Walmer Township

Life continues on in beautiful Port Elizabeth despite the approaching departure of its two favorite temporary residents. The last part of our adventure is being spent filling up on experiences. Although there is not a lot to tell, there is a lot to show.

While we were in Port Alfred we mentioned to Mrs. Lees-Rolfe that we would like to help out in one of the townships and get more involved there. She suggested we get in contact with the Summerstrand United Church. Following our weekend getaway, Gretchen began sending out e-mails while I continued my student teaching at Pearson.

We were able to get in contact with a program that reached out to Walmer Township…

Just a re-cap. Townships are areas in which the black population of South Africa was forced to relocate during Apartheid. Although Apartheid has ended, there is much work to be done and much of the black population still live in these areas. Unfortunately, the townships are rampant with poverty and there is a large drinking problem. These two facts contribute to squalid living conditions for the people there. One could write volumes of books about why things continue to be so bad. However, ours is not to question why, ours is but to serve and try.

Continuing…There is a soup kitchen there as well as a brick-building project. Soup kitchen is fairly self-explanatory. The brick-building project is actually a great idea. Unemployment in South Africa is somewhere in the range of 40% at this point so it is difficult for the few men in the townships who WANT to work to find jobs. With the help of Summerstrand United, men spend the day making bricks and then sell them. The church barely makes enough to pay for the materials, but the hope is to get the people in the township to take ownership of their situation and work towards getting themselves out of it.

In addition to the brick-building project and soup kitchen, there is also a vegetable garden. This is another attempt to make Walmer Township residents more self-sufficient…to paraphrase, if you give a man a cucumber he eats for a day, if you teach a man to garden he eats for a lifetime!

It is not surprising that I have found myself working more with the children. They are in desperate need of love and attention. So, I spend my time there reaching out to the children. There is one girl who speaks fairly fluent English, but I have found that with a little effort (and translation from Nomala) I communicate with the other children as well. Gretchen and I were a little timid with them at first because the children are not well kept and disease was on our minds. However, we have gotten over that and now greet the children with hugs and high fives for all.

Here are some pictures of the place we go in Walmer Township. It was incredible how much the kids liked getting their pictures taken.

This is a typical residential area in the townships

We served soup to the children first. They would come up and get the soupe out of plastic buckets and put them into any container they could get a hold of.

This is a picture of me with the children we see every Wednesday.

We have had amazing adventures joining lions on the hunt and seeing the incredible beauty South Africa has to offer. This was an experience of a different type that will remain with us for the remainder of our lives.

Ratios, Rates and Port Alfred

Pearson High School’s fourth term started after break and I had a few lesson plans to finish. So, we spent Sunday recuperating and getting things ready for Monday. After all, in my head I was convinced that the first lesson would set the tone for how things were going to go…(unnecessary pressure, I know). Sunday night I had a little trouble falling asleep. This was partly due to excitement and partly due to nervousness. I kept running through the lessons and the order of the lessons and the wording I would use to explain concepts in my head as well as trying to anticipate where the students would have difficulty. Luckily, the first part was simply a pretest to see where the students were at in their knowledge of ratios and rates…

Here’s my biggest issue…

I am not totally ignorant about how students (and most adults) feel about mathematics. I am part of that rare and strange variety that enjoys solving mathematical problems and sees them as puzzles. For the rest of the world math sucks…I get it. Unfortunately, I take this knowledge and second-guess the activities and exercises more so in my math lessons than social studies lessons. I truly believe math can be made to be exciting, and with that in mind, I plan my lessons. This is something I will have to simply get over, but for all of those who are less than enthusiastic about math, give it a chance!

The first week went very well in that the students behaved well and participated in the lessons. Whether they absorbed any of the material was yet to be seen. Although Pearson High School’s academic curriculum is lecture-based, I was able to use what my Kent State professor, Dr. Brooks, would call ‘wiggle room’. My lovely behind the scenes assistant, a.k.a Gretchen, took some time to stamp and cut up note cards for an activity we thought up to help students learn a concept on fractions and ratios. I arrived home that day in complete shock. The reason being, which I immediately relayed to Gretchen, was that some of the students came up to me after class and told me how much they appreciated the ‘fun’ activity and that it really helped them learn…seriously, it was like one of those corny movies about a teacher that makes a difference! Even stranger is that the lesson involved a brief interaction with plastic baggies filled with cut up pieces of paper…not exactly what I thought would be the thrill ride of a lifetime. I suppose this is a testament to how valuable physical manipulatives (teacher jargon for stuff kids physically play with to help learn) are to the learning process. Unfortunately, it also emphasizes the distinct lack of this kind of learning the students are receiving.

