lindajbloomfield

Just got back from a 5-day Garden Route adrenaline tour which was incredible!! Unfortunately the actual adrenaline tour we wanted to do turned out not to be running anymore, but we took the itinerary into a tour place down the road and they sorted the whole thing out for us, and at a slightly cheaper price! So here's a quick overview of what we did in the past week: THURSDAY CANGO WILDLIFE RANCH - OUDTSHOORN This place was awesome! It's kinda like a mini zoo but everywhere was really open, no cages or anything, just open enclosures and a bridge over the more dangerous animals like lions and crocodiles, but still really open for you to see. They had every African animal it was fascinating! And we did the 'extra experiences', which included cuddling with 6 ... read more

Hey hey hey! Verrrry quick one - but I'm in Cape Town and safe and happy! And Leanne's with me yayyyyy! Arrived after a few slight disasters, Durban was awesome but typically on the last day my taxi didnt turn up for ages even though I rang it forty minutes before I really needed it, and I literally only caught my bus to CT as it started to drive away! And then when I got here I had some money stolen :( but since then all is well! So far we've been exploring the city, and been to the waterfront (craft markets and shopping mall) and a flea market, and the most amazing beach today called Camps Bay! It's incredible, the sea is so blue, the sand is white and it was pretty much deserted, and ... read more

The Variety Show was on Friday 12th and was fantastic!! I'm so proud of those kids! Maryna filmed it for us and is going to send me the DVD so I can show you all :). I was however verrrrry disappointed with the staff (though you can't expect much better from them) as only four teachers turned up, and only 2 stayed til the end except for me, Samy, Kory and Jan. AND stupid lazy librarian Kenny Mafuleka - I had an argument with him the other week coz he started hitting kids in my class, and now he's giving me the silent treatment! He's running a cultural dance group and I wanted the girls to dance at the beginning of the show, which they were really excited about, but the stupid selfish childish man forbid ... read more

Hello all! Sorry it's been so long since I last updated!! It seems I can never get on the net now except for about ten minutes, and there's always something more important to do :P Anywho I'm still in ol' Ingwavuma, but only for another two weeks! :( The time has gone sooo fast, I can't believe I've nearly been here for five months. And it's just going faster and faster now, when the term began we didn't have that much to do but recently we've been so busy with school things and travelling that I can't remember the last time I had any time to myself! Well let me get started on some backtracking! Back on the 22nd of April was the SA elections. It was a public holday so we weren't at school, but ... read more

Have no time but just wanted to let everyone know I'm safely back in Ingwavuma, back to school and back to normal. Can't believe I only have eight weeks left at this beautiful place :( but I'm very happy! x x x x x ... read more

Haha forgot to add this to the post below... When we we in Maputo the time before, last week, we had a first hand experience of the corrupt police force! Ruth had told us things but we thought she must've been exxagurating, like you'll think I am now...but I swear this is the complete truth. We were driving home from watching the football, Ben was driving, and the policeman pulled us over. Ben gave him his license, which he held onto, and then proceeded to tell us that we'd driven over the line on a red light. The light had turned red so we'd stopped, apparently over this "line" - funny coz there are no road markings in Maputo :P. He said we would have to go to the police station to pay a fine. Ben ... read more

Back in Maputo safe and sound after a very eventful holiday! I won't be able to remember everything that's happened and I stupidly left my journal at the backpackers, but I'll try to give you a rough overview :) I think I got up to the Swazi Tour before... SWAZI TOUR Stop No. 1: GONE RURAL This place is a bit like Fancy Stitch but instead of embroidery they use grass-weaving. It's fantastic for the women in the community and they make really beautiful things - they can weave baskets so tight that they can carry water! It's definitely worth checking out their website as they can ship all over the world :) Stop No. 2: SWAZI CANDLES Again, definitely look at their website! We watched the candles being made and they're incredible, the people who ... read more

Just another quick one, as Mozambique is a ridiculously expensive country I have discovered and this stupid internet cafe is costing me 3mets a minute! (Which reminds me, Mum please check your facebook about money matters! Hotmail doesnt work here again!) We ended up only staying in Maputo for one night, it might be the capital but it's a hole! Imagine a dirty grotty dangerous city that you hate, then times it by ten. The people aren't nice, the place is dirty and there's litter EVERYWHERE and the pavement is torn to pieces, you can tell the country is recovering! It's just very war-torn and a mess and we weren't enjoying spending time there, there were lots of places the hostel suggested not to go to because of muggings and we found we just didn't want ... read more

Just to let everyone know Im alive and well and in Maputo, the capital of Mozambique! I dont have enough time to update at all but I had an awesome time in Swaziland! Ill put a bit more detail when I have longer in an internet cafe...sorry for the terrible grammar too but this keyboard is a porteuguese one and I cant find any of the punctuation haha! Staying in Maputo til Thursday, then shuttling to a place called Bilene where were gonna camp coz its cheaper, and then heading up to Tofo, but I will try to update before then! Lots of love xxxxx... read more

Hello all! Apparently my last blog didn't email subscribers for some reason? But you should read about my near-death experiences below - they're pretty funny! This actually is gonna be a quick one coz I'm in an internet cafe and have only paid for an hour, and still have some facebook action to catch up on :P FUNNY/INTERESTING THINGS THAT HAVE HAPPENED THIS WEEK (IN INGWAVUMA): There is a dog in one of the houses outside the school gate, and it's fine when we are walking home at normal school hours with all the other kids, but when we srtay late to do drama or hockey and walk home it attacks us!! We ran away the first time and it chased us for ages, and the second time we were with a friend who got down ... read more