Another week has passed only too quickly here in South
Africa! It went by fairly
uneventfully, though we discovered that Shane’s bike had a flat tire when we
got home from the Frontier Farms trip.
Embedded in the tire was a “devil’s face” which is a cruel spiky ball
that you find everywhere here. The
bicycle shop would be unable to replace the tire until the following Tuesday as
some event would be keeping them busy throughout the week. On Wednesday, Shane and I traveled to
the beach with Sarah (not the one who lives at Annie’s, but actually stays at
Southport), Tessa, and Arielle (sp).
We enjoyed some sunbathing and met a friend of Sarah’s who has actually
lived in PE his whole life, André. We talked for a little bit and then André left us. Shortly after his departure, we all fell asleep on our towels. About 5 minutes into this pleasant nap
the tide pushed the water so far it actually washed over all of us (towel and
all) and left only about 6 feet of the beach dry! Never has the ocean come close to doing this on previous
visits. It is safe to say that the surfers were
thoroughly enjoying the waves that day!
Thursday night found Shane and I hanging out at Annie’s Cove making
plans for our weekend trip to Plettenberg Bay. After being there for a couple of hours Shane and a small contingent of people left and played the equivalent
of Ultimate Frisbee (with a rugby ball) for about an hour while Sarah, Scott, and
I ate chicken breast and fried potatoes.
By the end of the evening we had booked a car, a room at a backpackers
lodge, and an ocean kayaking trip for Sunday morning.
Friday found us packing our things and Shane in a rush. The car rental company (Avis Europe)
requires a printed-out copy of the e-mailed confirmation letter upon arrival
and obviously Shane and I have no way to print here at our house. He had to make the trek to school
just to print this sheet of paper and was rushed, as he needed to be back for
the taxi that would be taking us to the airport to pick up the car at 1:00
pm. Seeing as the sound on our
phone was un-working we would be unable to call and tell her (Rochelle) to pick
us up at a later time if Shane had been late. Shane made it back at 12:50 and was able to pack his bag
before our ride arrived! At the
airport we were able to sign for the car and drive away in about 10 minutes
time (this was a surprise seeing as South African time is usually much
slower). We piled our things into
our brand new Honda Jazz and headed out to Annie’s to pick up Sarah, Allie, and
Melissa.
It didn’t take the girls too long to get everything
comfortably packed in; we made a quick stop at Superspar to get some groceries
for the weekend and money from the ATMs.
The drive was pleasant as it was only 3 hours and didn’t require too
many last minute turns! For a
majority of the drive we got to see the Tsitsikamma Mountains which made an
incredible backdrop and drove over the Bloukrans Bridge which we will be jumping off of in two weeks
time! We made it to Plettenberg
and were pleasantly surprised by the city (this could be attributed to it being
more of a tourist destination than Port Elizabeth is). The streets were slightly confusing,
but somehow we ended up at a gas station and were able to get directions to the
backpackers lodge from there.
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| Melissa, Allie, and I |
Amakaya Backpackers was quaint and comfortable, though they
were having issues with the website we had booked through (as in they did not have
room for our group, but the website had still allowed us to book it). Dan (the owner) placed us in 3
different rooms instead of the dorm for 10 we had anticipated sleeping in. The rooms were small, but
comfortable. Shane and I got a
room upstairs, Allie and Scott shared one downstairs (separate twin beds), and
Melissa and Sarah shared a bunk bed in the room attached to the kitchen. It was odd staying in a hostel as I am
unaccustomed to sharing bathrooms with the community and having access to a kitchen where you wash
your own dishes. We were given a
brief tour of the place, which included two buildings. The first building had the two dorm
rooms, which probably had 20 people sleeping in them and the office squeezed between. The second building housed the separate bedrooms, a kitchen, lounge area (couches and a television), and a
bar/patio on the top level.
Outside in the yard there were 3 hammocks to relax in and an
insufficient amount of parking space.
We were all incredibly hungry when we arrived (it was 5:30)
and ate at a place about 300m away from the hostel, it was recommended to us by
one of the staff (his fiancée owned it).