Week two was also smooth sailing, but my Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University professor, Dr. Singh, was to evaluate me on that Thursday! I was confident I knew my lesson and I knew my content, but there were two things that worried me. First of all, when I get nervous when teaching, my speech is clocked at around 100 miles a minute. So, when the time came, I had to continually remind myself to pace accordingly. The other potential disaster comes from the fact that children can be unpredictable. An angelic class can have a bad day where their mouths uncontrollably spew out disruptive talk without end, or the class one would believe was karma for some previous transgression could be perfect. Is this something I could control? Of course not…however…does that every stop most people from worrying about it anyway?

Dr. Singh came, he observed and he recorded…

Afterwards we sat down and he had very positive things to say. I will allow myself a brief moment to be smug: He said that he was trying to find something to criticize me (constructively, of course) about, but could not think of anything. Dr. Singh had noticed that I can be hesitant when speaking with him, and he was worried that had transferred to my teaching. He was glad to see it hadn’t. He was off and I was left to sit and bask in the knowledge that not only was the observation over (so my anxiety could dissipate), but I received full marks! Camera flashes went off, crowds cheered…I claimed I was going to Disneyworld. I immediately called up Gretchen to tell her the good news, which she was equally excited about.

Aside from teaching my lessons, I also have started an after-school tutoring program in Mathematics (or Maths as they call it…why they add the ‘s’, I do not know). I say program, but in reality it is me working with students attempting to clarify concepts. At first I assumed no students would come for extra help. However, starting the first day, I had a group of girls who showed up asking if I was giving ‘extra Maths lessons’. By the end of the second week, I was working with students who were not even in my classes! The students valued my time and teaching, this made me feel very good about myself and my abilities as a teacher.

As if all of this were not enough excitement, my cooperating teacher, Mrs. Lees-Rolfe, invited Gretchen and I, along with the other students at Pearson, to a weekend getaway with her family in Port Alfred. Apparently, they have a vacation home there and she was kind enough to offer to take us for the weekend. My first reaction was to respectively decline as I saw it as a potential awkward situation. However, Dr. Singh’s words shouted in my head, “Take advantage of every opportunity!” So, we accepted. The other students eventually decided to come as well, but I think part of their motivation was that they were asked to monitor detention (DT for Pearsonites) on Saturday. In the end, the caravan consisted of the other American from Ohio, two Australian girls, Mrs. Lees-Rolf and her husband Arthur, their daughter Michelle and the two of us. We were packed into two cars and off we went!

Their vacation home was fairly close to the ocean. However, the weather was not cooperative for the weekend. It was rainy and chilly the entire time we were in Port Alfred. Even so, it was a great getaway for all of us. We mostly sat around the house, watched movies and played Bananagrams. It was wonderful to get to know Mrs. Lees-Rolfe and her family and to get to know the other students much better as well.

The two of us in Port Alfred.

One of the most eye opening experiences of our entire time in South Africa thus far also happened while we were in Port Alfred. Mrs. Lees-Rolfe’s father is heavily involved with a unique situation. There is a woman in town named Molly who decided with her husband to adopt ten AIDS babies (meaning their parents had AIDS) because they were not able to have children themselves. This was quite a while ago. Since then, people have dropped children on this woman’s doorstep and she sees it as her Christian obligation to take them in…she cannot turn them away. Presently, she feeds anywhere between 50 and 90 people a day. She gets her funding from private donations and a local church. Mrs. Lees-Rolfe’s father has become very involved in this and we were able to go and see this incredible woman’s home. Unfortunately, she was not there when she visited but one of the older children showed us around. It is difficult to describe the place. It was clean, but full of children. At the time neither Gretchen nor I felt comfortable taking pictures. In our minds these children were not some tourist attraction to use as photo opportunities. Both of us now regret not getting any pictures. Regardless, the experience is something that neither of us will ever forget.

The weekend came to a close and the caravan headed back to Port Elizabeth after lunch Sunday afternoon. Another week passed and we found ourselves over halfway through this incredible adventure. It is strange to think that in not a lot of time at all, South Africa, the people I have met here and the town of Port Elizabeth will be only a memory…

Our Holiday Part 3

The first stop on the last part of our trip was in wine country.  More specifically, a small town called Franshhoek.  It is 45 minutes outside of Cape Town so we arrived mid-afternoon at the Realou Bed and Breakfast.  Because we were so early, we were not able to check in.  However, the hostess had a great suggestion that we go have a leisurely lunch at one of the restaurants (Franshhoek has eight out of the top 100 restaurants in South Africa) before our winery tour at Haute Cabriere.  This seemed like a fine idea so off we went for a nice relaxing lunch.

