After much deliberation of what to do, five of my housemates and I decided to spend our week off backpacking up the Garden Route on the Eastern Cape of South Africa. We each had a backpack of clothes and Saturday morning we jumped on the Baz Bus, a backpacker's bus that allows you to hop on and off all on its routes that travel all around the country. Our first stop was at the Wild Spirit hostel in the Crags, a small place in the middle of nowhere. The hostel is exactly how it sounds - the people who live there/run it/just hang out there are the crunchiest/earthiest/hippiest people I have ever met! There was a birthday party being held there that night, complete with drum lessons of course, and since it was spring themed we were asked to come wearing foliage and such...it was definitely a funny night!
Sunday was a big day - four of us jumped off a bridge that is home to the highest bungee jump in the world! I was nervous to say the least but the experience was definitely worth it! It was a rush unlike anything else and at times it felt like flying - definitely a highlight of the trip!!
We spent Monday and Tuesday in Jeffrey's Bay, a little surf town on the coast. It was unfortunately windy and a bit chilly so we didn't get to spend as much time on the beach as we hoped but we did swim in the Indian Ocean which I consider an accomplishment!
Wednesday was wonderful - we spent the morning at Addo Elephant Park where I was legitimately a foot away from many elephants. After a delicious lunch, we went out to Schotia, a private game reserve. We were in an open-air Land Rover and I was shocked at how many animals we were able to see. Within the first five minutes we saw lions, warthogs, and kudu
(which is in the deer family). Throughout the afternoon we were amongst countless giraffe, and zebras and at one point our "landie" came face to face with a charging rhinoceros...it was scary but very neat! Dinner was served on the reserve, kudu stew, butternut squash, potatoes, green beans, delicious fire grilled rolls, and malva pudding for desert. Yum! We took a night drive after dinner where we again were up close and personal with the lion family - they were literally walking a foot away from the open window I was sitting in! Crazy!
Our last days were spent in Knysna, a small town on the water that reminded me a lot of Cape Cod! We did some shopping and walking around and had just a nice relaxing end to our trip! All in all it I had a great break - it was a nice mix of adrenaline rushes, relaxing days, peanut butter sandwiches, kudu stew, and good company!
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