hi u lot! as usual - hope ur all doing well and stuff!!! i havnt quite been my usual self over the past few days - not sure quite whats up with me but it'll pass and i've been using my time to start thinking about planning my 10 day trip because i dont want to do my usual thing and leave it too late, be confused and not do everything i wanted too! looking into it i think seeing as i dont drive the easiest way for me to do this is use the BAZ-BUS or BB as i will call it to save my finger energy! this is a bus which runs through the garden route from capetown to places like durban, joberg, port elizabeth etc etc etc and it basically stops at LOADS of places where you can get on and off at ur will (i would prob do something like get a 14 day pass which allows me to make as many stops anywhere i like for as long as i want within that time limit... and that only costs like R1600 i think (160 quid), granted u've still got costs of activities and hostels etc etc but a night in a hostel is only 50-100 rand (5-10 quid!) one of my dilema's is do i want to do as much as possible or see as much as poss?... atm what is catching my eye is doing something like go down to c-town, spend some time there like see table mountain etc etc, maybe do the cable car up to the top if its still on (maybe too windy and cloudy not sure) and then hitch onto the BB to george where there is a shuttle bus to oudtshoorn: sonja (my flatmate) went there on her gdn route experience and recommended this hostel called "backpackers paradise" and i've looked it up on the net and it looks really cool. theres a trip there called joyride which takes 1 day starting at 8.30. they drive u to the top of the swartzberg pass, which is really high, and then you cycle down to the bottom stopping off at an ostrich farm (dad do try and control ur excitement enuff to read on - i know it will be hard lol) where i can ride/feed/hug etc ostriches and then a ranch for cheetah's and tigers so i'd be able to stroke one of them etc and get really close and we'd visit the cango caves which i dont know much about but sonja says theyre amazing! theres also a day waterskiing trip which does sound cool but i think because i'm on a time limit and i cant waterski (they give lessons but i still wouldnt get the most out of it) and it'll prob be freezing by then i'd give it a miss!!! but that basically would be me stopping off there for prob only 2 days and only doing 1 trip but i spose it does include a lot of stuff - oh well plenty of time to think it over i spose. then i'd go on to plettenberg bay which apparently is REALLY beautiful and thats where you can do loads and loads of activities... some of the ones i wanna do are: abseil off robberg peninsula which is not as high as table mountain but does look like it has spectacular views the bloukrans bridge bungee jump (216 m :O aaah!!!) take a marine tour as it will just be starting whale season do a sea kayaking tour where apparently u get really close to dolphins and stuff sky-diving do some horse riding (in memory of u kacoe lol) and maybe some sotor glider flying / paragliding see what i mean about there being loads!!! i've thought about it and i think that i could probably fit all the activities into 8 days if i really went full out so i could probably manage to make that my trip but then i sort of feel well i've only really been to 2 places which is not very much the other option is to get the BB and just stop for 1 night at loads of diff stops and just have looks around. at the moment the 1st is seeming like the much more appealing option but i will continue having a look into it (its quite fun actually :oP)! i know that some of those adventurous options might not be open to me but hey even if i get 3/4 of them should still be a pretty cool time, dont ya reckon! its gonna be quite a mission planning all this as i'm trying to work out what you have to book and how far ahead etc etc etc, have got some numbers and sent out a few emails so i guess its a bit of waiting time now for responses! thats about all for now - more lectures on monday, tomorra dunno about yet ooo anyone who gets the chance - i recommend mrs henderson presents and Mission Impossible 3!!! both pretty good films ;o) lots of love to you all... what dya reckon of my 10 day plan huh?!?! lemme know mwah emily xxxxxxxxxxx