall and all of our security guards have pretty much lost everything. Luckily the school community has been amazing- many of the girls’ families have refugees living with them, loads of things are donated every day and the library is full of bags of stuff for the guards. I think pretty much everyone has been to volunteer at some of the refugee camps- delivering stuff, serving food or playing with the children. The bishops boys have been spending time at refugee camps making resumes for the people there to help them find work. It is unbelievably sad to see a country that has already been so traumatized stoop again to violence and racism but it is also incredibly hopeful since so many people are coming together and standing against it. It is truly a once in a lifetime experience for us to be here at this time and being able to do our bit to stop it.
The rest of the weekend was much less sobering and so much fun. Friday we went out with some friends for drinks at one of their apartments and then out to Claremont for “tie night” (wear a tie and you get in free!). Saturday we rolled out of bed bright and early and decided to do our epic day of walking from school to Camps Bay (about 1 ½ hours) then from Camp’s to Waterfront (2 ½ hours) and then Waterfront to school (1 ½ hours)- the things we will do to save on cab fare. Luckily we made a nice day of it by stopping for lunch at Camp’s bay and of course ice cream and then stopping at waterfront for a relaxing read and a drink at this new Starbucks-ish coffee shop we have discovered. Also marina and I have taken to reading books aloud to each other so we sat on the pier and read the riveting novel- The domestic goddess. The whole expedition took us from 10am- 5:45pm but it was a beautiful day and allowed for much chat and beautiful scenery. There are not many opportunities in my lifetime where I can stroll along the ocean for the day. Sunday we went to the Casino with two teachers from school. It is pretty much the coolest place I have ever seen, complete with casino, skating rink, arcade games, a million restaurants and a bowling alley. We skated for a couple hours (the first time I haven’t worn hockey skates since about the age of 5) which was excellent fun, especially when the “disco” started. Also marina and I made up some really cool moves, if not a little dangerous. Afterwards we played some arcade games and grabbed something to eat at the South African famous “Wimpie’s” (weird name for a burger place I think!) Luckily we didn’t get too involved with the casino part although those slot machines looked very tempting and I have actually become quite good at poker during my time here so I think I could have made some decent money.
This past week at school I have been teaching in the grade 4 classes instead of doing admin work in the prep school. It has been loads of fun- I especially enjoy taking math and English lessons although I don’t know if I would actually consider taking up teaching as a profession. One of my favourite parts (this sounds quite power trip-ish) is at the end of the lesson when they have to curtsey to the teacher they say “Good morning and Thank you Miss Heather” haha gives me a kick each time. I also take great pleasure in marking since the teachers believe the girls are too “sensitive” to get Xs but I always forget so they love getting their work back from me with giant Xs all over the pages instead of the customary dots. Also we have two more netball/hockey tours coming up so the Sports department has been rushing around trying to get that organized. Too add to everything the senior school is now in exams so Marina and I have been helping the Matrics study at night plus it was parents teacher interviews for the prep school so we have also been doing a lot of after school prep duties which are the most exhausting things ever.
Last week we also hosted a dinner party in the GAP wing for a bunch of the sports department/ science teachers. (No boys of course!) It was great fun trying to improve the GAP wing enough for company although it is official that one couch MUST have been put into the room before it was built because it is literally impossible to move out (either that or extremely logical and we were just incapable of figuring it out.) We made delicious pasta and teachers brought dessert and wine and garlic bread. It is good fun to all get together- especially to hear everything from the inside sources! This week we are going to Sarie’s house for thai green curry- yum!
This past weekend was quite hectic- Friday we went to Bishops and we all played a giant game of pig out which is hilarious. Also Marina and I attempted to highlight our hair which we decided was like Russian roulette. Funny enough both of us seemed to have blanks since there is no apparent difference. Saturday we walked up to signal hill- another slightly cross-country experience, but the view from the top is amazing. Then we went out for lunch at this popular vegetarian restaurant where I discovered rice wraps! Next we made the mistake of going to a market where we fell in love with everything and managed to buy quite a few scarves/ items of clothing/ ki kois- a trip to the ATM was involved.
That night we were working at Jenn’s bother’s benefit dinner (to raise money for a sugery he needs since he has Parkinson’s disease.) it was hosted by dish- an absolutely amazing catering company and the theme was black and white with a touch of madness which was good fun. We had a fantastic time, the food was amazing, the wait staff was very cute and I think it can be considered a good bonding experience with the St Cyps staff.
Sunday we walked down to another market at waterfront which is giant and only open on Sundays. We also managed to do some damage there but luckily it was for other people instead of ourselves. Then we wandered over to waterfront so see the new sex and the city movie- awesome costumes but weak story line. That night George took us all out to this fancy bar in the Mount Nelson Hotel (where Paris Hilton stayed in CT) that his cousin designed. It was hilarious to get all dressed up and go to this super pretentious bar with the wealthiest tourists in South Africa but there was a huge group of us so it ended up being really fun. Also a new girlfriend was introduced to the group so the rest of us were able to make things funny and awkward.
This is the week for birthdays- Feroza on Thursday, Sarie on Friday and Tam on Saturday. Tonight we are meeting up with the bishops crew in town, tomorrow we are going out for a big thai dinner with everyone to celebrate Sarie’s BIG birthday and Saturday we are heading to Tam’s for a night of wine and cranium! We are also hiking Lion’s head with everyone one day and seeing the movie Prince Caspian at some point (we just watched Narnia last night and are eager to see the next one!) Next week we have tons of big stuff happening including COUNTING CROWS CONCERT with a huge gang of people and our friend Matt’s 21st birthday which will be taking us to Stellenbosch again.
Unfortunately I have been quite ill lately and not too sure why. After needing to call the boarding matron at 4 in the morning we nearly went to the hospital because of an appendicitis scare but I am feeling slightly better and just ate some soup so hopefully it will be uphill from here. Luckily I have lots of mums here that take care of me including visits from Jenn, all the boarding matrons, Trilby and of course Marina. I don’t have any spare time to feel sick so hopefully it passes quickly!
Tons of exciting things coming up- including Mum and Dad’s visit- I mapped it out last night and we are going to be quite busy. Wine tour has been booked, Game Park is all organized and many activities lined up.
