I went sky diving, Table Mountain climbing, I went 10.7 minutes in the ocean with great white sharks!!

Well everyone, I know that it has been awhile since I last updated you all, but midterms have been taking up most of my free time. So many things have happened since my last blog I don’t even know where to start.

South Africa was the first port that I had trouble leaving. I absolutely loved it there and I cannot wait to go back. Cape Town reminds me of San Francisco on a smaller scale with the same type of atmosphere and weather. The wharf was a fun place to hang out at night with pubs, restaurants and little cafés sprinkled along the waterfront. Behind the hustle and bustle of the city, Table Mountain shoots straight above the skyline slightly resembling Diamond Head on Oahu. By far this was the prettiest port that we had pulled into so far.

The morning of our arrival was spent on Long Street with friends shopping and interacting with the locals. I was excited to see there were surf shops everywhere! I almost felt like I was at home with the familiar logos of Quicksilver, Roxy and O’Neill blaring from storefronts, but as we walked past a side street I was surprised to find a mosque with mats laid out and men praying in the middle of downtown Cape Town. I was not prepared to see such a heavy Muslim population in South Africa, and the mass of people out in the street praying provided a much needed culture shock. Dumbfounded and entranced by the prayers being projected through the loud speakers around us I observed something that most of us had only experienced watching on television. The CNN version seemed to be a far cry from what was being portrayed on this small side street a world away.

My friends pretty much told me to snap out of it and we went on our merry way to conquer some type of food. I had my first Asian meal since I left the states for lunch and I cannot even explain how happy it made me! After lunch we began to walk toward the outskirts of downtown and stumbled upon a Harley Davidson dealership. Immediately, I felt a pang in my heart from memories flooding into my mind about my Aunt Judy, and the sight of the store made me miss her more than usual.

Later that day my friends and I climbed Table Mountain, which was no easy feat. It was a straight incline for an hour and a half with rocks stacked like stairs all the way to the top. I can now say that I climbed it, but at the time I can tell you that I was less than excited to be doing so. In other words…it kicked my butt.

The next day a group of us set out to the town of Gainsbai (pronounced hansbye), about two and a half hours up the coast from Cape Town, to go cage diving with great white sharks. A dive boat toted us out into the bay with four crewmembers: the captain, a deck hand, our videographer and one of the premier researchers on great whites in the area. While we hopped along the tops of the wakes I attempted to wrap my mind around the fact that I was about to get into the water with nine-foot sharks. Not until after we were finished would I begin to comprehend what I had done.

The captain dropped anchor and the deck hands began chumming the waters. It wasn’t long before the videographer (an American who came to South Africa for two months and stayed for five years) spotted some great whites off in the distance. Before we knew it the eight of us were being shouted at to put our wet suits on and get into the cage. Meanwhile, two female great whites began circling the boat. There were four people in the cage at a time watching as the sharks made passes in front of the cage. You would think that you would be panicking in the cage as these massive bodies equipped with several rows of teeth swim only a foot away from you, but this strange calm comes over you as you watch these beautiful creatures maneuver through the water. However, there was a moment that made my heart skip a beat. My first turn I was on the outside left of the cage, in the meantime the sharks are circling the boat clockwise, naturally I was the first person that came into contact with the shark as it made a pass. All of the sudden I look to my left and made eye contact with the shark as it grated its teeth against the cage. The adrenaline was defiantly pumping in my body in over time after that moment. Looking back I can’t believe that I actually went through with it. We all found out later that there was a total of eight different sharks total circling the boat…all female. If any of them really wanted to eat us, that cage was not going to stop them by any means.

Shark diving was not the last extreme sport that I participated in while I was in South Africa. The following day the same group of friends and I went sky diving over the south end of Cape Town. Yes…I jumped out of a perfectly good plane and video taped it all myself! It was such a liberating experience and the view was absolutely to die for, between the beach, the mountains and the ocean I can’t say that I can complain about my first jump. I was the first one in my group in the plane that jumped and I have to say that your heart doesn’t really start to race until they open the door. Sitting on the edge of the doorway waiting to drop out seems like it takes a lifetime but before you know it you are back on the ground ready to do it again. I may even do it in Hawai’i just to have the bragging rights, but we’ll have to see!

South Africa Part II: Lions, rhinos and elephants oh my!

Safari…safari…safari.
From the time we left the ship, it was a rollercoaster of events and people. We left at about 04:00 and didn’t get to our camp until about 18:30. I didn’t really know anyone on my trip very well, but it worked out for the best because I met some really great people who are good friends now. Isn’t it funny how those things work out? Any who, I know that you all probably want to know about the animals…Well the biggest animal of all was our guide. He was absolutely nuts! Corbus (Aka Stephan…I have no idea what the connection is) was brilliant I’ll give him that, but he was a little off of his rocker. He told us that he would rather shoot a human than an animal if he were to choose; we all looked at one another and then nervously chuckled. None of us knew how serous he was.
I saw three out of Africa’s ‘Big 5’, which consists of the rhino, elephant, lion, leopard and the water buffalo. I saw both white and black rhinos, elephants and water buffalo. Some others in the group caught a glimpse of a lion, but the rest of us defiantly heard them later that night. The Kwazulu Natal game reserve is part of Zulu territory. Our game drivers in our open vehicles were from the Zulu nation. (“Tribe”is considered to be derogatory in South Africa, taken from the apartheid days.) They gave us a great insight to the cultural side of South Africa and provided us with a multitude of answers about their own lives and of the animals.

