Savannah in South Africa

Today was our first day in South Africa ! (January 10)We arrived yesterday after a very long two days traveling. It took thirty hours in total! We are staying at a very nice hotel in Cape Town that has a balcony looking out over a market called Greenmarket Square. The market is really cool because at night none of the stalls are there and it becomes an empty courtyard. It looks like this:

View of Greenmarket Square from our Apartment

In the morning we went to look around the market. In the stalls they sold beaded, stone, and wooden African animals, soccer jerseys, touristy t – shirts, paintings of animals and Masi Mara people, and all sorts of things made out of recycled soda cans, including; little mini guitars, toys, and pictures. We found this one unique stall though, that had animals made out of scrap metal, and my parents really liked them, so we purchased a couple for our new house.

Later in the afternoon, took a ferry to an island just off of Cape Town called Robben Island. Robben Island is famous because that is where Nelson Mandela was held prisoner for 18 of his 27 years in prison for trying to stop the apartheid in South Africa.

            On the island, we had a guide took us around the island. (We later learned that our guide was a former prisoner, which is really cool.) Before the island was a jail it was a leper colony, and we drove past the graveyard where they buried them. We also went past the place where they would take the prisoners during the day to work. We also went to the jail where Nelson Mandela and many others were imprisoned. When we got to the jail, we had a different guide (who was also once in jail here) who showed us around there. He showed us the room where the prisoners slept, the exercise courtyard, and the very small cells where the leaders like Nelson Mandela slept. They told us about a policy that they had called “each one, teach one.” That policy is where the prisoners would split themselves into small groups, and everyone would teach everyone else everything that they know. That was really good because there were a lot of very smart people in the prison, and a lot of doctors, lawyers, etc.

They told us about a punishment called solitary confinement, where they put them in a small cell away from everyone, and the guards were forbidden to talk to them and vice versa.

Nelson Mandella's Cell on Robbin Island

            The next day we went to Table Mountain. Table Mountain is a really cool mountain which is also pretty famous. It got its name because from the ground the top looks flat like a table top. We took a cable car up to the top. In the cable car, it was really cool because the floor spun around very slowly in circles so that everyone could have a good view of everything. Up at the top it was very windy. We had our picnic lunch, before walking around the mountain trails. The only animals we saw where bugs and lizards, even though there was a sign that said there were baboons, dassie, lynxes, and antelope could be seen up there. The view was amazing!

Savannah on Table Mountain

The next day, we went to the tip of Africa!! We had to drive down the west side of the tip of Africa along the coastline. When we were driving, we stopped a few times. One of the stops was at a place called Bird World. Bird World was kind of like a zoo, but the cages where completely open. All the different types of birds were kept separate except for a few big cages where there were a couple types all together. In one cage, some wild birds from outside had made their nests on top of the roof which was sagging from the weight. We saw many different types of birds, and my favorite was a mother and baby egret. In another cage it was really funny because there were two owls sitting on a branch over the door, and they were glaring down at us like they were deciding between attacking or pooping on the first person who walked past them and out of the door. Dad finally went for it, and we all ran after him. They also had other animals, and my favorites of those were the honey badger, the meerkats, and a room where there were monkeys running in circles around the perimeter of the room along tree branches and logs nailed to the wall. There was even a mother with a baby hanging on her back.

View at Cape Hope

The other stops we made where just parking the car and getting out and looking around. The views were amazing! We could see mountains and ocean. When we got to Cape of Good Hope, we drove down to Cape Point. All the way through to Cape Point, we saw signs warning about baboons, but we didn’t even see any!  At Cape Point we took a funicular up a hill to the tip of Africa! When we got up there, we climbed up to the lighthouse and looked out at the ocean. There was a sign showing what direction and how far away a bunch of places were. After Cape Point we went back up the coastline of Africa, but this time of the east side.

Our next and last stop was at Boulder Bay, where there was a whole African penguin colony. There were tons of them, and they were really cute! Most of them were just lying around keeping warm because it was really windy, but there were a few that were quite active, and waddled around the group. We saw a few juveniles, and even some babies and some parents sitting on the eggs. There was also a couple where one of them was digging a hole and throwing out a lot of sand, and the other one was wandering around by the hole like, ‘what’s going on’? After we left the penguins, we went back across to Cape Town.



Boulder Beach African Penguin Colony



The next day, we left Cape Town and drove first to Spier, and then to Franshook, which are both part of the wine country. In Spier, we went to two places. The first place was a cheetah sanctuary. At the cheetah sanctuary, we first walked around the outside of the cages and looked at all of the cheetahs. Then, we got to pet one! A really nice person took us to pet a cheetah named Joseph. He was really soft. We learned that cheetahs use their tails as fly swatters, they can run up at about 80 kms/h, and that cheetahs have an average of 2000 spots. There was a sign that said that once there were two sisters that lived at the sanctuary named Zaza and ………………. Savannah! When we asked about her, they said Savannah died last yearL.

