The End of an Amazing African Journey

The day has come. Today was my last day full day in Rwanda, since I fly out of Rwanda’s capital, Kigali, tomorrow around noon. It seems like I was at Samara Private Game Reserve an eternity ago, when I was with Alwyn and Hayley tracking down Sibella the cheetah, and taking mammal survey game drives and walks with my newly acquainted friend Drew from South Africa. It was an amazing way to start off my trip, because they were all so welcoming, and enthusiastic about what they do. When I headed to Philippolis, 6 weeks after being at Samara, I was a bit weary about the change in scenery. After 2 weeks of building an elementary school, and helping teach and aide an extremely poverty-stricken town of South Africa, I felt very exhausted from all the hard work, but accomplished. With Kate Groch leading the way in her “Future Nature” education project, it should continue to be successful, and help educate less fortunate children in areas that are often overlooked such as, AIDS awareness and human rights. After Philippolis, I was very excited to meet up with my mother to do some site visits for her company, “Roar Africa”. We first headed to a very luxurious game reserve in “Londolozi”. The game viewing was incredible, and wasn’t really a dull moment to be had. I got my wish to see a leopard, and that wish was exceeded by being able to see that leopard feasting on an impala on its perch up in a tree. After 2 amazing days of game drives, and one very awesome game walk, we headed to Cape Town for wine tasting, and more site viewings at vineyards for my mom. I was more than happy to be “dragged” along with her for these. On our last couple of nights, we stayed in the heart of Cape Town, and had a chance to do a cage dive with Great White sharks. The whole experience definitely got the blood pumping, and being in the cage with my mom in absurdly cold water, with these massive sharks was something I’ll never forget. After Cape Town, my mother and I met up with the group of Mount Kilimanjaro hikers in Tanzania. My mom, dad, Jack Oliver, four others and I had a day to prep for the hike, and then we started our climb. I think the hike was physically more difficult than most people expected, and the days were a bit longer than advertised, but at the end of the day (or 6 day climb) all 8 of us made it to the summit! After one night of soaking my feet in scolding hot water, I was off to my next journey… Rwanda. I have to say, the people in Rwanda could not have been nicer people. Every single person wants to meet you, and tell you their name, where they’re going, how old they are, and then wants to know the exact same things about YOU. Although the constant staring, finger pointing, and non-stop “uMuzungu” & “Jesus” shouting was slightly irritating, I knew they were just fascinated in what my story was about. The kids on the streets and in three different schools I taught at (Wisdom Primary School, Nursery School, School for the Deaf and Orphans) were all eager to learn English, and the Conservation lessons I taught seemed to be beneficial. Seeing the Mountain Gorillas was a once in a lifetime experience, and I’ll never have the visual of that massive 600-pound Silverback charge our guide, Poppie. My almost 5-month African adventure has now come to an end. Some of the landscapes, and animals I saw were well documented with my camera, but photos don’t do them justice. I wish the best to all the African’s I have become friends with, as well as the thousands of people I encountered in Philippolis and Rwanda, that are struggling each day to survive to the next.

Pics from the Week

Final Week in Africa

Well, I finished up the final week of my African journey escapade. On Monday and Tuesday, I taught some conservation science to the primary school kids. Then after the lesson, I took them out around their school, and had them pick up garbage that was on the street. Rwanda is very vegetative, but people do litter a lot. The kids had no prior education on why pollution is bad for their environment, so it was good for them to learn a few things about conservation, and then witness first-hand, what I lectured about. In each of my lessons, I emphasized that many people come to Rwanda to see the beautiful volcanoes and the mountain gorillas, but if they kept littering and trashing the country, people would not want to come visit a polluted Rwanda. No tourism = No jobs = No money… that was basically the big picture of why they should keep Rwanda clean, because Rwanda is a very poor country, and trashing it will only further this downward slope into poverty. Wednesday and Thursday, I helped out teaching with English teacher, Syrus, and also helped him teach Social Studies. Although many of the other teachers that teach at Wisdom Primary School speak very good English for Rwandans, it fascinates me how many times they ask me how to spell certain words, and how frequently they make spelling errors while they write on the chalkboard. I’ve correct their spelling errors many times, but sometimes I just feel bad for correcting their every move, so I’ll just let it be. Today (Friday) I visited, and taught at the Deaf School for the last time. I woke up early, as I usually do on Fridays, and walked an hour up the hill to the Deaf School. As usual, one of the local kids accompanied me on my hour walk, and practiced their English on me. When I got to the Deaf School, I did a bit of wood carving with the kids, and then taught a lesson afterwards. We played some volleyball on their break time, and then they had lunch. At lunch, Louis, the man that runs the show at the Deaf School, brought me into the kids lunch room to tell the kids that it was my last day at the school. There were many tears, which was quite touching, and Louis cried as well, which kind of surprised me. I know I’ve given my time and effort to helping out at the school, but I guess I didn’t give myself enough credit as to how greatly I’ve touched some of their lives. Louis gave me a mask that he carved and painted for me, a thank you card, and then after I said goodbye to the rest of the teachers, I began my hour walk back home. It was a very rewarding day, and makes me sad to leave many of the nice and generous people I have met on my trip to Rwanda. Although it was hard to say goodbye to the kids and staff, I can definitely say that I am very excited to return back to US soil.