We killed time until the end of 6:00 as he was going to have the food
waiting for us at the restaurant at 7:00.
Shane had a chicken calzone while I enjoyed a pepperoni one; these were
massive and delicious! After
savoring our food we ambled back to Amakaya’s and spent the night
socializing. A couple of hours passed and found us slowly
making our way to our rooms for the evening. Before Shane and I made it upstairs, Allie came running from her room
freaking out about a cockroach. We
found Scott and dragged him back to the room, but were unable to find the
thing. Sure enough, the second
Scott left the room, it scurried across the floor. The bug fled under the door into the
room next to Allie and Scott’s. We
knocked and said, “there is a cockroach in your room!” A man calmly opened the
door, chased the bug into the bathroom, killed it, laughed, and went back into
his room. With the bug eliminated
we headed towards our own room for the night. Upon passing Melissa and Sarah’s room, Sarah came out
freaking about a cockroach in her room!
This one had tucked itself under a cabinet (everything was screwed to
the walls and could not be moved) and as far as we know stayed there for the
night. Sarah and I named it George
(so it was less scary) and left it at that. Shane and I did not get a complimentary cockroach (probably
because we were not on ground level) and enjoyed an insect-free night.
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| Kaya! |
Everyone was ready by 9 the next morning and spent a little
time socializing and eating breakfast.
We were introduced to a cat that had let himself onto the property and
spent a portion of the night sleeping with Ryan on his bed. The cat was Siamese in appearance and
was overtly social. We deemed him
Kaya and were pleased to discover that the owners intended to keep him! After all of this we headed to a
Superspar in town for supplies to Robberg Nature Reserve. Seeing as there were 6 of us in the car
for this trip, we tucked Allie away in the trunk. This decision ended up being beneficial for her as we had to
pay ($5) to get into the park and she got in for free!
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| Tidal pool. The colors are just amazing! |
Robberg is essentially a peninsula, which makes
Plettenberg’s bay. It was
beautiful. The Tsitsikamma
Mountains were always visible in the distance, though deeply shadowed. We had to travel the length of the
peninsula in under 3 ½ hours (though it says it takes 4) to ensure we would
make it to our 2:00 appointment to swim with wild seals. This time allotment ended up being
insufficient as Scott and myself fell behind the other 4 and were unable to
catch up to them (it didn’t help that we took the path backwards)! We (Scott and I) kept an eye out for
the others and attempted phone calls, but had absolutely no reception. Instead of wasting time, we briskly
traveled the length of the park (which was no small feat). Pictures were taken as quickly as
possible and we even skipped the “Island,” for fear of missing the other group
while traveling it. While Scott
and I got to enjoy a majority of the park, Shane and the others spent a lot of
time looking and waiting for us.
They anticipated us catching up to them on the trail, but this would
never happen seeing as we were going about everything backwards! Essentially, the park was gorgeous; the
views of the mountains, Indian Ocean, beaches, rock formations, tidal pools,
wildlife, and clear skies made it all perfect.
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| Scott, Melissa, Sarah, Shane, and I |
Scott and I made it back to the car about ten minutes after
the others and were able to make our appointment with Outdoor Adventures. Upon arrival we were each given a
wetsuit, flippers, goggles, and a snorkel. We were then led to a large speedboat sitting on the
beach. After everyone had gotten a
seat and had a life jacket on, the boat was pushed into the ocean by a
tractor. This boat ride was brief
(about 10 minutes) and was incredible.
I was able to see wild Dolphins for the first time in my life! They were jumping on all sides of us as
we made our way to the seals. The
Cape Fur Seals were adorable and quiet loud as we pulled up the rocks. They are total acrobats in the water
and move effortlessly. Everyone in
the boat donned their gear and hopped in!
The ocean was cold initially, but the feeling was quickly forgotten as
seals swam inches from you.
