This past weekend we got to leave Cape Town and
explore the Garden Route! The Garden Route is a stretch of the South Western
Coast where along the way there are a lot of excursions and things to do! We
started off the trip with a 5 hour drive to a game park where we saw the big
five. The Big 5 refers to the 5 animals in Africa that most difficult to hunt
on foot, the big 5 refers to the African lion, African
elephant, Cape buffalo, African
leopard, and rhinoceros. On the safari we also saw giraffes, zebras, spring
bok, hippos, and cheetah. Next that day on the garden route we headed to a
beautiful beach, where I got to swim in the Indian Ocean for the first time!
On day 2 of our Garden Route tour we went to a
farmers market and then an elephant sanctuary where wee got to walk with
elephants. At the farmers market I noticed the market seemed to have a lot of
European influence in the sense that a lot of people in the market and selling
items where white, and even the music being played. Finishing this day we went
to the world’s highest bungee jump bridge. I’m so happy I did it, it was an amazing
experience and I feel as if its something I conquered.
Day 3 of the Garden Route we
got to explore the Cango Caves. This was really cool, we got to crawl through
some tight spaces in a cave that was thousands of years old and took thousands
of years to form. Overall the Garden Rout was a great experience. As terrible
as it sounds I often forget that Cape Town is not the whole country of South
Africa so being away from the city helped me gain more perspective on the
country as a whole. But because this was a more touristy area, I am excited to
go to Johannesburg and compare it to Cape Town. Also, talking with our tour
guide made me realize the struggle many South Africans go through. For us as
Americans in South Africa, everything seems so cheap. I can buy a good meal for
the equivalent of $4 here while at home it would be $7 or $8. However,
while things seem cheap here for us, the wages of South Africans are very low.
The average yearly income for a white family in SA is the equivalent of $27,300.
For a black family it is only $4537. While the unemployment rate is 30%. I try
to remember this every time I think of how cheap things here seem for me.
This week at the aquarium I
had the amazing opportunity to be able to go with the collection team out on
the ocean and get kelp for the tanks back at the aquarium. I still get excited
every morning to learn more at the aquarium.
Thursday was the State of the Nation Address where
the president has the opportunity to address the nation one what he hopes to
accomplish this year. The current President Jacob Zuma is seen as very corrupt,
accused of using government money for his own spending. He speaks at parliament
in Cape Town before he was set to speak a helicopter circled around Rondebosch
where we live and I saw at least 10 jets flying towards the city. Zuma called
in military for the State of the Nation, which was seen as excessive, and led
people to believe that he is expecting a riot against him. I have yet to listen
to the speech and what did happen Thursday.
I have noticed that I am happy here everyday, the
beautiful weather and all of the people I have met here are making April 30th come
quickly. I was thinking to myself that if my internship at the aquarium was
paid I may never want to leave
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