Me and my favorite student- Zuzu - an Orphan at the Orphan & Deaf School

Gorilla Pic

Gorilla Picture- Mom and Baby

Mountain Gorilla Adventure!

Yesterday was an absolutely spectacular day, and quite possibly the best day of my African journey. I woke up at 5 am, had some breakfast, and then headed to the Gorilla Hotel, which is right down the street from where Elie lives. A driver met me there, and drove me to the Kinigi Headquarters, where all the Virunga National Park tours leave from. Once we got there, I told him that I would like to go on the longest walk possible, so that I get my “bang for the buck”, if you catch my drift. The drivers of all the people seeing the gorillas that day meet with the guides, and assign groups of 8 people per group, and which of the six volcanoes they will be going to. I was assigned to a group that was going to Visoke Mountain, and seeing the Amahoro group of gorillas, which consisted of 15 gorillas. Our guide, named Poppie, which I eventually referred to as Big Poppie, gave us some guidelines on our hike, and also told us about the members of the Amahoro group. In the group, there is a 3 month old baby, that Poppie said we most likely won’t see, since the mother is very protective of her newborn, but also three more babies that are in the 1 to 3 year-old range. Also in the group is the biggest Silverback gorilla in the entire National Park, weighing almost 600 pounds! I assumed I wasn’t going to see the tiny baby, but really wanted to see the big Silverback. My driver then drove me 45 minutes to the base of the volcano, through some brutally bumpy roads, and called it an “African massage.” We were the only hiking through this area, which was nice, and we started our hike through a local village and their crop fields. After about 45 minutes of hiking, we entered Virunga National Park. There was so much vegetation, that in many places, it was very difficult to maneuver from point A to B. Our guide, named Poppie, which I eventually referred to as Big Poppie, had a machete to clear the path in several instances. There was also a tracker, who ultimately led us to the gorillas, and porters that carried a couple of the women’s backpacks. The tracker carried an AK-47, in case of an animal or potential guerrilla attack… I just didn’t ask questions about the gun, and just presumed it was for our safety. Anyways, in our three track to the area where the Amahoro group of gorillas were spotted, we saw a group of male Golden Monkeys, and the porters and I saw a buffalo. The rest of the group didn’t see the buffalo, because I was in the back of the line taking pictures, and soaking up the incredible views. Once we got 100 meters from the gorillas, Poppie told us all to take all the gear we needed to view the gorillas (camera, batteries, video camera) and take our backpacks off. We were told to do this, because the gorillas could become interested in what is inside the backpack if it is on our backs. So, we took our backpacks off, and bushwhacked about 40 meters through some thick bamboo, and literally the first thing we saw was the 3 month old baby gorilla suckling on her mother. The mom took off about a minute after we arrived, but that minute was ridiculously incredible. We then kept up with the Amahoro group, which was in the process of eating, and stayed with them for an hour, which is all that is allowed by the park authorities. We hadn’t seen the big Silverback for the entire hour, until as we were leaving, Poppie spotted him out, and he took us around an area of thick bamboo to try and get a view of him. He struggled to find out exactly where this huge male was heading, until all of the sudden, with zero warning, the massive Silverback came bursting through the vegetation straight at Poppie with a shrieking noise I will never forget. It scared the absolute Buh-Jesus out of the entire group, and had to of given Poppie a freight, as the gorilla came only a few feet from him. I asked him afterwards what happened, and he told me that he startled the male, and since he is literally the king of the jungle, he came up to him in a hurry to see who was intruding his space. Once the Silverback saw Poppie, he still seemed upset, but once Poppie knelt down, it showed the Silverback that he was in control, and everything was okay. Before we saw the gorillas, Poppie gave us a few guidelines on how we should behave, and what we should and shouldn’t do. He told us that the closest we can get in 7 meters from the gorillas, and also that if one of the gorillas should by chance charge someone in the group, DO NOT RUN. For that hour that we observed the gorillas, we were in very thick brush, and most if not all times we were viewing the gorillas we were only 3 meters from them—Rule #1 broken—Also, when Big Poppie was charged by the 600 pound Silverback, one of the group members took off running for her life—Rule # 2 broken. All 8 of us arrived back at the starting point three hours later… A day I’ll never forget!

