Island Life

...Well, not in that sense.

While the rest of the house is at the Woodstock-wannabe-music-festival, "Rockin' the Daisies," Dave and I decided to save our money and stick around Cape Town for the weekend.

 

Naturally, we still wanted to be productive, and today we did just that with a trip to visit the infamous apartheid-era prison on Robben Island, followed by a visit to the Old Biscuit Mill for lunch.

"Maximum Security Prison," eek.

Although I'm glad I went to Robben Island, the three-and-a-half hour trip consisted of maybe an hour of guided touring. The rest was lost to waiting in line, ferrying, and waiting for others to catch up (probably 150 people came over on the 9am tour from Cape Town).

Before it was a prison, Robben Island boasted a small population of residents - here is a church on the island

Robben Island Primary School (for current residents' children - they currently enroll 23 students and two teachers)

They don't mess around.

Dormitory-style prisoners' quarters in the medium-security prison (I think about forty sets of bunk beds fit in here?)

Nelson Mandela's cell in the maximum security prison

Maximum Security building

View of Cape Town from the island

They tried to sell us this picture, but I stole a snapshot of the glory anyway

Weekend Updates

Springtime is here!

Last weekend, Ian, Dave, and I had lunch with Ida Cooper, the wonderful woman who organized our housing for us. 

Ian was excited, I promise.

On a tractor

Saturday, we went to the District 6 Museum, a memorial space for those evicted from downtown Cape Town during apartheid. Although it was a good experience, the museum was somewhat disorganized and not entirely cohesive in its expression of District 6.

Street signs from the demolished District 6

Sunday night, we headed out to Camps Bay, one of the pretty ritzy suburbs of Cape Town. At a rooftop pizzeria, we watched the sun set, and then sat on the beach until our taxi arrived around 10pm. Tough day...

Camps Bay

The Bay Hotel

Completely unrelated, but I stole some of Dave's pictures, and I'm absolutely obsessed with this one that he took on a hike up Devil's Peak. Very artsy!

Long Weekend

Well, not technically...

Thursday was Heritage Day, a celebration of South Africa as a "rainbow nation" of cultures and ethnicities, so we had no class (although we did Friday, but with only one class of about 200 people on my schedule, no one would miss me...)

So instead I:

1. Ate a leisurely lunch at the Rhodes Memorial Cafe just above UCT's campus

2. Saw District 9 (a great movie - especially interesting since it was set and filmed in South Africa, basing its plot on the concept of apartheid - although not for the faint-of-stomach)

Copyright, TriStar Pictures

3. Got a haircut (so delightful - although a little disconcerting that half the clientele was over the age of 65)

4. Read Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol (which I highly recommend - granted it progressed exactly like all his other books)

5. Went to Africa's largest single casino - the Grand West (tackytackytackytacky... but great)

Casino night! We were a little overdressed...

Now it's back to the grind... Happy Monday!

A Tale of the Crazy Neighbor and his Bionic Ears.

So every college student accuses their adult neighbors of being unreasonable and overly dramatic. But when I say that our neighbor is crazy... the man is certifiably out of his mind.

Well this Saturday, it was a gorgeous, cloudless day - perfect for an afternoon of sitting in the garden, sipping drinks and relaxing over lunch. Opening our dining room doors to the outside, we placed speakers just inside, and played music at a level appropriate for an afternoon get-together (and no, I'm not exaggerating).

Obviously, Crazy Neighbor couldn't handle this, and stormed over to our gate, demanding we shut off the music. He arrived with a 5-page, single spaced letter in hand, fuming from the ears. He had obviously been drafting this rant for months (years, actually).

"I'm very sorry, sir. We didn't realize it was bothering you; we will turn it down immediately," Charlie told him

"I don't think you understand," Mr. Paul Bahlsen (tee hee) replied, "It is illegal to play music in this neighborhood."

Puritanism isn't extinct!

***

I am much delighted to include some choice excerpts from his signed and dated, open letter to the Director of Student Affairs at UCT (who has repeatedly ignored this guy) regarding the "US American students in No. 22 Lover's Walk" (his grammar is impeccable, by the way) :

1. "For some reason, Americans do not seem to react to [the repeated 'hooting' of requested taxi drivers outside] and continue with their preparations (bathing, make-up, whatever)... The later the better, it seems... With some 14 students residing at No. 22, this aberrant behavior must be multiplied by 14 to get the full impact." [Waiting taxis = aberrant behavior]

2. "Students are brought back to No. 22 and then sit in those cars at length... We do heavily object to engines being kept running throughout this time, so that our whole house echoes with the rumble and nobody can sleep." [I love to sit in taxis late at night when my warm bed is feet away.]

3. By far my favorite: "At the gate of No. 22 [the American students] proceed with many and lengthy goodbyes and goodnights hailed across the street and 'I love you dearly' and other paraphenalia. Then they enter the gate and CLANG!!!! It is a wrought iron security gate, which, to us by now, seems to be the guillotine of the French revolution descending upon us." [Gate= ruthless, mass murder.]

