Our Garden Route Weekend

Pictured Above: Standing next to one of the many elephants on the Knysna Elephant Reserve on Saturday.  We were able to touch them as well as feed them by hand. As gentle as they are, their size and the strength of their trunks still made them a little intimidating!

I sincerely hope the posts have come often enough.  The difficulty of getting reliable internet access has definitely taking some getting used to!   Today I am writing from the small town of Genadendal (pronounced "huh-NAH-tin-dal") where we recently arrived last Sunday night.  We will be staying here for the next five days working in the clinics and traveling with the clinicians to some of the homes to visit patients who are treated at home.  This town has a proud history centered around its establishment as the first mission and church in South Africa.  English is also apparently a little hard to come by so it might be a good chance to really learn some Afrikaans.  We're all really excited!

We were able to get out and have some real fun this past weekend as we toured the Garden Route, the coastal region between Cape Town and Port Elizabeth to the East.  The main road is studded with towns, restaurants, and countless attractions and activities to see and do.  Our Friday itinerary included touring an ostrich farm and the caves of Cango.  The farm allowed us to ride on the back of the flightless birds for about a lap around the enclosure which was definitely a highlight! The caves were interesting too: dark, spacious in some places, tight in others, and humid everywhere (reaching up to 97%). 

Saturday was even busier.  We took a zip-line tour, visited an elephant reserve and enjoyed a short cruise at dusk in the estuary near the town of Knyzna (niz-nuh).  Our final day, Sunday, was filled by our day safari on the Botlierskop Game Reserve.  Though a little unpleasent from the horde of obnoxious Argentinian tourists on our vehicle, we were still able to see quite a variety of African wildlife including wildebeast, impala, cape bison, lions, elephants, and rhinoceruses.  The safari was capped by a wonderful meal in the main lodge.

For the fee that we paid to do the Garden Route, our money went a long way.  Since the coordinatiors for CFHI Cape Town, Marion and Avril, have been doing the Garden Route with their students every month many years, they are well known by the businesses with which we organize our activities.  They have done an unbelievable job pulling strings, getting us great deals and really maximizing our mini weekend vacation! 

My first week here seemed to go by quickly, but staying here in South Africa for seven more weeks still seems like a long time.  With each passing day, I feel myself becoming more accustomed to the culture here, and it's really cool!  Because of its many influences it is truly complex and unique.

As always, thanks for reading and check back in a few more days!

Totsiens,

David