a detailed entry: 4 July 2008

Fourth of July I stumbled out of bed upon Anna’s insistence that I quickly go outside. I did not know what could be so important as to take me from my sweet dreams that were encouraged by the soothing sounds of waves crashing on the shore just meters from my bed. We were staying at Beach Haven Backpackers in Wilderness along the gorgeous Garden Route of South Africa’s coastline. After climbing the stairs up to the viewing deck my jaw dropped. The only reaction any of us had was Oh, wow! Shooting up out of the ocean were two full rainbows bursting with color and completing their arch by falling into the hills behind us. Birds were chirping their morning glory, whales were blowing water up into the sky and dolphins were dancing. Fireworks of the very best kind- completely natural, completely spectacular.

The entire day was spent oohing and aawing this beautiful land. From Wilderness we continued our drive up through the Klein Karoo. We took a tour of the Kango Caves and then continued on the steep dirt path of the Swartberg pass before arriving at the quaint town of Prince Albert. Here we celebrated the day with burgers and fries, but not the good ol American style- we had delicious Ostrich burgers with Pumpkin fritters. …mmm, yum. Highlights of Prince Albert included this dinner, the Saturday morning market, sipping tea in front of a cozy fireplace at a quaint café and an early morning hike/run up and along the red rock ridge.

travels

19 June- 11 July Anna and I traveled South Africa's gorgeous Garden Route. There were some stunning views, beautiful people and lots of good times. We stopped at every farm stall to admire the homemade jams, mustards and other crafts, had a cup of tea in many of the small towns and just enjoyed life. We took a combination of buses, rental cars and returned to Durbs by plane. It was fantastic. We travelled the N2 along the eastern coast along the route until we got to a town called George, where we headed north to the Swartburg pass, the quaint town of Prince Albert and then along Route 62 into Cape Town.

Here are a few pictures of our journey.






Anna and I on the Salt River Trail in Nature's Valley. A 5 hour hike through the fields, forest and around the lagoon. Stunning.







A quick stop at the Kango Caves for a tour. www.cangocaves.co.za/








This is the Swatberg pass. One of my favorite days of the trip was taking this windy dirt pass up and over into Prince Albert. The red rock formation filled me with awe.











Top of the Pass :)





The westerly southernmost point on the continent. We spent the day hiking around the Cape of Good Hope imagining what it would have been like to have been on a passenger ship coming around the cape. We also stopped at Boulder Beach to admire the penguins and took the tour of Robben Island and Parliamen while in Cape Town.



Then the following week I hopped on a bus with Drew, Tom, Will headed to Maputo, capital of Mozambique for four days. It was a beautiful drive through South Africa, Swaziland and into Maputo. We went to the museums, ate amazing prawns on a deck overlooking the ocean and picked up some amazing sea shells.

now for some photos

Alicia, Anna and I at the Sugar Shack backpackers lodge in East London. It was 50 meters from the waves crashing on the shore- absolutely amazing. We went on a nice morning jog the first day we were here.






This is the 4 month old lion knawing on my arm. check out the size of his paw...








Love is in the air with our friend Jenny. She was very friendly and photogenic. Plus she had a blue tongue.






South African's are serious about their BBQ's (aka Braii). check out the amount and variety of meat on this grill! This particular shot is from a Braii after a morning of lawn bowling. Needless to say, I was on the losing team...

seeing

traveling is not just a matter of going to new places, but experiencing landscapes with new eyes.

My friend Tas sent Anna and I this message as we departed for our travel along the garden route. from Durban to Cape Town. We will be traveling for three weeks. We set out on June 19th (Happy Birthay Mel!) on a 13 hour bus ride from Durban to East London. The weekend here was fantastic! Hospitality was in abundance. I was truly inspired by the Rotarians who hosted us and the work that was taking place in the community. It was a beautiful experience. The weekend included everything from Lawn Bowling, to braiing (BBQ), to holding 4 month old white lions (let me tell you at 4 months, they're already amazingly big and strong!).
After a quick stop over in Grahamstown with our friend Alicia, Ann and I hired a car to drive 300k to Nature's Valley where we spent four nights. The stars felt like they were 10 feet away - stunning! The trail we hiked on Thursday led us through the fields and forrest, along the cliffs and down into the lagoon. This holiday has been a gift. It is here in this place that I was really abl to relax and live the fullest I have ever lived in the present moment. and it was beautifully peaceful.
We are currently back at Grahamstown enjoying the International Arts Festival. http://www.nationalartsfestival.co.za/ Its a small quaint town that is positioned in the middle of a valley. The students from the university are what give this place life. And for 2 weeks out of the year, about 70,000 people embark on it to enjoy music, dancing, poetry and some really good food. Our friend Samantha had a captivating performance as part of the Witts Choir last night. The harmony gracefully filled the chapel we were in and gently embraced all us who were present. There are three other scholars we have met up with here. It is good to be amongst friends as I explore more fully the vastness of the country.