A F R I C A
5 countries 2 months
Flying through the air at 1000 km/h and it still takes long. Then when the airplane finally lands in The Cape of Good Hope I realized it was really worth it. Once I got all of my bags, I had a moment of relief knowing I have finally made it. Walking down to the busy airport and not knowing a soul was almost frightening at first. But when I saw my name on card someone is holding, I started to relax. She had a baby, a boy, and he looks about 3 years old. Cute I thought. She introduces herself as Jessica and her little boy as Noah. She seems quite nice. I walked down to her car with her and loaded it up with all my bags. It was a tight fit, considering there was also a car seat for Noah. We drove home in the dark and I suddenly felt very tired. Flying all night takes a lot out of you. Jessica is talking about some mountain in the distance but I hadn’t had a clue about what it looked like. She said it was shaped like a table and they called it Table Mountain. Jessica also said that her house is right at the base. We finally pulled up her driveway and I heard music playing inside. She said that her husband, Jason, is the youth pastor at their church and that they were having a party. I walked inside and it was a very nice house. I put my bags down and started to introduce myself. Everybody was really nice and they offered me chips and pop. How could I resist? We watched a movie and then they started to leave. Before I knew it, I was saying goodbye to the last person and I got back in the car and we drove for about another ten minutes. We came to a really nice house and I got so exited to know that I was staying in this house. Jessica gave us a tour and it was a 3 bed, 2 baths, fully furnished and an amazing kitchen. And if that wasn’t good enough, the house was on a nice little canal and I had my own Paddleboat! I was so happy that I unpacked my suitcase right away and hung all my clothes in my huge closet. I decided that tomorrow I would explore and then I fell asleep…
I didn’t wake till 12:30 in the afternoon! I guess there really are time differences. I ate breakfast and went for a Paddleboat ride. It was amazing. The view of Table Mountain was incredible. All along the shore of the canal were houses; all of them cloud white, like mine. When I finished I tied the boat back up, and waited for Jessica, Jason and Noah to pick me up. Today we arranged to go to Cape Point; the furthest point of the African continent, and the only place the Atlantic and Indian oceans meet. As we were driving up, all along the road were Baboons! There was everything from little tiny babies clinging onto their mothers, to the huge dominant males with a muscular body and big hands. How strangely similar they are to humans! We finally got to the Point and read the sign saying:
“340 21’ 24” South Latitude; 180 29’ 51” East Longitude
Cape Point, South Africa”
We hiked a little bit until we came to a lighthouse that was at the furthest point south of Africa. It was very cool to see.
All through the week we went to different sites, peoples houses and drove around Cape Town. Jessica is very nice and her son Noah is the cutest thing ever! One weekend, I went to their church. It was a very big church and there was a rock band that played great songs. I got to go to the youth group during the sermon, and Jason was leading the whole thing. We played games and together we made analogies on how to think of The Holy Trinity and how they are all one God but in three different forms. It is very confusing and I know our human brains can’t understand it yet. But overall it was probably the best youth group I have ever been to. But it was the last day that I would be in The Cape Of Good Hope.
Driving, driving, driving and more driving. I ended up driving all the way to Durban. It was 1900 km trip, but it was worth it by the time I got there. Big waves and sun was what I was looking forward to and I got them. Staying at The Far Light Inn was a great pick, since it was right on the beach. I rented a surfboard and hit the water. The water was freezing but I surfed it anyway. I then had a nice hot shower, and went to bed.
Another airport. They are really becoming part of my life now. I can manage through them so easily and I wondered why I got so confused before? When I got onto the plane and then remembered where I was going: Zimbabwe. Going to Zimbabwe has been my dream, and now I was only a plane ride away. I felt excitement sweep through my body like a wave when we finally touched down. I met with Debbie, a volunteer like me who was with 14 other people from Vernon. We stayed at a wonderful manor, owned by a British lady named Ann. She was wonderful. Our meals were amazing! For breakfast we had toast, bacon, eggs and oatmeal. When we went out to work at villages she would pack us a nice lunch, including sandwiches, fruit and freshly baked muffins. They were delicious! Out in the field was a lot of hard work. We had about 5 different locations that we helped, 4 of them orphanages and 1 of them a school. We were dealing with over 100 kids at a time, all of them very energetic and excited. It got a bit crazy when I had to blow up over 100 balloons with a hand pump, and even though we tried to get every kid at least one, some kids got none at all while others had five. When we went to the school, they were having their grand opening of their new library. The pupils performed skits, songs and speeches about how thankful and happy they were to have a new library. After all the performances, I got up and donated my book Spirit Wolf that I wrote when I was in 5th grade, and told all the 5th graders at this school that they could write stories too. It was a very interesting experience. We had our last week at Ann’s, and then went to the bus station…
On the double decker bus was really cool. We got to watch movies, have food and beverages and we even had a recess half way through the trip. After a long time, we finally arrived just outside of Victoria Falls! It was late at night, and I kind of drifted in and out of sleep in the safari 4x4 that picked us up from the bus stop to our hotel. When we arrived at The Hide, we all got our separate home-like safari tents and went right to sleep.