Love to all,
Heather
Friday, May 23, 2008
The Rest of May
Amazing Africa Cake!+051.jpg)
My Group... Georgie, Anna, Cameron and Cathy.. haha love the hand on hip+042.jpg)
Gr1s at Aquarium+020.jpg)
Jellyfish... and Cameron+018.jpg)
Super Cool eel+017.jpg)
Cameron and Anna in the Nemo Tank (trying to coax a child out of there is pretty much impossible)+015.jpg)
Cameron and Lisa with Creepy Starfish+005.jpg)
Scary Belly Dancer at Mesopotamia
At the South Africa Museum
Wild Pointsetta??!! Crazy
Marina's Door, we spent one rainy afternoon decoratingHello again,
Happy Africa Day! (actually on the 25th but we are celebrating today at school). The school is incredibly decorated- each class drew an African country and decorated their door accordingly. Also in order to entice girls to bring in non-perishables to be donated they have set up a competition in the front of school where each class has to build a structure representing their country out of the food that they bring in. (Also all classes with over 100 items get a mufi day- big excitement!) Today at break we had singing, dancing and music in the quad along with all the girls dressed in African garb and the world famous cake of Africa made by the Mammas in the Kitchen.
I haven’t written since the return of holidays. It felt a little melodramatic to get back after traveling and have to re-settle in to work and routine. The week of birthdays was good- we went to dinner with a crowd for Kady’s birthday to a restaurant called Mesopotamia which was sort of Indian themed and involved a lot of cushions and low tables. The food was good but it was sort of overshadowed by the fear of having to dance with the belly dancer who started to roam around the room halfway through the evening. George’s birthday was also fun, although they are no attractive or appropriate pictures of us in our costumes that I am able to put up. They were pretty awesome I have to say though- we made our own shirts after a very hectic shopping trip around town in a desperate search for white tank tops. The weekend was also pretty low key, we went to this old fashion movie theater and saw Dan In Real Life- (warning, tear jerker!), found an awesome burger restaurant (very works-ish, minus the onion rings!) and had a nice night out at Bantry Bay with the boys. It has been raining like crazy lately so the outdoor activities have been rather limited.
The biggest excitement of last week was the Gr 1 outing to the aquarium which Marina and I went on. One of the highlights was being driven to the aquarium by grade 1 parents in their beautiful SUVs with flatscreen tvs etc etc. I was pretty much a BMW brigade with a few Mercedes and even a hummer. We each had a group to look after which is always harder than it sounds. They started off in a classroom where the kids were able to learn about and touch different sea animals (starfishes, sea anemones, crabs, sea pumpkins etc etc) luckily the kids were completely fearless about picking these things up so we didn’t have to touch the creepy starfish with octopus-like tentacles. It is also really interesting because Cape Town is in a bit of a unique situation since it is the meeting point between two oceans and therefore has 2 groups of very different fish. After our classroom time we were able to run (literally) around the aquarium and briefly look at all the displays. They have amazing jellyfish as well as all types of penguins and these amazing eels at the very front. I think we may have enjoyed it more than the children- a trip back is still in order.
Last week we also had the house plays which were absolutely hilarious. They were based on an English play surrounding Christmas and each house played a different act. The girls are all very talented especially a little gr 8 who won best actress. This past weekend we joined the sports department for dinner and went out all together on Friday night. Saturday Marina and I had a nice walk down to waterfront and watched the movie “What Happened In Vegas” (hilarious) and then had a fancy girl’s night out in Camps Bay. Sunday we had our museum day (because they were free) so we went to the South Africa Museum, The Planetarium and the South African National Gallery and got them all done in one go. They were cool but had many creepy statues which made you thankful that you didn’t get caught in there at night.
This week at work has been particularly busy since both the Hockey and Netball teams are going away on a tour this weekend so we have been racing around to get everything organized. Also I have started assisting in a Grade 4 class in the mornings which has been fun, getting very up on my 10 year old math!
Yesterday I had the coolest day ever since I was able to accompany a friend I have mad (through his daughter) in Cape Town into surgery. He is an anesthesiologist so I was able to come into the theater with him during the four surgeries he performed on Thursday morning. After visiting the patients we went into the scrub room where I got to change into full scrubs, including mask hat and booties. Then after being scrubbed down we went into the theater where I got to help prepare the anesthesia for the patients. They were all surgeries for women who were not able to be pregnant and the first three were done with a scope. One woman had growths in her uterus with the doctor removed and cauterized, the second was getting a full work up to try to find problems which allowed me to see pretty much everywhere inside her body including an ovarian bisection. The third had a septum in her uterus- pretty much a wall down the middle which wouldn’t allow eggs to grow happily so the surgeon cut it away in order to make it a proper shape. The fourth was by far the coolest. She has having her abdomen opened in order to remove growths from her uterine wall. Not only was I able to intubate her (the part where you stick a tube in their throat) with the help of Dr Uys of course but I was also able to stand less than half a meter away while they preformed the surgery. I got to see pretty much everything inside her abdomen including her uterus which they pulled out and took apart. I was pretty excited that I didn’t feel nauseous at all, I more wanted to get my hand in there too. However I was pretty happy I was wearing a mask since I think I stood with my mouth open the whole time.
Tonight we are heading to a peace march with school against the xenophobic attacks that are happening just outside of Joburg right now. (I am sure you have all seen it on tv and on the news) Don’t worry we are all fine, luckily it is happening mostly in the Joburg and Durban townships. But it is beginning to spread to the Cape Town townships so although we are safe in the city center that position could change. Also they are targeting mainly Zimbabweans which we have a lot of working at school. Hopefully the police will be able to get it under control and everyone will be fine, but from the sounds of it, it has been an underlying matter for years and will not be easily silenced. Luckily we are well protected at school and are not staying in Joburg right now.
The rest of our weekend really depends on weather. Tonight we are going out with some Stellenbosch friends and then tomorrow were are going to do our famous Camps to Waterfront walk as well as a stop at Sinnfull if weather permits. Sunday we are going with the sports department to the casino for some fun and ice skating which should be a laugh. I think I have a leg up on everybody in that department.
That’s all for now- got to get back for the last period of the week! Wahoo.
