Use Somebody-Kings of Leon

Backing up a bit… sorry this is sort of out of order, but to celebrate spring this past weekend, I escaped Grahamstown and went to the beach. (Not that Grahamstown isn’t lovely, its just also very difficult to leave/travel if you don’t have a car, and the Avis in town wont rent to anyone under 21.) Luckily, the two German girls who are here are both older, so on Saturday morning Eva, Britta, Kristen and I rented a car with the intention of driving to Coffee Bay, which is located on the ‘Wild Coast’ between here and Durban. However, when we stopped a Chintsa for lunch around 12:30, we found out that the road between there and Coffee Bay was bad, and it was going to take us another 3 ½ hours to get there. So rather than spending most of the weekend in the car (not that it wasn’t delightful to actually be in a car again… I love road trips!) we decided to stay at this super cute backpackers lodge in Chintsa.

When I got here, I had this misconception that backpacking around the country involved camping, and that backpackers lodges involved camping as well. In reality, backpacking in SA involves hostel hopping, which I am guessing is more like backpacking in Europe than in Appalachia :) I am much more down with staying in a dormitory with showers than camping, and the place that we were at reminded me of Laguna de Apoya, which we stayed at during choir tour in Nicaragua this spring. I did not sleep out in a hammock, but it felt tropical with all of the palm trees and very secluded (in a good way, with more nature than village). There were a bunch of little buildings tucked into the side of the hill, which overlooked the river that separates East and West Chintsa with a beautiful view of the sea. Although it was a bit chilly this past weekend (not quite swimming weather, unfortunately) we did put on swimsuits and walk at the edge of the water. Actually, in order to reach the beach, we had to follow a path that at points involved wading through the river's edge, which was much cooler than the relatively warm Indian Ocean.

While swimming was out, we did spend some time on the beach, as well as taking a short little canoe/kayak trip up the river. I was in a double kayak, so it was much easier to handle, but the wind was high so it was difficult for the other girls to paddle through the waves upstream, and the wind kept blowing cold water onto us as we went. So we turned around fairly quickly and let the wind push us back to where we started. We also played a bit of volleyball on Saturday (it was the free activity for the afternoon—wine and volleyball). I have never played volleyball where there are rules about wine breaks at certain points of the game, or where various dogs either chase each other through the court or just lay down and sleep while a game is going on. I can’t say that I was very good at volleyball, and I have still definitely not acquired a taste for wine (although it seems like that would make it more difficult to hit the ball, anyway, so it wasn’t really a bad thing). Anyway, we mostly just chilled at the backpackers, explored around the area, and ate fantastic food—a Xhosa meal for dinner and a yummy breakfast outside on a deck overlooking the cove—but it was a beautiful weekend and a nice chance to get away and go on an adventure.

I have realized that I want to come back to South Africa. I know that sounds funny, since I have three months here still. There is just not enough time (or money) for me to do all of the travelling that I want to do and explore all of the gorgeous places that I haven’t been to yet. It turns out that I totally enjoy ‘backpacking’, and I would love to come back someday with a partner in crime, a map, and a car and just travel all over. For some reason, when you go to new and beautiful places, you want to share it with someone you love and just… be. While I can’t really do that to the extent I would like during this semester, I am realizing that it is a desire I have. I want to travel, to explore, and to share. Hopefully, God has some of that in my future. In the meantime, I will just share a little with you.  

Our view from the deck outside of our room :) 

(You see that sandy bit at the bottom between patches of grass leading into the water? That's the path to the beach.)

Western part of the cove (the tide is in, and seawater meets the river at this spot)

(Eastern side of the cove)

(Britta, Me, Kristen and Eva on the deck where we ate breakfast)

Coffee Girl-Tragically Hip

Here I am, in South Africa! It has been a crazy six days, and I haven't had much time online, so I will just split some things into separate posts in an effort to keep things brief...

I left Monday, and got to Port Elizabeth Tuesday evening. The plane rides were fairly uneventful, and luckily I enjoy traveling enough that I didn't go crazy in the exact center of a plane for 17 hours. I found my luggage and was able to recheck it and go through security in the Joburg airport again (luckily, there was a nice couple on their way to Cape Town that I followed till I found useful signs again) and since security is much easier to go through, I was just able to make my connecting flight on time. When I got to the Port Elizabeth airport, Jill and Chris were both there from Interstudy (my study abroad program) and Jill took me back with her to Grahamstown. I am the only Interstudy student at Rhodes, but everyone I have talked to seems to think that I made the best choice of University :)

Wednesday, Jill and I met Chris and the four students who will be attending Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (in Port Elizabeth) at Addo National Elephant Park to go on a game drive. Just the drive to Addo was fantastic; I saw some ostriches and a monkey on the side of the road, as well as some killer scenery. I can finally see what the Eastern Cape looks like! Once we got to Addo, we went on a drive through the park and saw a ton of elephants (not surprising, since it is an elephant reserve) as well as a bunch of other animals. Unfortunately, there weren't any big cats out during the day, although Addo does contain the big five, which I though were the five biggest animals in Africa but are actually the most dangerous: lions, leopards, elephants, black rhino, and cape buffalo. According to out guide, the hippo doesn't make the cut because "he is a big coward... anyone can kill a hippo, and they are only really dangerous in the water, where they don't belong." Not sure how much I agreed with that, but...

Anyway, my favorite part of the drive was when we came up on a herd of 12 elephants, including four babies, who wandered across the road directly in front of our truck, but I was also thrilled to see... drumroll... ZEBRA! I didn't think that I would see any in the Eastern Cape, but I saw so many zebra within 24 hours of being in South Africa that it was hilarious. Unfortunately, I didn't get any great pictures of the zebra (or the herd of elephants, I was having camera issues), but since they are around, I am sure I will at some point. We also got to see some adorable meerkats, as well as warthogs (Timon and Pumba are crossed off my list of things to see, but Simba is still on there...) and a ton of birds, kudu and other bucks (aka various types of wild deer).

After the drive, Jill, Chris and I said goodbye to the NMSU students and headed back toward Grahamstown via Kenton-By-The-Sea. Jill convinced Chris that we should see the ocean while we had a car (the ocean is about a 45 minute drive from Grahamstown) so we stopped at Kenton and hiked this path over the sand dunes that went through a shrub-type forrest and eventually made it to the sea! It was fantastic... the water was surprisingly warm, and I had to wade in a bit, just so I could say that I have been in the Indian Ocean. We watched the sunset over the rocks there, and it was so beautiful. I took some great pictures, but I wont be able to post them until I get my computer connected to the network here, which could take awhile. You will see them eventually...

Anyway, we finished the day at the restaurant in the B&B where Chris and I stayed the night. I had a "venison hotpot" that included kudu, impala, and warthog (since I had seen them, I might as well eat them?) Its been an incredible 24 hours in South Africa...zebra, ocean and noms. It certainly wont be like this everyday; soon, I will be back to school and in my normal routine. But at least my normal routine shows signs of being a bit more unusual here. Can't wait!