I will put pictures up tomorrow... Internet is deathly slow right now

Pictures

Trip to Gisenyi- Gorillas next week!

This week has gone pretty slowly. Monday was a holiday because Rwanda was swearing in their president. Tuesday and Wednesday I was typing out midterm exams for the primary school, and Thursday the kids took exams all day. Thursday afternoon, I went to a local gorilla veterinary school, and talked to the lady who started the center. She’s an So far this week, I’ve been at the primary school teaching English, and helping teacher Peter with his Science lessons. Thursday was a very long, but action packed day that began at 5 am in the morning. Monique, Cat, and I got to school at 6, and I was given a Wisdom Primary School collar shirt by Elie, which I immediately put on for our school trip to Gisenyi. After I put my shirt on, I got on the bus and headed off to Gisenyi with the kids. The trip took an hour and a half to get there, and I sat with teacher Janette, who is very nice, and is originally from Uganda. The first stop on our trip was to Hotel Lake-Kivu Serena. There, the kids were shown around by hotel staff, and were told what everything was in hotel, including: reception desk, fitness center, meeting room, poop area, bar, bedrooms, and restaurant. It was interesting to see the kids’ reactions to seeing a vacuum cleaner, and a salt shacker for the first time. After we saw the hotel, we went to Bralirwa, in hopes of seeing how Primus, the local Rwandan beer, was brewed. Once we go there the man in charge of the brewery told Elie that we all couldn’t come in, so we left instead. Next we walked to the local docking area, where the Primus beer was shipped off on Lake Kivu to other areas. Lake Kivu has an area of 2,700 kilometers, and the majority of the Lake is owned by the Democratic Republic of Congo. At the dock, a marine guard talked to the kids about how he patrols the lake, which was quite interesting. After we heard about the boats, we headed off to the hot springs, which were near by, but we were only there for about ten minutes, because we were behind schedule. Then for lunch time we headed back to Lake Kivu and ate on the beach. One of the teachers piece of bread was stolen by a hungry kid watching us eat. There were lots of observers as we had a well-prepared picnic. I felt sorry for the starving people, but was told not to give them anything. After lunch, we went to the Grande Barriere, where the border between Rwanda and Congo is. We were allowed to go into the “no man’s zone” in-between the two, but weren’t allowed into the Congo, for obvious reasons. After this stop, we headed to Rwandan’s weather tracking place called Gisenyi aerodome. The kids saw all the weather instruments, and then we got back on the bus and headed back to Musanze. We got back at around 6:30, and were all exhausted! Today (Friday) I went to the deaf school, and taught English with Cat. It has been a good day so far. I booked my trip to see the mountain gorillas for next Wednesday, and I’m very excited!

Great White Footage on YOUTUBE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7g-8b1x214&feature=player_embedded

Also, things are going well in Rwanda. I am signing up to see the mountain gorillas today, so hopefully I'll see them within the next week! I will post more pictures up to show everyone what Rwanda looks like from where I teach. Beautiful volcanoes in surrounding the school, and lots of vegitation.

