Out of Africa

2/24/09
21:46

First of all, happy birthday Mara!!

Second of all, I would like to formally apologize for being so slow to update about the rest of my South African travels. It is very busy on the ship right now. Today was the big Global Studies test so everyone was freaking out. I don’t think I aced it, but I don’t think I bombed it either. Hopefully it will be curved and everything will work out. Along with studying (or at least going through my notes), I have to keep up with my art journal and it’s actually rather time-consuming. I need four pages per port and I’ve only done two for Namibia and one for South Africa. Luckily, art is not work for me.

Anyways, back to Africa.

Day 2 = excursion to Kagga Kamma Lodge. 

About twenty-one people were on this trip and we left at nine in the morning. It was probably about a four-hour drive to get there. The lodge is literally in the middle of nowhere. Nothing is around for miles, no civilization whatsoever. It is surrounded by all these fascinating rock formations that were formed because millions of years ago it was completely under water. We stayed in huts or caves. I shared a hut with a girl named Michelle from New Jersey. Hut 5. I just realized that that sounds eerily like Bus 5. Thankfully, our hut did not break down, although it had two very large spiders and a lizard in it. I did not befriend these critters, but they didn’t bother me. So that’s good.

As I said before Kagga Kamma Lodge is in the middle of nowhere so there was not very much to do other than lay by the pool, hike, eat, drink, or take advantage of the free WiFi. How weird that they had internet, but how awesome that I actually brought my computer. 

Upon our arrival we had lunch, which was an assortment of appetizers. Then I went to the pool with Julia, Fiona, Meghan, Kyle, and Kevin and the others hiked or napped or went ATVing. I forgot, you could ATV too. Oh and they had a spa too. It was like a luxury honeymoon resort….in Nowheresville, South Africa. Crazy. 

After about two hours of lying in the sun, we went on what the guides called a “Sundowner.” All the guests split up into different cars with Tracy and Eugene as drivers/guides. Eugene was my guide. He liked to stop often and get out and tell us about the plant and animal life. At one point he picked up a plant and rubbed it between his fingers and then put his hand in Becca’s face (she goes to University of Iowa, Weiner) and said, “Smell my fingers.” She didn’t. I forget the name of the plant, but it was actually very fragrant and he just wanted to demonstrate that. I don’t think Eugene is familiar with the “smell my finger”jokes. I miss Eugene.

On our Sundowner we saw springboks, ostriches, and some other animals. Then we stopped at this rock overlooking the great expanse of land surrounding Kagga Kamma Lodge. It was a beautiful skyline, with the sun setting over the mountains. I took lots of pictures. We watched the sunset together on the rock, drinking this cider that is a combination of beer and apple juice or something, and munching on Spicy Corn Chutney, which are these deliciously-flavored corn nuts. I bought like six bags.

On the ride back to the lodge, I sat next to Eric. He is from California but goes to school at St. Thomas. What a small world. Once back at the lodge, we all sat around a big campfire while the staff prepared a buffet-style meal. It was glorious. Greek salad, pork chops with a great sauce, potatoes au gratin, vegetables, and chocolate cake and ice cream for dessert. I sat next to Fiona and we bonded over our shared love for food. This bond was foreshadowing for an even greater bond to come later in the story. 

After dinner, we went stargazing. There were so many stars and the constellations are different in the Southern Hemisphere. I always try and find the Big Dipper when I look at the stars, but you can’t see it here. I did see Orion’s Belt and the Southern Cross. Tracy pointed out all the major constellations and planets that were visible. We could see Saturn through the stargazing telescope. It was pretty cool. 

 Then I followed my fellow SASers into the Lodge bar. I sat with Fiona and our other guide Dave and watched some cricket for a bit. Dave tried to explain how cricket works. It’s sort of similar to baseball but the games (or matches or whatever you call them) can last for days. Like five days. Can you imagine? After a bit of that, I was super tired and went to my hut to share the huge king-size bed with my roomie Michelle. She was a ringer. On my pillow I found a Forrero Rocher chocolate. I have never had one of those before but oh my god. So good. Get some.

