Garden Route: Day 5, 6, & 7

After 2 days without having any internet, I have seen so much of South Africa!  After bungee jumping and ziplining in the same day, I definitely had some soreness in the abdominal area when I woke up on Thursday morning.  We left Tsitsikamma and went to Addo to go on a SAFARI!  

We got there around 11:30 and started the safari around noon.  It was awesome.  We saw elephants, kudoo, zebra, warthogs, mongoose, and antelope!  So cool.  Here are a few pictures I got of the animals! 

HA! 

Kudoo. 

Elephant. 

Warthog. 

Zebra. 

Antelope. 

The waterhole! 

The team! 

We drove around for about 2 hours to see the all of the different animals.  It is a national park, so they have tons and tons of room to roam around in a safe environment.  It was definitely a highlight for me to have an elephant walk right up to our car and cross the dirt road.  Incredible.  

After the safari, we drove about 3 hours to Jeffrey's Bay, one of the most popular surfing spots in South Africa.  We stayed at a surfing lodge right on the coast, which was gorgeous.  Once we got settled in, several of us walked to the beach to hang out for a bit and watch the sunset.  I decided to go on a run!!!  Oh. my. gosh.  I haven't been able to run in about a month, which has been so hard for me!  I love running outside (thanks to my pops), so not being able to do so for such a long time has been difficult!  So, I went running along the beach (no worries Mom, it was a very safe area and still daylight!) for about 30 minutes or so watching the sunset.  It was beautiful.  So glad I was able to finally get some running in!  Afterwards, we all just chilled on the beach for a bit and then went out to dinner about 5 minutes away.  Delicious as usual!  The food here has all been incredible by the way... 

Mia and I got back to our room and watched the Olympics for a bit.  We had a good time reminiscing about all of our experiences that we've had thus far.  I'm going to miss her dearly!  We went to bed around midnight and then woke up the next day and had THE BEST BREAKFAST EVER.  

It was fan-tastic.  The people who owned the place had fresh fruit salad, yogurt, granola, cereal, PANCAKES, eggs, bacon, toast, coffee, tea, and more PANCAKES all set out for us.  By far the best breakfast I have had the entire time I've been here.  Once we finished stuffing our faces, we drove back in the direction of Cape Town and stopped in Plettenberg Bay.  

I absolutely loved what we did here at the Elephant Sanctuary!  We were able to walk, pet, and feed the elephants there! Ahhhh, it was so amazing!  What interesting and unique creatures, that I found out are extremely intelligent and clever.  Walking the elephant was so cool because you just stick your palm out behind you and they rest their trunk on it while you walk them!  You can feel them blowing out through their nose (so yes, I did get a little bit of elephant snot on my hand...worth it)!  After the walk, we fed them apples and peanuts.  SO AWESOME! 

Just taking a stroll....

Just a stop at the beach to explore! I'm going to miss these ladies! 

After visiting with the elephants, we took a stop at Monkey Land!  We ate lunch there which was our ticket in to see the monkeys!  They are just roaming free (to a certain extent) all around the restaurant and are known for trying to get in to eat the food.  Such cute little guys!  One almost jumped on Natasha when she was walking by... terrifying... missed her by an inch.  Look how cute they are! 

Acting like monkeys, naturally. 

Can you find the monkey??

After Monkey Land, we stopped in Wilderness for the night (beach picture above).  We stayed in really cool log cabins and ate our last meal together at the Blue Olive, a really cool and eclectic restaurant.  Below is Mia posing in our cabin...

This morning we woke up bright and early and headed to George to drop Tim and Natasha off at the airport, so they could fly to Johannesburg for the weekend.  Next stop, Cape Town Airport about 3 hours away to drop off Berrit and Mama K.  So sad to see them go!  I'm so thankful that I had the opportunity to get to know them so well on this trip.  I look forward to keeping in touch with both of them.  

Once we left the airport, David drove the rest of us (Mia, Becca, myself, Will, and Holden) back to Cape Town.  Will and Holden left to go to their new home for the next 4 and a half months, while Mia, Becca, and I settled in at the team house for the night.  We leave tomorrow afternoon for the airport!!!  I cannot believe that 6 weeks has already gone by; it seems like just yesterday I met Mia at the airport!  I'm praying that everyone travels safely today and tomorrow.  

