Lisa explained kinesiology by describing what happens when someone gets shot in the foot and how their gait changes, Such misinterpreted her saying gait as gay...hence Ellis' reference: "2 boys and 18 toes."
Paco: "what happens when a female wants to have sex and the male doesn't?"
Guide: "the male always wants it"
Katrin's on locals waving as we drive by in Pumba: "It's so nice zat all za people are wanking at us."
June 7: The early rise and game drive ended most incredibly when we happened upon a mama and daft lion with 4 young lions hunting. We saw an unsuccessful chase and just as we thought nothing else would happen, the mama ran across the road in front of us and moments later we heard the most incredible squealing of a wart hog. Sadly, no one got the sound on video, nor could we see it as it happened behind some bushes, but what an amazing thing to witness the circle of life, baby!
[Lions, table for 5; mom hunting (moments later we heard the squealing of an unlucky wart hog in the bushes; Dad coming over for dinner; and striking a pose; amazing sunset over the awesome African Sky]
Arrival in Tsitsikamma National Park (the Garden Route) where we set up camp on gorgeous grounds right on the water, with a pool the birds seemed to enjoy more than the campers. We (Derek, Paco, Amy, Debra, Allison and me, later to join Jane and Francoise) went on a forest hike for a few hours, but unfortunately never made it to the cave and waterfall. It should be noted here that I took a spill where, in an effort to avoid hitting a tree trunk with my chest, I put my fist there to protect myself, inflicting pain and potential bruising, upon which Paco expressed "concern", and asked to take a look it after which he offered to give me CPR.
[view from our campsite; lovely flowers; Amy celebrating our prime real estate; more monkeys in the campground; group hike; beautiful fungus; lovely ocean views]
That night we had the most awesome pork chop and chicken dinner with potato salad and avocado and feta salad.
June 8: headed out for Bloukrans to bungee jump, the highest in the world at 216...still unsure myself, once I saw it I was inspired and took the plunge, so to speak. What an amazing high, outside of skydiving, it was the biggest rush ever, maybe even topping it! I was high for hours after! Jane even dived 2x, the second being backwards, beautiful form!
[my bungee experience at Bloukrans Bridge]
June 9: On the wet and cold morning we discovered Paco's bag missing and the tent zippers broken. It was awful, and quite a mystery as the only other item that appeared missing was Kayla's Twister towel. While waiting on the police, I organized a search party with Rob, Amy and Victoria upon which we located the missing luggage and mostly all of its contents, thank god!
Arrival in Oudtshoorn, the ostrich capital of the world. in plenty of time to eat lunch and take in the activities. Many of us went to the Cango Wildlife Ranch where most of us pet cheetahs and some even white tigers. Amazing creatures!
[Cheetah cubs; petting adult cheetahs; nice white tiger; ferocious white tiger; wallaby; meerkat]
Later, much of the group spent some time at an ostrich farm, where you could even ride one!
[First base: Lisa hugging an ostrich; 2nd Base: Rob kissing one; Home run: Paco riding one; Ellis breaking one]
Fortunately the campground had self-service laundry facility, at which Paco was able to wash his stolen clothes that were left in the rain, but strangely, 6 camp chairs went missing before we left for Cape Town.
Arrival in Cape Town was such a buzz with the whole city demonstrating their soccer fever! Vuvuzelas everywhere! The pride of these people is overwhelming!
[Vuvuzela welcome to Cape Town; World Cup fountain; Table Mountain]
A few of us went to the District 6 museum then on a tour bus and rode the cable car to Table Mountain. Gorgeous view between clouds, but a bit cold and windy.
[View of Greenpoint Stadium from Table Mountain; View of Cape Town; gorgeous beaches]
Got back in time to help Amy with the awards for our presentation. She did a fabulous job of preparation, and it went over big with the group after dinner. They were all impressed and appreciative of the efforts.
[MC Amy giving out awards; Li'l and Big Spoon (Chris & Annie); Spoon chain]
We ended up at a club, Friction for a bit of dancing, but it was a bit crowded and young for my taste. There were a bunch of other Americans and World Cup travelers there too, instant common ground!
June 10: My friend from HS over 20 years ago was kind enough not only to cancel her meeting for the day, but offered to be Amy and my chauffeur for the day. Having lived in Cape Town on/off for over 10 years, she had all her favorite spots to show us.
[Hout Bay; Boulder Beach & the molting penguins; Scarborough Beach with Dixie]
Finally, Dixie even drove us to our accommodations, brilliant!
June 11: World Cup fever in full bloom. After sleeping in a bit, Amy and I went for a walk on the beach, had a bite to eat at a cafe, and Amy was assisted by a local in placing a call, which required a seemingly non-existing public phone.
At CPT airport I picked up my tickets and bought some jeans and a USA jacket before we settled in at a bar to watch the first half of the South Africa-Mexico match. It was unfortunate planning on our part as we heard the reactions of the SA goal scored as we boarded the plane, and later was announced that it ended in a draw.
[Amy and me watching the World Cup opener: South Africa v Mexico in CPT airport]
On the flight, we had some flight attendants that seemed not only patriotic [photo], but with a keen sense of humor that extended to the flight safety instructions noting the light on the life vest can be used to help you finish reading your paper.
[Our flight attendants from CPT-JNB]
We were collected by our lovely and helpful hosts, Sotwa and Muriel, and arrived at our very new and modern accommodations in Fourways, Sandton, a suburb of Johannesburg. Exhausted and still recharging from our GAP tour, we opted to watch the France-Uruguay match from the comfort of our new home.
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