Another
relatively uneventful school week went by, but concluded with a lot of fun over
the weekend! Monday is really the
only day that we did anything noteworthy, which included our first Rugby match. We walked with a small group of friends
from Annie’s and arrived a couple of minutes into the match. Upon sitting down we discovered just
how lax the rules are in regards to crowd etiquette. A small cluster of boys were smoking “hookah” right in front
of us during the entire course of the game and another individual was carrying
around a beer bong allowing just about everybody to use it. There was also a random man painted in
blue that ran back and forth in front of the crowd during the game’s duration
and was constantly having beer cans thrown to him (which he would then toss
back at the crowd once he had consumed them). Overall, the experience was entertaining and definitely
worlds apart from college sports in the U.S.
Friday
was the first day of our Frontier Farms trip with NMMU. This trip entailed a group of
international students (there were 22 of us total) traveling about 4 hours to
stay with 2 South African farm families who would show us what they do on a
day-to-day basis. Shane and I got
up at 7:45 to ensure we would be ready to leave for the school at 9:00 (as the
bus was scheduled to leave at 9:50 -- it didn’t). We all packed ourselves into 2 vans (our bags were thrown
into a small trailer attached to one of the vehicles) and headed out. The drive was leisurely and scenic;
immediately outside of Port Elizabeth you see the Indian Ocean for a little
while, followed by sand dunes that look like huge mountains interspersed with
green grass, then on top of a high ridge that overlooks valleys full of trees,
vegetation, and civilization, and once the pavement ended we were surrounded by
mountains. About an hour and a
half outside of Port Elizabeth we made a pit stop at Nanaga Farm Stalls where
we were able to purchase snacks (similar to a convenience store, but with a
bakery, restaurant, and courtyard).
Shane and I had a buttered roll, a koeksister (which we only had a bite
of because it was too sweet-looks like a braided pretzel coated in a sugary glaze),
and a circle of shortbread. It was also unusual having to pay to use the
toilets. We crammed ourselves back
into the vans after about 10 minutes and headed out.
I
spotted a couple of antelope species and a monkey before the pavement ended and
we found ourselves on barely graveled roads. The vans shuddered and made horrendous sounds the entire way
through (which seemed like an hour).
The views were nice here though because we got our first taste of the
mountains and quick flashes of wildlife in the distance. Upon arrival at our destination we met
Winnie and Manus (and their Schnauzer, Charlie Brown) who welcomed us and
quickly brought the group inside to eat sandwiches. After stuffing our faces we went back outside with Manus and
helped catch sheep. It was quickly
apparent that herding sheep and catching the ones with tails was difficult for
our uncoordinated group. When a
baby was finally snagged we were horrified with what we were actually doing
with them. The sheep need to be
both castrated (if male, obviously) and have their tails removed. Saying this made us think we would be
cutting off appendages, when in fact we would be using a contraption that
places a rubber band around either the base of the tail or scrotum. Over time the body part just falls off
because of the cease in blood flow.
All of this is done because of a certain species of fly that targets
sheep; these flies lay eggs on the animals, which in turn hatch and begin
eating the animal alive (which as you can imagine is both unpleasant and
fatal). The castration was
necessary as all of his sheep are bred to studs from another farm to remove the
possibility of inbreeding.
Apparently the animals don’t feel any pain when the blood flow is
stopped and the extremities fall off within a week.
After
pestering the sheep and leaving covered in feces, dirt, and our own blood (not
me, as I helped herd, but did not pick any up) we were taken to a mountain pool
and waterfall. To accomplish
reaching our destination we all packed into Manus’ truck bed (again, there were
22 of us) and drove up some rough, barely visible roads. Once there, we had to pile out and
climb down some steep cliff faces to get access to the pool. The water was refreshing and it was a
challenge to swim against the current (so that we could sit by the
waterfall). We were able to play
and explore for about an hour before we headed back to the farm to milk cows.
