GARDEN ROUTE TRIP!

So for one week during my time here, the VAC staff organized a trip that goes along the south-western coast of South Africa. We took off 8 days, rented a mini-bus-van and had the time of our lives. I'm not going to write too much because we did sooo many things. But here is a "picture diary" of everything. Basically, we went to lots of beaches, went hiking, saw elephants, rode ostriches, saw monkeys, went bungee jumping, went surfing and went to the most southern tip of Africa. ....it was AMAZING! 

Started driving with a magnificent view

Me and Robin were back-seat buddies

Our hot wheels for the trip, and even hotter driver, Vanessa (on the right) from VAC

Went to an Ostrich farm, where we RODE ostriches (video is on my facebook!)

Holding an Ostrich Egg

Feeding an Elephant at the Elephant Orphanage in Knysna

Elephants were so calm 

We went to MONKEYLAND

Secluded beach near Plettenberg Bay. It's my favourite place in the whole world. It's like Heaven on Earth!

Right before I was heading out to Bungee Jump off of that Bloukrans Bridge!

The VAC gang before we all bungee jumped

Surfing in Jeffrey's Bay. Even after a GREAT lesson from a GREAT teacher, I couldn't surf. 

The most Southern point of Africa

Robben Island

I visited a world heritage site; Robben Island. For those of you who don't know about Robben Island (and essentially Apartheid in South Africa), I will provide you with a brief historical background. 

If you're not interested in the history part, skip to the last paragraph! 

From 1948 until 1994 South Africa (a COUNTRY in the continent of Africa; not "SouthERN Africa") was ruled by a government which policy was supported by apartheid, the Afrikaans word for "separateness." This political party consisted of all white people, primarily Afrikaners (of Dutch descent). Apartheid stood for the separateness of whites with all other races in South Africa at the time. This did not only include blacks, but also coloureds (people with mixed ancestry of black and white), Indians, and Asians. The Apartheid government created laws which were politically oppressing all other races. There were "pass laws" which meant that there were designated areas for certain races, and you had to carry around a "pass book" at all times. Furthermore, only whites were allowed to vote, and work in certain jobs. Only whites had land rights, and even though they were a huge minority, the owned the majority of the land. There was total segregation in education, the workplace, and there were even laws passed that stated that it was illegal for races to mix through marriage. Blacks were forced out of their homes and were moved to areas known as "Bantu homelands" which the government claimed was "what the people wanted; a homeland." however, these were slums where no houses existed, and thousands of people were forced to live there. Neddless to say, Apartheid was a terrible time but it led to many political movements. Political activists at the time joined political parties such as the ANC (African National Congress, which still exists today), or the Communist Party, or many other parties which were fighting against the National Party (Apartheid government). Throughout Apartheid, there were many riots, protests and expressions of political views. Many people were imprisoned for their actions, and sometimes just their beliefs. These people (political prisoners) were sent to Robben Island. Robben Island is just off the coast of Cape Town and used to be used as a "hospital" for people with leprosy. During apartheid, the government used it as a prison for criminal and political prisoners. Some of these prisoners include big names in South African history like: Robert Sobukwe, Jacob Zuma, and even Nelson Mandela (which should ring a bell for most of you!). Nelson Mandela was the first democratically elected (black) president of South Africa. 

Now enough, with the history parts! I want to tell you about my visit to Robben Island....
I went with my housemates and we took the ferry over to the Island. Robben Island provides great tours of not only the Island and the town on it, but also the prison as well. The most unique part about the tour is that all the guides for the prison tour are actually past political prisoners! It was great to have a true and emotional explanation of everything. The tour guide I had, had stayed in the prison for 5 years (he was supposed to stay longer but apartheid ended!). He told us many stories and inside facts about the prison. I even got to see Nelson Mandela's cell which still had his blanket and bucket in it. This was very interesting to me because I am currently reading his autobiography... which he secretly wrote while on Robben Island! My favourite part of the whole tour though was going to the cells in "section A." I liked this the most because each cell had a picture of the person that stayed in the cell, with the dates of their imprisonment, and a story that the prisoner provided. The stories ranged from funny, to thought provoking, to heartbreaking. The tour was one of the highlights of my trip. It was extremely educational but really made me realize that people can make a difference. It was quite emotional seeing what these people went through. But it was all because they were fighting for Freedom. 

