Making Our Way with Random Excursions

After we left Bathulie, we made our way to Addo Elephant Park where we stayed one night.  We took an evening safari ride where we saw kudu, ostrich, cranes, elephants, zebras, warthogs, red harte-beasts, and a leopart turtoise.  That evening I tried kudu for dinner and it tastes slightly like beef.  Then we headed towards Plettenburg Bay the next morning- but not before stopping by the world's largest bungee jump!  Of course I jumped off the bridge...and might I say with quite the excitement!  Once those who wanted to jump had done so, we ended at Albergo Backpackers.  This was the beginning of our "free travel" (fall break).  Our group broke up into smaller groups for free travel for easier traveling and planning.  My group stayed in Plettenberg Bay the latest, the scenery absolutely stunning.  We enjoyed exploring the area and laying out on the beach.  It is such a beautiful area.  My favorite part was going through the brush that I call the "fairy forest" to get to the beach.  Next, my group moved along the coast to Hermanus for the remainder of our free travel.  Here we were blessed to see many Southern Right Whales!  The whales came so close to the rock bay- I could get a clear perspective of their size and color.  I saw whales breaching, playing around, splashing their tales, guiding their calves, and swimming along the shore.  I also got to go sea kayaking with the whales (we stayed a good distance away, though).  Some girls and I were going to go Great White Shark Cage Diving, too, but it sadly got canceled due to weather.  I enjoyed my free travel time even though weather interrupted.  I was able to relax, take a break from learning, and meet and build more relationships.  I met people from all over the world and locals.  I also grew closer to those in my group as I got to know them better.  Although I enjoyed free travel and having a break, I was very excited to return to homestays in Cape Town.  I had also heard many good things about the city and so I was looking forward to seeing it for myself!

A Breeze Through Bethulie

Our group left Lesotho and spent a week in Bathulie, SA. Bathulie is a small town in the middle of nowhere. I hiked up a hill and I could see the whole town from where I was standing. Surrounding the town are plateaus, rivers, and large stretches of land as far as I could see. It was a fun and busy week full of history, art, and other activities. Bathulie has a lot of history, such as the concentration camps and the apartheid. "The Covenant" talks about Bathulie, so it was cool to see the history and stories come alive a little. Tony, the owner of the hotel we stayed at, led us on many tours around Bathulie and has an attention-grabbing way of telling history and e nets like a story. Since I'm not a history buff, that was much appreciated on my part. We visited several memorials and the place the concentration had been during the Boer War. Tony also took us ro a clinic, school, jail, court house, an artist's house, a pianist's house, and a few other places. We listened to many people share about their experiences and the current issues and situations in Bathulie. I really enjoyed the jail experience. I've always been interested in seeing the reality of jail. The jail we walked through was an all male jail. We were able to walk through the process of being put in jail and then we got to talkto some inmates. Some of the EMU crowd was a bit hesitant walking into the community cell room where all the inmates were standing by their bed. Me being me, I walked straight inane even talked some of the inmates one-on-one. I actually felt more respected there than I do on the streets sometimes. We ended our time with some songs, which was a really neat experience. We also stayed in the homes of Afrikaaners for three days. Laci, Rebekah, Kiera, and I stayed together with a single middle-aged man, Hennings.He had five dogs, two cats, and dice fluffy furball of kittens. The house was kind of run-down, but homey. We all felt right at home and I enjoyed my stay very much. I wish we could've stayed longer. Henning and his lady friend, Maria, were kind, caring, and so open to us. They shares their lives with us and helped us to see new perspectives. The four of us also enjoyed having running water and electricity again after a month without it. We were able to rest during the day while our hosts were working. During our stay, we got to see the sunset from a gorgeous location, watch Maria groom a dog and sing in a choir, and we tried out a local pub with Henning. The dogs were quite entertaining, too! One dog- clearly too big to be a lap dog, tries to get up on me and snuggle. This same dog also gets really excited and "smiles"...with teeth.
I had such a wonderful time in the home getting to relax, spend time with the girls, getting to know Henning and Maria, and learning about culture from an Afrikaans perspective.
After the homestays, we returned to the amazing "Royal Hotel." when I walked in, all I could see was shelves and shelves of books covering the wall from ceiling to floor. This proceeded throughout the place. One room was covered completely with records. The hotel is an old building that Tony had renovated. The place has a unique history of it's own that ties into the history of Bathulie. We spent Halloween here, too, Whig we celebrated by playing a murder mystery dinner.
This short time was delightful. I was sad to leave the small, friendly town, but I was excited for the next part!