Spring Break

From March 28 to April 1^st I was on spring break from UCT. So, my mom, sister, grandmother and grandmothers boyfriend all came to Cape Town. The first day with everyone here we all went to Stellenbosch for wine tours. We checked out three different wineries (we also had lunch at a different winery, so I guess we went to four total) and learned the appropriate way to taste wine. We also got to eat some cheese and olives at some of the wineries. My friend Sam Buckley also came with us on the tour.

While we were in Cape Town my mom rented an apartment that was in Bo Kaap, the Muslim community. It was a really awesome apartment with an amazing view of Bo Kaap as well as Cape Town city center. The one issue I had with the apartment (35 on Rose) was that we would wake up at sunrise to the call of prayer! It was pretty cool to see/ experience that though.. 

Then we left for Mpumalanga, where Kruger National Park is located. We stayed at Kirkman’s Kamp, which is in a private game reserve called Sabi Sans. This game reserve borders Kruger but is not actually a part of the National Park. However, the animals can roam freely between the two. One major advantage of being in the private game reserve was that they are allowed to off road for big 5 animals. The big 5 includes: leapord, elephant, buffalo, lion and rhino. We were lucky enough to see all of the big 5 on more than one occasion! Some of the other animals that we saw were impala, kudu, black mamba snake, chameleon, hippos, waterbok, baboons, giraffes, zebras, and lots of birds. So when we first arrived at Kirkman’s we were able to go on the afternoon game drive which started at 4, I think. Our drivers name was Dalson and the rangers name was Robert, they were an amazing team. In the mornings Dalson would wake us up at 5:30 and the game drive would start at 6. I can’t even remember the last time I woke up that early. Anyway, in the middle of the game drives we would take a break in the middle of the African bush. Dalson and Robert would then sit up a little table and pull out all different kinds of drinks and snacks. In the mornings we had choco-Amarula coffees (Amarula is similar to Kaluha). This was overall a really amazing experience and it was so cool being able to see all of these animals in their natural habitat. One of my favorite parts was tracking and finding animals. The first time it happened was when we tracked three female lions by following their footprints. Then as we were watching them, I turned and looked behind me and the male lion was walking up to meet them! It was very exciting. Another awesome time was when we found leopard prints, and then all of this sudden found fresh leopard poop. Dalson and Robert got really excited when they found the poop, knowing we would soon find the leopard. What made it especially cool was the fact that they had not seen this leopard in awhile. The people working at the camp in general know the leopards and the lions that live in their game drive area. My other favorite time was when we saw the lions eating a kudu – crazy circle of life. Anyway, here are some of my favorite pictures from the trip.

Soon enough the trip ended and we came back to Cape Town. My mom left a few days after, but before she left she insisted on hiking Table Mountain. Well, she had no idea what she was getting herself into. A two-hour hike of literally straight uphill. It was pretty funny because she thought it was going to be really easy, even though I had told her it is a hard hike. She admitted it was the hardest hike she’s ever done. It is awesome though because it is so rewarding. It was fun doing that together, Elizabeth my mom and me. Then soon enough my mom left, and Elizabeth stayed with me for five more nights in Highstead. I took my sister to Old Biscuit Mill, which I also took my mom to the first day that she arrived. I have been meaning to blog about it but I just haven’t yet. It is a massive food fair, pretty much where you get to try a bunch of different food. The best is the ostrich burger, I made both my mom and sister get that when they went. Saturday evening Elizabeth and I went to Ocean View (where I did my homestay) with a few other kids in my house. We went back for my homestay sister's 21st birthday. It was really great to see everyone from Ocean View again! On Sunday I took Elizabeth to Mzoli’s which was so fun, I think she had a great time… I did J Elizabeth and I also repelled Table Mountain, which was a great time. I was sad my mom wasn’t there for that part of the trip. Then it was time for Elizabeth to leave and I was really sad. I had a hard time saying goodbye to her knowing I wont see her for another 6 or more months. But it was an amazing vacation and I just wanted to say one last time

THANK YOU MOM! You hooked it up

At the top of Table Mountain