Day 67 and 68: South Africa
Our morning game drive was very raining. Almost uncomfortably rainy. It was hard to see because the rain was coming right at us as we drove along. We spent a really long time looking for cheetah. He had been seen in one area the day before so Robin thought that he would still be sleeping there. But we couldn’t find him. The rain probably was changing everyones behavior, which was frustrating. Although Robin told us that cheetah don't mind the rain to an extent and would rather lay right out in the open so that they can see anyone approaching them. Hiding under a bush could be dangerous for them. We gave up after a while.
The good thing was that the rain let up right when we got to the lionesses. They had caught a warthog, which another group actually got to watch them do. Granny lioness was eating when we got there, the other two had wandered off.
One thing that the rangers can't do when it is raining is off road. We had off roaded on the first night to get right up to the cheetah but when it rains the ground becomes too soft. It's not that the jeeps would get stuck, its that it would create huge divots and it wouldn’t look very nice and would be hard to repair. The way we were able to view the lioness eating was in a spot that was technically off road but the head ranger had been there so they had permission to take the vehicles there. She was really enjoying that warthog.
There were a lot of jeeps lined up waiting to get a good view of her so we forfeited out spot after not very long. But then, on a stroke of good luck, she started walking away from the warthog right towards us. So we got to watch her track the other two lionesses right by us. She wasn't very good at it, we could see their tracks and she didn’t follow them very closely. But she was old, so we cut her some slack. We just got so lucky with the lions.
We had to head back right after that. We had to have a short drive because we had to eat breakfast and then be driven back to the busses by 10 o'clock so that we could make that 3 hour drive and catch our 2:40 flight.
On the way back to the lodge we got a flat tire. We all had to pile out the of the jeep. The got out the biggest jack, stuck it right on the running board, and cranked it right off the ground. Popped the tire off, popped the new one on, and cranked it back down in a about 5 minutes. Fastest tire change I have ever witnessed apart from NASCAR. Our spare tire was pretty flat itself but by that point we were only a few minutes from the lodge.
At the lodge we gathered our luggage and had breakfast in the same format as the breakfast from the morning before. The fruit plate was so pretty that I took 30 pictures just of it.
At leas this time we didn’t have any monkey attacks.
Because of how rainy it was the huge busses weren't able to drive on the dirt roads on the reserve. So we had a little bit of a longer drive out to the main gate of the reserve.
On the way there Robin casually gestured to the left and said there were zebras on the hill. My dad and I stared long and hard at the hill and idd not see any zebra. How the hell did Robin see that?! And he was also driving! Incredible. Their spotting skills consistently blew us away.
When we got to the busses we all said goodbye to our rangers and trackers and they handed out box lunches. WE JUST HAD BREAKFAST!
The only exciting thing that happened on the bus ride was that I listed to music and kept falling asleep during the middle of the playlist and would wake up to the last song and first song. I was so confused about why I kept hearing the same songs! I did the same thing two or three times.
At the airport I was interviews by Clay about the parents trip. What it was like to see my parents for the first time, what we did on the trip, what it was like to experience Africa with my parents, and what I had learned so far on the voyage. He then interviewed my dad about similar things. So maybe I will be in a video about the parents trip!
It was fun to be interviewed, especially in the airport where we had to periodically stop for the boarding announcements.
I watched Batman Begins on the flight. And took a nap.
When we landed we went right back to the Radisson Waterfront Hotel and checked back in. This time I was in a two room suite with my parents. We only had about 45 minutes before we left for dinner.
We went to dinner at Marco's Place: An African Restaurant. Our entire group had the majority of the second floor to ourselves. It was very chaotic in there. They were ready for us but also not ready for us at the same time. It was hard for them to manage that many people but we were relaxed so we just went with the flow.
I tried Castle beer. It was basically just beer, nothing too exciting. For my started I had pumpkin soup, so good. Ostrich was my choice for the main course. I wanted to have the chicken but it was in a peanut sauce, which was basically just liquid peanut butter so I am glad I didn’t get it. The main course was served with a rice, some bean dish, and pap, which is made out of corn meal. Pap is mashed into a hardish, starchy ball that didn’t have much flavor but was good for soaking up the sauce covering my ostrich.
They had live music while we were eating, which was really cool but also really annoying because we could not even hear ourselves think let along talk to the people around us.
By the time our main course was served I was actually feeling claustrophobic because of how loud the music was.
We were sitting with Wells and his family. I only knew of Wells, he is Dylan's roommate. Dylan is Jessi's boyfriend. So it was like we knew each other when we had never actually met. His birthday was on Halloween and between the main course and dessert he was called down to the front of the restaurant and they sang happy birthday to him and Melody, whose birthday was the next day. He was not too keen on being brought up to the front and also didn’t really like it when they made him dance. But don't worry, I got the whole thing on video.
Dessert was cake that tasted like a really moist fruit cake, and vanilla ice cream.
When dessert was over the actual dancing began. Which was interesting because there wasn't all that much room in the restaurant. They led us in dances, which included a conga line, and the Macarena. Which wasn't actually done to the song Macarena. It was fun, especially hearing songs I know played in the african style.
