Jakob's Blog

The drive to our destination took quit a bit more time than i had expected. It was only a 450 km drive so i had figured it’d take us 4-5 hours or so. It did however turn out to be a drive through the mountains which limited our speed to something like 60-80 kph. This meant we didn’t arrive at the backpackers till 6 pm or so.

After having thrown our bags into our huts we headed of for some dinner, and then back to our huts, which turned out to be rather exotic. Meaning ofcourse that there was a wide variety of bugs lizards, gekkos etc.

Next day our schedule was to do the Blyde River Canyon boat ride and then to go see the Maholoholo after, which is a rehabilitation center for animals that are hurt and would other wise die.

The boat ride turned out to be quit scenic and Blyde river canyon which is the third largest canyon in the world had quiet some sights to offer. I’ll be throwing up some pictures of this later, when i’m on my laptop.

The maholoholo was also quiet the experience, it was very exciting to see all the animals up close, and the fact that you got to interact with some of the animals just made it better. Petting the baby rhino and having a vulture sit on your arm turned out to be quiet good fun.

I’ve already put up some pictures of this so, i’ll put up some more later.

This time around we were just staying in Joburg for the night before heading out so there really isn’t much to tell. Most of the day was spent on the roadThe evening was spent making dinner.

After breakfast we headed out again, this time for the Kruger/Blyde river canyon area.

It’s been a while since the last time i posted anything here, but that reason for that’ll be explained later on. For now, let me tell you about Kimberley.

Kimberley really was a small and rather boring city, its location didn’t make it much more interesting either (it’s located in the middle of a semi-desert). Anyway, we felt we might as well see what the city had to offer so after breakfast we set of to the big hole, which is the biggest hole of the world made by man, and only by man. Meaning no machines or anything involved in the process.

The hole was made for the sole purpose of finding diamonds. As the story goes it basically all with some bloke finding a diamond next to some guys house, which was located on a hill. They then found some more and this resulted in one of the greatest diamond rushes in history, thanks to the white man’s greed which in turn left us with a very apt metaphor for kind of impact the white man in general has had on this country. The big gaping hole left in Kimberley by the white man is somewhat representational of the gaping hole left in the African economy by the white man because of the amount of exploitation the country has gone through.

But enough of that, after having quickly seen what there was to see we hit the road again, this time Joburg was our destination.

The first part of our trip hasn’t been all that eventful as it’s basicly just driving from Cape Town to Joburg, which is roughly 1500 km. This meant we had to do sleep over in a town called Kimberley which was roughly 2/3’s of the way to Joburg.

Kimberley actually turned out to be quite an interesting city, and it is actually considered the diamond capital of the world, but more on that later.

As mentioned we started our trip at 5 am, so all of us (Tony, Matilde, Annette and I were all very tired). After an hour or so we had gotten a bit outside the city and some beautiful scenery started unfolding. We were driving through the morning mist of the tall standing mountains which cast huge shadows in the red sunrise of South Africa.

As we got a bit further north we entered what they call the Karoo, which means semi-desert, a very justified name i must say. A peculiar and rather fun thing i noticed is that whenever people see someone trying to overtake them on the highway they graciously pull into the emergency track, just to let the overtakers pass them more easily. This is then followed by a friendly flashing of the emergency lights of the overtaker, or a waving you can see through his windows  as he drives past you.

We got to Kimberley at around 6 and as such we decided to have some dinner, Matilde then went to bed and Annette, Tony and I hit the nearby Casino. As soon as we entered Tony disaapeared to have a smoke and showed up a bit later with 400 rands worth of chips.

Annette and i didn’t do any gambling, we just hung out in the bar, relaxing after the drive. Later we headed back to the hostel we were staying at, but on the way Tony for some reason decided that he had to show me this tazer he got somewhere in Joburg. So he goes “Jakob! listen to this man, it’s so powerful” at which point he presses to button of it and screams in pain. As it turns out, he was holding it in the direction it was meant to shock people..

 we then continued back to the hostelfor the first good nights sleep since i got to South Africa.

Thursday i went out with some of the girls living down here, we went to some more local bars but also this huge and incredibly amazing club called Fez.

Friday was spent relaxing and i was planning on heading to bed early but i got a call from one of the girls also going on the trip saying she didn’t want to stay alone in Alice and Anita’s apartment(she was staying there cause she usually lives in a house with 8 others, but they had all gone away. So she didn’t want to be alone there at all). So i went there and watched some movies and went to sleep at midnight or so instead(on the couch..). Then at 4 am in the morning Anita, Alice and some random swedish guy Alice picked up during the night come barging in and more or less force me to have a beer with them. Soon after Anita heads to bed where Annette is also sleeping. Soon after i sorta realise Alice intends to get busy with this guy at which point i go sleep in the bed with Annette and Alice.. So sleeping 3 people in a 1.5 man bed and being woken in the middle of the night and ”forced” to drink a beer means i have yet to get a good nights sleep.

Saturday was spent chilling and talking with people on skype and facebook, after which i went to the house where all the danes live and stayed there with Annette to get up at 5 am and start our trip.  

Since the weather today is shit i might aswell blog a bit more, so here goes.

Yesterday evening after having relaxed a bit, a guy called Mats and i went out to see the nightlife a bit, and ended up meeting some nice brazilians and columbians in a bar, with who went to this really awesome club. It was really good fun, but sadly the night was cut short at 1:30 am or so when some guys (who would earlier have been classified as coloured) inside the club started fighting and knocked over some tables. So we went outside.

