Today we had our placements in the morning and then had an HIV/AIDS workshop in the afternoon. South Africa has a population of approximately 40 million people and there are 6.5 million people living with AIDS. There are also 2 million orphans due to AIDS.
05 June 2008 ThursdayAfter our placements in the morning 14 of us took the boat tour out to Robben Island. It was a beautiful day and thankfully the seas were calm. Robben Island has help many high ranking political prisoners. Nelson Mandela, and Pan-African Congress leader Robert Sobuke were prisoners here. The last prisoners left in May 1991.
06 June 2008 Friday
The first weekend here, without having to deal with jet lag! The kids get out of school at 12:30, and as part of a school fundraiser the grade 7 students sell homemade donuts and hamburgers. The learners, as they call them, get their treats and get to eat them on the carpet while the rest of the learners are doing their work. That afternoon we went to a local coffee shop and wrote out some postcards and tried to get to bed early for the safari the next day.
07 June 2008 Saturday
Our alarm went off at 4 am. We were picked up and headed northeast toward the Breede River Valley. We arrived at the Aquila Reserve in about 2 hours time. There was a lot of sleeping on the trip there. We had a terrific breakfast with steamed milk for our coffee, and loads of great fruit. Then off in a jeep for our safari.
The "big five" animals to see are the lion, elephant, rhino, buffalo, and leopard. We spotted 4 out of the 5 even with rainy weather. We were able to see a family of hippos, elephants, springbok, rhinoceros, lions, wildebeest, buffalo and giraffes. It was a fantastic time and was followed up with a delicious lunch. It was then time to head back to Cape Town with our driver Moses.
We took a different route home and went over Helshoogte Pass which gave us beautiful views of the valley. We were also able to see baboons on the side of the road looking for food. We got home in the later afternoon and went out to Long Street for a great dinner at Mama Africa and caught some great live music.
08 June 2008 Sunday
After sleeping in a bit today we got a cab and headed to the Green Point Market. It is held every Sunday and Bec and I found some great things to bring home. We went went down to the Waterfront to continue our day of shopping and picked up a couple more things. Eric this is where I found something for you... We then grabbed a bite to eat and headed back home.
That is it for now, I hope you are all doing well and I love reading your comments! Love~Katie
4 comments:
Whoaaa, nice pictures.... Those giraffes are cool looking! Still don't think we could get a water buffalo???? Wait, is that what you found for me at the market????? Are you guys "clicking" to each other?
what an incredible experience! And so awesome to hear about it....baby Jake would love a little lion friend to play with if you go on anymore safari's :) I love that you are having this adventure!!!
Katie! Your pictures are amazing! It sounds like you are having a great time there. I'm glad I get to follow along with you on your trip.
Katie, thanks for keeping us updated on your trip. What an incredible experience. Glad to hear that you are enjoying it!
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