4. "There seems to be no sense of community, as though Us-American students had no fathers or mothers or grandparents and family back at home, and were totally anarchic and chaotic." [I'm a homeless American orphan, didn't you know?]

5. "Women's voices being higher in pitch, can become very strident indeed, especially after 11pm when other noises... have died down." [Don't even get me started.]

6. "We have wondered whether there is a steady group of non-students who have become part of this crowd... and become friendly with the new American students with the evil intent of misusing their facilities." [We have had two parties this whole semester. There were only students.]

7. "Ms. Ida Cooper... was [at first] helpful and understanding, but late became unhelpful, in full denial, and, in fact, rude." [Ida, the delightful lady who organized our house, is probably the world's nicest, most accommodating woman.]

8. "Our sleep deprivation is taxing us heavily." [We've had two parties. They were over by midnight. On Saturdays.]

9. "We have no problem with the usual student movements, talking etc., day or night... The goodwill we offered we need not have bothered with at all." [Huh?]

10. Lastly: "The American students appear to live different lives, have different cultures, andhave clearly not been taught respect for others, or how to live normal suburban lives."

***

Please enjoy this treat in its entirety below (click on the images to enlarge):

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Back from the Bush

Anything Bridget had imagined about my trip to Africa came true during this trip. I saw all of the Big Five, I learned traditional Swazi dances, I even saw animals doing inappropriate things (the 13 year old boy emerged in all of us).

So without further ado:

Sunday: Hippo and Croc Cruise in St. Lucia

After a 2-and-a-half hour drive from Durban, we arrived in St. Lucia just in time for a late afternoon hippo-and-croc cruise! I'm definitely bringing a hippo back home to live in the pond (sorry, Dad).

Nile Crocodile

Lazy hippo

Yawning

Monday: Morning Game Drive (followed by a 7 hour drive into Swaziland)

Up by 4:30, we were at Hluhluwe Umfolozi Game Park by 6am. Ugh. But so worth it: We saw over 16 different types of wild animals unique to South Africa including Waterbuck, Marshall Eagle, Vervet Monkeys, Warthogs, Zebra, Elephant, Giraffe, and tons more.

Sunrise on safari

Giraffe

Wildebeest

A lone hyena

African Elephant... No zoom required

Zebras

After our game drive, we hopped in Morrison (our trusty, but horribly uncomfortable safari truck) for a 7 hour drive across the Swazi border to our camp in Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary. We stayed in these incredible "beehives" made of grass, complete with private bathroom, shower, and electricity.

Welcome to Swaziland! Not exactly Homeland Security...

Tuesday: Traditional Swazi Village Visit and Game Sanctuary Hike

Today we got up early to visit a traditional recreation of historic Swazi tribal life.

Lovers on vaycay

This picture is just too awkward for words. We had to cover up, as it was deemed respectful.

This picture comes in second place for most hilarious picture of the trip. Boys learning Swazi dance.

In the afternoon, the Lovers went on a hike around Mlilwane.

Some African flora

The lake on the reserve

Obviously, we had to unwind by watching the sunset in front of our beehive.

Some traditional Swazi dance later in the night!

Wednesday: Drive to Kruger National Park and Night Game Drive

We drove a lot today. Once in Kruger, we hopped in a 4x4 for a night game drive (obviously no pictures made it out) which was a cool experience. You just see these eyes peering out of the dark at you!

Welcome back to South Africa!

Some crocs met us at the entrance to Kruger.

We're in the big time, now.

Thursday: All-Day Game Drive in KNP

6am-4pm drive through Kruger. By far the best day!

It gets cold in the open-air safari trucks.

White Rhinoceros

They take their time

Mama and baby

Watering hole (I love saying that.)

Baboons are so great.

More families

Snuggling with mom!

Staring down tourists.

LEOPARD BEING CHASED BY BABOONS. THE CRAZIEST THING I HAVE EVER SEEN!

Just chillin.

Friday: Moholoholo Wildlife Rehabilitation Center

Leaving KNP, we drove to a rehab center for attempted-poached animals. Some of the pictures of the animals were really graphic, but I learned a lot about the black-market for rhino horns and leopard hide. Please visit their website to donate and learn more!

An 8-week old white rhino! Probably the size of a golden retriever.

Lioness

Post-snack of raw steak

Leopard

Wild Dog

Hello, hyena!

Saturday: Panoramic Route to Johannesburg

On our last day, we drove the 10 hours to Joburg, with some really cool (and incredibly touristy) stops in between, including God's Window, the Kolkgrove Potholes, and some mushroom-looking mountains.

God's Window. Apparently God takes off Saturdays.

This is what it should have looked like [Photo via Good Trip Online]

Kolkgrove Potholes

Hence the name "potholes"

I'm a Zimbabwean billionaire (a girl on our trip had acquired it). Their currency is so weak, they just use USD.

Tourists.

Time to go home!