Gretchen and I decided to eat lunch at another winery that was across the road from Haute Cabriere.  Our table had a beautiful view over a grape vineyard and the food was fairly good.  I tried a dish which I had never heard of before, and although the portion was a bit smaller than I had anticipated, it was good nonetheless.  Gretchen’s meal was wonderful, but we both decided that dessert was in order.

The dessert we received was magnificent.  Both of us agreed that it was the best dessert we have had by far.  Although the Mount Nelson Hotel’s spread had great quantity (and excellent quality), the presentation and taste of this dessert was, as I said at the time, happiness in a dessert!

After lunch we decided to take pictures of our view:

 We had lunch with a great view of the valley

The vineyard where we ate lunch

We still had about an hour before the winery tour was to begin, but we headed to Haute Cabriere early anyway.  I am glad that we did because we were able to look around for a while and take some pictures.  The woman at the desk informed us that she was waiting to see who else was coming on the tour and that we’d start in 20 minutes.

Haute Cabriere was built from an old mine so it goes into the mountain

No one else came...which was wonderful news for the two of us.

The tour was very informative in that we learned how they make champagne and the history of Haute Cabriere.  There was one piece of information that both of us were shocked by.  Apparently, they need to import their oak wine barrels from France.  This is because the oak in South Africa is too porous and is lower quality.  This was understandable.  However, they pay R7000 (or around $1000 US) per barrel!  If that weren’t enough, they can only use the barrels for three batches of wine.  After that they are used for brandy but not for long.  The barrels are then turned into furniture or used for other things, but not for fermented drinks.  This knowledge makes me appreciate the low prices of wine here even more.

All of this was a precursor to the best part…the tastings!  The two of us sat down and were given paper designed to inform us more about champagnes and the ones we were drinking.  The first champagne was brought out and we were given our tastes.  Honestly, we felt a little funny being the only ones there.  It was great because everything was very personal, however, and the enjoyment overshadowed any strangeness.  Perhaps the best part of the whole experience was with the second sample of champagne.  In order to open the bottle, the owner’s wife showed us a method called sabrage.

Apparently, ‘in the olden days’, the armies would celebrate with champagne.  However, the corks were poor quality and would often break off in the bottle.  The officers, most likely to avoid mutiny, solved this problem by taking their sabres and simply cutting off the top part of the bottle.  This is where, as we were told, the saying, ‘crack open a bottle of wine’ comes from!  When I heard this, I expected the glass to shatter.  However, she took us outside, counted to three and with one swipe the cork and piece of the neck went flying.  I think it was mostly the process of opening the bottle that made this my favorite champagne.  In comparison, the next three tastings seemed rather tame…perhaps they could have let me take a swipe at it!

Sabrage! (see the cork in the top right?)

The remainder of the afternoon was spent walking around what we assumed to be downtown Franshhoek.  It was a quaint town with many shops.  After having our fill of shopping, we decided to check into Realou and begin thinking about dinner.

Realou is absolutely beautiful.  Gretchen and continually remarked that if money were not an issue, we would love to take a large group of people to stay at this bed and breakfast.  There were five bedrooms spaced throughout the complex.  In the middle was a swimming pool and a spa.  The main building had the reception and kitchen in it.  However, they had a covered porch with a sectional couch outside.  It was amazing.  Once again, however, Gretchen and I were the only guests.

The courtyard of Realou

After a day of tastings, I was in the mood for Italian.  We drove along the main road and found an Italian restaurant (what luck!).  I got a simple spaghetti with meat sauce…but it was absolutely incredible.  The sauce was more meat than sauce and had a different taste.  I do not know exactly how to describe it…perhaps a smoky flavor?  Either way, awesome…just awesome.  The restaurant itself was decorated wonderfully and the excellent atmosphere was topped off with a fire place near where we were seated.  We once again had dessert.  The food alone is worth the trip to Franshhoek.  I cannot say enough about the quality of food and service this town provided.  So, I will stop here…mostly because I am getting very hungry just thinking about it!

Our Italian dinner...so good

As I said before, we were the only guests at Realou Bed and Breakfast.  This created a strange situation the next morning…not bad, just strange.  Gretchen and I awoke and got ready for the day before heading to breakfast.  We entered the main building and were directed to the dining room.  Upon entering the empty room, Gretchen made the observation that there were more staff members present than guests!  We were given wonderful service but the emptiness gave the room an eerie feeling.  When we finished our meals, we had one more look around Realou then headed to our next destination: Oudtshoorn.

