Cruising the Garden Route

Back to Civilization

The first day in Cape Town, my brain experienced total sensory overload from all the sights. And we’re not talking Table Mountain or the Cape of Good Hope, although they were awesome sights. We’re talking about simple things, like seeing houses out the airplane window; savoring my first fresh sandwich and my first café latte with fresh milk; ordering room service; and taking a shower with hot running water!!! Simply amazing. That was my first day - just getting used to “normal” life again and really being so thankful for having all these things again! You know I tried so hard to deal with the living conditions in Ghana, but let’s not forget deep down I am really just a Long Island princess and can always appreciate things like room service and complimentary bellinis!

Oudtshoorn Ostriches

I particularly loved going to Oudtshoorn - here I got to ride (and eat) an ostrich! Did you know that an ostrich is (according to my guide) the second fastest land animal in the world, and one of its two toes can rip your guts apart, but its brain is smaller than its eyeball? Whoever said that God does not have a sense of humor has clearly never seen an ostrich. Man, these guys, they poke their heads in the ground and they think you can’t see them because they can’t see you! I would normally feel a bit bad for eating this animal since it’s so cute and has eyelashes any girl would be jealous of, but just watching how they act really makes me think they serve a better purpose on my dinner plate. And ostrich is SO yummy!!! I don’t think I can ever eat normal beef again. Ostrich is naturally fat-free and it tastes a lot like beef but it’s just a lot lighter. Yum! Riding an ostrich was really cool too, but nowhere as cool as eating it. There are so many great ostrich products, they really do use the entire animal. Feather boas, luxury accessories and furniture, and even sculptures made out of ostrich eggs. It's a real treat. This town is in the middle of nowhere, but if you manage to get here, you will really have such a good time.

Pretty Cats

Another great thing about Oudtshoorn was this mountain bike trip that my hostel (Backpackers Paradise) arranged. We biked from the Cango Caves (option to start from the beautiful Swartberg Pass but it was rained out) and stopped by the ostrich farm and wildlife ranch on the way back to town. Although I didn't have time to make it to Kruger National Park to watch the Big 5 on a safari, I still got to see some great animals and got to pet a cheetah! It was amazing. I was definitely a little nervous at first since I was waiting outside the gate to be let in and the cheetahs were pacing near the entrance. When I asked why they were looking voracious, the guide mentioned to me it just happened to be feeding time. Feeding time?! What were they going to feed it, me?!?! But alas, I got inside the cage anyway and they couldn't care less about me. Thank goodness! We also got to see black mambas, and lions and other cool animals. Although it's a bit sad to see them in captivity, the guide assured us that they were not taken from the wild but were instead bred on the farm to increase the gene mix (main problems for cheetahs is that there is too much inbreeding so they don't live very long). Unfortunately I was too late to go into the cage with the bengal tigers, but apparently they are going to have little cubs soon so they will let people go in very soon. Hope you get to make it, and if you do let me know how it was!

Air Jaws

The famed “Ring of Death” photographed and videotaped by Chris Fallows in False Bay, South Africa, was the same place I went to go shark cage diving to see Great White Sharks! All my childhood fears of Jaws appeared to me in my dreams the night before the dive, and on the boat ride to Shark Alley, I couldn’t tell whether I was shivering because it was cold or because I was just really nervous! This was the place where the Great Whites were known to go airborne and literally jump out of the water to feed on seals! All that separated me from these fascinating creatures was a tiny metal cage. It was an amazing experience to see these things so close up. Unfortunately in my excitement I did not aim my camera at any particular place because I did not want to waste my time looking through the camera, but here is one of the best shots I got underwater. At one point, one shark (we saw seven in total) grabbed the bait right in front of our cage and started thrashing around. Although I was terrified for about a split second that the shark was going to make a huge dent in our cage, my total awe over watching this shark totally outweighed any fear. It was so cool! If you go to South Africa to see sharks, I recommend going with the operators going to Gansbaai. I went in Mossel Bay and waited for 6 hours and saw no sharks, so I had to go again on my last day in Cape Town and nearly missed my flight! I went with Brian McFarlane, and if you have the money and the time, he actually does exclusive trips at dawn and sunset to see these sharks leap out of the water.

So Many Things To See, So Little Time

Two weeks was way too short to see this amazing country. Here are some of the last things I did: ride this preserved steam train through the countryside from George to Knysna. It was such a beautiful day and just hearing the conductor blow the steam train whistle made me smile. It was highlighted by the fact that it was school holidays so all these dads were out with their little kids showing them the train; I wish my dad could have come too. Other highlights were horseback riding on the beach in Mossel Bay, mountain biking in Oudtshoorn, hiking in Montagu, and of course going wine tasting in Stellenbosch! The one regret I may have is that with so much great food for such excellent value, I was so ready to try so many different wines and restaurants, but after being in Ghana for awhile, I was completely unaccustomed to all the flavors and accents! In the end I could only have one glass of wine and one restaurant meal a day. What a pity! Oh well, just one more thing to look forward to when I return!

I’m very sad to be leaving Africa, but very excited for my trip to Peru! I’ll be with some close girl friends of mine so it will be very nice to be able to share these experiences first hand with others. I’ll be in touch soon!

---

---