Our Tour Guide

Nelson Mandela's Cell

Hiking TABLE MOUNTAIN!

A few weeks ago my housemates and I, as well as another VAC intern from Australia, decided we HAD to climb Table Mountain. We knew that we couldn't leave without saying we had done that- mainly because Table Mountain is the heart of Cape Town; it's what Cape Town is known for. And since Kat (one of the Australian VAC interns) was leaving in about a week, we had to do it soon!  

Table Mountain has tons of trails to climb, so we wanted to start off with an easy one, and possibly try a harder one later. Just so you all know, Table Mountain is 3,558 ft tall and most trails are gradual inclines. We took the advice of one of my housemate's co-workers and climbed a trail called "Plateklip Gorge." It was definitely not what we expected. As we were starting the hike, we realized that it was far from being "easy". It was literally ROCK STAIRS the entire way up. The regular time it takes people to climb the Plateklip gorge is 2.5-3hours. So picture yourself on a stairclimber at the gym... on FULL incline for 3 hours straight. Let's just say that I was dying about 15 minutes in. Nonetheless, we climbed the super steep, super rocky trail in TWO hours! We beat the average time by 30 minutes! (pat on the back). Job well done! ...my legs didn't think so the next day (and by day I mean WEEK) after.

Quite the glute workout ;)

The view at the top was breath-taking! Noo, it was literally BREATHHH TAKINNGG; I was close to death at the top because of the 2 hour climb up. My lungs were shot! haha. The view actually wasn't so great at the top because there was a huge cloud over the mountain (popularly known as the "table cloth" over Table Mountain). So we waited for a bit in hopes that the cloud would pass over, but no luck. We took the cable car down, and got some nice views. And once we were at the bottom we had a great view of Table Mountain... minus a cloud on top! If only we had waited a bit longer. Oh well, I suppose that means I will just have to climb it again... on an EASIER trail next time!

The view on the way up so was so magical!

The view at the top was NOT so magical. This is Chelsey and her sarcastic thumbs up!

I Can't believe that half of my time here is now gone! I know that I have already done so much, but I feel as though time is just FLYINGG by! Too crazy. Anyways, I will try to post another story before Saturday (I leave then for 10 days; I'm doing a trip with VAC that goes all along the coast. You'll hear all about it soon!)

Miss and Love you all! xoxo
-Keira

Two Oceans Aquarium. ...I Found Nemo!

So this is going to be a VERY short blog post, it's more just to post some photos from the Two Oceans Aquarium that I went to. I went with my housemates Chelsey and Renata, and we had so  much fun exploring and seeing lots of new things. My favourite part was this fish tank at the beginning that was titled "Nemos." You could go inside and it felt like you were swimming with hundreds of Nemos. For those of you who don't know.... "Finding Nemo" is one of my all time favourite movies.
Thus, I LOVED the aquarium!!!

The JELLLIESSSSS.


Stay tuned for more Cape Town Adventures :)

Full Moon Hike up Lions Head Mountain

In Cape Town there are Mountains everywhere, but the main one's you need to know are: TABLE mountain (the most famous which is completely flat at the top.... like a table) aha, then there's Devil's Peak which is 1000 metres higher than Table Mountain but directly attached to the East of it, and finally there is Lions Head which is just West of Table Mountain and smaller in size. Hiking is quite popular in Cape Town since there are so many mountains. People hike before work, after work, on weekends, to watch the sunset, to watch the sunrise... you name it and it's been done. One interesting hike which is popular is the Full Moon Hike.