Sometimes they would swim at your face making you reel backwards in an
awkwardly slow attempt to get out of the way (of course each seal turns deftly
at the last second). Shortly after
jumping into the water I was startled as a baby swam against the length of my
arm and passed through my hand, it was so soft! Naturally, I freaked out because I thought it might turn and
bite me (none have ever bitten anyone, though they are completely wild)! Shane had a couple of fun encounters of
his own as he frequently had seals slowly float in front of him, face-to-face,
and the animal would suddenly open its mouth and display its teeth. We have no idea if it was talking to
the others or making a display, but Shane panicked each time and surfaced quiet
rapidly. We were incredibly lucky
to have Scott with us as he has an underwater camera, so he was able to both
film and take photos of this excursion!
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| Me and some Cape Fur Seals! Was awesome! |
About a half hour later we had to get back into the boat and
head back to land. We saw more Dolphins
on the way back and were able to attempt some photos. Coming back onto land was interesting as the boat pointed
itself directly at the beach and was then launched onto it. Everyone was grinning ear-to-ear as we
walked back to take off all of our gear.
We went back to the hostel and took turns showering (which felt good
after having salt water destroy your hair). The rest of the evening was spent upstairs in the bar,
as this was where the food was going to be cooked (earlier in the day Dan had purchased
food and we each paid him 30R for the meal). He started us off with sandwiches; these were essentially
bread with butter, tomatoes, cheese, and onions. These sandwiches (along with all of the food) were cooked in
an open oven (similar to a fireplace).
Everyone inhaled this first tidbit. Second came the sausage, this tasted similar to Ostrich, but
no one was positive to its identity.
Next came some pork chops, though they were good, only about 2 inches of
mine was edible as the rest was gristle and fat. After this, some people ate little slabs of beef (I
didn’t). The conclusion of the main course brought with it the dessert, bananas filled with chocolate and
caramel. These were delicious!
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| The "Oven." |
After being fed, Melissa, Shane, Allie, Sarah, and I went
down to the lounge area and played Catch Phrase. It didn’t take long for Mark to join us. Mark is an odd character that no one
knows (as in he was not an international student like everyone else there), he
was average height, barrel-chested, with a disproportionally small head, and we
believe the number 30 shaved on the back of it. Throughout the duration of our stay he would awkwardly join
our conversations, games, and activities.
You could pointedly ignore the guy and would still get input and weird laughs. We all quickly discovered just how
tired we were from a day of activity and sun exposure (and wary of Mark) and
slowly made our way to bed.
Sunday morning we all packed up and loaded our things into
the car. We turned in our keys and
said goodbye to Kaya, who was incredibly cuddly that morning. It took about an hour for us to
actually be able to leave as a car had parked behind us and the owners were
nowhere to be found! After
searching and questioning everyone we determined that they had walked somewhere
into town. We promptly lifted the car to left of
ours and set it down at an angle in the hopes that it would be enough for our
car to squeeze past. After much
maneuvering, Shane was able to get our car next to the ownerless vehicle. We then allowed Glenn (from Ireland) to
move a car that was partially in the way.
Success! Earlier in the
weekend we had planned on doing a sea kayaking trip, but had opted to swim with
the seals (it is that much better to swim with them than to see them from a
distance in a boat) instead. With
the morning now free, we did some shopping and were able to get some awesome
gifts for friends and family back home!
We enjoyed lunch on the beach with myself having a chicken mayo, chips
(fries), and a blue slushy. Shane
opted for a chicken burger. After
eating we did a little more shopping in the parking lot (as people post up
everywhere) and snagged a couple more things.
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| Ring-Tailed Lemur |
After a little indecision we decided to travel to Monkeyland
which was about 20 minutes out of town and on the way through to Port
Elizabeth. Before even entering
the park, we spotted wild baboons interacting on the side of the road. After taking a couple of photos we
parked in front of the park, loaded up with bug spray, and headed in. We were slightly rushed as we
discovered the tour takes about an hour to get through and Melidssa and Sarah’s
appointment for the bungee jump was at 2.
This ended up working out alright as we left for Bloukrans at 1:50 and
the company was still getting everyone else in their time slot ready. Back to Monkeyland, the park is
actually a sanctuary where monkeys go after being owned by people to be
rehabilitated and to learn how to be wild. We were not allowed to touch any of them, but they are
allowed to approach you (which numerous did without hesitation). There was one instance where a small
contingent of us (Shane, Sarah, Jamie, and I) fell behind the rest of the group
and got very close to Ring-Tailed Lemurs.
