South Africa!

South Africa is amazing. I have already decided I will come back someday. A week just isn’t long enough to do everything there is to do here. We are staying at the water front in Cape Town, which is an extremely touristy area. It’s beautiful though. Pulling in we were able to see the sun rising over Table Mountain.

On our first day here, I took a tour of Cape Town. We got to see the Castle of Good Hope and walk through the Companies Garden, where we stopped for tea. Many people here have an English accent. South Africa had first been under Dutch rule, and then had been under English rule. Later that night I went to the theater and saw a play called Everyone Else. It was about two sisters and their relationships with men. It was pretty funny. We spent some time after the play walking around the water front.

Saturday I was up and on my way to Breede River for an overnight rafting trip. The drive to the campsite was beautiful. The mountains all around us were incredible. Pictures don’t even do it justice. Upon arriving at the camp site, we were greeted by the river guides, and had a wine tasting before dinner. The river guides were mostly around our age. So after dinner we all hung out around a fire and chatted. It was interesting to talk to the river guides about school here. They take three years to complete their programs, but go to school from 8-5 Monday through Friday. And many of them take 6 months off during their studies to work and gain experience related to their field. On Sunday we were up early and headed out to the river. We paired up and paddled down the river in 2 person rafts. We paddled for about 5 hours, stopping along the way for lunch. For the most part we were paddling up a calm river, but there were some small rapids in places. This trip was amazing. We had a small group who went, and everyone was really cool. It was exhausting though. My muscles are very sore today.

This morning I was up and out to visit the Cape Wine Lands. This was very interesting. We visited three different estates. The first made sparkling wine and we had a chance to tour the facilities and see the entire wine making process. We then had a chance to taste some of the wines. At the second estate, we had lunch along with a wine and cheese tasting. At the final estate we had a brandy and chocolate tasting. I am definitely not a fan of brandy. The chocolate was great though.

So far Africa has been amazing. And I still have 3 more days!