Don't Stress, Don't Die

I am now back home in Canada, having spent March and April travelling around Southern Africa, followed by a week in London. I had an incredible time, and I’m still processing everything I experienced as I crossed thousands of kilometers of coastline, grassland, mountain, ocean, and river.

The Beginning

Blair and I left St Francis on March 8^th, saying goodbye to Chida and Alex – what an odd feeling after five months of VERY intimate time together! We stopped in Grahamstown to say goodbye to some friends there, and made it to East London by the evening, where we had a lovely braai with Christi and his girlfriend Natalie.

Then the REAL adventure began. Over the next month, I travelled north along the coast of South Africa with Blair, then through Mozambique and Swaziland. After a safari in the north part of South Africa, Blair left for Canada, and I continued travelling with my boyfriend Joubert. We went to Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Botswana.

Roughly where I travelled. 

I’m not going to bore anyone with the tedious details of a month of getting lost on potholed roads, watching African landscapes rush by, experiencing new foods and meeting new people – instead, I give you the TOP 15 events of my travels.

#15 - Dumazulu Village

A traditional village in Kwazulu-Natal. Think Upper Canada Village, but more awkward because all of the “actors” at Dumazulu look like they want to kill themselves because they’re dancing half naked in front of another group of white tourists. I don't think I'd go back any time soon...

#14 – Transkei & Hole in the wall

Nestled in the Transkei are many wonderful little villages – I was awestruck by the beauty that simplicity evokes. Women carry massive loads atop their heads; children run and play and wave at us as we drive by; and there are CONSTANTLY animals on the roads – cows, horses, donkeys, goats, pigs, geese, dogs, sheep, monkeys, etc! Hole in the wall is literally what it sounds like – a massive hole in a chunk of earth. It was too cold to swim out to it, but it was neat to see!

#13 - Swaziland

I spent only 24 hours in Swaziland – but I loved it! I wish I’d had more time to stay. The landscape is INCREDIBLE – mountainous, rugged, and green. Plus there were many markets with high quality fabrics and prints.

#12 - Panorama Route

On the way from Swaziland to Pretoria, we drove along a breathtaking route through the mountains. Several touristy stops later, we’d seen some amazing views, but were also pretty fed up with tour busses.

#11 - St Lucia & Isimangaliso Wetland Park

The first place I saw hippos and a rhino! Stunning and serene.

#10 - Nxai Pans & Baines Baobab

A small grove of massive baobab trees in a saltpan in Botswana. Absolutely gorgeous and totally worth the 100kms of stomach-churning terrain it takes to get there.

#9 - Hike to Waterfall Bluff

Located near the remote village of Mbotyi in the Transkei, this 8-hour GRUELLING hike was definitely worth it when we reached the end. The trek required a guide (nothing was marked) who led us across green fields, past awe-inspiring views, through cow territory, and finally to the waterfall itself.

 

#8 – Chobe National Park (Botswana)

Botswana is an open system, meaning that none of the national parks are fenced, and thus the animals are free to migrate across the country. This means you are just as likely to see an elephant on the side of the road as you are on a game drive in a park. It was an exhilarating feeling seeing the looming figure of tens of elephants as Joubert and I drove along the roads in Botswana!

Chobe National Park itself was special due to an amazing sighting we had of a lioness. We followed her for about 5 minutes before any other vehicles spotted her, so it felt very intimate. She was terrifying and beautiful at the same time.

#7 - Imfolozi-Hluhluwe

A game reserve in Kwazulu-Natal – Blair and I saw SIX rhinoceros! It was awesome. We also had a nerve-wracking run in with a few huffy elephants, but emerged unscathed.

#6 - Sodwana Dives

Joubert, Blair and I spent four days diving in Sodwana, close to the border of Mozambique. I saw loads of cool new sea creatures – honeycomb eels, a loggerhead turtle, stonefish, devil firefish, a green turtle, and more! Loved the diving but also the vibe in Sodwana – a sleepy beachy town. The title of this blog comes from our dive instructor's life motto: "If you stress, you die. If you don't stress, you still die. Might as well not stress." We modified it slightly to involve not dying. 

#5 - Mozambique

Blair and I popped over the border to Mozambique to spend a few days in Ponta d’Ouro, where we did a dive that blew our minds! We were caught in a massive school of blacktip kingfish – so many went by that I got dizzy! We also saw several rays – electric stingrays, blue spotted stingrays and round ribbontail rays. We even saw a green turtle napping in a cave next to a honeycomb eel! My favourite spotting was three large guitar sharks. I also saved a rock cod that was caught in fishing line, which made me feel quite happy!

The rest of our time in Mozambique was spent enjoying the sun and delightfully warm water with beer in our hands, or the local drink – Rum and Raspberry. I could have lived on that beach forever!

#4 - Okavango Delta

Located in Botswana, the Okavango Delta is a vast expanse of water that never reaches the ocean – it evaporates or is absorbed by the surrounding saltpans. It is a hub for wildlife and activity, and Joubert and I appreciated its beauty by travelling for a day in a mokoro – a traditional dugout canoe.

