In the month that has passed we finished up our classes and are currently in the midst of taking finals. The system here has our four finals spread over four weeks, such a waste of a month! I will never again hate our American system of taking all finals during the course of one week. The worst one that Shane and I have suffered through thus far was for Ethics and Corporate Governance; the test was three hours long and all writing! Multiple choice is now the best thing in the world in my eyes! I digress.
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| The Three Hogs |
We took probably our last trip outside of PE on Tuesday to Hogsback, South Africa. This place is not something one would envision when thinking about Africa as it was mountainous and had sprawling forests. Gorgeous! Sarah and Allie were the ones who mentioned the place and consequently invited us along. Hogsback was the least crowded place we have been to thus far and provided us with some much-needed quiet. It also had a majestic quality to it, which was carried about everywhere as the place became popular thanks to J.R.R Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings books (he was apparently inspired to write them because of Hogsback’s beauty). Everywhere we went things were named either after hogs or magic.
Tuesday morning saw us leaving Port Elizabeth around 11 with Allie behind the wheel of our Volkswagen Polo Vivo. We ended up taking a 1-hour detour (completely out of the way) because there were two roads with the same name and Google Maps failed to specify properly. Our mistake became apparent when the ocean came into view and we arrived in Port Alfred, as our destination was more North than the Easterly direction we ended up in. After Allie and Shane tried three different businesses they were able to acquire a map and pinpoint our mistake. After this mishap we were on track and arrived in Hogsback.
Away With the Fairies was the backpackers accommodation we enjoyed for the two nights that we stayed. The four of us occupied a two-bedroom cottage aptly named The Hobbit complete with a fireplace and full kitchen (we were expecting the entire thing to consist of one room). We unpacked some of our things and then explored the property. The property had a viewpoint complete with a bathtub that literally sits on the edge of the cliff and looks at the “three hogs.” The tub is functional, but for hot water a fire has to be built and the water brought to a boil (primitive, I know). With our curiosity sated for the moment, we explored the town and found the one food place that was open (named Enchanted). The food here sucked. It came out slowly and it was warm at best. The menu for my meal specified two chicken drumsticks with a gravy of my choosing, chips, and a salad. All of it came out at once (instead of the salad before the meal) and we later learned that I was charged extra for the gravy, which I did not end up eating because of its horrid taste. The salad consisted of six leaves with some mayonnaise-like dressing and chopped tomatoes and cucumbers. Allie’s salad experience was even worse and was one leaf and two tomatoes... It is safe to say we were disappointed and still hungry by the end of the meal. After eating and then stopping at a grocery store to buy snacks for the night and Wednesday’s hiking, we arrived back at our lodgings and put on a couple more layers of clothing (it was freezing)! It was pitch black by the time we had gotten back and this was not helped by the complete lack of lighting anywhere. We obviously had lighting in our cabin, but none was used on the streets here or anywhere on Fairies’ property. We requested a flashlight from the office and then made our way to the tree house on site. This was an adventure as the light was simply a strap and tiny bulb meant to go around one’s forehead; Allie donned the light and led the way up the ladder. I went last and climbed in absolute darkness. The climb was worth it. The tree house (more of a deck) was 15 meters high and had an incredible view of Hogsback. With no lights anywhere in sight we could see more stars than we have ever seen in our lives. It was breathtaking (and cold). After twenty minutes or so of enjoying the view we attempted to build a fire back at our place. Much trial and error ensued, but eventually we were successful. We talked for a couple of hours and then called it a night, as we would be getting up early to watch the sun rise over the mountains. Never before have I worn so much clothing to bed. I ended up sleeping in leggings with sweat pants over top of them, socks, a tank top, and a t-shirt on top of that. I really wish people had central heating here.
Around 6 the next morning we were out of bed and back to the viewpoint. It was lightly misting when we left and this created a barrier from even being able to see the hogs, let alone the sun. With our efforts wasted we made breakfast, packed up, and headed out to the nature trail. The sights were incredible and the climbing rough. We fell and took detours, a lot. There were Samango monkeys and some baboons that we came across which was out of place in a forest that looked like the woods back home might. The waterfalls were easily the best part of the hiking, though the mist that was ever-present over the trees was enjoyable in its own right. After 6 hours of hiking up and down the mountainsides we were exhausted and famished. When we got back to The Hobbit we changed and found food at Happy Hogs, which was delicious! The night that followed was less eventful and consisted of us watching the two soccer games that aired that night (both of the teams Shane was rooting for won: Portugal and Germany).
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| Sarah, Me, Allie, and Shane! |
Thursday morning we ate breakfast, packed everything up, and made our way to another backpackers where we would be utilizing their horses for a one-hour trail ride. We were greeted by Shane and received some lessons on how to control our horses (as he uses a method that does not place a bit (piece of metal) in the horse’s mouth and does not shoe his horses either). These were easily the most responsive horses I have ever ridden on. The ride was a lot of fun, especially seeing Shane with a helmet on (he was the only one) and to watch him struggle to get his horse (Baloo) to follow commands. At a couple of points we were able to gallop through the forest, it was thrilling! The trees whip by and the only sound is that of your horse’s breathing and pounding hooves. Towards the end of the ride we enjoyed going down a steep slope that was very muddy and that our horses just slid down on. My horse, Baron, seemed to enjoy this part the most and was very eager to just barrel down it, whereas Baloo (Shane’s horse), who was in front of me, took timid steps and ultimately resulted in me ramming him twice. It was so much fun! After all was said and done we thanked Shane and said good-bye to his five dogs and other animals that have free roam over his entire property. The drive home only ended up with two wrong turns and we made it back safely.
Shane and I are definitely getting antsy to be home, only 15 days left!