We left around 11. We were all exhausted. I basically just went to bed.
In the morning our plan was to go to Robben island. My dad had tickets to the 9am ferry.
Robben island is the location of the jail where Nelson Mandela spent 18 years.
The island was not always an island. Millions of years ago it was connected to the main land 12 different times. It is a pretty large island and has been used for any different things. First it was a british military prison, then it was the home of a leper colony. After that it was used as a military reserve when, at one point, there were two thousand people living on the island. It was after that that it became a high security prison for political prisoners until 1991 and a medium security prison for criminal prisoners until it was officially closed in 1996. It is now a museum.
Nelson Mandela entered the prison in 1964 and was moved from Robben island in the early 80s. He was released from prison in 1990.
The ferry ride to the island was rough. Usually they have a nice modern catamaran that they use to bring people back and forth but of course on the day we were there it was in maintenance. Instead they were using the old tug boats that they used to transport prisoners back and forth. Our ferry didn’t leave until almost 9:30 which we thought was weird until we learned that he 9am ferry had left at 8:40 and we were really on the 9:30 shuttle. That is what we get for running late.
We ended up being ok with how it turned out because on the way back a women told us that the first ferry was standing room only and packed shoulder to shoulder. That would not have been ok. It was rough enough spread out and sitting down.
The sea swells were huge and we were rocking so much that they were handing out barf bags. I was completely calm until my mom decided to freak out a little and tell me about how ferries in third world countries sink all the time from tipping over. Apparently one did right in August and everyone died. Thanks mom, that makes me feel great.
She was feeling really green so I had to walk away from her. My dad was up on the top deck so I had no idea what was happening with him. After we made it across I had no desire to get back on it and have another 45 minutes of potential death and another panic attack.
Because of how awful the ride over was we decided to go on the tour of the prison quickly and then make sure we got back on the next ferry so that we would be calm, no longer woozy, and on time to see Desmond Tutu.
Our guide for the tour was named Jama. He served 5 years in the prison from 1977 to 1982. He was sentenced to terrorism for organizing a strike when he was in high school. It was very powerful to have someone who actually was held there give the tour.
The prison was divided into 7 sections. Sections A, B, and C were all single cells and were where the leaders were kept so that they didn’t have all that much contact with people. During the week they would unlock their cell doors at 7am and relock them in again at 4. During the day they would work, breaking concrete bricks into gravel. They got three meal, the first at 7 and the last at 4, before they were locked up again. On weekends they would be unlocked at 8am and locked again at 3. They were able to play sports on Saturdays. They played mostly rugby and soccer.
There were 40-50 people in each of the group cells. They had a bathroom within the group cell that they could access at all times. The people in the individual cells were given a bucket to use at night. They would empty the bucket in the communal bathroom when they unlocked the cells in the morning.
They were given beds in 1978, which was a big upgrade. In the group cells they each got their own box to store their belongings.
There were three main charges:
- Sabatoge
- High Treason
- Terrorism
Nelson Mandela was charged with sabotage. Jama told us that he never interacted with Mandela. They were both there at the same time but Jama was in a different section that Mandela was. He also told us that Nelson Mandela was not treated any differently than any of the other prisoners.
We were able to look at and go into Nelson Mandela's cell. It was an individual cell in section B and measured 8 ft by 7 ft. He was classified as a Class D prisoner, the lowest grade of prisoner. This means that he had the least privileges: was only allowed one visit and one letter every 6 months but all his mail was heavily censored. He eventually became a Class A prisoner in 1975.
Because the tour was done by someone who had experienced what it was like to stay there, it felt very honest. It was very powerful to think about what it must be like for Jama to return every day to a place that must not hold the best memories for him. He was so sweet and kind and when someone asked him what crime he committed he said, "I did not commit a crime."
And he told us his story briefly. It made the tour feel so much more special.
When the prison tour was over we skipped the bus tour around the island and went back to the dock to wait for the ferry. My mom and I went into the gift shop, which was actually quite fantastic. They had the most beautiful quilt that my mom and I almost bought. Except for the fact that it was 18,000 rand. Which is 1,800 dollars. My dad probably would have killed us.
Damn, it was gorgeous. That would have been the best souvenir.
I did get a mug and a magnet and a shirt that just has the Robben Island logo and Nelson Mandela's prisoner number on it.
The ferry ride on the way back was not as bad. We sat on the deck outside so that we were in the fresh air and could watch the horizon. It was still pretty choppy and when we would it a large wave we would tip over pretty far. That was terrifying. I bordered a panic attack a few time, still because of what my mom told me. I hadn't brought headphones with me but I played my music low and pressed my phone against my ear so that I had something to concentrate on.
We made it back alive and I will no longer think the rocking on the ship is bad at all. I told my dad that he and mom should sail someday as lifelong learners. He said that the only thing he was worried about was the seasickness and after the horrible ferry ride he didn’t really believe me that it wasn't that bad on the ship.
