Christmas Abroad

Ryan and I are in our last days of travelling before heading home. We are now in the Netherlands visiting my family in Friesland. As always, we feel right at home with family here, which is especially nice after being on the road for a few weeks. Since we missed Christmas with our families in Canada, I thought I would post a few pictures of how we spent the holiday abroad. Although we will not make it a habit to be away for Christmas, we were lucky enough to be in the company of friends and family over the last week. On the 23rd, we joined a very welcoming South African family for a braai (BBQ), before spending Christmas eve with a Canadian friend (Erica) who lives in Cape Town; to get into the spirit of the season, we cooked a nice meal, baked cookies and exchanged gifts with each other. Since we all have Dutch roots, we also ate some dropjes just to make the day official.

Erica and Ryan celebrating Christmas Eve

On Christmas morning, we ate a big breakfast and parted ways with Erica. Ryan and I made sure we were all set to depart later in the evening, before heading to Camp's Bay to share in another braai with more Canadians living abroad. Ryan and I walked in the ocean water along the beach for our last taste of warm weather and beautiful coastline before eating Christmas Day dinner around a table in our friends'backyard.

Christmas Day with the Turner's in Camp's Bay

Late that night we caught our 12-hour flight to Amsterdam where we were met by Afke and Luuk and whisked away to Friesland to spend the day at my Tante Baukje and Omke Theun's home in Hardegaryp. We met my new second cousin for the first time and were treated to a very lekker and gezellig family dinner. Yesterday Ryan and I biked to Garyp to visit my Pake and Beppe and other Haanstra familie. As we rode along the bike path, we commented on how lucky we are to be able to make a stop over here on our way home. We are making sure to soak up these few great days with family before heading home on the 31st. For those of you reading this in Canada (okay, Ontario), we look forward to seeing you soon.

Dinner with family on Boxing Day

Sarah and Ninke

Pake and Beppe's new home

Bulungula and Beyond

The highlights of our trip beyond kruger included a long drive through swaziland and a two day stay at Sodwana Bay. Swaziland is a tax free monarchy located within South African boarders in the northeast of the country. It is known to have a very low standard of living. Our brief impression of the country confirmed this but we also quickly observed its rural roots and found there to be less divide between the rich and poor, as much of the city centre had decent infrastructure with no "township areas" nearby. We spent a full day in Sodwana Bay and then embarked on a long, very long, drive to Bulungula lodge. (We will be updating the last few entries with photos, but for now check out the website as it is a place very dear to Sarah and I.)
The Eastern Cape, which includes the Transkei region is home to many of the people that have since moved to city centers including the Cape Town townships. Bulungula is situated in a small village within an area called the Wild coast which is still very rich in Xhosa culture. Bulungula is a community owned lodge which allowed us to become better acquainted with the Xhosa culture that we have learned about from the people at SAEP (Asanda in particular) and Ikamva. Although it rained for much of our time at Bulungula, we were able to relax and converse with many of the local people and the afrikaaners that frequent the wild coast for their holidays.
In an effort to minimize the potentially long drive (yes... we periodically learn from our previous mistakes) to Tsitsikama National Park, we stopped in Port Alfred and Jeffrey's Bay.
Tsitsikama NP was amazing. The camp ground was situated immediately on the coast and we enjoyed a couple of hikes over the two days. The highlight which was a hike that brought us to an entirely isolated water falls, where we swam in the fresh water pond below the falls, overlooking the ocean... choa... something out of a harlequin romance novel.

Elephants, tigers and bears...

Okay, no tigers or bears, but our recent 4-day trip to Kruger National Park gave us an opportunity to see tons'o'wildlife! It was incredible. Christa, Paul, Ryan and I flew to Jo'burg and after an interesting (and safe) experience in a city we'd all be warned about, we started our separate trips to Kruger. Christa and Paul insisted on camping, while Ryan and I decided to take the more comfortable route...Not true, not true at all.