Pic at the Lake

Day at the Lake

This week has gone pretty slowly. Monday was a holiday because Rwanda was swearing in their president. Tuesday and Wednesday I was typing out midterm exams for the primary school, and Thursday the kids took exams all day. Thursday afternoon, I went to a local gorilla veterinary school, and talked to the lady who started the center. She’s an American woman that went to Purdue, and I chatted with her for a little while about the conservative efforts they are doing to bring the mountain gorillas population back. I told her I was interested in possibly doing some research with her and her group, but she said they were completely booked at the moment, and have been for almost 6 months now. So, I guess I won’t be able to see the gorillas with the vets, and will have to book my own trip to see them. Today is another holiday, because it is the end of Ramadan. Two holidays in one week! Monique, Cat, and I took a bus about 20 minutes away, and walked about 7 kilometers to Ubinti Lake, which was very scenic. We were escorted to the lake by several groups of kids, and a couple of adults, that were very fascinated by our presence in their village. We stayed at the lake for only a couple of hours, unfortunately was witness to the slaughtering of a poor little goat, and then headed back to where the bus had dropped us off previously, to take a taxi back to Musanze, the town where Elie lives. Not sure what tomorrow brings, but what I do know is that the start of the Cincinnati Bengals season begins Sunday! Depressed I won’t be able to watch the game live, but I will for sure be getting updates online every so often! WHO DEY!

Pictures at the Deaf School

Weekend in Musanze

(Friday) I woke up at 5:30 and walked to the deaf school with Cat. It is an hour walk, that’s why we had to wake up so early. It actually took about an hour and a half, because of the several stops we had to make to greet people along the way. Once we got to the school, I checked out the craft station, where the orphans and the deaf children make woodcarvings, basket weavings, and different types of clothes. I was quite impressed with their work, and one of them gave me a small woven basket as a present. At 9:30, Cat and I taught the level two deaf children English. I find it very difficult to teach these kids, especially since I do not know any sign language, but Cat knows some signs, so we managed to teach the lesson quite well. After the lesson, we had some tea with the teachers, and then after, we helped out with activities, which were dancing or volleyball; whichever activity they preferred. I played volleyball with the kids for about a half hour, and my team dominated. It was quite fun, because everyone around was super engaged on the action. There was even a group of kids who brought a mobile chalkboard outside to mark the score. After the activity, Cat and I taught another English lesson to the level three class. The amount of flies that were in the classroom was pretty disturbing, and downright inhumane, but the kids didn’t seem to be too bothered, so I acted as if it was normal, as it may very well be. After class, the kids headed to lunch, and the teachers waited outside until the kids were finished. Once the kids ate their lunch, they went into their dormitory section to nap/relax, and the teachers went to eat. The food didn’t look all that appealing, so respectively I took a couple of potatoes, and some beans. All the teachers kept questioning me why I’m not eating, which got slightly irritating after the fifth quarry, but I just kept telling them I had a large breakfast and was not that hungry. Anyways, the lunch ended with the teachers telling me that I must be related to Jesus, which I have now heard on a consistent basis. If I were to go to Jerusalem, or anywhere else in the world, I do not think people would say I look like Jesus (who even knows what Jesus looks like?), but people in Rwanda truly think I’m Jesus’s son or something. After school, I went to the bank to get money out, and the teller at the bank said “Reed” out loud to one of her employees. I said, “Excuse me?” She says, “My employee asked what your name was, because he thinks you are Jesus.” Although at first I thought it was quite funny that Rwandans think I look like the assumed appearance of Jesus, it is slightly becoming obnoxious now. Elie, who is a very religious man, is getting a great kick out of this, and now calls me Jesus’s son instead of Reed, which only adds insult to injury. The best moment of the day occurred while I was sitting outside the bank waiting for Monique and Cat to return from the post office. As I was waiting, I was just doing some people watching, and a Rwandan man came strolling past with a Cincinnati Bengals jacket on. I jumped up, and nearly tackled the man, named Simon. I told him that is where I live, and that I am a huge fan of the sports team. Simon had no clue who the team was, or even what sport they played, but was super excited that I was embracing him for wearing the jacket. He asked for my phone number, but I gave him a false email address instead…sorry Simon.

(Saturday) Elie and his children went to church for their day of Sabbath. It was rainy all day, but I made it to the market to buy a few things. I came back around the same time Elie and his family returned from church. We had lunch, and then everyone went to their bedroom for an afternoon nap. It is common for everyone to nap on Saturday, since it is their day of rest, similar to our Sundays.

(Sunday) I went into the primary school at around 8, and made up the teachers schedule for next week. I taught a lesson of English to the level one kids at the school, and then came home for lunch. Elie’s kids are leaving today to go back to Uganda, to attend another quarter of their schooling. It is going to be quiet around the house, which is somewhat depressing. Tomorrow is a national holiday, because Rwanda just elected a president. I think I’m going to hike to a lake nearby, or possibly climb one of the many volcanoes around.