Before going to see the cows we were
all given the opportunity to feed “Tiny,” their rather large Eland (the largest
antelope, weighing in at 1,500 pounds and standing 5’ 10”). We left Tiny and went to the milking stall. Shane and I opted to watch a couple of
people help milk the cows as they simultaneously kept an eye out for those relieving themselves.
We freshened up (as much as
possible) before we were fed some corn on the cob, fresh bread (heated up by
fire) with butter, and freshly squeezed orange juice. Winnie and Manus also provided some beer and wine, which
neither of us touched. About 2
hours after being fed the corn and bread (and socializing with everyone) we
were brought inside to eat dinner (this being 8:30pm). It was delicious and consisted of
chicken (which was seemingly haphazardly cut as there was a lot of gristle and
bone), a vegetable concoction, sweet potatoes, pumpkin bars, and garlic
bread! Around 10pm a small group
of us left which included all 4 boys and whatever girls were unable to stay
with the first family (which included me) to stay with the other family
(Francois, Arielle [sp], and their Wire Fox Terrier Busman-kind of rhymes with
loose man). The drive from the
first farm to the second was about a half hour in the dark and was scary as we
crossed over a bridge that had been washed out by flooding (the driver was
literally inches away from having our tires be off the side of the bridge).
Upon
arrival at this second home the girls were brought to a guesthouse and the boys
stayed in the main house. We
quickly spotted a rather large spider on the ceiling (in the girl’s
accommodation) and enlisted Francois to dispose of it. No one here uses screens for their
doors or windows, so bugs are nothing to them when they enter the home (though
they are promptly killed if discovered).
After killing that first spider the rest of us checked under our beds
and in corners for other overtly large arachnids, we found none and promptly
went to sleep. Shane had a
more uneventful night in the house, but rather enjoyed his zebra-themed
bedroom.
The
next morning we were served breakfast on a patio with thatched roofing (just
entwined twigs and vines) that consisted of fresh cereal, milk, and
coffee. Shortly after finishing
the cereal, breakfast sandwiches were brought out (these consisted of cheese,
egg, and tomato) along with freshly squeezed orange juice. We were able to explore their home
after finishing the food and were pleasantly surprised with the “mansion.” The house had a very large kitchen,
dining area, foyer, guest bedrooms, master bedroom, trophy room with a bar,
family room, swimming pool, patio, tennis court, and excessive grounds
(perfectly manicured with a lot of fountains). After eating, the group piled into three trucks and drove
out to see how sheep are sheared.
Francois was driving the truck that Shane and I were in and actually
chased some Ostriches with it before we got there.
The
sheep were essentially catatonic while being worked on and only struggled when the
blades of the shears nicked them. Once
all four sheep were done being trimmed a prize was given to the employee we
deemed did the best job (fewest cuts and overall quality of the job). After that, we drove for at least a
half hour to the base of a mountain we would be climbing that day. It was definitely more work than I
anticipated and each time I crested a ledge (thinking I had reached the top)
there was another one waiting for me!
After about 5 breaks (where I sat down on a rock and panted) I reached
the top. Ryan was the first male
to the top and Erin the first female so they were each awarded a bottle of
South African wine. We were some
of the first people to reach the peak, so we were able to cool off, take
pictures, and enjoy the scenery while the rest of the pack slowly made it to
the top. It was hard to find
places to sit down because a herd of sheep climbs up there every night to sleep
(makes it more difficult, if not impossible for predators to reach them) and poop over every inch of grass. When everyone was satisfied with
picture taking we climbed back into the trucks and were driven to a “dam” to
swim and have a picnic. Again we
were provided sandwiches (these with ham, cucumbers, tomatoes, cheese, lettuce,
and mayonnaise), orange or banana/guava juice, apples, and chocolate treats filled
with marshmallows. Another long
bout of driving on incredibly bumpy roads brought us back to Francois’ home
where we enjoyed the pool and four different fresh pies that had been baked for
us.
