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Hi all!
As I have to kill some time waiting for my pick-up now, I figured I'd throw in another update as I already have so much to tell again from these past 5 days.
Okay, so Sunday evening I went out with a French couple whom I'd met via the couchsurf network, and together with my host we went iceskating! It seemed fitting that since I started my week bowling at the same place, I would end my Cape Town-time iceskating there :) After a fun time I had to say goodbye to the mum of my host, and I most say it was a very sad goodbye. It was nice having a mum around again, and the way both she and her son/my host have welcomed me with open arms was incredible.
On Monday I took my first Bazbus ride to Hermanus, and as I was getting off the bus I met Emily, a girl from the UK who was going to spend her last week in Hermanus and was by herself as well. We spend the day staring at the dolphins swimming and the whales jumping out of the water right in front of us in the bay, whilst we were enjoying our lunch. I'd felt instantly at ease in Hermanus, as it is a nice small town with apparently only friendly people! In the afternoon we kayak-ed in the bay, but unfortunately not much wild life to see. The backpackers I was staying at was also very pleasant, and it was as if you walked into your own home. Of course we had a braai in the evening, and went out for a few drinks with Emily, someone working at the hostel and her friend.
The next morning I left for my next ride on the Bazbus, namely to The Crags (close to Plettenberg Bay). On the bus I met Juan, and after he got off I met Till, both travelling by themselves. When I arrived at the Wild Spirit River Lodge in the Crags, it was as if I ended up at the end of the world. It was so incredibly quiet and peaceful all around the lodge, and it was located right in the middle of the most beautiful surroundings. Constant baboon-shouting confirmed this ;-) I must say I did not feel at home right away, as I was literally the only guest at that moment, apart from those travellers who fell in love with the place so much they never left. The entire lodge is 100% eco-friendly, and their water comes from a private spring close by. The lodge has lots and lots of 'pets', such as horses, dogs and cats. The dogs actually chase after the baboons, as they sometimes get on the propriety (and you don't want that- remember the stone throwing story?).
The next morning, after spotting my first big big big spider (I stayed surprisingly calm) (okay, after my first reaction I became surprisingly calm, and eventually managed to survive), the Bazbus dropped another sole traveller: Beth, also from the UK. And together we drove up to the highest bungeejump, cause hee, we were in the neighbourhood so why not!? Arriving at the Bloukrans bridge, I seriously started to doubt my sanity. 216 Meters, and I was about to jump off that voluntarily, or mostly anyways.. (they sometimes actually PUSH you). With the car you drive over the bridge, and at the end of the bridge you walk into this 'walk-bridge' which is built directly underneath the bridge and goes until the middle of the bridge. I must say walking in this wired bridge to the middle of the Bloukrans bridge is one way to get your nerves up.. In the middle there is this platform, and on this platform about 20 men are stationed to either entertain you, scare you, hold you, or push you (and I assume also for a lot of technical reasons, such as attaching the bungee cord to my feet). To get your adrenaline up by a little more, they start playing VERY loud music. As if it is reason for a party you jumping down 216 meters on a single cord. They also videotape your jump- I guess in case you die they still have some backup of what actually happened (joking sis :P). Brave Beth went first, and together with another couple and someone from the lodge I was watching her with real anxiety. And hopla, she jumped, and was just gone! Because of the music you also don't hear any screaming, so there is no way to see if she made it back alive other than waiting to see her coming up at the other side of the platform again. And without having seen if she survived, it was my turn. Sure. So the cord got attached, and my arms were folded around 2 strong men helping me to wobble to the edge. Apparently this is also the moment where you release your arms of their necks, but it took just a little bit longer with me. After they finally unclutched my arms, it was: 5! 4! 3! 2! 1! GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. Listening back to the video, I continued like this: SHIIIIT!!!! WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA. And for about 3 seconds I could not think of a more worse feeling than this. And than it got good! Real good! Man oh man, it got GREAT! I must say it was absolutely amazing, and I definitely ended up enjoying every second (after the first 3 seconds..). When I was up at the platform again, all you want is jumping AGAIN. Wauw!! It was also very nice seeing Beth up here again haha. The girl after me got close to throwing up when standing at the edge, and decided to turn around. Such a shame, because it was an awesome experience. In the evening we had a very nice intimate music get-together back at the lodge, and after another great day I went to bed.
The next morning Beth, Offra (a woman from Israel who doesn't even understand the meaning of a map, but was very nice company!) and me got on a 5 hour hike down to a lagoon, where the river meets the ocean. We were told not to cross the Black Rock Cliffs in case the water was rising, and we realized just a little bit too late that the water had already risen too far. We tried climbing over the cliff, but had to take off our hiking boots at some point to go through deep poles of water. Since the rocks were very sharp, it wasn't such a comfortable hike, and at the same time massive waves were crashing in on the rocks. When we got to a point where we had to go through real deep water, but still couldn't see the end, we decided to turn around and quickly make our way back again. I must say this was probably more dangerous than the bungeejump, as it would not take much for a wave to drag us all with him out into the sea. But, we made our way back via the safer route, and arrived safely back at the lodge. Yes, I promise to never do that again!
In the evening I left with the Bazbus to go to Port Elizabeth for an overnight stay, and met Juan and Till again who stayed in the same hostel with me. Prepared ourselves a nice healthy dinner, and I am now waiting to be picked up to go to Addo, the Elephant Park. At this park I will volunteer at a hostel for 2 weeks, and in return get dorm bed and meals, and hopefully I can hop onto a safari :)
Again every day has been GREAT so far, and I am amazed at all the people I get to meet especially since I travel by myself. I could not have imagined this beforehand, but it is turning out just perfect so far :)
Take care all and much love!
- comments
Corina Klinkt allemaal weer erg goed, maar zoals ik al zei; niet meer van die gevaarlijke dingen doen in de buurt van water... Ga liever nog een paar keer bungee jumpen of zwemmen met haaien :-). Leuk hoor zo'n spinnetje, volgens mij is kalm voor jou nog steeds niet kalm voor normale mensen maar goed... (had het eigenlijk wel willen zien, die reactie ;-) ) Veel plezier bij de olifanten en pas goed op jezelf, liefs!
Niels Sounds amazing Diandra, keep the good stories coming! Which basically means enjoy every second of it!!! All the best from sunny Noordwijk, Niels
Noukii GOH, ik hoor het je gewoon allemaal vertellen.. Jij hebt echt humor vrind en goede verhalen! This time for Africa.. ARIBAA
Snoek Hahahahahahahaaaa ik ben trots op je kerel! Spinnen zijn ook heeeel eng hahaha :P (Oke, wacht.. hier moet ik toch bekennen dat ik een zekere spin in mijn kamer in ZA had en die vond ik zelfs smerig dus.. ja ... respect:P) Ik vind het fantastisch dat je nu tussen de olifanten zit! Echt mooie dieren :) Ben benieuwd wat voor leuke klusjes ze allemaal voor je hebben, of dat het toch vooral wc's schrobben wordt, haha. Oja, en om nog even terug te komen op die gevaarlijke baboons, weet je waarom je ze ook niet in de buurt wilt hebben? ... Vanwege hun geurige umh.. drollen ja.. Hoop dat olifantenschijt beter ruikt ;) LLL! p.s. ze hebben wel echt moeilijke sommetjes hieronder zeg