Caves & Constrictors

Four weeks left! We just got back from our second excursion - along the Garden Route. This time we drove, instead of flying, and by drove I mean drove for 7-8 hours and then more.Friday morning we headed out, leaving 10 Loch Road, our quite familiar, safety haven by now. We went through Riviersonderend, Mossel Bay, and arrived finally at the Cango Caves in Oudtshoom - glad to be on solid ground after surviving the turns around the steep mountain curves! Now, the caves were the next fear factor. Let's just say there were 2 trails - regular and adventure - and I was totally ready to take the normal, regular, tourist trail. SOMEhow I ended up agreeing to take the adventure route. When we walked into the cave there was a wide open entrance. They actually used to hold concerts there, and there were still carved away levels where the choir used to stand. Our tour guide then led us deeper into the cave, with her "torch light" (South Africa's name for flashlight) - as the cave got progresively narrower and shorter. At one point there was the option to wait for the group and bypass the narrowest parts of the cave. I walked up the steps, took one look at the passage I would be crawling through and started to back out. The people behind me totally would not let me out! I could physically fit through the space, but the claustrophobia issue was another thing. I don't know how they talked me into progressing further into the cave, but they did. Once I told myself that - yes, I still could breathe, I managed to crawl through the passages - one on my stomach, one sliding down head first, one clibing up a space where rock touched me on all sides. It was actually really fun once I stopped thinking of "what if" scenarios, and after reflecting on it, when I finally made it outside with the fresh air & open space! South Africa never ceases to amaze me.

We drove to the town of George next, where we stayed the night at the George International Lodge. It was a cute, bread-and-breakfast type place. Carrie-Ellen and I passed out before 9pm that night, completely exhausted! Saturday morning we headed out to see elephants!! In the town of Knysna we took a safari-vehicle once again, and went to an area where there were a group of elephants. We got out of the truck, and walked right up to the elephants, getting to touch them and take lots of pictures (there were guides with us of course). There were a few baby elephants, who were bottle fed with the same infant formula as the human babies during our maternity rotation! We saw African elephants, obviously - you can tell the difference between African and Indian elephants by the shape of their ears (each resemble the shape of the continent they are from).

Monkeyland was next. As you can tell from the name - this is where we saw monkeys. It was an enclosed reserve, of 30 or so acres, with various species of monkeys, apes, lemurs, and birds. Just like in the movies, they swung from tree branches and usually went around in packs - where they either watched out for one another, or antagonized each other - similar to siblings haha. There was a separate enclosed reserve for birds. We walked on a suspended boardwalk for about an hour through a rainforest-like environment - seeing parrots, pelicans, and lots of interesting, colorful birds I've never seen in Connecticut.

Visiting snakes followed. The guides showed us various snakes - explaining which ones were non-venomous, semi-venomous, and extremely venomous. He also mentioned what would happen if a snake bit you...explaining in detail the hematoxic and cytotoxic venom, either causing you to bleed to death or stop breathing completely. Then he explained that when you don't breath that means you die. Good thing he explained this to a group of nursing majors! We saw Monitor Lizards next - they were actually kind of cute, as the guides held them like babies. I never thought I'd be calling a lizard cute. Moving on to bigger snakes, the guides took out the boa constrictors and other insanely large snakes. I actually held a boa constrictor around my neck! I guess you have to do it once in life.

The Masizane Children's Shelter was the next stop, in the Kwanokuthula township area near Plattenberg Bay. As soon as we pulled in, the kids ran up to us wanting to be held - even though we were complete strangers. Before we knew it, all of our sunglasses had been pulled off our heads and were adorned by the five and six year olds. They absolutely loved the attention, and it was a bit chaotic for a while. These kids were all orphans - really sad when you think of all of them with no parents and little resources.

We headed back to George, to stay the night again - but this time, at a different place. The circular dwellings we stayed in resembled huts. There were bunk beds, and a two-part door (like a horse stable almost) to the entrance of the dwelling. After a quick check for bugs and other possible creatures, we all passed out once again. Flexibility and a sense of adventure is a must in South Africa.

Sunday came pretty fast, as it always does.We grabbed breakfast on the way, and drove to Mossel Bay. It was an absolutely gorgeous and sunny day - warm enough for swimming at least. We stopped at the beach, and were free to walk around and check out the nearby Dias Museum. Then, our final destination: the most southern tip on the continent of Africa!! Cape Agulhas was beautiful. When standing facing the ocean, to the left was the Indian Ocean, and to the right was the Pacific Ocean. We were at the very tip where the two oceans met!

Another great trip! The Garden Route is absolutely breathtaking with the rolling hills and rural landscape. I have lots of pictures (and video clips) to show everyone when I get home!