Ryan and I hopped on our giant safari vehicle with four other safari goers (the tour usually has between 14 and 16 people) to start our 2-nights camping, one-night lodge adventure. This gave us lots of space and contact with our super knowledgeable tour guide. On our first game drive we saw elephants, zebra, lions and more. By noon of our second day, we had seen what is called, "the big five": elephants, lions, buffalo, rhinos and leopards. It is most people's goal to see these animals while in the park. We also saw warthogs, hippos, hyenas, a cheetah (very rare to see both a leopard and a cheetah), giraffes, wildebeests and much more. The wildlife sightings were in full force and there wasn't a half and hour that went by that we didn't see something.
On our last night we met up with C and P at the lodge where they had spent their entire trip. We relaxed int the pool, before going on a night drive, enjoying the sunset and looking for animals by spotlight. We even saw a group of giraffes walk by the property where we were staying (no fences). Ryan and I both agree it was by far the best tour we have ever been on and highly recommended.

World Aids Day

"In sport we unite againts HIV and AIDS"
December 1, 2006 Worlds Aids Day Event in Gugulethu

Close to two weeks ago, it was World Aids Day. I am not sure what sort of coverage this day got where you are, but here HIV and AIDS is a major, major issue. This exerpt from www.amref.org gives some insight:

"South Africa may be one of Africa’s strongest economies, but the HIV pandemic has weakened the nation, taking a severe toll on its adult workforce. With one of the highest HIV prevalence rates on the planet (Over 20% of the population aged between 15 and 49 is HIV positive), South Africa has witnessed the devastating effects of this disease further stretch the resources of a public health system already stretched to capacity."
I have met many children orphaned from HIV and AIDS and many who are HIV positive themselves. This is why I was eager to support a day of HIV awareness and empowerment for youth. Christa, Paul, Ryan and I went to Gugulethu where over 700 attendees were on site for a youth sports day, run by Ikamva and Hoops for Hope. Immediately following our arrival we were asked: "fun station or sandwiches?". Unsure of what this really meant, Christa and I chose sandiwiches (I was hungry) and Paul and Ryan headed to fun stations (being the fun guys that they are).
Christa and I were instructed to join a group of volunteers in making sandwiches to feed the 700 people in attendance. Paul and Ryan joined a volley-ball game, until the intense heat and powerful teenage girl spikes brought them to the sandwich station. We had a great day preparing food and soaking up the atmosphere.

Before leaving we were treated to a taste of incredible Black South African rhythm. A song came on and kids all over the sports field started to move to the music. Man, those kids can dance! I felt akward just knowing what my jagged movements would look like if I had been bold enough to join in (needless to say, I was not). C, P, R and I just watched and absorbed the moment. It was awesome.

We have picture of the event, but because we are moving around right now we don't have them with us. We'll post a few when we get back to Cape Town. In the meantime, enjoy the long overdue update.

The Garden Route!!

Following the finale of our respective placements, Sarah and I packed up our small 4 door vehicle with our baggage... and Christa and Paul... and took off along the garden route. The garden route is a popular coast line about 5 hrs directly east of Cape Town. It was given its name as it is known to many SA as paradise- given names like the garden of eden and wilderness, and it certainly lived up to its name, more so due to the simplicity of the towns that line this amazing beach-lined coast.
We made stops in Swellendam, Mossel bay, Knysna and Plettenburg Bay. Highlights included a bay tour in Knysna, a dodgy stay at a backpackers in Knysna (to Sarah's disappointment... it will be Christa's first and last time staying in a backpacker), an amazing day hike on the Robberg Pennisula, witnessing an attempted boat rescue due to unusually high surf in Plett and lots of laughs to the point where Sarah limited Paul and I humour categories. Do all canadians use a quota system for humour??

SAEP Camping Trip

My final weeks at SAEP were the highlight of my time in Cape Town. As much of my time at SAEP was spent filling in on a variety of tasks as outlined in my last entry, the last 2 weeks focused on planning and vacilitating a 3 day overnight camping trip for 40 highschool students. SAEP leads a variety of outdoor activities including day hikes and overnight educational trips for township students and following the cancellation of a trip in early Oct, Asanda, the volunteer coordinator at SAEP and I very quickly rescheduled and planned our stay at the Falsebay Ecology Centre through the Zeekovlei Environmental Education Program. The trip was highlighted by interactive teambuilding games, environmental awareness activities, a trip to a waste water treatment facility (thought of u Jan; I'm sure you are glossy eyed just imagining it), a trip to a conservancy with upclose encounters with snakes and other reptiles and a service project which involved removing invasive (alien) aquatic plants. The week was an amazing learning experience for all the children and me. While managing to not impose too much on the Xhosa dominated conversations I learned a lot about the childrens culture, traditions and perspectives on life throughout the 3 days.