This part of the drive was rather desolate and we only saw a few other cars during the six hour car ride.  The landscape, however, was enough to keep us company.  Before going further, allow me to back up.  We drove N2 to Cape Town, if you remember, but decided to go on Route 62 the way back through wine country…so our scenary was quite different.  Anyway, so the drive was beautiful but as any six hour drive would be, long.  Upon arrival in Oudtshoorn, we found Backpacker’s Paradise.  This was both of our first experiences in a backpacker’s lodge, so we did not know what to expect.  I am fairly certain that we stayed at the nicest backpacker’s lodge in Oudtshoorn.  We were given our own room which had a full bath!  It was very safe there and even provided exquisite dining (although we chose to opt out so we could see the town).  Unfortunately, it was later in the day so we were not able to see the Cango Caves or ride ostriches!  We were able to drive around town for a while and found a place to get food.  Backpacker’s Paradise was still somewhat active with guests when we got back so we decided to have a look around there as well.  There is a pool table and a bar in one area, a lounge with a couple of televisions in another and our building had its own kitchen, lounge and grill (or braai as it is known here)!

Our exploration finished, we retired to out quarters and fell asleep.  Little did we know or expect the next day would bring some excitement!

An awesome dessert we got when we stopped for lunch en route to Oudtshoorn

Gretchen and I basically woke up, got ready and headed out the door to complete our journey home.  Route 62 has sections in it that are not as smooth sailing as we had hoped for.  The following event happened in such a place…

We were riding along the bumpy road making very good time.  The car had been pulling to the left the whole trip and I attributed it to poor alignment.  However,  things suddenly got worse when I heard a strange noise.  Gretchen and I decided to pull over.  What else could it have been but a flat tire!  I looked behind us…I looked in front of us…absolutely no signs of civilization.  I have been taught how to change a tire, but am by no means an expert.  My lack of experience coupled with the potential consequences of making a mistake created a little anxiety.  Luckily, as Gretchen and I were rearranging the luggage in the trunk (the “boot” in South Africa), a car pulled up containing a gentleman offering assistance.  One can only imagine how grateful we both were.  Interestingly, the man was a teacher which gave us something to talk about as we (my labor his instruction) replaced the flat tire with the spare tire Dollar / Thrifty equipped our car with.

After completion, he handed us a dozen apples and wished us good fortune for the remainder of our trip and the rest of our stay in South Africa.  He also decided to follow us to make sure everything was working as it should.  Gretchen and I are still amazed at how fortunate we were that we received help so quickly.   South Africa gave us yet another example of the wonderfully friendly people.

The rest of the trip was not eventful, for which we were extremely grateful, and we arrived safely at our flat.  The next day we dropped the car off and were brought home by Dr. Singh who was anxious to hear of our adventures…and to make sure we were taking advantage of every opportunity!

Seven days and almost 2000 kilometers later, I was going back to student teaching and both of us thought things were going to wind down a bit…however, being in South Africa and having our personalities, we should have known better!

The landscape along Route 62

Our Holiday Part 2

Cape Town is around five hours from Knysna give or take depending on speed and other traffic. With that in mind, we decided to push through only stopping for gasoline early on. Taryn had warned us that the drive after Mossel Bay would be very boring, but we actually found it quite beautiful. From Port Elizabeth to Mossel Bay we drove along the ocean, so when it was time to turn inland and drive among the mountainous region between Mossel Bay and Cape Town we were ready for the change. All of the beauty in the world, however, could not prevent it from being a five hour drive so needless to say (therefore I will say it anyway) it was long and arduous.

I was very excited because we were making great time as we passed through the last town before Cape Town. It was beginning to get dark and the roads were curving up into the mountains. These are not what I would describe as ideal driving conditions. My excitement dimmed slightly as the lights of Cape Town came into view. The city itself is beautiful (and it was night, so we were in for a real treat in the morning), but what was not particularly pleasing was the line of traffic that was backed up along the mountain and was seemingly endless.
I must say here that this was the lowest point of the trip…which speaks volumes of our holiday!

Anyway, I was hungry, cranky and tired of driving…in this aspect Gretchen performed splendidly as a traveling companion. Patience with my grumblings and continued optimism and positive comments about the city prevented a meltdown. The next hour of waiting (it actually moved fairly quickly) surrounded two topics of diversion. First, the radio stations; more specifically their choice in music and our selection. There were only a few stations to choose from, but what Gretchen and I were amazed about was the fact that they were the same stations we could get in Port Elizabeth! We were able to get signals throughout our trip, even in the mountains…barring any tunnel or bridge interference of course. The radio station that brought us the most amusement was one that had a romance theme that evening. It was all older music and many of the songs had questionable lyrics. (a lack of swear words was replaced by saturation of suggestive ones).