I have to say that elephants chasing our cars were my greatest moments on the safari. The first time we were riding around in an enclosed van watching a pack of elephants dig holes in the river bed to get water and all of the sudden they started moving up the embankment. All of us were shocked at the magnitude of these animals and the numbers. As they came over the ridge our driver became frightened and drove away as fast as he could. Apparently, he knew what the elephants could do to a vehicle our size and wanted to make sure that we weren’t used as a football (soccer ball).

Later that afternoon around sunset we were on another game drive and I turned to a friend of mine and said that I hoped to get closer to some elephants. Not 15 minutes later and we turned a corner to find an older male elephant feeding in the middle of the road. According to our guide he was about 50 years old! We couldn’t pass him so we just sat there watching him eat. He was magnificent! The shear size of an African elephant is overwhelming and when they are that close…all you can do is whisper. Soon he began to move toward us and our driver laughed as he threw the vehicle in reverse as the giant mammal picked up the pace. In all reality he wasn’t threatened by our presence, he just wanted to go and eat another plant where we just happened to park in front of. We ended up attempting to pass him but stopped about 20 feet from him. I have never been so close to one before. It was amazing! I have some great video and pictures to show when I get home.

There are a billion other stories that will have to wait until I get back. We’re about half way done with the semester. I can’t believe how everything is flying by!

Bum bum bee dum bum Namibia!

All of the days here seem to mesh together into one long memory.

Southern Africa is nothing like you would expect it to be.  Although it is spring here the weather is cold, you end up wearing a sweatshirt more often then not. I definitely felt safer here than I did in Brazil. People are not begging for money at every turn and the population is not as dense. There are only two million people in the entire country of Namibia. Walvis Bay is very small and there isn’t a whole lot of activity to be quite honest. The local people are extremely hospitable, everyone says hello as they walk down the street and consider it rude if you do not do the same.

American sentiment has been surprising. During our first jaunt into town, we were stopped by some of the dockworkers to ask us where we were from. Once they heard all of us shout the U.S. their faces lit up. Again, surprising.

I had not planned anything while in this specific port.  I figured that I would just go where the wind took me and hopefully it would be blowing in the right direction.

The first day was spent meandering around the town looking for grocery stores and such. It is always nice to have a chance to get your bearings in the first few hours of the day...especially if there is a language barrier.  Luckily, there was none to really speak of. The national language of Namibia is English, but Afrikaans is spoken throughout most of the population along with the other 22 plus languages spoken around the country. 

That night, 13 of us went up to the next town about 30 minutes away. Swakopmund was an interesting experience. I stayed in my first hostel for $3 USD a night. When I walked in I felt like breaking into song and singing the score from Annie. Let me tell you it was a “hard knock life”. 

I was one of the late groups into town, as the first group went up earlier that day to figure out a place to stay.  The first group ended up meeting a school choir that was singing at a local competition and invited us to come along. They even set up transportation free of charge.  I have never seen so much talent before. There were choirs from all over the country that sang and danced but I believe the liveliest person in the group was the host school’s principal. He shook all of our hands and introduced himself and began conversations of various topics with us.

Naturally, American politics came up in the conversation. When all of the sudden the principal turns to us and says, “and then George Bush ‘messed’ up your country.”  You can imagine that he might have used a more colorful word there. All of us looked at one another and couldn’t help but laugh from the shock of the punch line. The rest of the night was spent at one of the local German restaurant’s, Kuckies, and later on at a pub. I had an ostrich steak for dinner and I think that I’ve been converted. It is leaner than beef, but has an incredible flavor. 

We shopped all of the next day and spent some time walking around the town. We had breakfast/lunch at a local spot. I cannot express how much I truly enjoyed the food. All of us were exhausted from the sleepless night in the hostel, so after a bit of meandering we went back to the boat.

My friend Marissa and I went sand boarding the next day on Dune 7 with a group of girls. It made me miss the snow. Sand boarding is basically snow boarding...on sand. Instead of taking a lift, you hopped onto the back of quads. We got in five or six runs. I can’t say that it was all that easy even for the most experienced boarders because the sand was so fine. If you didn’t wax the board enough you just sank. Pretty incredible views from the top of the dunes though, I have to keep reminding myself that this is my life and it is all about living for the moment.

The last few days flew past me, we partied and ate and had a blast just being with one another.  I bought quite a few mementos from a lady named Kathy right outside the port gate. She drove a hard bargain and I think that I totally got ripped off, but I just didn’t have the heart to haggle with her anymore. What she was selling was her livelihood. I would rather give my money to someone that it directly affects than a commercial business.

My scariest story so far on this trip occurred here. I was going to the bank with friends and there was a guy that had just used the ATM. He came out of the vestibule and I proceeded to the machine. Before I even took out my card my friend Juliana yelled at me to not do it. I hadn’t realized that the same guy was right behind me in the vestibule. It scared me so much that I almost swung at the guy. Luckily, everything turned out all right and I walked away.  Another one of our friends broke the tension afterward by stating that if a New Yorker, Juliana, got scared about a situation then you know it’s not good.  We all laughed, but I am defiantly counting my blessings.

Namibia was an extraordinary place that will always have a place in my heart. The people were beautiful, the country was beautiful and the experiences are things that I will never forget.