In the morning I went down to have breakfast, looking out across the wild African plains. For the buffet breakfast, I had eggs, bacon, toast and beans. It was really good. After breakfast I jumped into the pool. IT WAS FREEZING!!! I actually thought I would turn into an ice cube. When I got out I heard that we were going to go on a safari!!! I was so excited and was the first to jump back onto the truck. The guides said that a train that was close by had hit an elephant. He said that there would defiantly be lions there. I was so excited! This was going to be the first time I would ever see an actual wild lion! I knew when we were approaching. The smell was horrible! It took every inch of my concentration not to gag. And then I saw it. It was a female lion, and she came out of the bushes a couple minutes after we cut our engines. She went near the elephant and started eating. Her cubs then came out and joined her. Our photographer, Amber, was going crazy to get as many pictures as she could get. We then moved closer toward the railroad tracks, and who might be lying right in the middle only 30 ft. away from us? A male lion! A huge male lion! It was amazing to see, but it surprised me how lazy lions are. I guess they save their energy for hunting. We then moved on with the safari and saw a lot of birds, zebras, wilder beasts, a giraffe, elephants, and warthogs. Everything was so surreal. It felt has though I had entered another world. It felt like I was in the movie The Lion King…
We then went to a watering hole where all the animals take turns drinking. And it was the lion’s turn when we got there. There were at least six male lions and a few females. There were also some cubs too. Again, they were all lying around lazily, sleeping most of the day. Then I saw the biggest lion of all. I assumed he was the alpha of the pride, considering he was the only one standing tall, with his chest out and head held high. I remembered the evil zoo we visited in Peru, and saw how there were lions in little cages and looked totally defeated and his eyes lost its colors. When I looked at this wild lion, I could see how happy he was. His eyes screamed with power and majesty. He stood tall and let no one do any harm to him or his pride. He was the king of the jungle. And he knew it.
When we arrived back at the hide, we ate another wonderful meal and then looked back out to the plains. It was beautiful. With the water whole 30 ft. away, the huge African sun in the back ground, birds flying over the water and zebras, wilder beasts and wart hogs grooming the ground, it was something that could be on a post card. Or a movie! And then I wished I could be part of it. Then I remembered. I could! It’s the reason this luxury tent hotel got its name! The Hide! Near the watering hole, there is a hidden shelter inside a near by rock. It reminded me of a bomb shelter. When we climbed in, there was a little couch with pillows looking out to a small opening in the metal wall. You could see everything. Warthogs and zebras ate the grass and a parliament of baboons played across the plain. It was heaven. I loved The Hide so much but sadly we had to leave. It was time to go to Vic Falls!
In the bus we watched a really funny movie called “Rat race” Then we arrived at The Sprayview Hotel! It was amazing! We got to our rooms and saw a plate of tea sitting there waiting for me. After tea, I went straight to bed.
In the morning, I walked down the hill to explore. I noticed the large pool, and made a mental note to go swimming after breakfast. It was another buffet breakfast and it very good. Of course we had eggs, bacon beans and toast. The I went swimming in the pool and was surprised it wasn’t too cold.
With nothing else to do, I decide I should go see the legendary,
Victoria Falls.
The spray of the falls were incredible! I could not believe how
much water there is here and only a short distance away there are all these people with no drinking water!
The rest of the week we pretty much stayed at The Spray View. Then one night we went to a “Boma” dinner. It was all African food buffets that were DELICIOUS! I ate so much I thought I was about to blow up! There was even a desert table with lots and lots of cakes and puddings and pies! I ate as much as I could from that table.
The rest of the week we pretty much stayed at The Spray View. Then one night we went to a “Boma” dinner. It was all African food buffets that were DELICIOUS! I ate so much I thought I was about to blow up! There was even a desert table with lots and lots of cakes and puddings and pies! I ate as much as I could from that table.
Leaving Zimbabwe for Malawi and Flying in the tiny 12-seated airplane was really cool. We ended up actually being on the same flight as the people we were going to stay with! Her name was Delmaza and she has 3 daughters and a son. The plane landed and their dad gave us a ride to their house. It was a nice home that had a lot of guitars, a keyboard and a violin. They even had a trampoline and a pool! It was so cool to stay there. In the morning, I got up early and very excited to go to school. The dad happens to be the Principal at the High School next to their house. Paschwa and I walked there and she told me all about her school.
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