Follow up post to come! Thankful for all of your prayers! 

Garden Route: Day 3 & 4

This post will be combining the last 2 days because we were without any wifi last night!  So bear with me because there are a lot of pictures!  Yesterday morning, we left the Best Little Guest House in the pouring down rain and drove straight to the Cango Caves (about 45 minutes away).  The caves were absolutely incredible!  Most of us went on the "Adventure Tour" rather than the standard tour to get the full caving experience.  It was absolutely spectacular.  It's so crazy to think that those caves have been there for over 700,000 years!!! We were able to crawl through various holes within the caves and slide down head first into more caves!  Unbelievable.  Here are some pictures (that still don't capture the full beauty) of the Cango Caves.  

This hole was called Devil's Chimney that we had to crawl through.  Our guide referred to that light at the top as Jesus. So, he recommended that we keep going until we can see Jesus.  Awesome.  

Adventure Tour group!
Berrit, Holden, Mia, KT, Natasha, Tim, and William

LOOK AT THOSE CAVES

Incredible. 

Yes, that was the actual size of something we had to crawl through.  Insanity. 

The whole crew! What an awesome experience!

After visiting the caves, we went to a beach about 45 minutes away which was absolutely gorgeous.  Although it was raining, we still walked along the secluded beach and just marveled in God's creation.  There was actually a mountain that looked similar to a sphinx!  Such a cool area.  I discovered that I am not the only one who loves to look at various shells and rocks on the beach!  Natasha and I walked along the coast for about an hour just finding different shells and sea critters. 

Mia and Natasha frolicking. 

There's the sphinx! 

Notice the cross on the mountain in the back left! 

Incredible. 

"Natasha's Garden"

 After visiting this beach, we went to another one for just a little bit to go see a cliff drop off!  So beautiful. 

We finished the day off at a restaurant, Off the Hook.  Very good, until I found out this morning that 3 of the 10 were sick all last night.... Yikes.  This morning, we left around 8:30 to head to FACE ADRENALINE.  

CAN YOU GUESS WHAT IS ABOUT TO COME?! OKAY, I'LL TELL YOU--BUNGEE JUMPING OFF OF THE WORLD'S HIGHEST BUNGEE JUMPING BRIDGE!!!!!

Okay, so most of you who know me well know that I love to do any sort of high thrill activity.  I absolutely love the feeling of adrenaline, so I HAD to jump off a bridge today!  I'm not even going to try and explain the feelings that I had.... Here are some pictures from this morning!!!

One of the most incredible and terrifying feelings I have ever experienced. 

SAFE AND SOUND (still freaking out afterwards)

Tim and Natasha walked the bridge with us for support! 

The bridge behind us! INSANE!!!

I do have video of it, so I will post that shortly!  It's outrageous. 

After bungee jumping, more adventure began.  We went ziplining through the jungle!!! It was awesome.  There were 9 different ziplines that we went on all throughout the jungle.  We would slide down one, land on the platform, move to the next one, and so on.  It was hysterical to see everyone's reactions sliding in to the platform.  Mia and I were laughing so hard that we both started snorting.  Hysterical.  It was so much fun! 

So awesome. 

All in all, an incredible day filled with tons of adventure.  I loved every second of it!  So grateful for these opportunities!  Looking forward to the safari tomorrow! 

Garden Route: Day 2

Let the day 2 adventures begin....
I was the first one to wake up in our room (6:15) and had to climb down the top bunk bed trying not to wake Mia below.... Hannah, if you're reading this, I am going to apologize in advance for stepping on your face climbing down our bunk beds at school.  That was your warning.
We had muffins and fruit for breakfast and then left around 8:00 this morning for Oudtshoorn, South Africa.

Our first stop: Cape Agulhas, the most southern tip of the continent of Africa, where the Indian and Atlantic Oceans meet.  [This is not to be confused with Cape of Good Hope, the southern most point in the Western Cape.]  It was SO windy and cold, yet still awesome to see where the two oceans meet at the tip of Africa!!! We only stayed for about 20 minutes until heading to the next spot, Warmwaterberg Hot Springs about 3 hours away.

Checked that one off my bucket list! 

The whole team at Cape Agulhus.
L to R: KT, Will, Holden, Tim
Becca, Mama K, Berrit, Natasha, Mia, David

Girl Power. 