Xx Heather
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Mid Term Break: Knysna and Stellenbosch
Map of our travels+221.jpg)
Lemur!!+210.jpg)
Table Mountain Shaped Wine Bottle- ohh to be a tourist+185.jpg)
Our very own beach+168.jpg)
Roburg+162.jpg)
+158.jpg)
Plett Beach+157.jpg)
Adorable Kitten at Cat Sanctuary+140.jpg)
Marina Petting Chester+137.jpg)
Chester the Cheetah+120.jpg)
+103.jpg)
Knysna Heads and ocean+085.jpg)
+069.jpg)
The Knysna Lagoon (taken from the Knysna Head)+061.jpg)
Me walking with elephant+058.jpg)
Marina, Heather, Louise, Roxy and Chelsea with Elephant+039.jpg)
Marina and Chelsea walking with Elephants+018.jpg)
Great White Ape+008.jpg)
A favourite monkeyHello all diligent blog readers,
We are back at school after a fantastic school holiday. Today is the first real winter day here in Cape Town, really windy and rainy with a max temp of 15 degrees. We are all rugged up and luckily Derek’s package arrived yesterday so I was able to have a warm cup of hot chocolate this morning. I am also having a weird craving for flannelette sheets.
Luckily winter has only begun since we got home so we had a lovely week in Knysna complete with beautifully sunny days. We ended up leaving Friday morning rather the intended 11pm Thursday night departure. We were able to get a lift with Sean, a friend of Louise and Ryan’s (Marina’s family friends who were stayed with) who was also heading down for a visit. It was so nice to go in a car rather than the bus- not to mention he had a huge Kombi which allowed us 3 seats each. The trip also takes about 3 hours more in the bus so we got their much sooner and even had a nice stop at Steers for some excellent burgers and chips. We first visited their beautiful B&B called Elephant Hide. It is situated on top of a hill that overlooks the Knysna lagoon and has an infinity pool on the front deck which makes it look like your about to swim over the edge into the lagoon. We also had a tour of the rooms which were all beautiful with amazing views- huge, warm/comfy looking beds and giant bathtubs. That evening we headed to the Friday fair that is held at the kid’s school (Louise and Ryan have two little girls- Chelsea (age 6) and Roxy (age 3) both very sweet.) There were food stalls set up all around as well as play structures, some dodgy singer women and a bar. We had a nice evening meeting their friends, munching on pizza, pancakes and homemade doughnuts (yumm) and playing with the girls. That evening marina and I took advantage of their absolutely huge tv (with satellite- what luxury) and then headed to bed in Chelsea’s Barbie bunk bed room which she was generously lending us for the week.
On Saturday we went to Mugg and Bean with Ryan, Sean and the Girls for breakfast. We had delicious waffles (definitely not a breakfast options at St Cyps) and realized one of the best parts of eating with small children- there are always leftovers. That afternoon we accompanied Louise and the girls to a “Mad-Hatter” Birthday party for their friend. It was held at a performance of Alice In Wonderland and extremely well decorated for. There was food galore (including oysters) and the table was amazingly decorated. Once the play started the kids headed to the front so the adults were able to sit at the table and eat cucumber sandwiches and drink Pimm’s. We felt a little like “birthday crashers” sitting at the front singing “happy birthday dear mmgmmgmm” while eating cupcakes but luckily we were very helpful in the set up/clean up so the host was very appreciative. That night Louise and Ryan had a braai with a bunch of their friends so we were able to meet them and their kids and then head out for a night on the town. Very interesting partying with plus 30s- the music taste discrepancies were hilarious.
On Sunday we were able to have a day with Louise and the Girls since they were off both school and work. We drove to Monkeyland (not to be confused with Monkeytown in Cape Town) where African monkeys are kept in a giant nature reserve area and you are able to walk among them in the forests. Although our guide was very, very strange we did see some really cool monkeys- including a great white ape and many cappuccinos. My favourite was this great big grey monkey with glasses-like marks around his eyes and the black lemur who was so accustomed to people (he was formerly owned by people) that he walked over my foot. Next we headed to The Elephant Sanctuary where we were able to do the trunk-in-hand walk along with petting them and feeding them. All in all soo cool except you get loads of snot on your hand when they hold it with their trunk but the “elephant breathing on you” sensation is pretty awesome. For dinner the girls all hit up Spur- a kid oriented restaurant famous for low prices and good beef which Marina and I had on our list of things to do. They had a deal for practically a whole cow worth of ribs plus chips and onion rings for only R44.99 which Marina and Louise took advantage of.
Monday was a bit more of a quiet day- Marina and I walked into town and checked that out and then somehow managed to find the waterfront where we met up with a coworker of Louise and Ryan’s. He took us to the Knysna Heads- the two mountains (ish) that almost close off the Knysna Lagoon to the sea (20ish m gap in between). We (well.. I) took some amazing shots of the lagoon and the rocky areas around the heads not to mention the amazingly huge houses from the lookout area. Then we headed down to the coast where we hiked among some of the rocks and sat out and watched the sea. He also drove us around the Knysna area showing us different parts of the city. That afternoon we headed down to the cinema and watched Step Up 2 with all the of 12 year old Knysna population- pretty amazing film. For dinner we all met up at ocean basket (probably one of my favourite restaurants) for prawns and chips.
Tuesday after a sleep in (8:30 wahoo!) we headed to a wild cat farm just past plett. After an unsuccessful attempt to get in as students we got to go on a tour of all the wild cat areas. The first couple basically looked like regular house cats although they were wild African cats. We also saw some really cool spotty ones and ones with the cool ears. The last pen was of cheetahs. We were able to pat them and have them lick us. One genius on our tour even grabbed its tail… unfortunately it didn’t attack- scary to think he is going to the Kruger next. Afterwards we headed into Plett where we had lunch, visited the beach and then did a hike in Roburg which is a beautiful bit of land that juts out into the ocean. It was very pretty, especially with the mountain ranges in the distance and the beautiful beaches surrounding. We headed home and watched some excellent tv with the girls- including high school musical 2.
Wednesday morning we headed to George (biggest city around there) to do some shopping. Marina and I bough these beautiful coats (yes they are the same but hers is black and mine is red… “friendship coats” if you will). I has been looking for a coat ever since the temperature started to drop and it is really nice and classic and will be good for Canadian fall (and winter in england). That afternoon we headed out to a farm to go horse back riding- payback time. It was really nice since it was just the 2 of us and a guide (who LOVED marina and her horsewhisper-ness) so I didn’t make a fool out of myself in front of too many people. The walking through the forest part was fine. The trotting was quite painful. And then there was the cantering… the guide assured me that I would be fine since the horse would just follow the others and all I would have to do is hold on. Unfortunately the horses took it upon themselves to race on a small footpath suitable for one horse not three. Mine decided to take the undergrowth so I was being smacked into trees and bushes and screaming for dear life. The guide was trying to make the horse stop but was completely unsuccessful and I could hear marina laughing the whole time. Luckily we managed to get back on the path and I didn’t fall off (everyone was quite impressed) but needless to say my horse lost the race and I couldn’t sit down for a couple days.
