Groovy Routes

I am once again posting about something in the not so distant past, but better late than never, right? Last month, I finally had the chance to see the lovely Garden Route that I had heard so much about. The Garden Route is comprised of a hand full of adorable little seaside towns (think Laguna Beach or Santa Cruz) with the furthest point being about 10 hours away. So, after a sick Avicii concert to kick off our break, Karina, Holly, Shannon and I loaded up our gear and spent Spring Break on the coast!

 Everyone does the Garden Route their own way, but if you ever find yourself out that way, let me give you a few hints..

Say YES to...

1. Staying at Wild Spirit Backpackers in the Crags (pictures 2,3, and 4). If you have a bit of vagabond gypsy in you, you'll love the organic breakfasts, amazing views, roaming family pets and general vibe of this hippy haven. Make sure to spend a day at the lagoon in Nature's Valley and hike Pigs Head for a 360 view of the area!

2. Bungee Jumping in Tsitsikamma! At 216 meters (708 feet) it's the world's tallest commercial bungee. I'm desperately afraid of heights, but it was really fun to watch the crazies fly and be around all the adrenaline.

3. Making a trip to Jeffery's Bay (pictures 5 and 6). It's a world renown surf spot so there are really cheap lessons everywhere. That also means that it's got quite the population of fun kids that want to surf by day and get ultra rowdy by night. We stayed at Island Vibe the first two nights, which was great because it's known for its parties and locals hang out there all the time. But, for our third night, we opted for a cleaner, quieter place called Hard Rock Backpackers which was also awesome with an insanely friendly owner.

4. Going to Addo (pictures 7, 8 and 9)! Addo National Elephant Park was by far my favorite part of the trip, and a highlight of my entire year. It was amazing to see the freedom that the animals and the visitors had, as there are no gates, fences, anything between you and the animals. We were lucky enough to see 3 out of the 12 lions in the whole park, and although we didn't see as many elephants as other trips I've heard of, the hand full that we saw were up close and personal. Quite honestly the most humbling experience I've had in a long time.

5. Staying at the Fairy Knowe. This was our last stop before Cape Town, and even though it was raining and miserable out, I loved this place. It was a great deal for a private, 4 person room, they have 2 friendly stafford bull terriers that wanted to play all day, and it was in the midst of the beautiful town of Wildnerness which hosts quaint shops, amazing eateries and hiking/kayaking adventures of all kinds.

Say NO to...

1. the drive to Oudtshoorn. Now, maybe I'm a bit biased because our experience was not great, but the drive to Oudtshoorn did not seem worth the time. It's home to the Cango Wild Life Ranch and the Cango Caves, which both seemed pretty cool at first. But, in all actuality, the ranch was a hardly glorified zoo and we didn't even make it to the caves because they were even farther out of the way. However, I have heard that it's basically just a guided tour and it's not natural or adventurous at all. 

2. Stopping in Sedgefield. It's just past Wilderness, and it's where we spent our first night. The backpackers was okay, but the town had nothing else to offer besides being on the beach. I would suggest either stopping in Wilderness or powering through to the Crags which is only about an hour more!

3. Saying no! My biggest lesson from this trip is to say yes! We didn't do a few activities because we thought something better would come along that we would rather do. But, by the end of our trip, we felt like we hadn't done much at all. Of course we had fun, saw amazing sights and enjoyed the trip, but we didn't do much. Raft, hike, zip line - just do!

Live positively,

KG

Sunday Funday

My sincerest apologies for the lack of updates. We are in the midst of final exams, and UCT is a force to be reckoned with. I think it's only fair that I give a certain warning to anyone coming to study abroad here... University of Cape Town is not for the faint of heart! If you're someone who needs your advisor to hold your hand, and your professor to feed you exam answers - this is not the place for you! If you're looking for an easy semester of non-major art and wine tasting - this is not the place for you! But, if you want to truly immerse yourself in interesting classes that you would never be able to attend at USF or other American Universities, with prestigious professors, challenging discourses, and the opportunity to mature as a student and person...come on over. I can't honestly say that my two semesters at UCT have been easy. But, they've been interesting as hell, and I've learned a lot. There are certain attributes of a small university that I love, but that don't really prepare you for real life, like the personal care you receive from the administration and professors, or the strings that are pulled and deadlines overlooked by people that like you. But UCT is brutal in that sense. Most people don't forgive missed deadlines, and the administration is actually annoyed if you ask too many questions. And while it took some getting used to, I find myself feeling like a better student and more mature person for it. I used to tell everyone that I hated UCT, but in the final few weeks of my time here, I've come to regret ever saying that. It's just a real school that has forced me to be responsible and professional. In a way, UCT has given me a lot of tough love that I didn't want, but I would do it all over again. Anyway...

It's been a few months since this day took place, but I'd like to write about it anyway because for anyone looking to come study, live, work, retire or simple visit, this was the quintessential Cape Town Sunday.

We rounded up the gang in the Bus O' Fun and headed out to Gugulethu, the township that hosts the famous Mzoli's braai. I know I've posted about this before, but it was almost a year ago, so we had to go again. Mzoli's is a wonderland of dancing mixed with a shmorgishborg of meat and beer topped with extreme heat. It's the one place that people from any walk of life, socioeconomic background and color come to mesh. I don't know what they put on their meat, but it's the most deliciouso stuff around, so this place is absolutely a must for anyone in the area. And even those who aren't. Make a trip, it's worth it.