After the cheetah sanctuary, we went next door to the bird sanctuary. At the bird sanctuary, we saw lots of different birds of prey, and we got to hold an owl and an eagle. When we held the owl, we went into a big cage and put on a glove, then someone put held a chicken foot on the glove, and then the owl jumped up onto our arm! The owl got bored pretty fast though. After that, we took turns holding the eagle. The eagles name was Wallie, and he was a Wahlbourg eagle. He was much heavier than the owls. I stroked him, and he nibbled my hand with his beak, but it didn’t hurt. When we were leaving, we pet some smaller owls which were really soft. My favorite bird that we saw was a teeny tiny baby owl with huge eyes!

After that, we drove down to Franschoek, where we stayed at a little cottage in the middle of a big farm. It was really nice and pretty. There was a little swimming pool, and everything was green and pretty and there was even a little creek. When we were done being showed around, a big black and white sheep dog came bounding at us with a stick in his mouth. The woman showing us around said that his name is Joey. It turned out that Joey loves heaving anything of any shape or size (even an acorn) being thrown for him, but his favorite is sticks. We played with Joey and swam all afternoon. We also met our neighbours, a family with a little girl and a little boy and two jack russels. That night, when I looked outside, I saw Joey lying down outside our door. The next morning, we took Joey on a really long walk all the way to the end of the property. On the farm they grew grapes, plums, squash, pears, and more. When we got back, I was really sad to go.

Savannah & Jackson with Joey

After we left Franschoek, we drove to Mossel Bay. In Mossel Bay, we stayed in a really nice guest house, where we shared a huge downstairs with a pool table, huge bar, two eating areas, kitchen area, and sitting area. We took a walk along the beach, which is only a few minutes walk from us. After that, we went to look around town and get a pizza. We took the pizza and drinks back to the hotel and played pool.

The next morning, Jack and I went swimming in the Indian Ocean while dad and mom found some really cool and pretty shells. After the beach, we jumped in the pool, had breakfast, and then left Mossel Bay.

Mossel Bay to Point Elizabeth – Garden Route

            After driving for a while, we arrived in Knysna. We had a really nice apartment. On our first full day, we went to the Kynsna Elephant Park. At the elephant park, we first saw the separate, really big cages where they put the elephants at night so they don’t pay a visit to the farmers nearby. Then we drove out to where they go during the day. They have a huge field that they can graze in. There is one wooden bar that they herd the elephants behind so that they are easier to control while we fed them. The smaller elephants kept stooping down and under the bar to get closer because the older elephants trunks pushed theirs out of the way. We got to put fruit and vegetables into their trunks, and then they moved it to their mouths.

       After we fed them, we got to walk around with them and pet them. Behind their ears is really soft! They are really wrinkly too. I think that was my favorite part of South Africa! 

After the elephants, we went to a Monkey Land.  We had a guide as we walked through a huge enclosure where all the monkeys live together that is part of the Kynsna forests, and all the trails were made by elephants. There were 40 types of monkey all together! I think my favorite type were the Capuchin, who look like they have Elvis hair, and are often trained as pick pockets. We saw a baby one of those.

After the Monkey Land, we went next door to Birds of Eden, which is a self guided tour through a huge avery. We saw many pretty and colorful birds like parrots and golden pheasants, and even some animals like a few small deer and a little chipmunk that came right up to us and bit dad’s sock! The best bird was a cockatoo that followed us around a little bit and two ladies said that he like to steal things like jewelry and watches.

 The next day we drove to a beach that had huge waves. The water was freezing cold, so Jack and I swam on and off. After we were done swimming, we had really good fish and chips for lunch, before going back to the apartment.

The next morning we had to get up really early and drive to the airport. We then took a plane to Johannesburg, and then to a really small airport near Greater Kruger, which is where our safari is going to be.

In Greater Kruger we stayed at a lodge called Africa on Foot, which was really nice. It is pretty small because there is a limited amount of people who are allowed to stay there. There is a boma where there is an eating area (everybody sits together), a fire pit, a bar, and a lounge area with a library. There are also the kitchens, the staff’s houses, a few other huts for the guests, and a swimming pool. Our hut was called Moaroela. They also have a really cool tree house that is actually out in the bush! In the morning, we had to get up really early at about quarter to five and then we had tea and coffee before going on our morning safari. After the morning safari we had breakfast and then free time until a three o’clock lunch and then a four o’clock night drive. After the night drive, we had dinner and then time around the fire before bed. Our guides were named Ryan and Jason, and they took turns, one driving and one sitting on the tracker and spotter chair on the front of the car. The manager was named Lorrain. On our last day it was Ryan’s turn to go on break for two weeks, so we had Jason and another guide named Richard. Everybody was really nice.

            On the safaris, we saw a mixture of plants, birds, and of course, animals. We also learned a lot of cool facts. The terrain was very long grass and a lot of trees. Everything was completely green.