Our last day was spent doing a hike to a waterfall in the Knysna forest. Afterwards we headed to Plett where we had a nice lunch and then a quick visit with Gail (from my Joburg visit) who has a house in Plett. We spent the late afternoon relaxing and has pizza with everyone after they returned from golfing.
Friday we hopped on the bus to Stellenbosch which was a pretty uneventful trip. When we arrived we were picked up by our co-worker Sonia and her brother Matt and taken to their parents beautiful house on a golf course in Stellenbosch. After dinner and a little wine sampling we headed out on the town and got to experience some of the Stellenbosch nightlife (pretty decent considering there is a huge university there).
Saturday morning we headed to a beautiful outdoor market with tons of free samples- including some killer brownies, pesto and pomegranate smoothies. We also took advantage of all the wine farms there doing their free samples and ended up buying a bottle and sitting out in the sun eating baguette and pesto. Next we headed to a couple other wine farms to do some tasting and finally to a store that sold wine for super reduced prices. We managed to do some damage there. That afternoon we had a great big nap, watched some rugby and had a terrific braai.
Sunday was raining like crazy so we hung around the house all morning and then went into town for an amazing pizza lunch. Then after doing some clean up for the return of the parents we headed back to school.
Now we are done our second day back and it has been a little difficult adjusting back. Sad to think our school holidays are over. Luckily we have a pretty good week. Today is both Kady and George’s birthday so we are headed out for dinner for Kady’s tonight and then tomorrow for George’s. Then on Friday we are heading out to town to celebrate George’s birthday- it is themed “P” so everyone has to dress up accordingly. I am being a pirate. Then this weekend we are heading up to the head of sport- Sarie’s cottage on the coast which is meant to be beautiful. Will take pictures. Kady also leaves next Wednesday- hard to believe its time- when I first arrived I remember thinking it was ages and ages away.
In other news- hotmail has recently been blocked so please e-mail me at my school account: hartleyh@stcyprians.co.za if you want to get it touch- it also does not work very well so it could take some time. I however did find a proxy so maybe send all e-mails to both accounts and then i will get it one way or another- Thanks!
Much love to everyone- Thank you for those who continue to comment!
Xx Heather
We are back at school after a fantastic school holiday. Today is the first real winter day here in Cape Town, really windy and rainy with a max temp of 15 degrees. We are all rugged up and luckily Derek’s package arrived yesterday so I was able to have a warm cup of hot chocolate this morning. I am also having a weird craving for flannelette sheets.
Luckily winter has only begun since we got home so we had a lovely week in Knysna complete with beautifully sunny days. We ended up leaving Friday morning rather the intended 11pm Thursday night departure. We were able to get a lift with Sean, a friend of Louise and Ryan’s (Marina’s family friends who were stayed with) who was also heading down for a visit. It was so nice to go in a car rather than the bus- not to mention he had a huge Kombi which allowed us 3 seats each. The trip also takes about 3 hours more in the bus so we got their much sooner and even had a nice stop at Steers for some excellent burgers and chips. We first visited their beautiful B&B called Elephant Hide. It is situated on top of a hill that overlooks the Knysna lagoon and has an infinity pool on the front deck which makes it look like your about to swim over the edge into the lagoon. We also had a tour of the rooms which were all beautiful with amazing views- huge, warm/comfy looking beds and giant bathtubs. That evening we headed to the Friday fair that is held at the kid’s school (Louise and Ryan have two little girls- Chelsea (age 6) and Roxy (age 3) both very sweet.) There were food stalls set up all around as well as play structures, some dodgy singer women and a bar. We had a nice evening meeting their friends, munching on pizza, pancakes and homemade doughnuts (yumm) and playing with the girls. That evening marina and I took advantage of their absolutely huge tv (with satellite- what luxury) and then headed to bed in Chelsea’s Barbie bunk bed room which she was generously lending us for the week.
On Saturday we went to Mugg and Bean with Ryan, Sean and the Girls for breakfast. We had delicious waffles (definitely not a breakfast options at St Cyps) and realized one of the best parts of eating with small children- there are always leftovers. That afternoon we accompanied Louise and the girls to a “Mad-Hatter” Birthday party for their friend. It was held at a performance of Alice In Wonderland and extremely well decorated for. There was food galore (including oysters) and the table was amazingly decorated. Once the play started the kids headed to the front so the adults were able to sit at the table and eat cucumber sandwiches and drink Pimm’s. We felt a little like “birthday crashers” sitting at the front singing “happy birthday dear mmgmmgmm” while eating cupcakes but luckily we were very helpful in the set up/clean up so the host was very appreciative. That night Louise and Ryan had a braai with a bunch of their friends so we were able to meet them and their kids and then head out for a night on the town. Very interesting partying with plus 30s- the music taste discrepancies were hilarious.
On Sunday we were able to have a day with Louise and the Girls since they were off both school and work. We drove to Monkeyland (not to be confused with Monkeytown in Cape Town) where African monkeys are kept in a giant nature reserve area and you are able to walk among them in the forests. Although our guide was very, very strange we did see some really cool monkeys- including a great white ape and many cappuccinos. My favourite was this great big grey monkey with glasses-like marks around his eyes and the black lemur who was so accustomed to people (he was formerly owned by people) that he walked over my foot. Next we headed to The Elephant Sanctuary where we were able to do the trunk-in-hand walk along with petting them and feeding them. All in all soo cool except you get loads of snot on your hand when they hold it with their trunk but the “elephant breathing on you” sensation is pretty awesome. For dinner the girls all hit up Spur- a kid oriented restaurant famous for low prices and good beef which Marina and I had on our list of things to do. They had a deal for practically a whole cow worth of ribs plus chips and onion rings for only R44.99 which Marina and Louise took advantage of.
Monday was a bit more of a quiet day- Marina and I walked into town and checked that out and then somehow managed to find the waterfront where we met up with a coworker of Louise and Ryan’s. He took us to the Knysna Heads- the two mountains (ish) that almost close off the Knysna Lagoon to the sea (20ish m gap in between). We (well.. I) took some amazing shots of the lagoon and the rocky areas around the heads not to mention the amazingly huge houses from the lookout area. Then we headed down to the coast where we hiked among some of the rocks and sat out and watched the sea. He also drove us around the Knysna area showing us different parts of the city. That afternoon we headed down to the cinema and watched Step Up 2 with all the of 12 year old Knysna population- pretty amazing film. For dinner we all met up at ocean basket (probably one of my favourite restaurants) for prawns and chips.