The second way to bide our time was to ensure we were not following a ‘stinky car’, as we called them. The diversity of vehicle makes, models and years truly made this game worth playing…after all, what else did we have to do. The goal was to avoid cars that we judged would spew suffocating exhaust at us and to attempt to follow only cars which would supply us with an atmosphere more conducive to breathing.

Our game ended and we were allowed to proceed onward to our destination: the Best Western. My navigator once again shined as she guided us straight to the hotel. We checked in and ran into a slight road block. The next section is more of a report on the hotel than anything else, I will try and keep it brief.
We only chose Best Western because of their promise of free, unlimited internet. Gretchen and I had planned on doing a lot of internet-related things and were excited about the opportunity of not using our pre-paid data. I suppose they fulfilled their end of that, but ‘sketchy’ is the kindest word I can think of to describe how they went about it. Upon arrival the staff informed us that we were given a 50 megabyte voucher to log into their internet…50 megabytes. This would have been plenty if all we had wanted to do is check our e-mail and do a little browsing. However, because we were planning to, among other things, upload pictures and videos, 50 megabytes was simply not enough. They warily gave us more, and we worked things out, but it was still an interesting (and misleading) situation.

Internet issues aside, the Best Western was safe, comfortable and the breakfast buffet (which was included) was amazing. We were actually able to only eat light lunches because of the copious amount of food we consumed in the mornings.

My professor said that Cape Town is the most beautiful city in the world. I must say we were not disappointed. It is set between a mountain and the ocean. As one looks out from Table Mountain the view is incredible. Unfortunately, due to weather conditions, the cable car was not running during our visit, so we were only able to go as high as one can drive…still pretty high. The comical part is that every day we would call in the morning and were told the cable car was running. However, by the time we got up there, they had closed it down! As usual, it is difficult to capture the majesty of a scenic view, but here is our attempt.

The People of Cape Town are able to enjoy this view every day

On our way up Table Mountain

Our view from Table Mountain

The other experience that Mother Nature decided to deprive us of was a tour of Robben Island…tours were cancelled until after we would be leaving Cape Town. Robben Island is the island where Nelson Mandela was prisoner. The tours are full of history, thorough and are led by former inmates! It was disappointing to miss, but one cannot control nature so we did not dwell on it. Instead, we looked around the exhibit they had displayed for a bit, then headed to lunch.

We ate at a restaurant called Quay 4. It is part of the V and A waterfront and provided free wifi…so I ran back to the car to get the laptop. The meal was adequate, but Gretchen and I laughed a bit about me running back just for the internet!

The two of us at Quay 4

The V and A waterfront is an area full of shops, restaurants and street performers. It includes several malls and activities to do in the harbor. Gretchen and I walked through the malls and enjoyed the musicians for the afternoon.

Gretchen posing at the V and A waterfront

Our destination the following morning was in Simon’s Town about 45 minutes from the Best Western. We ate our hearty breakfast and hit the road (though not too hard). Boulder’s Beach was the specific place of interest, though we had planned on seeing what kind of shops and cafés Simon’s Town had to offer. Boulder’s Beach was part of a national park that contained South African penguins! Never in our lives have we been so close to penguins nor will we likely encounter penguins so closely again in the wild. I actually had a slight brush with danger as I walked up stairs and a penguin stuck its beak through (no doubt trying to munch off my toes!). There were two different sections Gretchen and I went to and we more than likely took way too many photographs and videos…but they’re penguins! Here are some photos from there.

There were also signs warning us of the biting penguins!

There were two groups of penguins this size on the boulders (the other was larger, I believe)

We were able to get very close to the penguins

I am not sure we had our fill of the penguin experience, but we needed to head back nonetheless. Before getting back on the road, we looked through the different shops and street venders. It was largely the same as we have seen in other areas, though prices varied a little.

That afternoon we had High Tea at the Mount Nelson Hotel. Actually staying there was a bit (try $400 US per person per night!), but we think we got the long end of the stick. We arrived with a bit of trouble actually finding the place and were welcomed by a friendly staff. I cannot recall exactly what they said to us as I was distracted by decadence so enticing and in such a large quantity that resistance was futile. The actual tea was very good. Gretchen got ‘Forrestberry’ and I got the Mount Nelson Hotel’s personal brand. However, the chocolate cake, chocolate eclaires and other things…chocolate…made the experience for me. There were other, non-chocolate, sweets and some substantial food but my course was not deviated. Apparently the other food was very good as well (and I would assume so), but I allowed Gretchen to test that! I must not forget to mention the actual hotel. It was very pretty and the atmosphere was wonderful. We took some pictures by a fountain we looked out over during our tea. Taryn said it was a ‘must do’, and it also has our stamp of approval!

