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| Jubilee Creek Hike |
The last week in March was University of Cape Town’s (UCT’s) fall break, giving me my first opportunity to travel outside the greater Cape Town area. Ciaran O’Reilly (an Irish Ambassadorial Scholar studying Human Rights Law) and I decided to spend the time both traveling and fulfilling some of our Rotary duties on the
Garden Route. I’m determined the best means by which to visit new places is as a Rotary Scholar because you get to meet the most interesting, friendly people from all backgrounds who share a commitment to service. Ciaran and I were thankful to be in contact with Mike Mills, a Rotary Assistant District Governor, who helped us not only plan our trip and organize Rotary talks to local clubs but also gave us a place to stay!
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| Pier near Belvidere Manor |
Ciaran and I picked up a rental car on Monday, April 28th and I began the fun (yet intimidating) process of learning to drive on the ‘other’ side of the road with the steering wheel on the ‘wrong’ side of the car. Fortunately, highway transportation in South Africa isn’t too difficult and the drive was absolutely beautiful; Ciaran and I successfully made the trip to Knysa in about 6 hours. On our first night Mike hosting a Braii in which we were able to meet some wonderful, local Rotarians and relax after our long drive. On Tuesday morning, we had breakfast at the lovely Belvidere Manor with Mike and his wife Sue! (I highly recommend anyone traveling to the Garden Route to visit this wonderful cottage-style hotel.) Afterwards, we were able to see the beauty of small town Knysa and spend the morning visiting the local waterfront area. After having lunch at the Yacht Club and briefly speaking at the Knysa Rotary Meeting, Ciaran and I drove around a bit to get a sense of the town before headed an hour east with Mike to speak at the Mossel Bay Rotary Club.
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| Jubilee Creek |
Wednesday was spent exploring Knysa and hiking Jubilee Creek. The hike was quite leisurely until we attempted to climb closer to the waterfalls and away from the path. Word of caution for those in South Africa, STAY on the PATH unless you want to have an encounter with BABOONS!!!! South Africans will warn you that baboons aren’t exactly the most peaceful and harmless creatures and they are quite large and travel in troops. We didn’t have any near death experiences but the second we noticed a few baboons closing in on our location we decided to ‘high-tail’ it out of there and back to the path.
Upon awaking to rain on Thursday morning, Ciaran and I decided to get some homework out of the way before going to meet up with our friend Andrew, another Davidson alum spending time in South Africa. The three of us had the infamous Knysa Oysters for lunch. I am NOT the biggest fans of raw oysters but I enjoyed the ones that were fried and wrapped in bacon (typical). From here we headed to Robberg Island in Plettenberg Bay for a brief hike before Ciaran and I spoke at the Plettenberg Bay Rotary Club. After dinner at Scottie’s with the Mills, we met up with Shaw Hispher (Davidson ’03) who is living in Knysa and working as a P.E. teacher and coach. (Yes I kept finding Davidson alum in SA!)
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| Tsitsikamma National Park |
Friday was absolutely my favorite day in the Garden Route as we travelled to Tstikamma National Park for a lovely hike. The beauty of the Garden Route is the unbelievable combination of wilderness and beaches all-in-one!! On Saturday morning we attended the Sedgefield local market, Elephant National Park (where Shaw, Andrew, and Ciaran fed the elephants), and Noetzie Beach. Noetzie Beach gives a breathe-taking view of two old castles situated on a mostly- deserted beach.
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| Three Amigos |
After an early breakfast on Sunday morning we decided to take the ‘long-way’ home on the R62, one of the most beautiful drives I’ve ever taken (see pictures). We stopped at the Afrikaans festival in Oudtshoorn and for dinner in Montague along the way; unfortunately, we missed the hot springs in Montague because we needed to get back to Cape Town and finish homework before class on Monday morning! I recommend the Garden Route to anyone and everyone visiting South Africa and I hope to visit again to see the dolphins and whales during the summer months! Thank you to the Rotarians of Mossel Bay, Knysa, and Plettenberg Bay who allowed us to visit and speak at their clubs! Special thank you to Mike and Sue for being absolutely wonderful host and we hope to see you again soon!
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| Tsitsikamma Otter Trail Waterfall |
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| Tsitsikamma National Park |
In other news … the month of April has been spent doing a lot of homework, watching my first Rugby game (thank you Shan and Claire), visiting the Stellenbosch market, attending a lecture on China’s involvement in Africa at the UCT Business School, getting to speak at my host Rotary Club- Newlands, and attending a Hannah Lyon's (Davidons '10) birthday party! At the moment, one of close friends from Davidson (Jacquin
Milhouse ’08) is visiting for a few days after spending the past few months on a law school trip in Namibia!
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| Drive Home on R62 |
For more pictures of my trip click here :)
