Hey Man, take a walk on the wild side...

Life in South Africa just isn't slowing down folks.  This past week has been jam-packed with more fun adventures that you just can't help but have when you work for Outtatown - I've been crossing things off my bucket list that I didn't even know were on there!

Our first adventure was one I'm not sure I ever quite believed I would do... throwing myself out of a plane.  Yes, you read correctly, I went SKY DIVING last week.  Can you say 'holy adrenalin rush'?!?!

feeling brave as we get into the plane

It was a ridiculously long wait (about 4 hours) for a quick ride, but totally worth it.  After suiting up in that flashy jumpsuit Roy and I hopped into the plane with a few other people and took off into the sky.  Now, I was the very last of our group to jump and I was the only Outtatowner in the plane due to uneven numbers, so I ended up jumping with a couple people who were doing their first solo jumps.  From 12 000 m.  So I just happened to go along to the same height.  For a tandem jump they usually go to 9 000 m, so I got an extra 10 s of free fall!

falling with style!

And so it came to be that I jumped out of a plane at 12 000 m, falling at 220 km/h for 45 s before we pulled the shoot.  I've never gone so fast in my life - I seriously thought my ears were going to rip off my head!!

enjoying the ride

Once things settled down and we were floating along, all I had to do was sit back and watch the world fly by. 


alive and ecstatic with my feet on the ground

It took a while for the adrenalin to wear off after landing, and even longer for the huge grin to disappear...

The next adventure was our 3 day hike in the Drachensburg Mountains.  My grin came back when we got off the bus, because there is nothing quite like the beauty of the mountains.  And nothing quite like roughing it in the bush.

ready to go!

There are lots of places and peaks to climb in the Berg, but we climbed to the top of Rhino Peak, which you just see on the left-hand side of the range below.

geared up and heading into the bush

The view was spectacular the whole way into our base camp.  Most of the time we wandered alongside the river, which was full of the clearest water I've ever seen in Africa. And, as we found out, also full of the cleanest water in South Africa.  So, contrary to almost any trip I've been on, we drank the water right out of the stream and it was delicious.  Cold as all get out though.  Which made swimming the sort of event that took your breath away, but was just wonderful for drinking.

yummy yummy stream water

As we marched along I very quickly fell into character:

bushwoman extraordinaire

We reached our base camp -which was a cave - late in the afternoon and settled in. Luckily we beat the rain clouds and were ready and waiting when the storm came.  What made the night even better was how quickly the rain blew past and the stars came out.  The mountains have a different, but equally awesome beauty when you look at them by starlight.

After a somewhat restless night's sleep (there is water that drips over the mouth of the cave leading you to believe there is a raging storm going on all the time) we were up at 5:30am and on the trail by 7:00.  It was a glorious, sunny day and I sure drank in the view in an attempt to forget the burning in my legs.

our guide Paul on the trail

We reached the summit by 11:30 and ate lunch at 3020 m above sea level in Lesotho.  What a spectacular feeling!!

on top of the Rhino

You really step into another world when you get to the top of the mountain.  Going to Lesotho is like stepping back in time.  Admittedly we were on the top of a mountain where things are even more rural, but the statement stands.  While we were up on the peak we ran into some Basotho herdsmen who were more than willing to take pictures with us.


2 worlds meet

Now, if there's one thing I know about hiking, it's that as much as I may hate going up I absolutely dread going down.  By the time we reached camp again my ankles were almost too weak to support me.  But make it home I did and I felt fantastic.  We spent another night in the cave before packing up and heading home for SHOWERS :) 

standing at the cave entrance ready to go

Our final adventure took place last night when we were treated to a 'Zulu Evening' by some of the staff at Project Gateway (the old prison turned Ministry we're staying at).  Now I've tried my fair share of weird and slightly icky foods... but chicken feet have never made it onto the menu.  Until yesterday. 

mmm chicken feet... claws included

Afterwards, things got better.  We had a dance party and played games in the rain.  Yay.

That may be it for a while folks - we head off to Swaziland tomorrow for another incredible Outtatown experience.  Oh, and it's 20 days till I come back home... can you believe it?  I sure can't.

Miss you like crazy

Sandy

My Durban Adventure

My last day in Durban I went out with a friend of a friend; affectionately known as 'Uncle Duncle'.  Don't worry, I held back and just used his first name.  Our first stop of the day was the Durban Botanical Garden - after all the options were laid out for me, I went for the one that had tea and scones waiting at the end.  And I wasn't disappointed... they were delicious scones. 