We were scolded by the guide as he had to come back to fetch us, but
this was worth it. We saw many
species of monkey and my visit was complete upon seeing the one Black Lemur in
the entire sanctuary. At the very
end of the tour we were able to cross one of the largest suspension bridges in
Africa!
Seeing as we were cutting it awfully close for Melissa and
Sarah’s appointment we practically flew to get to Face Adrenalin (the company
that does the jump). While they
got suited up, Shane and I made our way very slowly past all of the souvenirs
that were laid out on the lawn in
front of the businesses. We did
not end up purchasing anything and walked into the restaurant where there was a
view of the bridge. We spent an
hour and a half watching each person take their turn off the jump and got
increasingly more excited for our own turn which is sadly still a couple of
weeks away! I will go into more
detail about the bungee itself once Shane and I do it! The ride back to Port Elizabeth was
relaxing. We stopped at Pick n’
Pay to get groceries while we still had the benefit of the car and then dropped
the girls off at Annie’s. Shane
and I then stopped at Roman’s to have a pizza. We got home, scarfed the food down, and crashed.
Monday morning was lazy, especially since we were able to
drive the car to class (it did not need to be returned until noon). After class we brought Scott home with
us to simultaneously give him a tour and exchange photos from the weekend. With the photos successfully exchanged, we dropped him back off at
the school and headed to the nearest Pep store to purchase a new phone (since
ours only worked through texting). As we were headed to the store I was playing
with our phone and suddenly it was making sounds with each button press. I took advantage of this and called
Rochelle to ensure she would be waiting at the airport when we dropped off the
rental. The call worked! With this revelation we went back home
and waited until it was closer to noon before heading to the airport. Dropping the car off took about 5
minutes in which the staff gave it a cursory check and sent you on your
way. Seeing as this was again
faster than we had anticipated we waited for the taxi to show up and discovered
that the phone was again faulty. When
Rochelle arrived we had her take us to Pep where we bought another phone and
then were dropped off at Southport.
We hung around for a little while and then walked out to Annie’s (as the
bikes were not to be picked up until today [Tuesday]).
Once there, Allie and I began working on our watermelon
helmets. The ones worn by two guys
while at a rugby match inspired this random idea! The carving went well and in our down time I was able to
acquire some Disney movies from Sarah!
We spent a couple of hours working on these helmets and only donned them
for about 10 minutes, but it was well worth it. The rest of the night was spent working on homework for
Ethics and Corporate Governance.
Before heading out for class this morning, Shane made a call
to the bike store to confirm them picking up our bikes today. The time they told us they would be
coming would have us both in class, so we gave them the lock codes for our
bikes and left them secured to our front gate. During the call Shane had intended to ask questions about
the bikes, but was unable to as our phone ran out of airtime during the call
(this is incredibly annoying when this is never a problem with our 700 minute
phone plan with Verizon – curse prepaid phones). The walk to school this morning was hot. The sun was out in
full force and there was surprisingly no wind. After an incredibly boring class with a difficult to
understand professor (today’s lecturer originates from Germany) we ate with
André
at Madibaz and then walked back home.
I promptly took a 3-hour nap (totally necessary)! Shane managed to do laundry while I was
out and then joined me in some much-needed rest. Once I woke up, I started dinner (chicken breast on toast
with French fries). I can never
quite get the timing right on the food, but Shane took over and fixed it. As we were sitting down to eat, one of
our roommates, Adam, knocked on the door and came in. He informed us of a white man in his early forties attempted
to steal our bikes while they sat out front today! Apparently he was harshly jerking on the chain, but
obviously accomplished nothing.
Adam chased him away and then watched as 30 minutes later Action Cycles
showed up and took our bicycles to the shop. It is pretty pathetic when someone resorts to an attempt at
theft in broad daylight. The rest
of the night should be easy-going, though I get to Skype with my parents in an
hour and a half!