·         The birds we saw were: rollers, (European, lilac breasted, and purple.) magpie shrikes, grey go-away birds, eagles, (brown snake and fish.) pearl spotted owlet, barn swallows, buffalo weavers, quail, and hornbills, (red and yellow billed.)

Red billed Hornbill

·         The plants we saw were: a tree called a magic gwarrie which if you cut a small branch off and then chew on it; it goes very soft and forms “bristles” that you can use to brush your teeth. Another plant we learned about is called the devils thorn that has leaves that when you rub some together in your hands with a little bit of water, it goes very soapy and you can rub it in your arms and neck and it soaks in – a little bit like moisturizer, and it doesn’t smell. It got its name because the little thorns on it look a bit like cartoon devils. My favorite one was the buffalo thorn tree that has edible leaves and a lot of hooked and straight thorns all over it. The leaves are so good! the story about the buffalo thorn is that when someone in your family dies, you go to their grave and put the hooked thorn over it, which is supposed to mean that you are taking out their soul, and then however you are getting home, (bus, train, taxi, plane, etc.) you pay for an extra seat for the branch with the hooked thorn (their soul) facing up. When you get home, you put the straight thorn pointing up on your roof, which means that now that they are home, their soul can go to heaven. Ryan showed Jackson and me how to make bracelets out of a tree called the white or silver raison. You have to cut off a branch and strip of the bark into long strips. Once you have three strips, you braid them together and make a bracelet of necklace out of them. The other thing Ryan showed us was how to make “bush” tea. First you get about nine seed pods off a tree, and then you grab two sides opposite each other and pull until it splits in half and then you pick out the seeds and throw them away. After that, you have to put the halves of seed pods into a sieve and boil some water. Then you hold the sieve over a cup and pour some hot water over the pods and into the cup. It is not a strong flavor at all, but with sugar it is really good! J

·         The animals we saw were: impala, (in nursery groups (a lot of babies and females and one male) and in all male groups) hyenas, zebras, foam nest frog, (which are apparently a little rare because they like open planes) giraffes, a little glimpse at a cheetah and her cub (which are also really rare for the same reason) a few kudos, a vervet monkey, wildebeest and a baby, African wild cats, duikers, a rabbit, spring bock, a leopard tortoise, and all of the big five - one female, one male, and one baby white rhino all together but as soon as the male came near the female and her baby, the female charged at him, chasing him off, lots of elephants, (and lots of really cute babies!), two male lions (brothers, friends, or cousins) laying in the middle of the only tarmac road together, and twice we saw two very full female lions just lazily sleeping in the shade of some trees, a whole herd of about two hundred water buffalos that the guides think had a fight with some lions that night because they had fresh gashes and chunks taken out of them L, and (this was our very favorite thing we saw) an adorable baby leopard sitting up in a tree! One of the safari vehicles spotted tracks and the person sitting in the very front seat got off and tracked the cub up to the tree. The mother and other cub were in the bushes. The cub was only four months old and was about the size of an average full grown house cat. When he climbed down the tree it was really cute because he was really clumsy and practically fell out.

Baby Elephant

Clumsy 4 month old leopard

Mom and baby white rhino

Mother and baby warthogs

Dwarf Mongoose

·         We learned: that the female foam nest frog makes the nest by secreting a liquid and beating it with her hind legs until it becomes foam. The inside is not hollow. She then lays her eggs in there and when the tadpoles hatch, instead of going straight into the water, they get a head start and they get to swim around in the foam until they become too heavy and fall out of the nest.

Foam frog nest

We also learned that there is a “small 5,” which consists of the elephant shroon, the ant lion, the rhino beetle, the leopard tortoise, and the buffalo weaver.

When we left Greater Kruger, we went to Johannesburg, or J’burg, as South Africans call it.

On our first full day in J’burg, we went to the Cradle of Humankind. The Cradle of Humankind is where scientists think that humankind started to evolve, and where they found some of the earliest homo skeleton fossils. We first went to some caves that they found a really old fossil called “Little Foot”, one of a few hominids that fell in through the cracks in the ceiling of the caves and died. In the museum they had many different exhibits. My favorite one was a video where they showed the earth’s creation as twelve hours, and the most interesting part was that humans came in the last three seconds! There was also a boat ride that showed the creation of the earth, and there were fake volcanoes and two parts of the wall would move back and forth like plates shifting. My favorite part of that was when we went through the ice age part; the walls were actually made out of ice!



Caves at the Cradle of Humankind



            The next day we had a guide who took us around Soweto (Southwestern Townships) which is a famous township where the whites made the blacks live during  apartheid. We went to the Hector Peterson Museum, the freedom square, the house where Nelson Mandela lived for many, many years of his life, and the place where a lot of Soweto residents live, including our tour guide, and we even went to her house! It was all really interesting, and I learned a lot!

South Africa – Facts                                        

Main/unusual dish(s):

·         Pap: a sticky rice pudding

·         Bobotie: spicy mince meat in a pan topped with an omelet type thing, with vegetables and rice on the side.

Other:

·         They call their traffic lights robots!

·         Baboon signs everywhere