This picture is dedicated to all of the chocolate lovers...what an incredible spread

Gretchen preparing her Forrestberry tea

Gretchen and me by the Mount Nelson Hotel fountain

Despite full stomaches your favorite South African adventurers pushed onward. It was getting late in the afternoon, but Gretchen had one more idea. We decided to drive to the Green Square. Due to construction it was a bit hard to get to, but once there it was a fun little bazaar where we shopped around.

Our time in Cape Town was over. We checked out of the hotel the next morning and headed for our next destination...

Also, with the help of Rob Ghosh, I have digitally enhanced the first part of our holiday. Big hitters those ewoks!

Our Holiday Part 1

We have realized it was most fortunate that Gretchen stumbled into the Go Experiences store. Before the arrival of Meredith, Gretchen was trying to figure out what we were going to do while Meredith was here and plan out our trip to Cape Town after she left. While I was at school, Gretchen went down to the Boardwalk and went into a store ran by the Jeep company called Go Experiences. There, she met a woman named Taryn who was more than eager to help plan our trip. She had just gotten back from her honeymoon to Cape Town and had so many ideas for Gretchen that the two of them spent close to four hours together. The best part is that her services are free. Taryn and the other woman who works there, Leanne I believe, work on a commission. However, they also have information on places which they recommend that are not connected with the store. When it was all said and done, Taryn gave Gretchen a ten page packet full of places to stay and things to do along the Garden Route to Cape Town. The Garden Route is a road called the N2 that goes along the coast. For our purposes, it stretched from Port Elizabeth all the way to Cape Town. However, the route is incredibly scenic and there are many places to stop along the way.

This meant Gretchen and I had a lot to do on Thursday after Meredith left. We needed to decide where we were staying, make reservations, rent a car and plan each day of our seven-day trip. The hardest part was renting a car. With the short notice we were giving, many of the car renting (or car hiring as they say here) services had no cars left for us. Some had cars, but they were manual. Although we could have driven a manual, we decided that since neither of us was used to driving a manual that it would be better to simply find an automatic. Finally, we booked a Volkswagen Polo with Dollar/Thrifty. (Affordable car hire offered to hold Chokey for us, but we declined the opportunity to have a breakdown in the middle of nowhere between Port Elizabeth and Cape Town). Our itinerary was set, reservations were made and Saturday arrived.

Saturday Morning, Kavish picked us up at our humble abode in Cape Marina and took us to the airport to pick up the car. Our car was a 2009 model with automatic windows, without a choke and had a distinct absence of wires hanging out of the bottom! Satisfied, we headed for the N2.

The first stop on our holiday was at Tsitsikamma National Park. Words cannot describe how beautiful this place is; pictures will make an attempt. We pulled up to the entrance with me hanging out window trying to take a picture of the Tsitsikamma sign in the stop and go traffic. Once again I was a trend-setter…Gretchen laughed and pointed out that the cars behind me decided to do the same. (It must have been a very amusing sight for the attendants giving out passes).

Once in the park, we drove down a hill the wound back and forth to such an extent that I felt I was in a Mazda commercial (Zoom! Zoom! Zoom!). Much to the dismay of those behind me, I decided to follow the speed limit and only used the break to keep under 50 kilometers per hour. Gretchen and I found the trail that would lead us to the suspension bridges over the Storms River mouth. As we both are daredevils, we threw caution to the wind, ignoring signs that demanded we use proper footwear and proceeded onward in flip flops. There were actually three different suspension bridges to be walked on, but only one of them stretched across the mouth of the river. Here are some pictures from that part of our hike in Tsitsikamma.

On our way back over the bridge, I urged Gretchen to quicken pace as there were other daredevils testing the posted 25 person limit. We walked across the two other bridges which were quite a bit shorter, then made our way back to our parked car.

The trails in Tsitsikamma were filled with obstacles such as low branches, overgrowth and a group of 10 to 12 Germans creating congestion only the Los Angeles interchange can appreciate. However, further along the trail, Gretchen and I were the guilty party forcing all to stop. We found a group of monkeys (or primates or whatever…I really don’t know which category the animals fall into). I cannot imagine they simply appeared there, we must have passed them right by before.



While we were traveling out of the National Park, we both agreed that a few nights in Tsitsikamma would have been most agreeable. However, Knysna beckoned us with promise of a bed and breakfast as well as golf.