 

My housemates and I came home from work one day and realized that it was supposed to be a full moon that night- which meant that it would be a PERFECT hike up Lions Head. We spontaneously threw on our running shoes, packed some wine and headed to Lions Head. Yes, that's right. WINE for our hike! Lions Head is a fairly easy mountain to climb- the trail is mainly flat and goes around the mountain like a corkscrew rather than an straight incline uphill. So during the Full Moon Hike people tend to climb to the top and party in the moonlight. We joined in and had a GREAT time. The hike is wonderful because as you're walking up, the sun is just setting. We got some great silhouette pictures. But once you're at the top (with tons of other people) the mountain is lit by the light of the full moon. It's a spectacular view where you can see all of Cape Town lit up at night. I really enjoyed this hike and I hope I can squeeze another full moon hike in before I return home! 

My housemates (Renata, Chelsey) and I on our way up the Mountain

At the top of Lions Head Mountain
(From left: Trish, Me, Chelsey, Robbin and Renata)

Weekend at Hermanus Bay

Sorry I've been late posting these blogs! I've just been super busy living and loving life (no time for computers!)

But last weekend VAC scheduled a weekend trip to Hermanus Bay which is about 2 hours away from Cape Town, but is a nice small town which is known for whale watching. We, however, did not go for the whales.... we went to see SHARKS! Shark cage diving is a popular tourist activity here, and the best place to do it is in Hermanus Bay. So me and about 20 other interns went shark cage diving last saturday. It was beyond epic. We were staying at a really cool hostel with all the VAC people that came on our trip. And so the morning of shark cage diving, we left our hostel at 6:45am and spent most of the day in the ocean, living on the edge of danger! haha. We drove the boat out about 20 minutes in to the bay and anchored there. Then we set out our bait- a dead tuna head tied on a string- which attracts the sharks, and allows us to see them upclose. The actual shark cage diving part is super easy. We get all dressed up in wet-suit gear (because it's FREEZING in the water) and put on a snorkelling mask. Then we hop into the cage that is attached to the side of the boat, and the cage fits about 4-5 people. This is where you wait, with your head above the surface, for a shark. When a shark is near, the guide yells "DOWN" so you take in a huge gulp of air and go under water to see the shark. These sharks are Great Whites; they are about 3-5 metres long and have soooo many teeth. But most of them swim by so casually. It's not like JAWS or anything. Apparently the sharks don't even notice the people in the cage- their senses tell them that the cage is just a big metal box, so they don't bother attacking it. But every so often they do... I was "fortunate" enough to be in the cage when one shark attacked it! It was SCARY but amazing at the same time. The shark was actually gnawing on the cage and a blue floaty attached to the cage (my hand was on a floaty right beside it.. not smart). But no worries, no one lost any limbs and we were all safe. It was a GREAT experience, and I will never forget it. I may have nightmares though,. haha.

All wet-suited up and in the cage!

Here is the shark cage attached to the boat with a BABY shark next to it. 

My hand is the one on the floaty... thank God it was a few feet from the actual shark!

In Hermanus I also got to go Sea Kayaking which was wonderful. After a fun night out on town, me and about 7 other girls were brave enough to wake up and go sea kayaking (while partially hungover). 

 But it was definitely worth it! We were paired up into double kayaks, which I was thankful for because I got paired with my housemate Chelsey who is MIGHTY strong compared to me. So we had a guided kayak tour of the bay where we got to see baby seals RIGHT upclose. They were very playful and cute. We kayaked in the open ocean, and right along the coast which provided breathtaking views. After about an hour and a half I started getting a little sea sick (may have had something to do with the hangover.. not sure haha) so me and Chelsey headed back. But it was a beautiful time, and great exercise! Plus seeing the seals upclose is something that not too many people get to do.

Chelsey and I kayaking in Hermanus Bay

BABY SEALS! so cute. 

....I'm realizing that most things here are "not things that many people get to do" and so I'm very appreciative of this opportunity, and all of the experiences I've had here. Cannot wait to tell you more! (I actually climbed Table Mountain today but am WAY too exhausted to write another blog! stay tuned for updates)

Much love,
Keira xoxo