From there, we continued on to another Cape Townian favorite: Summer concerts in Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens. It brought me back to summer days when I would ride my bike to the concerts in the park that Tustin put on... except it's 10 times as big. Hundreds of families brought full on picnics, bottles of wine and their dancin shoes because the band performing that night was none other than our Cape Town claim to fame: GOLDFISH! I've seen them a couple of times, but the show is always so groovy you can't help but dance the entire time. Amama (David's grandma that stayed with us for just over a month) was rockin out alongside Karina, Holly and some other good friends... so, to say that it was a successfully stellar night would be a complete understatement. It was the first, and sadly only, summer concert that we attended (Kirstenbosch hosts one every Sunday for a few months), but it was a perfect evening with friends and family and I wish we could have gone back for more (damn studying abroad).

Truly, the perfect Sunday.


Live bravely,
KG

We'll always have Tofo...

I'm not quite sure why it's taken me so long to write about the final and favorite leg of my backpacking trip. Maybe it's because with school started, I don't have as much time to write and I knew this one would be a doozy.. maybe it's because I wasn't quite sure how to fit two amazing weeks of my life into a short narrative. Not that I think I can now, but at least I feel like trying.

________

After a short stop in Johannesburg to get visas, say hi to our friend Simon, and reunite with Jozi, we took a late night bus to Maputo, Mozambique. This is the part of the trip we had all been waiting for, the magnet that pulled us so far east. The tropical beaches and friendly people of Mozambique. So, it was well worth it when we had the bus ride from hell. 12 hours, 3 sweaty men, 1 completely disorganized border crossing and a broken luggage trailer later, we reached the gritty streets of Maputo, the Mozambican capitol - nearly without said luggage (the thing broke off, went rogue and smashed into some cop car...bad ass. T.I.A., mothalova).

Maputo, Maputo Providence, Mozambique

Our time in Maputo was nothing to write home about. We weren't there for long and while we were, the weather was less than desirable. So two days after our arrival, we woke up at 5am to take a bus at 5:30 and we left around 8.

We took a tiny, rickety old bus stuffed full of Mozambicans, but 9 hours later, we were in paradise....

Tofo, Inhabane Providence, Mozambique

Everything you've ever imagined a tropical paradise to be, Tofo is. Empty, white beaches. Warm, turquoise water. Banana shakes and miles of smiling faces. Tofo was heaven on earth. Our days consisted of swimming, sunning, drinking smoothies, swimming, talking to locals, swimming, reading, swimming and sunning. I think I covered it all. We were there for a week and a half - longer than we had anticipated, but we just couldn't pry ourselves away. Someday we will return for John Tomato and Elvis.

The locals we met in the market, along with the staff at our backpackers (it was Fatima's if anyone is interested... by far the best one in town. Beach access, super chilled communal area and the best smoothies you could ask for. Not to mention, it goes off), were some of the friendliest people I have encountered. The tour books said they were known for being nice, but damn. Although it's one of the poorest countries in the world, people are just straight happy, generous and helpful. It was a sort of "the less you have, the less you have to worry about" vibe and I really dug it. Overall, one of the best weeks of my entire life. I could have set up shop and stayed for a while. However, our flight out was booked through Vilankulos, a tiny town just a few hours north, so we had to move on.

Vilankulos, Inhabane Providence, Mozambique

At this point in our trip, we were all pretty exhausted. We had taken subways, public busses, greyhounds, trains, horses, mini busses, taxis, and boats to get to that point, and we were ready to melt into hammocks all over the place. For this last leg of the trip, we just chilled. To the max. But one day stood out, and I still wish I could replay it every weekend or so. We joined a group of people at our backpackers - some couples and an Israeli dude named Ron that we had seen a couple different times on our trip - and went on a day tour of the island of Magaruque in the breathtaking Bazaruto Archipelago. After an hour long sail over the crystal clear water and spanning sand bars, we anchored off of a long reef and went snorkeling. Unfortunately, the tide changed just as we got there, so it lowered visibility, but it was still a perfectly lovely afternoon. After a few hours of swimming, the crew made us fresh crab and fish (that they caught while we were swimming) and we chilled under palm trees on the sand. Then we walked around the island, catching little crabs as they washed into our feet until we finally met back up with the dhow and watched the sun set as we sailed home. Ideal? I think so. Unreal.

Since the shallow area between main land and the island was dotted with sandbars, there were also several sick days when the tide pulled out 100 yards or so, leaving boats stranded.

And then, we were done.

We had come a long way in that month, and it was time to fly home. Although I was ready to have my bed, shower and boyfriend, I couldn't stop watching out the window of the plane, hoping I wouldn't have to leave just yet. I'm not sure what I miss more - the water, the people, or the delicious 50 cent mangos, but I know it won't be my last time there. Mozambique humbled me in the way traveling is supposed to. More so than in any area I had seen before, these people with virtually nothing were so unexplainably happy. It makes you think about the things that get you down when you have no real problems. Does it take having nothing to be truly happy? Should we cast away all material possessions to live this enlightened, blissful life? ....That's a bit drastic. But, next time I'm letting "First World Problems" get me down, I'll rethink it and remind myself how lucky I am to live the life I live.

Live globally,

KG