The next morning, after Michelle accidentally locked me in Hut 5 (Ringer move) and I had to escape through the window, the gang went on a hike to see cave paintings. Eugene and Tracy were to be the guides of this hike. After getting about forty-five minutes into the hike, Tracy lost half of the group and Eugene…and the trail. Tracy informed us that she had only done this hike four times and Eugene had never done it before. Soo we were in good hands. 

The “trail”we were following was overgrown with thorn bushes and such. The plant life reminded me of the illustrations from the book “Rox-a-boxen”and also the trees from Dr. Seuss’s “The Pants with Nobody Inside Them.” Flashback to childhood stories, right? 

Anyhoo, after losing half of the group, Tracy decided to stop and take a smoke break. Some of the SASers decided to climb on the rock formations to see the view and…well…because they were bored. 

Four of the guys were standing atop this one rock and were shouting down to us in their best South African accents that it was really “lekker”up there. Lekker is South African lingo for cool. Then Eric said it was also a bit dodgy, which is South African lingo for sketchy. Within about a minute after saying that, Eric was scaling a rock wall and a rock came loose and he fell about twenty feet. I didn’t see it, but some of the guys up there saw the fall. He got scraped up pretty badly on his back and knees, but luckily no major damage. Tracy didn’t have any first-aid on hand, but a SASer named Sophia who is an EMT brought her own personal first-aid kit. Lucky. Once back at the lodge, the Kagga Kamma Lodge beautician cleaned Eric’s wounds and then he was taken into town to get stitches on his knee. If someone got seriously injured there, they would probably have to be airlifted out. 

Back to the hike, though. After waiting for the other group for about twenty more minutes, Tracy decided that we should try and find the trail again. We eventually found a trail, who knows if it was the right one, and we headed back to the lodge. Tracy showed us two small cave paintings along the way and told us that she would drive us to the bigger, more impressive ones after lunch. The paintings were of animals and people, and sometimes just dots and lines. It was pretty interesting to think that these paintings were created thousands of years before and still remain.

After the cave paintings, some of us hung out at the pool again and then we discovered that there was internet so we all checked Facebook and such.

Round two of dinner was even better than the first night. I had Eland (type of African antelope) and sweet potatoes and broccoli. Yum. Then our group sat around the fire and played a game called Mafia. It is a pretty fun game, except I was killed first. It was this woman named Lori’s fault. Damn Lori. Then some of us went to the bar to have a few drinks. Some students drank the previous night with the staff and bartenders and they were all BFFs. It was funny.

The best part of the night came next. I began talking with this guest at the Lodge named Sam Hencher. He was from London, but lived in South Africa now and he was visiting the lodge for a friend’s birthday. He was curious about us Americans and why we were at Kagga Kamma. I informed him about Semester at Sea and he proceeded to ask what I was studying. I told him that I keep changing my mind and that my intended major has gone from economics to psychology and now possibly to art. (I am seriously considering majoring in art. Actually I kind of think I’ve made up my mind…but that’s another story.) He asked me if I painted. I told him that I’m more of a sketcher but I’m taking a painting class on the ship. He asked if I brought my paints. I told him I brought my sketchbook but not my paints. He then told me that he is an artist. He was a children’s book illustrator and now works in films and did some work on the Harry Potter movies. He asked me if I would like to come paint with him the next morning and I was thoroughly disappointed because our bus planned to leave right after breakfast. So then he asked me if I would like to paint right now. And I was soooooo down for some late-night painting with my new friend Sam Hencher. 

He left to retrieve his paints and Fiona, who had been listening to this whole conversation, came up to me and was like, “Can I paint too? I’m an art major as well.” And I was like, “Fiona how could you not tell me this?!” And then we talked about our love of art. Bond number two, for Fiona and I.

Sam returned – paints, pencils, and paper in hand. Fiona, Sam, and I all sat down on the grass outside of the Lodge Bar with only a single light bulb and the stars for light and began sketching each other. Jordan, a fellow shipmate, sat down amidst the drawing powwow, so we all sketched him. It was amazing. I was elated. Just sitting in the middle of South Africa, sketching new friends. Sam showed me his sketchbook too. He is pretty talented. Great with watercolor. I love him. I Friended him on Facebook. I can’t see if he has accepted yet though. Hopefully he will find me a job in the art industry or give me a roof over my head when I move to South Africa.