The other thing my dad and I discussed was how this trip had showed him how picky he is. I never thought of him as a picky person but he was not brave enough to try the impala and wasn't too keen on some of the other interesting foods we had put in front of us. He did try the ostrich though. It was an interesting observation that we both made and I think we both mentioned it in our interviews with Clay.
We opted to eat lunch on the ship, so we swung back to the hotel to get my stuff and went back to my home. By the time we boarded it was after 1:30 so we ate at the pool bar. They both got cheeseburgers and thought they were delicious.
Then we made our way to the union to get seats for Desmond Tutu. We thought we were early but there was already a lot of people there. Through the power of hovering and reminding someone they couldn’t save seats I managed to snag some seats about halfway back that didn’t have the worst view.
I also reunited with Molly, I always miss her so much! She told me all about her elephant experience and we told her about our trip.
Before Desmond Tutu came in we were shown a video of embarking way back in August and a slideshow of photos from throughout the voyage.
My poor dad lost his glasses out in the bush so he couldn’t really see the video. He took them off when it was raining and thought he put them in a pocket on the inside of his jacket but it ended up not being a pocket and we couldn’t find them anywhere. Poor dad. I had to tell him what most of the pictures were of.
Desmond TuTu spoke to us for about 20 minutes. Oh man, he is awesome. He is just such a cool dude, and he has a great laugh. He spoke about how we are all special, and were all created for a reason, and all have a purpose.
After he spoke he answered some questions. People asked some really good and complicated questions. He would always laugh after someone would ask a question. When one girl asked him to talk about his spirituality and what God means to him he laughed and asked how much time he had.
It was a really enjoyable hour. He is such an interesting person.
When it was over I ran through the immigration process. They allowed those of us with parents to go through first so that we would be able to make it up to the parents reception. The process was almost exactly the same. We got off the ship and went into the building, they looked at our passports and gave us another stamp, and then we got back on the ship. There were some people who were trying to come back on the ship without their passports but because the immigration process had started they would have to wait until everyone on the ship went through before they would be allowed to get back on the ship to get their passports. That sucks.
The parents reception was in the faculty/staff lounge again. They had a bunch of food laid out including the brownies. I was standing by the table when John, another student, walked up next to me and asked if we were allowed to get food. I said I didn’t know but all I cared about was hoarding the brownies because no one else there knew how good they are. I did manage to snag three for me and my parents.
There was a brief program where our deans, Captain Jeremy, and someone from ISE said a few brief words about how the voyage was going. Afterword we just mingled. My parents met my International Management professor and my Travel Writing professor. My Travel Writing professor told them I was a spitfire and had enough personality for three people.
Eventually Dean Rita made a bing bong announcement telling all non-sailing guests to leave.
We said goodbye on deck 5 right by the gangway. It wasn't too hard to say goodbye, I already go to school so far away from them that it wasn't anything new.
My favorite part of my parents coming to South Africa was that they got to see the place that I was coming home and meet the people that were very important to me. I loved they could get a taste of what I was doing and the lifestyle that I was living. That was special for me.
It will be hard for people to understand what this semester was like for me. To have my parents get a little closer was really cool. My dad even said that they really did get a taste of what it was like to enter a country, get acclimated to its culture, learn, experience, leave, and process, all in a really short amount of time.
After they left I went back to my room and unpacked a bit until dinner time. Right when I got the dining room I realized that I had forgotten to send Chris's postcard. We had to have them in by ship time, which was coming up quickly so I ran back to my room.
In Tymitz square I ran into Ashley who had a huge stack of blank postcards. I ended up helping him write postcards for people back home. His "second class friends." No not really, but I was writing the post cards for him so they weren't that personalized. All of the post cards were of Russia so he told me to write:
Russa Stuff
-Ashley
P.S It's late
On every single one of them.
After 15 post cards that got boring so I starting improvising. The best one I wrote was:
This is Africa. Just kidding, it's Ireland. Gotcha again, it's really Russia.
-Ashley
P.S. This was a while ago.
They were all in that format. Pretty fantastic.
Eventually he came back from running around like a crazy person and we started putting addresses on them. At least when he figured out who they were actually going to he would write a brief personalized message on them.
Then, the most dramatic thing happened. A girl came bolting up the stairs and basically threw her passport at one of the port agents. Apparently she had misplaced it. And when you lose your passport in this country you are done, you have to go home because there isn't enough time to get a new one. She had been halfway through packing her room when it had been found. Her friend had it. When they went up table mountain he had given her some stuff to carry in her bag and she thinks that when she gave his stuff back his passport went with it.
Everyone was crying and hugging. It was very intense. Apparently I need to sit in Tymitz square more often, exciting things happen.
I didn’t really talk to anyone else that night. I went back to my room and unpacked some more and just had some alone time to think about the week and process everything. This was one of the first ports where I wasn't jumping for joy to see the ship at the end of a field program. South Africa was beautiful, one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. And I got to experience it with my parents.
I definitely think this port will settle itself at the top of my list by the end of the voyage.
