So 2 weeks ago was fall break. We did the same thing in the beginning as what I did for spring break last semester i.e. the garden route. It was slightly modified but all the same activities were done. So we left Stellenbosch around 1:30 to head for antlers lodge which was about an 6 hour drive. I was in a great car we listened to Disney music and some other random music. We didn’t get to eat until 9 and many people in our car were cranky because of that and I wont lie I was but anyway we ate at Yellow Wood Spur (it is a chain that changes its name to like Minnesota Spur etc through out the country) on Mexican night. This is kind of disgusting as in the stereotypes. They hand out ponchos and sombreros and give you an Indian head dress thing which you can see in the picture below. It was a nice group of people to eat with and sooo nice to eat dinner because I was starving. The waitress asked us if we wanted to have the head dresses and we said yes and then she asked if we wanted coloring pages. She said “serious?” and we were like “umm yes please!”. She laughed at us but it was worth it. We then went to Antlers lodge and I got a cabin with 9 people. One of the girls was in her bed and she thought she saw a bug on her bed and refused to sleep in her bed so Mike(the one in charge) went to inspect it and found nothing and she still was hesitant about sleeping in it so I offered to switch. It kind of made me laugh because we are in a cabin. Another funny story about that girl so when we left for the garden route she had a dead bug in her room and refused to go in her room she left skype, her computer, her internet and her music on over all break! This made me kind of mad because first of all the bug was dead and South Africa is in an energy crisis like there is rolling blackouts pretty frequently so I found that kind of disrespectful because it is going to be like this until 2012. Anyway so that night just hung out outside looked at the stars and talked to people. We tried to stay up for the second bunch who left around 5 but they didn’t end up showing up until about 2 in the morning so I was asleep.
my van: Jacqui, KAte, Andrew, Logan, Catlin
Clifford, logan, ME, Jacqui, Morgan Kate...politically incorrect
The next day I woke up early and just walked around the place and sat on one of those swinging seats and took everything in. Then we went to Monkeyland which I liked better this time around but I think it is because it was after I bungee jumped last semester so I was kind of all about that and it was hard to concentrate. After that we went to the bungee jump where we watched everyone bungee jump, which was nice. Then we went back to the lodge and took a nap and went out to dinner at Enrico’s where we had pizza, salad and a milk shake. Then went back to the lodge and hung out and people went swimming even though it was chilly.
Ernst, Katy, Anna, Chris
Me chels and Katy at the bridge we jumped off
Worku, Katy and Grant hanging out this just made me laugh
The next day we woke up and had the morning at the lodge where I laid on a dock and talked to random people then went to the beach where we had an hour so I hung out there and talked to the people. WE then went to the elephant park and got to touch and feed the elephants. We drove to Buffalo’s Bay and had the rest of the afternoon. We had poikios which is a stew that is cooked on the fire for a couple of hours with lamb and I played pool and hung out.
Just some pictures of antlers lodge
antlers lodge
me doing some work at the beach
Dyer feeding the elephants
Guinea Fowl
pictures at the backpackers we stayed at that night
On Easter we went to Cango Caves in the morning and I did the adventure tour. People ere being ridiculous and acting like the stereotypical obnoxious Americans so I was kind of embarrassed but it was still enjoyable. I found out that it was one of the 7 wonders of southern Africa. Then we went to the ostrich farm and got to fed them and some people rode them same as last semester. Then we went to a drumming circle and went back to the backpackers. We had boerwors (sausageish) roll and salad and a Rasta band came ad played it was so neat and relaxing although sometimes they were hard to understand because of there tendency to mumble.
female ostriches
Male ostriches in heat..their beaks and shins were more orange
we stopped along the road and took some pictures
At the drumming circle
We hung out in the morning at the backpackers because we didn’t want to go to the township so Ryan and I hung out in bed reading and then Katy and Chels joined and we all took a nap. We then went to featherbed nature reserve where we did the walk down. We then had champagne on the rocks by the ocean as a toast to the end of the garden route and went to dinner where we got R100 to spend. I got a whole pizza and ate all but one slice I am such a pig and then had dessert. On the way home one of the guys was talking about how he thinks that we do things for others as a performance and I thought that was a neat concept because I do do that sometimes. We then sat on the couch and read Maniac McGee which was great and such a blast from the past and talked to people later in the night.
featherbed nature reserve
Katy
me I have become a body builder..cant you tell?
