Midsemester Part 3- The Final Installment

Here we are ready to wrap up the final days of my midsemester trip! Once again, here's the map for reference:

Day 6 and 7: Johannesburg

  After saying goodbye to the various sea creatures at Durban's Ushaka Sea World, we headed inland towatd Joburg. One whole day was spent visiting the Apartheid Museum, Soweto (South West Townships), Desmund Tutu's house, Nelson Mandela's house, and the Hector Pieterson Museum. Each of these places/musesums has special historical significance for South Africa. It was a full day of walking, reading, and learning. All the museums were informative and interesting, but by the end of the day we were definitely tired. I was impressed by South Africa's committment to detailing its past, especially the turbulent parts. Horrible injustices took place, and they want to make sure it does not happen again. South Africa's history is complex, but so very important to understanding the current social, political, and economic climates here. One of the nights in Joburg we went on the hunt for Mexican food. It was Domonique's and she wanted tacos! Even though Joburg is a major city, our search for tacos was a difficult one. We finally found a place about 30 minutes away, but much to our disappointment the food was below subpar. The night was almost redeemed with ice cream from McDonald's, but as we stepped up to the register their ice cream machine broke. We decided to cut our losses at make our way back to the hostel. The next morning was an early rise for our long drive to KRUGER NATIONAL PARK!!!

Day 8 and 9: Kruger National Park
  We arrived at Thornhill Lodge in the greater Kruger National Park late afternoon. We had a couple of hours to settle into our amazing rooms and take in our surroundings. After sleeping on squeaky, hard, and questionable hostel bunk beds, the plush white beds at Thornhill were heavenly. The room Duke and I shared included a private bathroom with an outdoor shower!

Luxury accomodations in the middle of the bush

That night we set out for one of my favorite parts of the trip- the Big Five Game Drive! It was like nothing I have ever experienced or could ever imagine. We split into two groups and hopped in open Land Rovers to drive through the Park on the look out for the Big Five. The Big Five consist of 1.Elephants, 2. Rhinos, 3.Lions, 4. African Buffalo, 5. Leopard. We drove through the bush with our cameras at hand. It felt like I was in a movie. There was nothing between me and the animals- we had entered their territory and were lucky to see them in their natural habitat. Right away we spotted a Rhino and an African buffalo, but they were kind of far away, so our guide promised to find us closer ones. And closer is what we got. Between the lion pride we drove through and the elephant herd we found at sundown, I don't think I can ever get over how close I was to these animals in the wild.

King of the Wild

Two male African Buffalos taking a mud bath

Mama Rhino and her baby

Elephants!

Baby and Mama Elephant

18 month year old lions

This is just a small sampling of all the animals I saw and pictures I took. It was absolutely amazing. I could not have stopped smiling for anything. It was also very interesting because our guides knew a lot of useful animal facts. For example, they told us that the African Buffalos are the most dangerous of all the Big 5 because they are unpredictable. Just as he got done telling us this, we got stuck in a pothole right next to the two male African Buffalos. Karma right? No worries, the buffalos continued bathing in the mud and we revved the engine quite a few times before speeding out of there. I was surprised and excited to see so many rhinos because many poachers have been targeting rhinos in Kruger to kill for their horns. By the end of the drive we had seen about 7 or so rhinos happily napping, bathing, and roaming.  The lions were another treat. We found the male sleeping a little ways away from an adult female lion and then a whole group of younger ones back further under some shade. They were lounging around after having made a kill and eaten their fill. This was good for us because they weren't too concerned with us snooping around them taking pictures. However, my favorite BY FAR were the elephants! Right as the sun was setting we came upon a whole group of elephants. They are so beautiful, wise, and very very large. There were Mama elepants nursing babies and others munching on some grass. They started to move around and we had to go, but not before witnessing their afternoon lumber through the bush.

I have mentioned before how much South Africans enjoy sundown, so of course we had to stop on the safari for a drink or two at sundown. Our group was so excited by all the animals we had jsut seen and were ready to celebrate.

Safari group

The Big Five Game Drive was probably my favorite part of the whole midsemester trip. It was one of those things I had always dreamed of doing as a kid, but never actually thought I would be able to do it. It brought to life all those games of Lion King played in the living room and safari in the backyard. After returning from the Game Drive, we had an amazing traditional Xhosa meal around a fire back at Thornhill. The next day was spent driving through the main part of Kruger National Park. Here we saw a larger variety of smaller animals, birds, and plants.

Zazu!

One, two, three, four zebras all in a line

European Roller...I think

Some giraffe friends

Bad picture, but look at that little nugget right there! It's a Mama elephant with here 3 babies. There's even a teensy tiny one!

The stars that night were brilliant. It was a clear night with no light pollution obscuring the sky. We sat on the ground looking up at the sky and going over all that we had seen during the day. We went to bed happy that night.

The end of our journey was nearing quickly, but we had one more exciting activity in Kruger. Our last morning in Kruger began with an early morning bush walk. We took a walk around Thornhill Lodge learning about the different plants, tracks, and animal scat. On our walk we came across some zebras and giraffes. Now there really really was nothing between me and these animals, not even a quick getaway vehicle. Then it was one more outdoor shower and we were already saying goodbye to beautiful Thornhill and Kruger. SIDENOTE: There is something incredible and indescribable about showering outside (not like ASP 2x4 and black plastic showering outside) More like showering outside in Africa, in the bush...nothing can beat it. I think I'll have to build myself an outdoor shower one of these days.

Our trusty bus and Jimmy our driver

Group before leaving Thronhill Lodge

Day 10: Back to Cape Town
The last leg of our journey took us from Kruger back to Johannesburg so we could fly back to Cape Town. We took a scenic route back weaving through farmlands, mountains, and valleys. Stopping at an overlook and market brought us to the end of our wild and crazy adventure.

Me, Sam, Jessie, and Patrick

I feel like I have exhausted you all and myself through these three blog posts about my midsemester trip, but there are so many stories that go untold. This trip was one that I will never forget and one that I will look upon in fondness, hilarity, and excitment for a long long time to come. There is something about roadtrips and then add on the fact that it was a roadtrip through South Africa with 16 friends doing so many random, awesome things. I can never fully express what this trip has meant to me and the graditude I feel for being able to go on it. So here, my blog posts about my journey come to an end, but you have been forwarned- I will never stop telling stories about it.

Safari Cami!!!