The gardens were beautiful too - very peaceful and green.  Right outside the orchid house we rain across an Elephant Leaf bush (or something to that effect...).  Very aptly named when you look at how freakin' gigantic the leaves are!

me smiling at you :)

Then we were treated to some lovely orchids..

inside the orchid house

The next stop was neat - it was the Garden of Senses and smelled wonderfully herbally

The next tree was my favourite.  As you walked up to it, you caught sight of these huge coconut-ish balls hanging in amongst the branches.  When we got to the bottom of the tree I found the sign with it's name...

Cannonball Tree.  How very apt...

Our next stop was down in the harbour.  We took the lift up to the 32nd floor of a hotel where the revolving restaurant 'La Roma' was located and then climbed up one more story to the open air bar.  The view over the city was quite spectacular... but we came very close to being blown away!  It was super windy!!

looking out over the Durban harbour

Our next to last stop of the day was down the road a ways to Umhlanga Beach.  It was gorgeous - the surf in Durban has been HUGE every time I've seen it... definitely able to put you through the washing machine should you mess up your ride in to shore. 

me by the (I'm pretty sure) working lighthouse in Umhlanga

Our very last stop was to a Chinese take-away restaurant for some yummy yummy noodles.  And then home for a nap :)

And that wrapped up my week in Durban - next stop, Pietermartizburg and a hike in the mountains!! 

Cheers,
Sandy

ps. I finally was able to add pictures to my J-Bay post, check them out!

Vacation Week...

... and let me tell you, it's been wonderful!!  The students are doing a homestay this week, which means that they're living with families in Durban and are learning about the Indian community that lives in South Africa.  Us leaders however, are being treated with a relaxing week at a B&B across town.  It's fabulously relaxing and perfect for reading!

the 'White House'

What you can't see is the pool, but it's there and it's been great sitting next to it during the hot, sunny day's we've been having lately.  It's also the best feeling ever to jump in after a run - especially when you're located in the middle of a hill!  My calfs are just burning!!

We all had to work one day this week, and I was in on Monday checking out the Hare Krishna temple.  That is a very... different... religion.  But the temple itself was quite beautiful.

main altar at the temple

 Also, you may have known that it was my 25th birthday this week!  Woohoo for celebrating in South Africa... during VACATION WEEK!!  I had a wonderful day - went for a run, then sat by the pool reading, enjoyed a beer in the late afternoon sun, and for dinner we went to a lovely restaurant on the pier called Moyo. 

Steve, me, Mimi & Raf by the Indian Ocean

The best part, next to the phone call from home and all the lovely birthday messages I received, was the hot stone massage I treated myself to the next day.  And, due to a re-scheduling, they tossed in a free pedicure.  After a week of walking on the rocks at Mdumbi it was a little piece of heaven. 

It's been a brilliantly relaxing week, and now - believe it or not - there's less than a month to go before I come back to Canada.  I'm imagining it could be a somewhat difficult transition from a 'me' week back into the crazy life of an Outtatown leader, but we're going hiking in the mountains and I'm pumped!

Stay tuned... I've got a few more adventures to share before this semester is done!! 

Lots of love,
Sandy

It was my birthday this week as well - and what better

Mdumbi - a week at the seaside

Well everyone, we've finished up another week in another location (I'm pretty sure, by the last count, I've slept in 13 different beds in 10 different cities) and it's time to chat up on the adventures. 

After our weekend of fun in J-Bay, we traveresd up the coast to a place called Mdumbi Backpackers for a mix of R&R and classes.  It was absolutely beautiful there - remote and laid-back, right on the shore of the Indian Ocean.  The place itself is really cool, not only are they trying to be low-impact and sustainable, but they also had members of the village community as shareholders in Mdumbi Backpackers itself.  Which is super cool, when you think of the poverty that exists in the country.

Rondavels on the way to Coffee Bay

We lived in little round huts with thatched roofs called Rondavels - apparently, according to tradtion, they used to build round houses because demons/devils would hid in corners and under things.  They were remarkably cool (it was super humid living right next to the ocean) but not exactly bug-proof.  Mimi and I ran across our fair share of spiders, newts and... *shudder* cockroaches.  And these were not your average, tiny, North American cockroaches.  No.  These were monstrous little buggers with WINGS!  Talk about taking something icky and making it worse!!!  Luckily it was only on the last night that I caught one crawling over my pilliows or I'm not quite sure how I would have slept all week.