Tuesday after a sleep in (8:30 wahoo!) we headed to a wild cat farm just past plett. After an unsuccessful attempt to get in as students we got to go on a tour of all the wild cat areas. The first couple basically looked like regular house cats although they were wild African cats. We also saw some really cool spotty ones and ones with the cool ears. The last pen was of cheetahs. We were able to pat them and have them lick us. One genius on our tour even grabbed its tail… unfortunately it didn’t attack- scary to think he is going to the Kruger next. Afterwards we headed into Plett where we had lunch, visited the beach and then did a hike in Roburg which is a beautiful bit of land that juts out into the ocean. It was very pretty, especially with the mountain ranges in the distance and the beautiful beaches surrounding. We headed home and watched some excellent tv with the girls- including high school musical 2.
Wednesday morning we headed to George (biggest city around there) to do some shopping. Marina and I bough these beautiful coats (yes they are the same but hers is black and mine is red… “friendship coats” if you will). I has been looking for a coat ever since the temperature started to drop and it is really nice and classic and will be good for Canadian fall (and winter in england). That afternoon we headed out to a farm to go horse back riding- payback time. It was really nice since it was just the 2 of us and a guide (who LOVED marina and her horsewhisper-ness) so I didn’t make a fool out of myself in front of too many people. The walking through the forest part was fine. The trotting was quite painful. And then there was the cantering… the guide assured me that I would be fine since the horse would just follow the others and all I would have to do is hold on. Unfortunately the horses took it upon themselves to race on a small footpath suitable for one horse not three. Mine decided to take the undergrowth so I was being smacked into trees and bushes and screaming for dear life. The guide was trying to make the horse stop but was completely unsuccessful and I could hear marina laughing the whole time. Luckily we managed to get back on the path and I didn’t fall off (everyone was quite impressed) but needless to say my horse lost the race and I couldn’t sit down for a couple days.
Our last day was spent doing a hike to a waterfall in the Knysna forest. Afterwards we headed to Plett where we had a nice lunch and then a quick visit with Gail (from my Joburg visit) who has a house in Plett. We spent the late afternoon relaxing and has pizza with everyone after they returned from golfing.
Friday we hopped on the bus to Stellenbosch which was a pretty uneventful trip. When we arrived we were picked up by our co-worker Sonia and her brother Matt and taken to their parents beautiful house on a golf course in Stellenbosch. After dinner and a little wine sampling we headed out on the town and got to experience some of the Stellenbosch nightlife (pretty decent considering there is a huge university there).
Saturday morning we headed to a beautiful outdoor market with tons of free samples- including some killer brownies, pesto and pomegranate smoothies. We also took advantage of all the wine farms there doing their free samples and ended up buying a bottle and sitting out in the sun eating baguette and pesto. Next we headed to a couple other wine farms to do some tasting and finally to a store that sold wine for super reduced prices. We managed to do some damage there. That afternoon we had a great big nap, watched some rugby and had a terrific braai.
Sunday was raining like crazy so we hung around the house all morning and then went into town for an amazing pizza lunch. Then after doing some clean up for the return of the parents we headed back to school.
Now we are done our second day back and it has been a little difficult adjusting back. Sad to think our school holidays are over. Luckily we have a pretty good week. Today is both Kady and George’s birthday so we are headed out for dinner for Kady’s tonight and then tomorrow for George’s. Then on Friday we are heading out to town to celebrate George’s birthday- it is themed “P” so everyone has to dress up accordingly. I am being a pirate. Then this weekend we are heading up to the head of sport- Sarie’s cottage on the coast which is meant to be beautiful. Will take pictures. Kady also leaves next Wednesday- hard to believe its time- when I first arrived I remember thinking it was ages and ages away.
In other news- hotmail has recently been blocked so please e-mail me at my school account: hartleyh@stcyprians.co.za if you want to get it touch- it also does not work very well so it could take some time. I however did find a proxy so maybe send all e-mails to both accounts and then i will get it one way or another- Thanks!
Much love to everyone- Thank you for those who continue to comment!
Xx Heather
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Yes, I am still alive.
Stomers Stadium with Table Mountain Backdrop
Australian Hurricans vs the Cape Town Stomers
At Stomers Rugby Game
Heather and Marina at MoyoHello everyone,
Sorry it has been ages since I have updated the blog. There was such a lot to say about Namibia so I kept putting off writing it and replied to e-mails instead! Everything since holidays has been good. Work is alright... nothing too much exciting happening there. The first week back from holidays I was working as a facilitator for this little girl in gr 1 which was quite a change from the regular. It was quite a big job, really nice to be in the gr 1 classrooms but very tiring and took about all the patience i posses. (Em i tried to use you as inspiration.) Other than that not too much happened the first week back. I was able to join Gail, Trilby and her kids, Kayla and Chloe for lunch one afternoon which was fantastic. So nice to see Gail again and fill her in on my trips.
Last weekend wasn't too eventful. We headed out to a very popular pub with the bishops boys on friday night and had a girls night out saturday night. We also saw the movie Juno- very funny but perhaps a horror film disguised with comedy?
This past week also was not very eventful (we stayed in because the money situation is dire right now since most of it was used on holidays and we don't get paid until this coming Wednesday). On Monday we did go out for Franzi's 21st birthday to a really famous restaurant called Moyo which is part of the Spier Winery in Stellenbosch. It is a very pricey resturant but an all you can eat buffer which is amazing and tradition african food. Also the setting is beautiful, we got there late so we couldn't look around but you are meant to be able to wander and watch live bands, dancing, sit by the fires or walk around the grounds. You also get you hands washed when you arrive by someone who comes to your table and your face painted and huge heavy blankets to wrap around yourselves when you get cold. We ate in a "tree house" (raised platform in the trees) which was really nice. We had the most amazing steaks and ostrich kabobs and couscous (a new favourite). Also the desserts were incredibly good. The head of sport, Sarie also joined us so it was really nice to have a good chat with her out of school. I am planning on taking Mum and Dad there when they come. After that big night out we spent most of the week reading and watching tv at night. Luckily Marina and I are equally tight fisted so we generally agree on money-spending.