#3 - Victoria Falls

One of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World, Vic Falls contain the largest sheet of falling water in the world in terms of area – and Joubert and I were lucky enough to be there at peak flow, when up to six million litres of water flow over the falls every SECOND. Pretty incredible!! The upward spray from the falls  (nicknamed “Mosi-oa-Tunya” or the “Smoke That Thunders”) drenched us as we walked along the Zambian shore. We also took a leap of faith and jumped off a 128-m bridge (taking a few steps in Zimbabwe on the other side), as well as enjoying a view of the falls from a helicopter.

#2 - Tiger Shark Dive, Umkomaas

Probably one of the coolest things I have ever done in my life. Near Durban in South Africa, I spent an hour underwater as Tiger Sharks glided slowly past me, Blacktip Sharks darted about, and potato bass chugged along. I felt like I was in a human-sized aquarium. I can honestly say, I have never felt ANYTHING like I did the moment I looked a Tiger Shark in the eye, and felt it staring back at me and assessing whether I was predator or prey.

#1 - Kruger National Park – Sofari, Sogoodi.

Blair, Joubert and I signed up for a four-day safari in South Africa’s largest National Park, the Kruger. We made some new friends and saw a TON of wildlife – hyenas, hippos, lions, buffalo, elephants, giraffe, bush babies, birds of prey, baboons, wild dogs, and my personal favourite, FIVE SEPARATE LEOPARD SIGHTINGS. I had yet to see a leopard in South Africa, and it was a wonderful thrill to finally see one – they move with surprising grace, and their eyes are shockingly intelligent. The safari company we went with, Outlook, was great – good food, fun vibe, and a great safari guide, Debbie! We were all sad to leave when our safari adventure ended.

Not all those who wander are lost …

So there you have it – 15 moments from a month of wandering across Southern Africa. It’s hard to believe my internship went by so quickly, and especially my adventures afterward.

I adore travelling. I love every awkward, uncomfortable moment where you feel out of place in a sea of locals. I love discovering beautiful landscapes, seeing new places, trying new things. I had an incredible time in South Africa, and the friendships I made while I spent six months on this continent will last a lifetime. South Africa is a warm and friendly country, a country that has struggled through immense political and social upheaval. It is still working out the kinks, but there are people that will turn South Africa into the powerful country it has the potential to be. South Africa left its mark on me; the red soil, the rich smells, the threatened ocean, and the vast beauty of its land will call me back soon. 

Replace the fear of the unknown with curiosity

February flew by after returning to St Francis. Our first weekend back (the 16^th & 17^th), the WildREACH team from Grahamstown brought 16 students to the centre. We had a fun-filled weekend of boat rides, scavenger hunts, scientific studies of the rocky shore, and lessons on eco-footprints, oil spills, predation adaptation, and acids & bases.

Checking out the species of St Francis's rocky shore

The next week we began a scuba diving course with CMAS. I was so excited to start diving – if you know me, I’m a bit of a fish, and I was stoked to finally breathe underwater! The course was a great success (minus a bit of trouble equalizing my right ear) and I am now a certified CMAS One Star Sport Diver and can dive up to 20m in depth. I can’t wait to do my next course! I’ve already seen many different types of fish and corals, as well as pyjama sharks and even a manta ray! 

During the last couple of weeks, I’ve been doing little day trips to places near St Francis like Pletternberg Bay, Tsitsikamma, and George. Last Sunday, the destination was Addo Elephant National Park. It was a beautiful hot day and we saw plenty of the massive creatures the park is named for!

BEBE ELLIE SO CUTE

Sadly, my the internship part of my trip to South Africa has reached its end – work officially finishes on March 8^th. I’m sad to say goodbye to the Sustainable Seas Centre and St Francis, but I hope it won’t be the last time I see everyone here!

Luckily, I’m not leaving South Africa just yet – I have another month to travel and I’m STOKED. Blair and I will be travelling up the east coast to Sodwana where we’ll be doing some scuba diving, followed by travels through Mozambique and Swaziland, then a safari in Kruger Park. After that, Blair will be travelling back down to St Francis with Alex and his girlfriend Lindsay. I will continue north through Botswana and Zimbabwe to experience the mighty Victoria Falls! I apologize in advance if I am slow with blogging about these adventures. Hopefully when I post here again, my travels will have gone smoothly and I won’t have malaria or anything. Until then, tot siens, hambani kahle, nibe nelanga elimnandi, and sala kahle!

One trip ends, another begins

After our shark cage diving adventure, we drove to Swellendam (northeast of Gansbaai where we did the diving) to the location of Up the Creek, easily the COOLEST music festival I’ve ever been to!! Everyone camps on site so the festival has a great community feel. But the best part of Up the Creek is that during the day, the bands perform on a stage ON THE CREEK, and everyone just chills out on floaty devices in the sun!! It’s a gigantic pool party with awesome music – I couldn’t think of a better festival!