Soon after they were thrown out of the club which resulted in them attacking the door man. The door man overpowered them, hitting the first guy into the ground and picking up the other guy and throwing him into the curb. After which the police were quick to show up and administer some knee-to-stomach treatment for the two troublemakers.

I’ve been here in Cape Town for a little longer than a day by now, and so far I’m loving it.

Right now it’s 5 in the afternoon and I’m still sorta tired, so I’m just sitting in the couch at the hostel relaxing, watching TV and just talking a bit with the girl in the lobby of the hostel.

Last night Tony and I went for some dinner with the girls who are also going on the trip through SA, after that Tony went to enjoy some jazz, whilst I had the girls drive me home to my hostel. Usually I’d have gone with Tony, but having only slept for roughly 2 hours since yesterday at 9 AM sleep felt like the better option.

Today Tony showed me some of the city center, the learn to live project, the district 6 museum and the stepping stones project where I’ll be staying. While visiting I was introduced to a lot of other volunteers who are working the places. And Damn! There are loads of Danes down here.

After having met people and tried some of the local snacks and had some coffee I went down to this huge mall by the waterfront, which just looks amazing in this beautiful weather.  Anyway, I got a sim card for my phone so I can actually use it here without paying unreasonable amount of money.

And that’s pretty much

Having received the schedule for my trip through South Africa, which will start soon after i arrive in CT i thought i would put up the outline of the schedule

• Depart CT Sunday the 26^th Sep at 06h00. Sleep over at Kimberly F1 Hotel.
• Visit the “Big Hole” then head off to Joburg. Sleep over at Backpacker Ritz the 27^th Sep

Day 1: Tues 28th Sep 2010
Depart Johannesburg. Head for the Blyde River Canyon Backpackers. Spend night at the BRCB.
450km

Day 2: Wed 29th Sep
After breakfast a super boat ride on the Blyde River Canyon awaits us. The Blyde River Canyon is the 3rd largest canyon in the world. This afternoon will be spent in town shopping.
Another night at the BRCB

Day 3: Thurs 30thth Sep
We now enter the Orpen Gate to the world famous Kruger National Park where the choice of routes will be influenced by advice and reports from the local ranges and guides. Possible encounters with Lion, Elephant, Rhino, Buffalo, Leopard and many other interesting animals make up for the exhilarating day of action packed game drive.
We return to the BRCB where a mouth-watering supper awaits around a warm and cozy campfire.

Day 4: Fri 1st Oct
A day spent visiting a real African rural village where we get to visit a family and meet many village children. We could visit a school.
Another night at the BRCB

Day 5: Sat 2nd Oct
A day spent enjoying the beautiful Panorama Scenic Drive where we get to see Gods Window, Pot holes, 3 Rondavals and the 3rd largest canyon in the world, the Blyder River Canyon. Another night at BRCB

Day 6: Sun 3rd Oct
We head off to Johannesburg and spend the night at the Backpackers Ritz.
450km


Day 7: Mon 4th  Oct
This day will be spent visiting the world famous Soweto where we will visit the Nelson Mandela Museum, Winnie Mandela’s residence and the Hector Petersen Museum. A visit to the “Top of Africa” is a must.
Another night at the Ritz. A possible movie night maybe?


Day 8: Tues 5th  Oct
A visit to the Apartheid Museum is a must! Afterwards we could enjoy an afternoon at the Gold Reef City where you could encounter a crazy rollercoaster.
Another night at the Ritz.


Day 9: Wed 6th Oct
An early morning wake as we head off to “Mountainous Kingdom of Lesotho. We will spend the night at the Malealea Lodge.
450km


Day 10: Thurs 7th  Oct
A six-hour horse ride awaits you as you make your way into the unbelievable scenic mountains. Another night either in the mountains or the Lodge.

Day 11: Fri 8th Oct
Return to Lodge and spend another night around a awesome camp fire.


Day 12: Sat 9th  Oct
This day will be spent exploring the area, visiting a village, craft markets or just spend the day relaxing.


Day 13: Sun 10th Oct
Depart at 07h00 as we head off to Port Elizaberth and spend the night at the Kings Beach Backpackers.
650km


Day 14: Mon 11th  Oct
Leave early as the Worlds longest Bungy Jump awaits us!!! Depart for Wilderness where we will spend the night at the Beach House Backpackers.

310km

Day 15: Tues 12th  Oct
Spend morning canoeing or paragliding. Head back to CT

So far this is the plan atleast, changes can happen

Having been up and awake for a few hours now, and spending this time cleaning the house a bit after having had some friends over last night, i can’t help but feel very restless, in a not so pleasant, and somewhat very hollow way.

There are still 9 days or so till my plane leaves for CT and i haven’t got much to do here at home i the meantime.

It’s been some very dull days the past week, not having a job, not studying/going to school like i’ve done for most of my life, and having a girlfriend who is currently in India means there isn’t anything to do at all. If you add to this the fact that from the 8th of august till the 4th of september I’ve been living with the other volunteers and spending all days with them in this periode, the boredom is somehow amplified by this complete change of pace.

All of this restlessness, and this hollow feeling will without doubt be replaced by stress, excitement and a slight feeling of panic, once i reach the day of my departure but till then, it remains…

We volunteers have now finished our preparation course for our trips to, India, Peru and South Africa and we won’t be seeing each other till some time in march next year, which is kinda sad.

That being said i enjoyed the 4 weeks we spent together immensely and i think we had loads of fun.

Theres still 2 weeks till I’m leaving for Cape Town but the others are leaving on Monday and on Thursday, so they’re already busy packing.

I really wish you all a great trip and I’m looking forward to hearing from you when ever we get a chance to talk.