This weekend we did have quite a lot of plans. On Friday we had signed up to be part of this UCT golf-themed pub crawl (in honour of the South African who won the masters). We went with Sonia, one of the pe teachers and her cousin sarah. It was so funny getting our costumes all set and seeing everyone all dressed up. The night consisted of going from place to place and getting "scored" depending on how many sips it took you to finish your drink (there were pars for each place). Pretty funny, the boys took it much more seriously than us but we had a really good time and met some nice people. I think it is fair to say none of the pictures are blog appropriate. Saturday we had plans to go see a movie but Marina found out some friends from home were in town so we ended up going down to waterfront with them and then going to the rugby game. It was loads of fun (and i actually know way more rules than i thought!). The Stomers are on a roll so people were very into it. Luckily they won again and everyone especially enjoyed the cheerleaders who stripped to their hot pants in the middle of their routine. That night we all headed back to bishops and then to a house party of a friend of George’s. It was really fun getting to know Marina's friends- too bad they leave monday for Singapore!
This week is also looking quiet. On Thursday we have a gr 2 outing to Monkey world which we are super excited about! Also we have holidays coming up that we are in the midst of planning. We are headed down the coast to Knysna where Marina's old Nanny owns a B&B. It is meant to be beautiful and only 30 min away from plett so we plan on spending some time there too. We are planning to go Equitrailing (aka riding through the forest on horses). I do not think this is a good idea but i owe her from sandboarding still. We are finishing up our weeks holiday at Stellenbosh where we are staying with one of the teachers and will hopefully be able to fit in a wine tour.
That's it for now! Hope all is well at home.. can't believe I will be back in about 2 months. Time is flying.
Love to all,
xx Heather
Sorry it has been ages since I have updated the blog. There was such a lot to say about Namibia so I kept putting off writing it and replied to e-mails instead! Everything since holidays has been good. Work is alright... nothing too much exciting happening there. The first week back from holidays I was working as a facilitator for this little girl in gr 1 which was quite a change from the regular. It was quite a big job, really nice to be in the gr 1 classrooms but very tiring and took about all the patience i posses. (Em i tried to use you as inspiration.) Other than that not too much happened the first week back. I was able to join Gail, Trilby and her kids, Kayla and Chloe for lunch one afternoon which was fantastic. So nice to see Gail again and fill her in on my trips.
Last weekend wasn't too eventful. We headed out to a very popular pub with the bishops boys on friday night and had a girls night out saturday night. We also saw the movie Juno- very funny but perhaps a horror film disguised with comedy?
This past week also was not very eventful (we stayed in because the money situation is dire right now since most of it was used on holidays and we don't get paid until this coming Wednesday). On Monday we did go out for Franzi's 21st birthday to a really famous restaurant called Moyo which is part of the Spier Winery in Stellenbosch. It is a very pricey resturant but an all you can eat buffer which is amazing and tradition african food. Also the setting is beautiful, we got there late so we couldn't look around but you are meant to be able to wander and watch live bands, dancing, sit by the fires or walk around the grounds. You also get you hands washed when you arrive by someone who comes to your table and your face painted and huge heavy blankets to wrap around yourselves when you get cold. We ate in a "tree house" (raised platform in the trees) which was really nice. We had the most amazing steaks and ostrich kabobs and couscous (a new favourite). Also the desserts were incredibly good. The head of sport, Sarie also joined us so it was really nice to have a good chat with her out of school. I am planning on taking Mum and Dad there when they come. After that big night out we spent most of the week reading and watching tv at night. Luckily Marina and I are equally tight fisted so we generally agree on money-spending.
This weekend we did have quite a lot of plans. On Friday we had signed up to be part of this UCT golf-themed pub crawl (in honour of the South African who won the masters). We went with Sonia, one of the pe teachers and her cousin sarah. It was so funny getting our costumes all set and seeing everyone all dressed up. The night consisted of going from place to place and getting "scored" depending on how many sips it took you to finish your drink (there were pars for each place). Pretty funny, the boys took it much more seriously than us but we had a really good time and met some nice people. I think it is fair to say none of the pictures are blog appropriate. Saturday we had plans to go see a movie but Marina found out some friends from home were in town so we ended up going down to waterfront with them and then going to the rugby game. It was loads of fun (and i actually know way more rules than i thought!). The Stomers are on a roll so people were very into it. Luckily they won again and everyone especially enjoyed the cheerleaders who stripped to their hot pants in the middle of their routine. That night we all headed back to bishops and then to a house party of a friend of George’s. It was really fun getting to know Marina's friends- too bad they leave monday for Singapore!
This week is also looking quiet. On Thursday we have a gr 2 outing to Monkey world which we are super excited about! Also we have holidays coming up that we are in the midst of planning. We are headed down the coast to Knysna where Marina's old Nanny owns a B&B. It is meant to be beautiful and only 30 min away from plett so we plan on spending some time there too. We are planning to go Equitrailing (aka riding through the forest on horses). I do not think this is a good idea but i owe her from sandboarding still. We are finishing up our weeks holiday at Stellenbosh where we are staying with one of the teachers and will hopefully be able to fit in a wine tour.
That's it for now! Hope all is well at home.. can't believe I will be back in about 2 months. Time is flying.
Love to all,
xx Heather
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Namibia
+485.jpg)
Quadbiking in the dunes+477.jpg)
Heather and Marina= excellent quadbikers+474.jpg)
Heather and Marina quadbiking on the dunes (MUCH higher than it looks!)+463.jpg)
Heather and Marina Sandboarding+437.jpg)
The moon-scapes+432.jpg)
Tropic of Capricorn Group Shot+429.jpg)
Water in the desert... at least at one time+424.jpg)
Again.+410.jpg)
Desert Walk+399.jpg)
MARINA HATES SAND+384.jpg)
Hiking dune 45 at sunrise+361.jpg)
Dune 45 at sunrise+355.jpg)
Sunrise+333.jpg)
Cool, Art-y shadows+327.jpg)
Canyon+316.jpg)
Heather and Marina at Fish River Canyon+309.jpg)
Fish River Canyon (2nd biggest in the world)+278.jpg)
Orange River at SunsetWeek 2: Desert Explorer Trip (South Africa, Namibia)
Day 1: Our trip luckily started in Cape Town pretty near school so since we did a pretty good job of organizing the night before we were able to have a fairly chilled out morning and arrive without any hectic-ness. After the initial check in we headed off to Table Bay which is a beach that has an incredibly good view of Table Mountain. After a walk on the beach we headed to a mall to buy water etc and since we had some time Marina and I managed to peruse the clothing shops and decided we would have to return. Next we drove north to the Cederburg Mountain Region, also known as “orange and lemon” country. We stayed at a very nice backpackers/campsite and I got to experience Marina-the-camper for the first time which was quite hilarious. After setting up we went on a “bushman’s walk” that ended up being more like a hike. It was neat- we saw bushman paintings on rocks and heard about all the animals and plants. We returned to camp in time for an amazing dinner, (food on this trip was much better than the first) a drink and a chat. We sat around after dinner and chatted and then went to bed.
