Blogs from South Africa, Africa - page 650

Capetown We arrived in South Africa after a fairly uneventful flight - food was slightly better than average but half the movie channels unwatchable due to poor sound. Slightly perplexed by S.A. customs - apparently anyone can only bring 3000 rand worth of new or used goods not bought in S.A. into the country. Given the exchange rate, any tourist wearing pants, a watch and sunglasses would exceed this?!? Anyway, walked through with big tourist smiles on faces so no probs. Went straight from the airport to Drive Africa to get the car - it’s an absolute beast, looks shinier and newer than either of us expected and also comes with CD player and air-con (two critical questions we forgot to ask). It’s got oodles of lockers for all our gear and a tent that folds ... read more

Last night we got a call at around 8:30. It was Mahala’s sister-in-law and she said that they had a problem, they called the ambulance and it was busy and Mahala is in labor. So we got ready to go and take her to the hospital, which is about a half an hour away in the daytime. There were a lot of things going through my mind at this time, I cried cause I was so excited for her but then thought of how scared she must be in labor with her first child and not knowing if she was going to make it to the hospital. When we went to pick her up five other people piled into the car but her husband stayed behind because it was against their culture for him to come. ... read more

After the low of Durban, the Dragon Mountains were a high - quite literally! It's all high round here and the primary activities are hiking up various peaks, climbing cliffs and then figuring out the best way down. Where else can you go abseiling for 65 rand? A 25 metre drop doesn't sound like a long way, but it certainly looks it when you are on the edge. Fortunately, we know a man who had another rope just to make sure it didn't end in tears. We have been reunited with the Bavaria girls, who we'd last seen in Cape Town and they were in the group on the guided hike to the top of the Amphitheatre @ 3100 metres. While it wasn't exactly mountaineering, it wasn't a walk in the park either! There was plenty ... read more

These kids are a parent's worst nightmare. a) for their perpetual runny noses b) for their icky sticky hands haha This is my third week into "saving kids" at the hospital. And by "saving kids" I mean saving them from EACH OTHER. The hospital is quite small and separated into two wards: one for the itty-bitties (1yr old) and one for the other kiddies (1-12ish years). In the kid's ward there is also a section at the back for the burn children. There are play areas/rooms in each ward and an on-site school for the older kids or the ones who are too much to handle and need some structure. As Sarah Fox is a convalescent hospital, the children are generally returning to health and/or undergoing long medication regimes (like 6 mos of meds for TB) ... read more

Whoo Hoo! I am excited for this weekend :) Apart from Becky's departure back to England, the rest of us are going to hit the beach in Muizenburg & surf up a storm. Saturday morning will also be punctuated by a visit to Themba Care, a Children's AIDS Hospice close to Sarah Fox. Saturday night we plan on staying in town at a GORGEOUS hostel we have frequented before. It is a HUGE lovely victorian-era mansion with 2 enormous verandas, tall tall ceilings, wide hallways and safari-esque decor. It reminds me of being really rich and wearing one of those authentic safari hats and having Jeeves pull up from the dusty desert in a green, top-less Land Rover while shady men smoke cigars and trade poached skins and horns in the back room and I, in ... read more