Wow, where did the time go? Before I started this journey across the world I thought that 10 weeks was quite a long time. However, after going through the program with Mr Price, 10 weeks is not enough time. South Africa is such an amazing country and they have so much to offer that I could spend a year here and still not have seen everything.
It has been a while since I last posted so I have a lot to catch up on. After going to Cape Town with Mr Price and seeing how wonderful it was I wanted to take Lindsey back so that she could see it for herself. Therefore, we took off early one Friday and jumped on a plane to Cape Town. The first place we went was to a wine farm called Spier. Having never been to one before I didn’t know what to expect, but it was a lot of fun. Spier is a bit more commercial than your average wine farm and really had a lot of neat things for us to do from sightseeing, interacting with Cheetahs, to enjoying a nice meal with some great wine. Below, are a few pictures from Spier.
The rest of the weekend in Cape Town was pretty leisurely. We really didn’t have any plans and just took some time to relax and take in everything. We tried to go up Table Mountain, but because it is their winter months it was closed for maintenance. L It was still really pretty from the height that we were able to travel up the mountain and we were able to get some really good pics.
Definitely Lindsey’s favourite part of Cape Town was all of the shopping they have there. In the middle of the bay there is a mall called the V and A Waterfront that has tons of shops to look in. One of my favourite shops is pictured below with Table Mountain behind it. Cape Union Mart is an upper- market outdoors store with lots of cool clothing and gadgets.
The following weekend, we took off on Friday to go to a Private Game Reserve in Lady Smith, just a few hours’ drive from Durban. Being quite the outdoorsman I was looking forward to this experience and after having the experience, I am blown away from the beauty. The lodge we stayed at was called Nambhiti Hills game reserve and it was all of 5 stars. Everything from the food, staff, lodging, and tours was top notch. Every day we were able to see lots of Wildlife, including several Lion kills. Below is a video of 2 lion cubs eating a Warthog. It's hard to see, but watch for movement.
The next weekend, Lindsey and I spent some time at the beach. Even though we are in the middle to end of Durban’s winter it is still warm enough to go and enjoy the beach. Everyone still tells us that this is the worst winter they have had, so I can’t imagine how good the weather is in a normal winter. Nothing like the 2 foot of snow Northwest Arkansas was hammered with last winter. After walking down the beach we decided to go to Ushaka Marine Sea World. This isn’t the largest Sea World I have been to, but it probably has the coolest aquarium that I have ever seen. They have a huge abandoned ship that you go down to the bottom of and can then see all of the aquariums throughout the park. It is really neat because while you are underground it appears as if you are in a sunken ship, its really cool. Below are some pictures of that weekend.
Justin and Claire invited us to a party some of their friends were hosting. The theme was “hippy night.” We didn’t dress up, but we had a really good time. Lindsey even showed Justin how women in the South drink! Haha.
We couldn’t leave South Africa without seeing the Springboks play! Thankfully, Mr Price set us up with some great tickets for the game. Unlike the last game we were actually in the middle of all of the fans and it really made for a great environment. I always enjoy watching people get really excited about a sport, and boy where these people excited! Haha. They really do love their rugby in South Africa and it has definitely rubbed off on me. I will continue watching and supporting the Sharks and the Springboks when I return back to the states. Below are a couple pictures from the game. It was a great time and I had a lot of fun with everyone even if the Springboks choked and gave it up to the Aussies.
While I have been working, Lindsey has been volunteering at Mr Price’s Redcap Foundation. She has been helping with several programs, writing grant proposals, and visiting local schools in the area. Below are two pictures of 2 very different schools. The first picture is of Justin’s mom Karen at a school called Crawford. Crawford is a private school and one of the best in Durban. The other picture is of a school just 30 minutes North of Durban. It is a public school and as you can see has much less resources and facilities to help teach the kids. Mr Price is helping to ensure these students get the education and physical activity they need and Lindsey was happy to help where she could.
Well, that about wraps up my experience in South Africa. I can’t say it enough, but it has truly been a wonderful time. Mr Price has gone out of their way to make sure that we are comfortable and have a good time. I have had the best summer and really appreciate everything that they have done for us. I am leaving tomorrow to head back to the United States and am going to miss all of my new friends in South Africa. Once I get back and settled down I will write one more post wrapping up the experience and discussing everything that I have taken away from it. Once again, thank you to everyone in South Africa for make our trip so special