Day 2: We drove to the Orange River- getting very sandy and texas-ish looking. Marina and I listened to some quality country songs in honour of the setting. Our camp was super nice- right on the orange river with a covered eating area and fun bar. We were so hot we went swimming in the orange river right after setting up our tents. It is pretty cool because it is the river that divides South Africa and Namibia so you can literally swim to Namibia. The water is very murky due to the rust (aka: Orange river) which is a little disconcerting but a lovely temperature. Afterwards we met up at the bar and chilled, played some beach volleyball, showered (in this awkward outdoor-type showers) and got some good pictures of sunset. That night for dinner we did the “stand up and talk about yourself” thing and marina and I had to go last so it was a little nerve-wracking. After dinner we all headed to the bar for a “springbok” shot which includes dancing and yelling and not using your hands- definitely a bonding activity.
Day 3: This morning we had a nice leisurely sleep in followed by a morning of paddling on the Orange River. They drove us up the river and dropped us with canoes so that we could paddle back to camp. The canoes here are not like the ones at home, they are essentially blow up rafts that you paddle with the kayak paddle. Marina was deemed the official “picture taker” aka lie on the canoe and not paddle while appearing to be doing something useful while I was in the stern paddling her along the river like the queen of Sheba. The river really was beautiful and whenever you go hot you could just jump into the water. Also there were a couple rapids which were very exciting except for the time our canoe got stuck on a rock and we had to get out and then the canoe almost floated away. That afternoon we drove to the Fish River Canyon which involved driving through large rivers- a bit hectic.
Day 4: Wednesday we headed off to the Fish River Canyon straight away. We didn’t hike which was nice since we were able to wander around and take pictures and hear about it. The Fish River Canyon is the 2nd biggest Canyon in the world and incredibly beautiful- see pictures. After taking some pictures and looking around we hopped back into the bus and drove for the majority of the day (thank goodness for harry potter audio version). We finished the day at another Canyon- The Sesriem Canyon. The water was running at this canyon which was a big deal since our guide had never seen it. We also took some very cool, art-y shadow pictures.
Day 5: We woke up VERY early in order to drive into the Namib-Naukluft National Park to climb Dune 45 for sunrise. We encountered a very large river on our way but luckily our driver managed to get us through it. We started the hike very optimistic but soon realized the whole “2 steps forward one step back thing wasn’t very funny”. The dune was much bigger than it looked plus the area you could walk was so narrow you couldn’t step to the side to take a break or anything. One of the ladies in our group got very freaked out and had to go back. We did make it up way in time for sunrise and sat for about half an hour watching the sun come up. It really was beautiful to see the dunes shine bright red and luckily my camera survived the sand. We hiked back down (much easier) and had a cooked breakfast at the foot of the dune. Afterwards we headed into the desert with a very interesting Japanese guide. (very enthusiastic!) The walk was really cool, we did a bit of hiking dunes and walked around in our bear feet. We also saw the Sossusvlei Dunes where there is water below (or at least was fairly recently so the ground is all cracked and white and there are attempts at trees). A very weird, but cool phenomenon in the desert. We had a very chilled afternoon as everyone was exhausted and headed to our next campsite where we ate their world famous apple pie.
Day 6: Today we crossed the Tropic of Capricorn (and got a great group pic) and also went by the moon landscapes. They are a series of hills that in winter have no grass on them and sparkle because of the minerals in the soil. Unfortunately they did have grass still but it was still very beautiful. We arrived in Swakopmund and stopped at the Desert Explorer office where we watched videos of the optional activities and signed up for everything. That afternoon we explored Swakopmund and rested before going out to dinner with the group to an Italian restaurant. The restaurant was amazingly good but the wait was forever since we were such a large group. Afterwards we headed across the street to the one and only club where ALL the overland trips were and had a good time on the dance floor.
Day 7: Today was the day reserved for optional activities. Marina and I had sandboarding in the morning so we were picked up at 9:30 and driven in the desert. After fitting our snadboards and boots we headed towards a giant dune that we were intended to climb. The first climb was very rough but we did manage to get to the top and since I was the only experience rider I was kinda allowed to do my own thing while the beginners had a lesson. It was really cool- a little slower than snowboarding especially when you carve but essentially the same. The only downside was that it took about a minute to get down and then you had to climb all the way back up. Marina did very well- although a couple bad words were spoken. By the end she could go down on both sides- very impressive. We also did lie down sandboarding which was like 100 times scarier than tobogganing and completely awful. I have never been so scared in my life and I was only going 52 k and hour (other people were going 80). After sandboarding they fed us lunch and took us back to our backpackers where we attempted to remove all the sand from our bodies (impossible) and rested for our afternoon for quadbiking. Quadbiking was absolutely amazing- one of the coolest things I have ever done. We went for 2 hours and it was just 3 of us plus a leader guy and we pretty much just drove through the desert and went up on sand dunes and caught some serious air. Marina got stuck once which was pretty funny but other than that we had no problems. It really was amazing- felt like very unexplored territory and I could have ridden for much longer. On our way home we headed to this bar where they were showing our sandboarding dvd- hilarious and then back to our lodge for another shower. Marina and I had a romantic dinner for two our and then went to bed at 8:30 because we were so exhausted.
The last day of our trip involved us getting on a bus in Swakopmund and driving to Windhoek and then to Cape Town. 24 hours in total. I will not go into much detail of this trip as “what happens on the bus stays on the bus” but all in all in was much better than expected. The only really bad parts were that it was actually more like 27 hours and we had to wait at 4:30 am at the Namibian boarder for 2 hours. Again, thank god for my ipod and grey’s anatomy. One of the girls from school was on the bus so we were able to get a lift with her back to school. Very relieved to be home and back in our comfortable beds. This feeling lasted about a half a day until we returned back to work and decided that really… holidays are the way to go.