We arrived in Knysna and checked in to Beauchamp Bed and Breakfast. It is a great place ran by an older couple. They were very friendly and pointed us in the direction of Simola Golf course. We had a tee time there the next morning and wanted to see how much time we needed to reserve for travel. Gretchen and I found the entrance and my excitement grew. So did my hunger level, however, so we drove to an Italian restaurant recommended by the hostess at Beauchamp. I cannot remember the name of the restaurant, but it was very good. What was more impressive was the view. The restaurant was situated at a place called ‘The Heads’. Apparently, this was one of the most dangerous places for ships in years past. When you see it, you know why. There is a very narrow waterway for ships to travel through and rocks stick up out of the water. Here are some pictures of The Heads.

The very narrow channel of 'The Heads'.

Our view from the resaurant

The morning brought a misting rain and disappointment. When we awoke, the fog was so thick that anything beyond 10 meters was difficult to see. As the morning progressed, however, the fog lifted. The rain continued, but not enough to deter us from our planned golf outing. Breakfast was magnificent (which is something that was consistent throughout our trip). There was a cold buffet including yoghurt, cereal, fruit, toast and cold drinks. Then, the owner came and took orders for the hot portion of the breakfast. Everything tasted great. Well-fed, we headed to Simola Golf Course.

I chose Simola for a specific reason. My cousin, Sam, and I played the video game Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 for the Wii. We found a course in South Africa on the game and I was %100 sure it was Simola. I was so certain; in fact, that I did not bother to research and validate my belief…I was wrong. It does not appear in this game or any other game to my knowledge. Where I pulled that name, I have no idea.

As it turns out, there is a golf course along the Garden Route that appears in the video game. In my opinion, I still made the right decision even in retrospect. Simola’s golf course is absolutely gorgeous (even when the weather is less than desirable).

Simola is a Jack Nicklaus signature course, and as the brochure says, “He does a perfect job of creating a golf course to suite the lay of the land”. I was able to get a student discounted rate and Gretchen was allowed to ride along for free. So, 18 holes of golf with a cart, club rental, 20 golf balls and lunch all cost me around $50.00 US.

Practicing on the putting green

(you can see The Heads in the Background)

Our halfway meal

One thing that Gretchen and I found extremely amusing was the wildlife. On a golfing trip last year, my father, my brothers and I played on a course where there were deer everywhere…Here, I played with baboons! An added bonus of playing at Simola is an experience I did not foresee: This was the first (and probably last) time I had to take a drop because of a baboon! It was on a par three and I hit it slightly to the right of the green. A man behind me joked that I would have to play surrounded by baboons. As we laughed, one of the baboons picked up my ball and threw it, kicked it or in some other way moved it into the woods. I was able to find it, but Gretchen and I took a few minutes to stop laughing at the fact that I was taking a drop due to baboon interference!

A baboon running across the tee box

The rain started to come down harder just as I was putting out on the 18th green. As we pulled into the golf cart parking lot, were grateful that the starter allowed us to tee off an hour early. For the first time since Gretchen and I had arrived in South Africa, it was raining hard during the day. After a quick perusal around the pro shop, it was time to head out on the road towards Cape Town.

One final look at Simola Golf Course

Another part one of a trilogy done and I am beginning to feel akin to George Lucas…maybe I should photoshop some ewoks into the background...

Meredith's Visit Part 3

There was one more day of fun and frivolity planned in this final chapter of Meredith’s visit.  Monday morning we packed up to head off to Plettenburg Bay where we were kayaking with some of the local marine life.  Chokey gave us only a little trouble this morning and after stopping at a gas station, we were off.   A couple hours of driving along the garden route later, we arrived.  Gretchen, Meredith and I locked up Chokey, checked in and headed to the beach.  Unfortunately, I do not know if we have any good pictures of this particular experience because we were using underwater cameras with film and they haven’t been developed yet.  Rest assured, if there are pictures worth posting I will do so at a later date.

Gretchen and I were in a kayak and Meredith went with our guide.  We paddled out into the bay and were able to find three whales…(find?  They’re 15 meters in length and 90 tons, I suppose it wasn’t that big of an accomplishment.)  The next hour and a half was spent watching the whales and paddling as to not be carried any closer to them.  The wind was strong that day so we had to constantly reposition ourselves because we were being blown out to sea.  Eventually we headed back to shore after watching the whales and as far as the actual kayaking goes, this was the best part!  Close to shore, as the waves were breaking, we were able to ride them in and it was quite a bit of fun.

The three of us changed out of our wet clothes, took a quick shower to wash of the salt water and decided to head back towards PE.

