Don't tell me about monkeys, I'm from Congo!!

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Just over a week ago, Neil the Professor picked Elisha, myself and Maya (our Israeli house mate) up in his giant bakkie that he never drives to work, instead driving his beat up mutt car, and took us on what he called an assignment... you see, with Neil, everything has to be an assignment or lesson or some type of top secret mission- I guess this makes life interesting... and which it does!! Life is but a sequence of steps and decisions and to make a game of it often times makes things more enjoyable and life more intriguing... So Neil gives us our instructions. We are to be dropped of at Keurbooms River and take two canoes, one for Elisha and I, the other for Maya and make our way upstream towards who knows what- until the end or until we can row no longer... We would then find him sitting amongst the trees and braai pits just outside the canoe zone.
We gathered the necessary ingredients to a successful canoe experience and set off into the water. The beginning was not so smooth, as the water was quite low and we were struggling to get through the sandy area and into the open water... once we found our way through and pushed off into the red brown water, it felt very refreshing. We had no schedule, no rules and nowhere to be really. The last time I had been in a canoe was with my friend Jeremy back home. We started out slow, somewhat relaxed and enjoying the cool breeze around us. When we felt we had enjoyed enough calm waters, we put our arms into gear and began paddling as if our lives depended on it!! We were full speed ahead, passing caves and various ducks diving for possible meals- small deposits of sand on the sides would make for good picnic spots... we had packed a couple of sandwiches but we did not wanted to leave the canoes, we would have to eat in rotation while the other continued rowing. This was our plan.

After a wonderful time heading up the river, laughing along the way and convincing ourselves we were going incredibly fast and no one could match our speed- we headed back downstream against the 1 o'clock current- pushing us back and making us fight harder... the trip back seemed to take forever- which was fine. we had nowhere to be, nowhere fast..

Once we hit land, met back up with Neil and headed away from the river- we realised just how sunburned we were... but we didn't care, we felt good... arms were sore and necks were red... the day was still young. It was the day before Elisha's birthday- 27- like me... Neil then took us to this semi- hidden beach that very few people know about, quite out of the way- completely empty, truly a private beach and it was beautiful. The water was active, the deep blue Indian ocean waves crashed against the shore and we could see Plettenberg Bay in the distance... after admiring the beach for awhile, we headed into town to further celebrate Elisha's birthday countdown.

We sat at Spur, a popular South African restaurant shaped after Southwest/Texan style restaurants... cowhide print seats and Texas Steaks can both be found... Elisha was awarded a giant waffle topped with ice cream, along with a Dom Pedro, South Africa's national milkshake. We had quite a few laughs, it was truly a wonderful day and I am so happy she had it... thank you to Neil for making it happen.


More recently, Elisha and I went, again with Maya and this time with Marcele from work, to Stormsriver Village. Now it is here where they host the Tsitsikamma forest canopy tours. A great perk of volunteering at Monkeyland is we get free entry to many of the other ecotourism and tourism spots around the area... this includes the canopy tours. After the introduction and info class, we took to the forest in a small 4x4 vehicle... we were escorted onto the first platform by our forest guides. We were basically harnessed to the zipline cables spanning lengths of 60 meters to 270 meters, from tree to tree... each time being unhooked and re-hooked to the next line. You hold onto the cable through a double layered glove and jump- set sail through the air, looking down and all around you... the forest floor below filled with ferns and small animals we never see, while to your left and right you see the gorgeous forest...hard pear, yellow wood, other trees native to this area... You feel the air hit your face and hope the cables are secure- and of course they are!!- but it just runs through your mind occasionally...maybe even adds to the excitement... you are told not to squeeze the cable and "brake" yourself unless the guide waiting for you on the next tree platform instructs you to...but it is your natural reaction and you slow yourself down too soon the first couple of times... At the end of it all, it was a beautiful day and I experienced a forest as I never had before.


I will post photos from these outings soon...
as for now, you can look at some photos on my Facebook wall, posted by Maya.
take care..

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