Luckily none of us got sunburned due to regular sunscreen application parties. By the time the sun went down and the bands began to play on the upper stage (featuring awesome musicians like Jeremy Loops and bands like Desmond and the Tutus and December Walks), I was exhausted but so pumped that I continued enjoying the fun.

A near-drowning dog sought shelter on my floaty for about an hour!

On Sunday, we said goodbye to the floaty madness of Up the Creek and drove to Outshoorn, our final destination of the trip. We explored the vast and challenging Cango Caves, followed by a foiled attempt to go ostrich riding (Chida desperately wanted to go but it was too rainy!). Then we piled into the car for the long final stretch to St Francis – we got in at 9pm that night completely wiped.

I could get used to being a cave spelunker ... 

We had less than 12 hours to enjoy a break at our apartment, though – the next morning we were up early to drive to Port Elizabeth to drop off our car rental, where we immediately picked up another one. Our holiday was swiftly followed by a business trip! We drove to the SST head office in Grahamstown, where we spent a day making preparations for the week ahead. We were on an assignment to Hamburg, the little coastal town I mentioned in a blog a while back. We drove there on Tuesday and over the course of the week we met with community members to discuss the development of posters, booklets, and other educational materials that would improve the sustainability of Hamburg’s fisheries and agriculture.

We had an extremely rewarding week – I finally spent time with kids, running educational programs and visiting the local high school. There was even time to just goof around and make friends with these awesome little tots!

One of the most amazing moments of the week was on Sunday, when we were invited to a traditional Xhosa ox slaughter. The feast honoured the deceased head of household, one year after his death. When we arrived, we were taken into a small hut to be greeted; Alex and Blair were seated on a couch, Chida and I on the floor. Speaking only in isiXhosa, we were warmly welcomed to the feast and into their clan - we were the only white people in attendance, and the family was very grateful for the work we were doing in the Hamburg community.

Enathi, myself, Sirkka, Chida, and Nozeti

As women, we were required to wear long skirts and spent the afternoon completely separate from the men – cooking different food, and receiving the least desirable parts of the ox. I had my first taste of traditional home-brewed South African beer, which tasted like watery smokey milk. I spent the afternoon enthralled with everything I saw, and playing with kids whose language I couldn’t understand – but that didn’t get in the way of fun!

I was so sad when our weekend in Hamburg drew to a close and we had to head back to St Francis. I learned so much about South African culture, communication, and time during that week. It was easily one of the most memorable parts of my trip!

JAWS

As you, my loyal readers, may recall, back in St Francis I volunteer at a penguin rehabilitation centre. Before we left on our trip Trudy, the woman who runs the centre, had offered to hook us up with friends of hers who do shark research in the Western Cape. We were keen to get out on their boat, so we got in touch with her contacts and organized a day that worked – February 1^st. What we didn’t realize until the day before was that we were actually going shark cage diving, not on a research vessel. Personally, I had been having reservations about shark cage diving – not due to fear, but for ecological reasons. It seemed unfair to bait sharks for human enjoyment. However, since Trudy had helped arrange it, I decided to give it a try.

The dive operation was smooth and well run – we were fed a breakfast feast before heading out on the boat, where scientists and volunteers told us all about the area. When we reached the site, there were several other shark diving boats in the area, and I wasn’t expecting our boat’s chum to draw any sharks our way. But within a couple of minutes a 4.2m male Great White Shark swam up to our boat, splashing its tail and jerking as the bait was tantalizingly pulled out of reach. I was at once enthralled and disgusted – the shark was incredibly magnificent, but it was being treated like a dog, drawn to the boat by the smell, confused by decoy seals and bait bunches, and made to parade in front of tourists.

Before I had a chance to process all this, I was shepherded into the dive cage. The water was icy cold and I was extremely thankful for my wetsuit. When a shark was spotted, we were barked at to go underwater – and it was really cool to see the shark up close. But I kept wishing I were out of the cage, diving with the sharks peacefully, without banging noises and shrieking captains and boisterous onlookers.

The shark cage diving operation wasn’t all bad, however. I could see there was genuine science occurring (their research vessel pulled up next to ours after a couple of hours), and the crew was quite knowledgeable. What I respected them for most, however, were their efforts at saving a shark that had become wrapped in fishing line. For the past four days they’d attempted to bait and catch the shark in order to take it onto their research vessel and remove the fishing line that was cutting into its skin and would kill the shark within a year. Unfortunately, they didn’t have any luck catching the shark when we were there.

The fishing line is very obviously cutting into the shark's skin.

Would I shark cage dive again? Probably not. I don't think it's a very conscientious industry on the whole. But I'm happy that part of what I paid went into shark research, and I am thrilled that I got to see a part of the world that EVERY major wildlife documentary film crew has been to to film Great Whites. 

"Shark Alley", an area where hundreds of Cape Fur Seals make their habitat, and make delicious meals for sharks.