Voortrekker Monument

           While we were in Johannesburg, we decided to check out the Voortrekker Monument. The weather was down in the low sixties so it was nice to be able to do something indoors.  This monument was constructed to commemorate the exodus of the Boer pioneers from the Cape Colony. In addition to commemorating the trek, this monument also commemorates the Battle of Blood River, which was a result of the movement of this group. We were amazed by the architecture of this building. The design was simple but elegant. It was really cool to see how the sun reflects through the different points in the building, and all of the symbolism built into the building. We had to explain to Peyton that he had to behave well while we were there, so we didn't have any incidents. This monument was a little out of the way to visit, as it is a good trip from Johannesburg, but Derek drives fast so we got there quickly, and it was well worth the visit. We learned a lot about how the settlers lived and how life was at this point of history. We also got to understand the willpower these people had to do what they were doing. Probably the coolest thing we got to see was the cenotaph in the center of the top dome of the building. The central shaft of light from the sun shines through at midday onto the cenotaph, and engraved on the cenotaph are the words, "We for Thee, South Africa". This is representative of the idea that God would support the Boers in all that they are doing. We made sure to try to not break anything, and somehow we succeeded, though we're not sure how. We were once again worn out after a long day of touring.

Golf

Golf in South Africa

Towards the end of our journey across South Africa, we decided to go golfing.  This was a great day to because the weather was perfect.  We went to the Legend Golf and Safari Resort.  The golf course is designed by some of the best professional golfers in the world.  It was beautiful.  Each hole was completely different and individually designed.  What a crazy experience!  There is one hole named "The Extreme 19th."  The tee box is accessible by only helicopter because is on the edge of a 430 meter cliff.  You then have to hit the golf ball 280 meters to the front of the fairway.  It takes 20 seconds for the ball to land! After reaching the fairway, you chip to the green.  The green is in the shape of Africa and even has all the contours of the continent.  It is a par three, and a tough one at that.
Many professional golfers from all around the world come to South Africa to experience what may be the most unique golf course on Earth.  Even the world's best golfers have trouble shooting par on this crazy hole, but it has been done multiple times before.  You cannot call yourself a professional golfer until you have experienced this.
We had a lot of trouble on this hole.  Cameron, Alex, Mackenzie, and Peyton all lost there golf balls in the forest surrounding the green.  Luckily, Derek shot last and landed right on the green.  He even made par! After experiencing one of golf's craziest courses, we decided this was a highlight of our trip.  If we ever come back to South Africa, we will do this again.

                                              

Splashy Fen

          Right now we are at the Splashy Fen music festival. We've been listening to lots of different types of music, and enjoying every moment. Everyone can just be themselves, and everyone gets to let loose. We've had a hectic schedule, so this is good for relaxing and having fun. It's hard to keep up with everything we want to do, and we're all a little tired... so it's nice to take a break near the end of this wonderful trip. It's no real change to us for us to be staying in a tent, as we have been doing plenty of that. 
          We have learned a lot this week, and this festival really wraps up the culture of South Africa in a nice package. We had a lot of time to wind down as well as time to think to ourselves and reflect on the trip so far. It was a fairly laid back festival and there was plenty of people to talk to, and it helped us get to know the people of South Africa better. There weren't all South Africans in the crowd; there were plenty of different ages and ethnicities. It was a good blend of all things It was a blast, and we never had to look for something to do, because of the multiple activities and events at Splashy Fen. 

Sciences in South Africa

Sciencein South Africa

 South Africa has had very influentialcharacters when it comes to the field of sciences. One man, Allan McLeodCormack for example pioneered x-ray Computed Tomography, or as we call it C.T.scans, in 1961 then later installing the first C.T. Scanner at Tufts University.Without his contribution there would not be the possibility to view the insideof the human body with such ease, instead of having to physically cut open theperson. Very recently research has been proven to play a key role in the futureof Aids and the possibility of a vaccine was conducted by Caprisa (Centre for the Aids Programme ofResearch in South Africa). This five-yearlong study has been to discover ananti-body strong enough to counter the effects of Aids.

Shark Cages!

This was the "shark-chaser," the APEX PREDATOR

The sharks were HUGE!