We woke up and hung out at the backpackers and left for Stellies. We got home by about 4:15 and picked up the car almost immediately. This part of the trip I was with Chelsea and Katy from last semester and this girl Emily who is not in my program but she is NJ. We then switched out some of the dirty clothes for clean clothes and wrote a few emails and left for Mossel Bay. We drove until after 11 and stayed the night at the Sanots Express Train Lodge which was an actual train right off the beach and we stayed in a train cabin it was pretty neat but small. You could hear the ocean from the cabin, which made me very happy. Not everyone else was thrilled about it as I was but no worries.
Chels and my train room
The next day we drove to East London, well actually Gonubie which is a suburb outside of the city and stayed at a Garry, a friends, house we ate dinner which was finger foods and hung out on the porch. We then got ready and went out to Numbers which is the 4th best night club in South Africa. Wont lie I was not dressed appropriately but I got in but I didn’t pack nice clothes because of the whole traveling thing. It was very nice and people were dressed up so we danced and had a few drinks.
beach in Gonubie
The next day we slept in and showered and went out to breakfast/brunch with Cary, Keenan, his friend who went out with us, and Carolyn his mom. I got an omelet it was wonderful. We then drove to Hogsback where the roads were all gravel. Checked into the backpackers and walked around and climbed to a tree house which was amazing with an amazing view. This supposedly inspired J.R. Tolken with the Lord of the Rings. We then drove into town which didn’t really exist but then drove some of the back roads. We then ate laid in bed looked through a few books and wrote.
Katy and Emily climbing up the tree house
Chels climbing up the tree house
The next day we ate breakfast and went for a hike where we saw Samango monkeys and saw some sort of parrot and some beautiful waterfalls. We then had a late lunch ad drove to Jeffery’s Bay which is a beach that is known for its wave so there are lots of surfers. While driving we saw a monkey just chilling on the road. I also got a flat tire from going over a pothole. We had trouble getting the jack out of the car because it was like hooked in by metal and was wicked difficult to pull out but we figured it out. Chels had to stand on the wrench to loosen the jacks but it was a fun experience. We got I late and had a delicious meal which was snook (a fish) with apricot jam marinade some potatoes and s great salad. That night I laid in a hammock and relaxed.
Emily, katy, Chels
Me holding up the rock
800 year old tree
Chels, Katy, Me, Emily
The next day we woke up and walked around town and laid on the beach. Then left to head somewhere closer home. WE were driving past the bungee jump place and Emily hadn’t done it so we stopped and she did it and we walked out on the bridge with her. It was great. Then we drove to Wilderness and when we got there it was dark and we went to this backpackers that seemed like in the middle of no werhe because all of the sudden the road turned to gravel so that was kind of strange but when we woke up the next day it wasn’t sketchy at all. We went out to dinner at Monks a pub and I got an ostrich burger and a Hunters cider. We then drove to the backpackers and went to bed.
Jeffery's Bay
Wilderness
Wilderness
Coming home
After I did work that I had to do. So that was the trip. Monday I had class and went to the semifinals of rugby which the Maties (Stellenbosch) won in double overtime which was wicked exciting. The final is tomorrow night here so I can go and watch. I signed up for courses next semester that day and nothing too memorable happened the rest of the week. I had a class presentation on Thursday. Friday night I found out that I should have 2 boys and a girl when I have kids. Umm last night I talked to my family. So that is an update on my life.
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