Teaching at Primary School

Today I spent the morning teaching English to the level two students at the primary school. At times it can be very frustrating trying to keep all the students in order, but I don't hit the kids with a stick, like some of the other teachers do, I just tell them I won't teach them unless they be quiet and behave. Some of the kids in the class are very good at speaking english, because they have been speaking it since they were born, but others just started learning english this year, and struggle very much with understanding the lessons. As I was walking back to Elie's house for lunch today, a man stopped me, and asked if I was related to Jesus. I thought the man had to be kidding, but he said it with a completely straight face. I think I'm well overdue for a haircut, and in desperate need of a clean shave. This afternoon, I'm taking Elie and his kids to a swimming pool close by, and teaching them how to swim. I'll keep them in the shallow end, so nobody drowns!

Rwanda Pictures- Musanze

The Rainy Season Begins

A couple of nights ago we had an intense thunderstorm, and it rained all night. For the past couple of days, it hasn't rained, but it has been consistently overcast. There are four volcanoes that surround Musanze, Rwanda, and are clearly seen on nice days, but I haven't seen them since my first day. Hopefully it clears up a bit in the coming weeks, and I'll be able to see the gorillas on a nice day. Yesterday I went to the primary school, and helped teach English with teacher Syrus. He's one of the nicer teachers at the school, and seems to genuinely enjoy teaching the children. As I walk to and from school each day, which is about a half hour walk, the people look at me as if they have seen a ghost. Christian, Elie's son, explained to me that most, if not all of these people have seen a white male, with longish hair, and facial hair, so they're all very curious of me. All males, and most females have shaved heads in Rwanda, so I basically stick out like a sore thumb. At first it was kind of irritating that every time I would walk out of the house I would be stared down by people, but now I understand the reason behind it. Often times people will approach me, just to practice their English, and see where I am going. I have not met a Rwandan person so far that has been rude, or insulted by my presence in their country. Hopefully the trend continues!

Kigali for the Day

Yesterday the two other volunteers, Monique and Cat, came with me into Kigali, the biggest city in Rwanda. There is an international trade fair that started the 26th of August, and ends on the 6th of September. We went to listen to some local music, see some original Rwandan dancing, and possibly buy some interesting crafts at the individual shops that were lined up next to each other. We took a three-hour bus into town, and on the way there, a policeman stopped our bus, but I have no idea why, since I could not understand one word they were saying. They pulled everyone off the bus, and checked everyone’s identification. Unfortunately I did not have any source of ID on me, since Cat told me that I didn’t need one going into town. Both Monique and Cat had a driver’s license on them, while both my passport and driver’s license were both at Elie’s house. I pulled out my credit card, DePauw student ID, health insurance card, and library card, and with the help of a little pleading, he let me by. We got to Kigali at around noon, and stayed at the trade fair until about four o’clock. After we left the trade fair, we went to the supermarket in town, so that we could buy some things that we can’t find in the small town that Elie is from, such as deodorant, and a shaver (to clean up my goatee, of course). I got my two items from the supermarket, and then waited in a coffee shop, until the girls were ready to go. Shopping is not particularly my forte, nor is it a passion of mine, so after about an hour in the trade fair, and ten minutes in the supermarket, I was more than ready to go. Anyways, we caught a bus going back to Musanze at seven o’clock, and arrived at around ten. Elie and his family waited for us to come home, and then we ate dinner. I’ve basically turned into a vegetarian while I’ve been in Africa, since half the time I ask what meat they are serving, they don’t have the slightest idea.

Today (Sunday) it is very overcast, and I’m going to meet up with Cat’s friend, who is an intern at a mountain gorilla research center. Hopefully I can find a way to shadow him for a week, or even a day or two, because I need to see these silverback gorillas! The price of seeing the gorillas is 600 dollars, and another 100 dollars for transportation, which is absurd! I figured the obvious reason for this unreasonable price is because the average stay for a tourist in Rwanda is 1.6 days, to see the gorillas. Locals only have to pay about 10 dollars to see them, but still that is extremely expensive for many Rwandans. I asked Elie if the price would reduce if I went with locals to see the gorillas, and he said no. So, hopefully I’ll get an opportunity to work with the gorilla researchers.

Made it to Rwanda!!