Second stop: Warmwaterberg Hot Springs
Yes people, we went swimming in 50 degree weather, but in HOT SPRINGS!!!  It was so cool to do that.  The springs are extremely far above a volcano, where the water at the top of the volcano is bubbling, which creates the natural temperature for the pools.  It was like one big hot tub!

Once we left, we drove about 3 more hours passing beautiful mountains, valleys, and various livestock (sheep, ostriches, springbok, and cattle).  It was raining quite a bit, but still a gorgeous view.  Some of the mountains actually had snow on them, which was hard to believe!  I slept a bit in the car and then finally had the time to finish reading Radical.  Incredible read.  If you haven't, you need to.  Definitely convicting and eye opening.  I then began reading A Hole in Our Gospel by Richard Stearns.  Looking forward to reading the rest of it!

We checked in to The Best Little Guest House around 4:30, which is such a cool little place!  However, no heat.  You have the option to purchase heat, but Mia and I are so cheap we decided to just tough it out and bundle up for one night.  We ate dinner at a South African chain, Spur, which was delicious.  I ordered a chicken, bacon, and avocado salad with a chocolate milkshake for dessert.  Yes please.  Great times well spent with everyone.

Tomorrow, we are going to explore caves!  I am so excited!!!  I'm sure there will be many pictures to share!  Please pray that this time of adventure and exploration will also be a time of fellowship with one another in the name of Christ.  I am so thankful to have gotten to see so much of God's creation today with the people around me.  Blessed by these friendships!

Garden Route: Day 1

We are winding down from our first day on the Garden Route here in Hermanus, South Africa.  We left Cape Lodge this morning around 8:30 after Ms. Bernie and Ms. Anita cooked us our last meal.  It has been such a blessing to have gotten to know them over the past several weeks.  I will miss both of them dearly as well as her daughter, Amy.  I have gotten to know Amy from Ms. Bernie bringing her along in the afternoons.  She is such a beautiful little girl who I have loved spending time with at the house.  We would go out in the street to run a couple of laps... I may or may not have told her that exercise is very important so she would ask me when I got home from club, "Ummm, Katherine, could we go on a jog?"  Why yes, yes we can.  Soooo, we ran around outside and then did some "aerobic" workouts in the driveway.  So fun.  I always enjoyed Amy time.  

3 incredible generations
Ms. Bernie, Ms. Anita, and Amy

AMY!!!!

We left the house after saying our goodbyes and were on our merry way.  Hermanus is about 2 hours or more away from Cape Town, and the drive is absolutely gorgeous.  We stopped along the way at a beach and I discovered that Natasha is also a shell nerd.  So, we looked all over the shore for different shells and found some beautiful ones.  Once we left there, we had another 30 minutes before arriving at the backpackers lodge where we are staying, which looks similar to beach houses in Florida.  We are only staying here for one night and then packing up in the morning to keep traveling!  I love it!  Here is a map of South Africa to see where Hermanus is in relation to Cape Town. 

Abandoned cross on a secluded beach- beautiful

Awesome rock: spotted

Today, we split up in the town square area along the coast to explore.  Berrit, Mama K, Mia, Becca, and myself ate lunch and then walked along the rocky shore.  Most of us climbed up and around different boulders to get closer to the waves crashing.  Hermanus is famous for whale watching, so we were able to see several out in the water from a distance!  Really cool area.  We also discovered some places to sit along the water (at our own risk of getting soaked).  Worth it.  

Just a little afternoon shower. 

Holden holding on for dear life. 

We left the beach around 4:45 and headed back to the lodge to settle in.  We also ordered take out pizza for dinner, which was really great.  Then, OLYMPICS!  All of us love watching them, so that's definitely a plus!  Mama K and Berrit are always cheering on their fellow Brits, while David and Natasha and Tim are rooting for South Africa.  The rest of us... U-S-A!!!  I love it!  Tomorrow morning we are leaving really early and driving about 7 hours to the next stop, Oudtshoorn.  We are visiting some hot springs tomorrow, so I am super excited about that.  It's been a great day of fellowship with everyone here and I am so thankful to be able to experience all of God's beautiful creation with these incredible people.  Looking forward to the rest of the week!