At
this point in the day we were all exhausted and many took naps. I explored the property while Shane
napped and later hung out with Zach (from Minnesota) and the family’s pet Parrot
named with the equivalent of “Birdie” in Afrikaans. This bird was capable of making the most shrill car horn
sound ever! It also muttered a
couple of indecipherable phrases (perhaps they were spoken in Afrikaans). Once Shane awoke, we made our way back
into the family room (where everyone was surrounding the TV watching a rugby
match). We probably floated around
in there for an hour and then were brought out to a storage shed to shoot a
target with a .22 caliber rifle. I
opted not to shoot, but Shane was the second person to go (out of 15 or so) and
hit the absolute dead center of the bull’s eye on his second shot (each person
was given two bullets). We watched
everyone else take their turn, with a couple of them getting close to, but not
quite at, the bull’s eye. Shane
was awarded a bottle of South African wine, which we won't be opening until we
get home. Later in the evening Shane
and I went into the trophy room where Francois walked us through each trophy he
has mounted. The Giraffe was
incredible and required 4 shots from a .416 caliber rifle to bring down (he
explained to me that this Giraffe was on a friend’s property in Zimbabwe and
was a loner – did not interact with the other 4 which meant no breeding would
occur). We were abruptly pulled
from this conversation to be presented with a bottle of sparkling wine and a
note attached congratulating Shane and I on our 5-year anniversary of
dating! Neither of us anticipated
this gift and was shocked at how discreet everyone managed to be!
Shortly
after that surprise, dinner was served: steak, corn bread, scalloped potatoes,
cold pasta salad, and bread with butter.
We all inhaled this delicious meal and then piled back into the trucks
for a night game-drive. We spotted
Impala, Mountain Reebok, Kudu, and even a Bat-Eared Fox! During the drive we were startled by
Josh (who had been riding in the truck in front of us) as he had hidden in the
bushes and jumped out at us as we passed.
He repeated this performance later on to get back onto the truck he
started the trip with. We all went
to bed once we got back from the night drive and slept soundly.
Sunday
morning brought a cloudy day, though still comfortable outside in comparison
with the cloudless day before (90 degrees). Our group packed up our stuff and met up with the other
group at Winnie and Manus’, where we had breakfast sandwiches (tomato, cheese,
and egg), coffee, and fresh orange juice.
Manus also showed 5 of us a baby Kudu (2-weeks old) that we helped feed.
After this we waited for those staying
at Winnie’s to pack up their stuff and then said goodbye to Winnie and Charlie
Brown. Manus drove with our two
vans to a clearing where Francois was waiting in his truck. We all piled into the two trucks and
drove through some farmland and a couple of properties to a path (where the
trucks could not travel). We all
clambered out and walked through tall grasses, short trees, and crossed a small
stream that required us to jump from rock to rock. We finally reached a small river of water that disappeared
around a bend that had two sheer cliff faces on either side. Some of the group opted to ride in
canoes, while Shane, myself, and the others swam to the waterfall. This water was much cooler and the bottom
was impossible to reach in some areas (though most of the time we could stand
on slippery rocks under the surface).
To reach the waterfall we had to climb a little ways and once there, found
a small pool surrounded by rock on all side that the waterfall poured into (it
was maybe 5 x 5 feet around). In
here we also watched a crab drop into the water and decided to not swim in that
general area. 
A
couple of those in the canoes got soaked (making us glad we opted for swim
suits)! A small contingent of us
swam back to land and walked back to the trucks (the others had to go one by
one in the canoes to get back to land from the waterfall). We waited there for a little while and
then requested to go back to the vans to get into dry clothes before the drive
home (instead of waiting for the other people to get back as they were taking
forever)! Caramel suckers and more
juice greeted us when we got back to the vans. The other truck showed up after about ten minutes, we said
our goodbyes to Manus and Francois (who told Shane and I that the next time he
sees us we better still be together), and headed home.
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