Today was my first day in Rwanda. I visited all the possible schools that I will be teaching at. The first was a preschool, the second was a primary school, and the third was the school for the blind and orphaned kids. I'll have to make a decision on one of them. I'm not sure what I want to do yet. I'll keep you updated! So far, I walk around feeling like a foreign object. There are two other volunteers here from Britain, and so far they have been very nice. I'm staying at a house owned by the man named Ellie, who runs all the schools I previously mentioned. Ellie has asked me to figure out where I'd like to teach, and then put together a few lessons to teach the kids about how to conserve their environment. Rwanda is known as the country of a thousand hills, but I think I've already seen a thousand, so there must be a million! The drive to Ellie's house from the Kigali airport was 2 1/2 hours long, so I had a good chance to see a lot of the land. In the next couple of days, I'm going to meet with someone that works for a Gorilla research center, and see if I can do some work with them for a week or so. Since I'm a volunteer here, I can basically choose what I'd like to do, which is nice. The land here is very green, and everything seems very healthy, even though its the end of the dry season. Evidently the wet seasons starts in September, so I'm expecting a lot of rain. I'll post pictures soon!

More Kili Pics

To the Summit of Kilimanjaro!

It has been an amazing and exhausting week in Tanzania. We started the hike up Mt. Kilimanjaro last Thursday, and got off the mountain today around 1 pm. The entire week of hiking was difficult, but each hike was very different from the next, so it kept everything very interesting. Monday night, at 10 pm, the guides woke all eight of us up, had a little breakfast, and began our final ascent to the summit at 11 pm. The full moon was so bright that Jack Oliver and I had our headlights off, and just used the shine of the moon to guide us up the mountain. There were a few casualties to altitude sickness on the way up, but I felt surprisingly fine all the way up to the summit. I unfortunately drank all of my 4 liters water on the way up, so I had no water for the walk down, which resulted in a major headache. A couple of people threw up on the way up, and I think everyone was quite delirious at 19,000+ feet, but everyone made it to the summit. Some made it quicker than others, but the most important thing is that everyone made it to the top! All of the guides were very encouraging for the entire seven-day trip, and they all made the hike amazing! It was truly amazing to summit Kilimanjaro, the roof of Africa, on my birthday, under a full moon. It’s something I’ll never forget! Oh, and I shaved my bushy beard into a healthy goatee. Should be a nice look for my trip to Rwanda, which begins tomorrow. Another adventure begins!

The Hike Starts Tomorrow!

Today we spent the day in Tanzania at the local market, and hanging around our hotel. We begin our ascent up Mount Kilimanjaro tomorrow morning at about 9 in the morning, and well descend next Wednesday at about breakfast time. Our group consists of 8 people, including my Mom, Dad, Jack Oliver, Boyd and Taylor Matson, Jennifer, and Saunders. Hopefully all of us making it to the summit, and return back to base camp in one piece. Everyone is a bit nervous/anxious about our hike, and now Jack and I, who are sleeping in the same tent together, are putting together our day pack, and clothes for the trip. This is Taylor Matson’s second attempt at climbing this mountain, because the first time the altitude got the best of him. Hopefully none of us have to turn around early. Mt. Kili, here we come!

Mount Kilimanjaro, Here We Come!

Great White Shark Day Pics!!

Past Two Nights in the Great City of Cape Town

The past couple of days my mom and I have been in Cape Town. Last night we got into our hotel at around 3pm, walked around the city for a couple hours, and just ordered some pizza and relaxed in our room. We had an early 5 o’clock wake up call this morning, because we got picked up by a van to go cage diving with the great white shark. We were out on the water until 1pm, and it was the most amazing experience ever! We saw a couple of great whites breach from the water, completely elevating out of the water. The used a seal replica, and slowly towed it behind our boat, triggering the Great White's killer instinct to lunge out of the water. I've seen videos of this before, but seeing it live was ridiculous. While I was in the cage, a big great white breached out of the water to take the bait that they lure them in with. Another shark went for the bait, and ran smack into the cage, so I got a real close up look at it, which was unbelievable! The biggest shark of the day, which was about 17 feet long, swam by my mom and I (who was also in the cage with me) at least 10 times. It was an experience I will always remember. Tomorrow we head to the airport at 5, and head to Tanzania to prep for our hike up Kilimanjaro, which begins Thursday! I can’t wait! If it all works as planned, I’ll be on top of the summit on my birthday, which also happens to be a full moon. Hope it’s not cloudy! Happy birthday to my mother, who turns a year younger tomorrow.