Day 1: Our trip luckily started in Cape Town pretty near school so since we did a pretty good job of organizing the night before we were able to have a fairly chilled out morning and arrive without any hectic-ness. After the initial check in we headed off to Table Bay which is a beach that has an incredibly good view of Table Mountain. After a walk on the beach we headed to a mall to buy water etc and since we had some time Marina and I managed to peruse the clothing shops and decided we would have to return. Next we drove north to the Cederburg Mountain Region, also known as “orange and lemon” country. We stayed at a very nice backpackers/campsite and I got to experience Marina-the-camper for the first time which was quite hilarious. After setting up we went on a “bushman’s walk” that ended up being more like a hike. It was neat- we saw bushman paintings on rocks and heard about all the animals and plants. We returned to camp in time for an amazing dinner, (food on this trip was much better than the first) a drink and a chat. We sat around after dinner and chatted and then went to bed.
Day 2: We drove to the Orange River- getting very sandy and texas-ish looking. Marina and I listened to some quality country songs in honour of the setting. Our camp was super nice- right on the orange river with a covered eating area and fun bar. We were so hot we went swimming in the orange river right after setting up our tents. It is pretty cool because it is the river that divides South Africa and Namibia so you can literally swim to Namibia. The water is very murky due to the rust (aka: Orange river) which is a little disconcerting but a lovely temperature. Afterwards we met up at the bar and chilled, played some beach volleyball, showered (in this awkward outdoor-type showers) and got some good pictures of sunset. That night for dinner we did the “stand up and talk about yourself” thing and marina and I had to go last so it was a little nerve-wracking. After dinner we all headed to the bar for a “springbok” shot which includes dancing and yelling and not using your hands- definitely a bonding activity.
Day 3: This morning we had a nice leisurely sleep in followed by a morning of paddling on the Orange River. They drove us up the river and dropped us with canoes so that we could paddle back to camp. The canoes here are not like the ones at home, they are essentially blow up rafts that you paddle with the kayak paddle. Marina was deemed the official “picture taker” aka lie on the canoe and not paddle while appearing to be doing something useful while I was in the stern paddling her along the river like the queen of Sheba. The river really was beautiful and whenever you go hot you could just jump into the water. Also there were a couple rapids which were very exciting except for the time our canoe got stuck on a rock and we had to get out and then the canoe almost floated away. That afternoon we drove to the Fish River Canyon which involved driving through large rivers- a bit hectic.
Day 4: Wednesday we headed off to the Fish River Canyon straight away. We didn’t hike which was nice since we were able to wander around and take pictures and hear about it. The Fish River Canyon is the 2nd biggest Canyon in the world and incredibly beautiful- see pictures. After taking some pictures and looking around we hopped back into the bus and drove for the majority of the day (thank goodness for harry potter audio version). We finished the day at another Canyon- The Sesriem Canyon. The water was running at this canyon which was a big deal since our guide had never seen it. We also took some very cool, art-y shadow pictures.
Day 5: We woke up VERY early in order to drive into the Namib-Naukluft National Park to climb Dune 45 for sunrise. We encountered a very large river on our way but luckily our driver managed to get us through it. We started the hike very optimistic but soon realized the whole “2 steps forward one step back thing wasn’t very funny”. The dune was much bigger than it looked plus the area you could walk was so narrow you couldn’t step to the side to take a break or anything. One of the ladies in our group got very freaked out and had to go back. We did make it up way in time for sunrise and sat for about half an hour watching the sun come up. It really was beautiful to see the dunes shine bright red and luckily my camera survived the sand. We hiked back down (much easier) and had a cooked breakfast at the foot of the dune. Afterwards we headed into the desert with a very interesting Japanese guide. (very enthusiastic!) The walk was really cool, we did a bit of hiking dunes and walked around in our bear feet. We also saw the Sossusvlei Dunes where there is water below (or at least was fairly recently so the ground is all cracked and white and there are attempts at trees). A very weird, but cool phenomenon in the desert. We had a very chilled afternoon as everyone was exhausted and headed to our next campsite where we ate their world famous apple pie.
Day 6: Today we crossed the Tropic of Capricorn (and got a great group pic) and also went by the moon landscapes. They are a series of hills that in winter have no grass on them and sparkle because of the minerals in the soil. Unfortunately they did have grass still but it was still very beautiful. We arrived in Swakopmund and stopped at the Desert Explorer office where we watched videos of the optional activities and signed up for everything. That afternoon we explored Swakopmund and rested before going out to dinner with the group to an Italian restaurant. The restaurant was amazingly good but the wait was forever since we were such a large group. Afterwards we headed across the street to the one and only club where ALL the overland trips were and had a good time on the dance floor.
Day 7: Today was the day reserved for optional activities. Marina and I had sandboarding in the morning so we were picked up at 9:30 and driven in the desert. After fitting our snadboards and boots we headed towards a giant dune that we were intended to climb. The first climb was very rough but we did manage to get to the top and since I was the only experience rider I was kinda allowed to do my own thing while the beginners had a lesson. It was really cool- a little slower than snowboarding especially when you carve but essentially the same. The only downside was that it took about a minute to get down and then you had to climb all the way back up. Marina did very well- although a couple bad words were spoken. By the end she could go down on both sides- very impressive. We also did lie down sandboarding which was like 100 times scarier than tobogganing and completely awful. I have never been so scared in my life and I was only going 52 k and hour (other people were going 80). After sandboarding they fed us lunch and took us back to our backpackers where we attempted to remove all the sand from our bodies (impossible) and rested for our afternoon for quadbiking. Quadbiking was absolutely amazing- one of the coolest things I have ever done. We went for 2 hours and it was just 3 of us plus a leader guy and we pretty much just drove through the desert and went up on sand dunes and caught some serious air. Marina got stuck once which was pretty funny but other than that we had no problems. It really was amazing- felt like very unexplored territory and I could have ridden for much longer. On our way home we headed to this bar where they were showing our sandboarding dvd- hilarious and then back to our lodge for another shower. Marina and I had a romantic dinner for two our and then went to bed at 8:30 because we were so exhausted.
The last day of our trip involved us getting on a bus in Swakopmund and driving to Windhoek and then to Cape Town. 24 hours in total. I will not go into much detail of this trip as “what happens on the bus stays on the bus” but all in all in was much better than expected. The only really bad parts were that it was actually more like 27 hours and we had to wait at 4:30 am at the Namibian boarder for 2 hours. Again, thank god for my ipod and grey’s anatomy. One of the girls from school was on the bus so we were able to get a lift with her back to school. Very relieved to be home and back in our comfortable beds. This feeling lasted about a half a day until we returned back to work and decided that really… holidays are the way to go.
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