The beach at Mdumbi was just lovely.  Minus the fact that it lay at the bottom of a freaking hill.  Like the cottage, only worse (steeper and with a gravel path that hurt my tender little tootsies).  But it was worth it when you got there because it was pretty much deserted (except for a herd of cattle or two).  Just this stretch of soft sand and big waves.  Perfect for running in the mornings and surfing in the afternoons.  I got out a couple times on a long board, but one afternoon I decided I just had to try a short board.  You know, the ones the experienced surfers use.  I was fairly sure it was going to end in some sort of spectacular wipeout, but I thought to myself, "Sandy, you've got the chance to try a real surfboard on the ocean in Africa, why they heck not?!".  My prediction came true with stunning accuracy.  Caught a wave like a master, moved to stand up and face-planted like a pro.  Spectacular.  After which I went right back to a long board :)

One morning we hiked over to Coffee Bay - another surfing hot spot on the coast.  It took us ~4 hours and the view was just breathtaking.  Brightly coloured Rondavels, jutting coastline, cliff jumping, caves to walk through, the sound of the surf and a pod of dolphins (you could also see them from our beach which was super cool!).  After we reached our destination, we trekked over to a pizzeria for a late lunch.  MmMmm delicious!

On our last day in Mdumbi (the Friday) we had a Guy Appreciation Day, just to let our boys know just how awesome we think they are.  The events of the day had me in stitches every now and then - taping each other to walls, sand-pictionary, taping eggs to their stomachs and then attempting to smash everyone else's egg, a superhero dress-up dinner... It was a great day.  And we got the best bodysurfing waves of the week!

our beach at Mdumbi

Another great thing about Mdumbi being so remote is the lack of light in the evening.  We got a few spectacular star-gazing nights (I really need to learn some of the constellations here) and also a few of the most incredible thunderstorms I've ever seen.  One evening we ate outside because the lightning was so amazing. It would start as sheet lightning, flickering away before transforming into a single bolt that multiplied into a 12 pronged fork as it travelled across the sky.  I've never seen ANYTHING like it. 

I think that about covers the week.  The rest of the time I spent in a hammock, reading and drinking tea.  It was fabulous :)

Lots of love,
Sandy

A day in J-Bay

Hey y'all,

Life in South Africa has been treating me pretty darn well lately.  We spent a recuperating weekend at an adventure camp in Bonnievale, eating food cooked over a campfire, taking on the slip'n'slide and sleeping under the stars.  Not to mention the epic paintball battle we had, slingshot style.  First hit of the day, right in the sternum - I've still got the bruise.  And the paint dried this awkward yellow colour on my shirt, so I looked like I'd blown my nose on myself.  Eew.  But it was SO much fun!

But a weekend wasn't nearly enough R&R for us all, so we traipsed over to Jeffrey's Bay for a few days of adventure and beach time. 

My first activity?  Horseback riding on the beach.  It was spectaculary brilliant to say the least.  And provided more than a few chuckles.  Especially when you misunderstand your horses name... and instead of "Patches" you hear something along the lines of "B... well you know what I mean.  I called him Duchess :)  And it only got better from there.  The second words out of the guides mouth were, "He can be a bit of a bastard".  Oh great, just what I wanted.  Turns out Patches had a bit of a complex and any time some other horse tried to pass him, he took a snap at them.  But it meant I got some great galloping in as Patches hurried to catch up to the other horses ahead of us.

The scenery was just glorious too - big sand dunes, surf and you.  I'll toss some pictures up later!

The only problem was the trotting.  I could barely sit down the next day.  And instead of being able to rest, I tossed on my bathing suit and headed out for surf lessons.  Also spectacular.  It was a perfect day for learning and our instructor was super helpful and by the end of our 2 hours on the water I'd managed to stand up and surf in to shore a few times!!

But the best part - better than watching everyone faceplant every now and then, and better than that rush you got as you sped in towards shore - was the herd of dolphins that swam by us mid-lesson.  There had to have been 15 of them... Gorgeous.  Just gorgeous.

And now that I am thoroughly battered and bruised, we're heading off to a backpacker's hostel in the middle of nowhere (that is, Mdumbi - pronounced Em-doom-bee) for a week of class and chillin' at the beach

Sending my love your way,
Sandy


Ok, as promised, here are the pictures to go with.  One adventure I forgot to mention though and although it was short, it was fun!  On our way to Bonnievale we stopped on the side of the road and floated down a river through some caves.  Like the lazy rivers at most waterparks...only with with an extra surprise. Bats.  That freaked out more than one of the girls, but the boys definitely took home the prize for most squealing.

walking down the highway to get to the cave

waiting in the river

see?!  Bats!!

Melissa riding down the beach in J-Bay

surfer extraordinaire :)