Pictures of the Day- Cape Town Winelands

Wine-lands of Cape Town

For the last couple of nights, my mother and I have been staying at La Residence, a very nice hotel outside of Cape Town. Today we visited several different wineries for my mom's travel company she is working for, Roar Africa. We went on a nice bike ride at the first vineyard we saw, so that my mom could see the property to at its full potential. Then we went to a couple other vineyards, and did some wine tasting at a couple of them. My favorite stop was at Franschhoek Motor Museum, which was a wine testing vineyard established by an Italian man, but he had about 60 different vintage and modern cars in four different garages, and it was interesting to see the progression in his car time capsule. Some of his new modern cars were absolutely incredible, and would be amazing to drive some of them on the rural roads in the wine-lands of Cape Town.

Pics of the Day- Londolozi

Our Last Day at Londolozi

Today my mom and I had a fabulous time at the Londolozi game reserve. We had a wake up knock on our door at 5:30, and went on a game drive at 6. We saw three huge male lions that were sleeping for the most part, but did get up once or twice to change position. We also got a chance to see a baby giraffe, some warthog, several different antelope, and my favorite, the leopard! It was a female leopard that just killed an impala, and dragged it up a tree. At the time she was lying at the base of the tree, and taking a bit of a nap, to recuperate from her stalking endeavor. We went back to camp, had some breakfast, and then my mom and I went and saw the original village where the workers, and other individuals have lived for many decades. After that, we did a bit of a workout, and then had some lunch. After lunch, we went on another great drive, and saw the leopard again, but this time she was up the tree feasting on the impala she had killed. At the base of the tree there were several hyena that were trying to find scraps on the ground, and attempting to scale up the tree, but had no luck. On the way back from the game drive, we got to see a cervet, which is very rare to see. Our ranger told us that this is the second time he seen one of these since he has been at Londolozi, which has been 10 or so years, so that was really cool. We had an amazing dinner, and unfortunately this is the last night we will be here. Tomorrow we head to Cape Town, to start our wine tasting journey, and then eventually I get to dive with the great white sharks! I can’t wait! One week till Kilimanjaro!!

Sunset Picture

Made it to Londolozi!

Today my mother and I both arrived to Londolozi game reserve. The property is absolutely amazing! From the second we arrived, the service has been completely over the top, and the animals we have seen so far have been brilliant! While we were having lunch, a herd of elephant walked in front of us, and enjoyed a little play time in the water below us, amazing to watch. After lunch, my mom dragged me along to do some "yoga in the bush," which is a new program that they have set up here, which I have to admit was quite nice. It was the first time I have ever done yoga, and it was a lot better than I expected. After that, we went on a nice game drive with David, the ranger, and our tracker, Simon. We saw lots of elephant, giraffe, kudu, cape buffalo, and several leopard tracks. We looked for the leopard and her three cubs, but never found them. Simon has already guaranteed that we will find them tomorrow. I really want to see a leopard while I am here, and David and Simon both told me that leopards are their favorite animals, so I feel pretty confident we will see one tomorrow. I'll keep my fingers crossed! The elephant we saw were spectacular though. We saw them on the edge of the stream, drinking water. The light was perfect, and they seemed like they were almost posing for the camera. Once the sun was setting, we stopped to take a break from the game drive, and were able to stretch our legs and enjoy the sunset, which was spectacular. I can't wait for our game drive tomorrow at 6 o'clock in the morning!

The End of my Stay in Philippolis

The past couple of days have been very relaxing. Yesterday I went with Kate to see !Xarip Dame. The exclamation point before Xarip is a clicking sound that you use to pronounce the word, it’s not a punctuation error! The dame is the largest dame in all of South Africa, and it was quite a spectacular site. After that, we grabbed some lunch on the way back to Philippolis. Once we returned back to Kate’s house, we relaxed for the rest of the day. I had a bit of a sore throat, so I didn’t feel like doing much else. Today, I woke up, and anxiously wanted to see how my Cincinnati Bengals did against the Cowboys in their first preseason football game. I saw that they lost, but at least they didn’t give up any offensive touchdowns! My throat felt better today, so I planned to go out with the same boys that I went hiking with the other day. They didn’t show up, most likely because it was very cold today. It was the first cold day I’ve had since I have been in Philippolis, so I’m not complaining. I went on a short run, and stayed inside for the rest of the day. I even got to see Sportscenter on Kate’s TV at 3 o’clock pm, and I got to see both the Bengals highlights, and even more impressive Reds highlights. Hopefully I’ll return from Africa, and get a chance to see the Redlegs compete in the playoffs, and continue rooting on the Bengals after a strong start of the season! Tomorrow I head off for the airport at about noon, and travel to Johannesburg to meet my mother! I’m excited to see her, and go on a nice week or so journey before our mission up Kilimanjaro! It’s been a great stay at Philippolis, and I’m looking forward for more adventures to come!