However, we decided to make one more stop along the way…

This was the tallest bridge in Africa and the tallest commercial bungee jump in the world at 216 meters; a seven second free fall.  If I was going to bungee jump ever in my life, this was the time to do it.  Meredith and I decided to bungee jump and Gretchen was going to videotape / take pictures a safe distance from the bridge.  I will be completely honest here; Meredith was quite a bit more excited to do this than I was.  She has sky dived before and was pumped for the experience.  I, on the other hand, am fairly uncomfortable with heights and don’t really even care for roller coasters.  When we arrived at the place to jump, we were informed that Meredith was to go first, then another guy and I was last.  I was standing watching Meredith get ready and thoughts of regret began to enter my mind.  I believe in the video you can see the point at which I second-guessed the jump.  (After all, who in their right mind wouldn’t?)  However, I decided to just suck it up, shut my eyes and leap without looking.  This video was not able to capture it, but I screamed so hard that for the next four days my throat was quite sore and my voice was hoarse.

 The two thrill-seekers with our harnesses on

At the harnessing area (hence the sign!)

Meredith was the first to jump

Meredith pumped me up before my jump...

Now it was my turn

The worst part of the whole experience was after I stopped bouncing.  Although it doesn’t appear I was spinning much at all, it felt as if everything was whirling around at maximum speed.  Meredith said she had the same feeling.  For those who know me and how I do with the whole spinning motion (the swings at the fair, Cedar Point YAC weekend…to name a couple).  So, not only was I getting quite motion sick, but both Meredith and I felt as if our feet were going to slip out of our shoes and through the knot around our ankles.  If you look at my video closely, my feet are as stiff as boards.  I suppose it took a good half an hour for me to stop feeling disoriented.

 Meredith and I survived!

As Meredith would say..."Go Bucks!!"

Overall, it was an incredible (and yes, unique) experience.  I will probably never bungee jump again, but I am glad I did and probably would have regretted passing up this opportunity.  If any of you are planning on following my lead or fulfilling pre-existing desires to bungee jump, I believe this information will help you enjoy your experience more.  (Meredith and I discussed that knowing these things would have helped us).  First of all, and we both knew this, it is actually quite safe.  They harness you in by the ankles with a knot that becomes tighter with pressure.  They also have a secondary hook on your chest.  Secondly, the fall (and remember this is the tallest in the world) lasted seven seconds.  After the first fall, the rest of it is pretty calm.  I would say I jumped and was brought up all with in eight minutes at the most.  The point is, all of this will last that long and you can do that…eight minutes and you’re done.  Lastly, when you are hanging at the bottom, you will most likely feel like your feet are going to slip through the ankle harness.  Everyone feels this way.  I know that won’t totally alleviate the feeling of anxiety, but knowing that going into it prepares you.  If it makes you feel better, keep your feet stiff like both Meredith and I did.  Listen to me…typing as if I am some sort of expert!

Anyway, our thrills sought out and experienced, it was time to drive back to the flat.  The car ride home was filled with discussions about the jump and the disbelief we all had that I actually went through with it.  To be honest, I’m still a bit shocked I did.

Oh yeah, one more thing.  The whole time they are booming music like you hear on the video (all kinds of techno).  It actually serves to calm people…or maybe it just prevents them from thinking!

That night we had a celebratory chocolate cake with our dinner.  It was amazing.  We were only able to eat a third of it, so some of it may ended up our breakfast / snacks for the next day!  We watched our videos and perused our pictures, hung out for a little bit, then headed to bed…once again exhausted.

Tuesday, I had to go to school and invigilate some more, but like the previous week, I was back before 12:30.  It was Meredith’s last full day with us, so she needed to pack up and get ready to head home the next day.  We burnt CDs for our pictures so that everyone would have copies of all the pictures and hung out for the afternoon.  That evening we decided to go to the Blue Water Café across the street from the Boardwalk.  It was a nice dinner (I had nachos…so good) and we came to the realization that restaurants are much less attentive when it comes to refilling water.  In the United States, I might consider it bad service if five minutes went by and my water glass remained empty.  Normally, I like to have three or four full glasses of whatever liquid I am drinking at dinner, but I was only able to get two.  After dinner we went and got some gelato to end our great adventure with Meredith.

The next morning I woke up, got ready for school and said goodbye to Meredith.  The week was absolutely wonderful and Gretchen and I have Meredith to thank for enhancing the experience.

Gretchen and I are preparing for our trip to Cape Town (where I will be posting these blogs…our internet is running out) because Pearson High School is on break for the next week.  I came to the realization that when we get back, I will be more than one-third of the way through this experience…simply unbelievable.