This is the group in the cage with a Great White Shark swimming by

As Derek mentioned earlier in a post, the group was on a road trip! We were making our way from Johannesburg all the way to Cape Town.  One of the main reasons the group decided to go to Cape Town was because of the Great White Shark cage tours that this city offers.  We chose to take this one trip with the Great White Shark Tour crew.  I did a little research to find out that this was one of the best tours to do for cage diving and it proved right!  The group and I drove to Kleinbaai Harbor and got there around 9a.m.. The first hour we just learned about necessary safety precautions and ate some food for the experience soon to come.  As the time reached about 10a.m. the boat left the harbor and sailed about 5 miles into the ocean to Dyer Island.  Our shark caging had begun! To attract the sharks, the companies crew poured this special "chum" mix into the ocean.  It was scary at first to see the sharks right in front of you however it was also an exciting feeling as well.  Seeing the sharks interact with each other in their environment while in the cages was such an exhilarating experience.  Everyone loved it, though Peyton didn't last very long in the cage as he got really scared and almost had a panic attack.  He was worrying about the shark attacks that South Africa is known for.  Due to the great beaches that South Africa offers, they are favored areas for surfers.  The more surfers means the more shark attacks.  Shark attacks have gone up from around the mid 90's by about seven attacks or 25%.  However, the death rate has gone down.  All in all, this was one of the group's favorite experiences in South Africa.

Icon Luxury Apartments

Aside from the usual night camping, once we reached Cape Town on the 25th the group decided to stay in another hotel.  We chose to stay in the Icon Luxury Apartments because they offered 4 star service with a great view looking over Cape Town.  The apartments were located close to small cafes and local shops.  With the delicious food of South Africa, Alex gained a few pounds here and there. The workout gym in the hotel was very spacious and the equipment was top of the line. By the end of our stay Alex had his swimsuit body back in shape!

The service was phenomenal and everyone slept in comfortable bed at night and got a good night's rest.  In the morning of the 27th we left to enjoy the rest of our trip.


Here is Alex working up a sweat and burning those calories!

Robben Island

          The weather was gorgeous at somewhere in the high sixties, perfect for touring, and after a quick bite to eat, we were off. Our big event today was going to visit Robben island, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for twenty seven years.The island is about seven kilometers away from the coast of South Africa, and was used to hold high security and political prisoners. While it was sad to see what happened to the prisoners there, it was an essential visit, as its closing is one of the biggest moves against racism in human history. The boat ride to and from the island takes two hours each way, but it is a small price to pay when considering getting to see where so many important events in history happened here. The island is self sufficient, as it created its own water and food supplies, as well as electricity, and has been used as a prison for centuries. It is surprising that the prison lasted so long without many speaking out about the conditions for some of the prisoners there. Another part of the island we got to see is the gun emplacements that are still there from World War II, we had to remind Derek that guns are not toys, and the artillery cannons were for looks only. We returned to the mainland and since we were at the coast, we ate some Tripe, which was curried with potatoes and onions. Not our favorite, but it was certainly  a new experience of South Africa. We got back and after a snack, we went to bed. 

Silvermine nature reserve

          We had the amazing opportunity to visit the Silvermine Nature Reserve. This is a beautiful reserve close to Cape Town, so we stopped there while we were in Cape Town. This is truly one of nature's most beautiful locations. The views from the mountain top were gorgeous, and we took a plethora of pictures, and it was great that we went on that day, because of how sunny and warm everything was, with the temperature in the low seventies. The reserve has some of the greatest mountain and coast views in all of the world. We took one of the nature trails, and got to truly enjoy the beauty of South Africa's landscape. The ecosystem that flourishes in this environment is amazing. Everything was so vibrant and alive. We loved how simple everything was, yet how nature is so elegant. It felt refreshing to get away from the rush of everything on this trip. The bugs could be nasty at times, but the experience was worth it. We were entertained by Mackenzie, whom we had to remind that she isn't supposed to eat the flowers.We got back from the reserve when it was getting late, and after eating something quick on the way to the hotel, we completely crashed.

Castle of Good Hope

Castle of Good Hope
 

Today we went on a historical tour of the Castle ofGood Hope. We learned that it is the oldest colonial building in South Africa,built in 1666, and then declared a national monument in 1936. While there welearned that due to modernization of the South Africans culture, they havestopped a lot of traditional practices,such as the language they speak. Originallythe majority of people spoke Afrikaans, but now English has grown as theprimary language. This is the result of the British conquering in the 1800's and turning South Africa into a product of their own culture. Literally changing everything.

The Big Hole

On March 24th the group traveled down to Kimberly.  We got the chance to visit the Big Hole, or Kimberly Mine.  The Big Hole is the world's largest hole to be excavated by humans.  Miners in the 19th century started to dig out the hole to look for diamonds.  Around 50,000 miners had used simple tools like the pickaxe and shovel.  Around that time, advanced mining tools and machinery had not been used or created.  Today Kimberly Mine is no longer in use and serves as a popular tourist site, it was a unique and historical area that allowed the group to see into a huge part of South African History.

Thankfully Cameron and Derek were able to get a picture before the rain started up.