After sketching, Fiona, Jordan, and I went up on some rocks to look at the stars again. We talked for a couple of hours. I love South Africa. 

The next morning we loaded up the buses and began the trek back to Cape Town. I didn’t see Sam at breakfast, sadly, but I am truly glad that I met him. On our way back, the bus broke down. Just kidding. Actually, we stopped at Spier Vineyard to do a winetasting. 

Spier has leopards that you can stroke. You don’t pet leopards you stroke them. So I stroked a leopard. His name was Joseph. He was beautiful. I want one. The wine was good….if you like wine…which I don’t, but it was fun all the same. I got a necklace there, with the African symbol for bravery. I hope when I wear it I can be brave and I can be me.

When we got back to the ship I was super tired, so I showered, ate on the ship, went to the mall that is about 2 minutes from the ship and got ice cream and then came back and went to bed.

On my fifth and final day in South Africa, I woke up early to climb Table Mountain with Lexi and her friends Kelsey and Megan (I think it was Megan). Table Mountain is 13,627 feet high. We took the easiest route up the mountain, but it is still considered a difficult climb. Kelsey and Megan needed frequent breaks and finally Lexi and I went ahead. I kept a pretty quick pace, but I stopped when Lexi wanted to. I love hiking. I love being able to move after being stuck on the ship for days on end. I want to hike that mountain everyday. 

Lexi and I made it up in about and hour and a half. I think I could have done it in an hour without breaks, so next time I’ll have to find someone that can deal. At the top we were overcome with a great sense of accomplishment and we frowned upon the people that merely took the cable car up to the top. Slackers. I bought some souvenirs at the gift shop. Then we had a delicious lunch atop Table Mountain. We got cheeseburgers that are dipped in this sauce called Mrs. Balls’Chutney. Funny name, I know. But it’s big in South Africa and it’s delish. 

Lexi and I had planned to repel down the mountain, but you can’t go all the way to the bottom so we decided it wasn’t worth it. Next time, I’ll do it. We saw many fellow SASers at the top and I ran into my art classmate, Braxton. He and his friend Alex made it up in an hour. I was jealous. They asked our plans for the rest of the day. Lexi and I wanted to go to this coffee shop called Melissa’s because we heard they line their cups of hot chocolate with Nutella. Braxton and Alex decided to accompany us to Melissa’s, so we took the cable car down the mountain. 

At the bottom we searched for a cab. A driver approached us and Braxton was all “Let me handle this, I’m gonna barter.”So he goes, “Us four…one hundred Rand (which is like 10 USD)” and then the taxi driver goes, “Eighty!” What? Is that bartering? We took the deal and drove off to Melissa’s. Best hot chocolate ever. Mmmm. Melissa’s was on Long Street and we decided to walk back to the ship from there. It was about a thirty-minute walk and we saw more of the city and checked out some cool shops.

When we got back to port, I used the mall’s WiFi and uploaded some pictures on Facebook. First album ever. Check them out. Unfortunately I hadn’t uploaded my South Africa pics to my computer yet. Bummer.

Sooo South Africa was amazing. New foods, new friends, new experiences. Amazing. 

Now we’re on our way to Mauritius. We are only stopping there for the day, but I’m excited. I’m going on another Semester at Sea sponsored field trip with Jill and Caroline, but I know lots of people going on the trip. 

The day after Mauritius is the Sea Olympics. Each deck is divided into different teams that are named after seas. I’m the Baltic Sea. Our team color is black and our mascot is a ninja. In the Sea Olympics I will be participating in the relays…don’t know what that entails yet, and the synchronizing swimming event. Apparently the synchro event is the big finale and it’s a big deal. I am prepared to make a fool of myself. We will win. 

This post took me two hours to write, and during the process I had to set my clock forward an hour so it’s like it took me three hours. I am now ten hours ahead of Minnesota time and twelve hours ahead of California time. 

That is all. 

Love love,
H