Soccer in South Africa

Yesterday the group finally landed at JNB. We all decided to just go out to a restaurant and then head back to the hotel to rest up for the day ahead of us.  Today we all decided that it would be great to just get around and explore the wonderful city of Johannesburg.  My favorite place to visit was the FNB stadium, or Soccer City.  This stadium was the venue for the 2010 FIFA World Cup Finals.  Soccer is a great sport that is played by thousands of South Africans.  It first started out around 1879 when European Immigrants would play against the British military troops that were occupying the country.  Fast forward to around 1890, two Englishmen founded their own club in Cape Town called the Pioneers FC.  Around 10 soccer clubs had been created in South Africa by this time.  South Africa's Football Association, known as the FA of South Africa had been created in 1889 and was the first league to represent a national team.  The national team traveled to England for their first overseas tour in 1898.  The racial integration that South African soccer has brought to the public has helped to break the apartheid barriers and many more problems.  Professional soccer was first brought to the minds of South Africans around 1959, today, it is known as the Premier Soccer League.  In 1992, the country became part of the FIFA crowd.  South Africa has received tremendous success in the soccer community.

Cultural Cuisine

Food in South Africa

While we were enjoying our trip in South Africa, we wanted to experience at least one cultural food.  While searching for a food in Johannesburg, we were intrigued by something called Biltong.  Biltong is a South African version of beef jerky.  It however, does not have a sweet taste and is much thicker.
The meat is first cut from the muscle and then marinated in vinegar.   Salt, coriander, black pepper, and brown sugar are then put on it.  The meat is then dried using salt.  This allows it stay out in the open for long periods of time.
Biltong can also be made with chicken and fish.  If chicken is used, it is called Chicken Biltong, and if fish is used, it is called Bokkom.  It can be found in any supermarket all over South Africa.  It is extremely popular with most South Africans, and is enjoyed by people of all ages.  There are even festivals and celebrations that revolve around Biltong.  If we did not try it, we would have been missing out on a huge part of South African culture.  It would have been like visiting America and not eating at a McDonalds.
We loved it.  It was a really great snack between meals, and it was cheap too!  We are definitely going to eat it more, and enjoy a fun part of South African Culture.

  

The Regent Hotel & Gramadoelas

     As the group finally landed at JNB we were exhausted and famished from the lack of sleep and good food on the twenty hour flight.  Prior to the trip the group did some research to find out that a great place to eat was Gramadoelas, an exotic South African restaurant located in the heart of Johannesburg.  The restaurant was on the way to the hotel which made a perfect place to stop and eat. This restaurant is quite special to the city of Johannesburg by it's long lasting service from the late 1960's and it's list of famous guests from Elton John to the Queen of England and even Nelson Mandella.  The food was incredible, one of our favorite dishes was the Gramadoelas Chocolate Cake Rodel, it has the basic chocolate cake necessities with hints of Jam- a popular addition to South African dishes.

     We finally left the restaurant and continued to drive to the hotel.  As we reached the hotel we were just amazed! The hotel had looked so much better in person than in the pictures with it's modern twist.  Checking in was a breeze and we headed up stairs to see the room.  The room was huge, perfect for the five of us.  However, Peyton somehow managed to break one of the beds and he ended up having to sleep on the floor and leave the group with a huge fine.  All in all, this five-star hotel was a comfortable and luxurious experience. 

Road Trip!

 Road Trip!

We decided that because of our budget, and the high cost of travel, we are going to camp while we are on the road.  Our transportation is a five seat Volkswagen that we are renting.   Even though it can be tough piling into a car and driving for a few hours, we have a lot of fun.  We sing Christmas Carols, play car games, (Travel Bingo) and listen to the Radio.  We decided on this mode of transportation because of the money we will save doing this.
Derek does the driving, and he is great.  He drives very fast, and he has an app that alerts him when police cars are around.  This allows him to slow down before running into trouble.  When Derek becomes too tired to drive anymore, or we just feel it's time to stop for the night; we find a big open area near the highway.  We unpack our eight-person tent and our sleeping bags, and we turn in for the night. It is awesome.  
Luckily, we came in South Africa's early Autumn, so the weather is never to hot or cold.  We are also far away from city lights and pollution, so we can see thousands and thousands of stars.  Lying down on the ground and gazing up at the beautiful night sky never gets old.  It is much more fun than staying cooped up in a hotel.  
This was a huge part of our trip, and was so much fun.  It was really convenient too. We did not have to worry about check-ins and check-outs, and we did not have to worry about reservations.  All we had to do was unload the car, get our sleeping bags, get our tent, and enjoy the scenery.  It was stress-free.  When the morning rolled around, we packed the trunk and hit the road.  It was quick, easy, and fun too.  If we ever go back to South Africa, this will definitely be on the agenda.

                              

Travel Costs

Itinerary