Great Day in Philippolis with the Kids

Today was a very enjoyable day for me. I woke up around 8 o’clock, to pack my backpack for my days hike. Everyone except me left today, to go to Samara until Tuesday. I said goodbye to the group, and headed to Kate’s house to wait for the local Philippolis kids that said they wanted to take me hiking around the area. They showed up promptly at 10 o’clock, and we headed out for a nice hiking adventure. The five kids that showed up were between the ages of 13-16. They took me over barbed wire fences, up hills, through farmland, and we stopped at a nice resting spot to have a picnic that Kate provided. All the kids were very interested in knowing more about the USA, so I drew a map of the United States in the sand, showed them where I lived, and I had to have answered at least 30 or so questions about my country. Then one kid said proudly, “I hear Africa has lots a great minerals such as gold and diamonds, and has lots of things to offer.” I told him that he was completely right. Then he continued to say, “Then why can’t we get our stuff together?” I didn’t know the politically correct answer, but I went on to give them an example that a while back, the white man had all the power in Johannesburg, but now today the black man has majority of the power. The problem that exists there today is that there is too much hostility between the black and white races, because the black people resent what has happened to them in the past and that is why their crime rate is so high. I then continued on to say that although horrible events may have occurred in the past, Africa needs to live in the present and put aside racial tension and do what is best for their country. All the kids agreed with what I said, and even emphasized, “What has happened in the past is done, we need to live in the present and worry about our future.” I was very impressed that they agreed with what I said, and went on to tell them that they are the future of Africa. Instead of putting their heads down and continuing to walk, all of them looked up at me with eager faces claiming they were excited for the challenge. We had a lot of good conversation through out the day. I also got a chance to see some scorpions and cool lizards that we found by lifting up rocks. They were all super excited to show me everything they could. After our walk, I asked if we could play some soccer around where they lived. I grabbed a soccer ball, and went into their part of Philippolis to play a friendly game of soccer with the guys and their friends. Today was a very nice day! They want to do the same on Monday, which I look forward to.

Tigers in Africa?

For the past couple of days I have spent the majority of my time working with Pete, a geography teacher from England, on putting the windows in on our brick classroom. Yesterday I woke up at 7 to go on a nice jog, because I knew it was going to be a hot day. I got back close to 8, showered up and had some breakfast, then went off to the building site until noon. I grabbed a quick bite to eat, and then went off to the 6th grade class to do a few exercises with them on their conservation class. Last week we just watched the movie “White Lion”, and talked about it briefly afterwards, but this week we had them first draw out a scene from the movie that they remembered, which was interesting because some drew a lion, porcupine, or elephant, while a couple drew a picture of a rifle. After that we had them do a word-search on some of the key terms that were mentioned in the movie. Some kids whizzed through it, while others couldn’t finish it with out peaking off the person next to them. Finally we had them work in groups of six to put together a puzzle of six different animals we cut up into pieces. We put all the different animal pieces together, mixed them around, so they would have to work together to arrange them in their proper position. We made both the word-search and then puzzle a competition, and the winners would receive more candy then the other kids. All the kids enjoyed themselves, as did I. Kate drove me back to the “hole,” which is where we eat our meals, and hang out together, so that I could board the bus to go on our excursion to Tiger Valley. At first I was very skeptical on going to see tigers in Africa, but once I was there, and John Vardy explained his reasoning for having these tigers on his property, the whole aspect began to really make sense. In short, he explained how the tiger population in Asia is diminishing every year, and while the populations in India and China continue to grow, there won’t be enough room for the tigers to survive. His future plan is to continue to expand his property to 100,000 hectors, and introduce the lion, leopard, cheetah, and hyena into his tiger populated land, because evidently these creatures once lived together in parts of Asia. There is already a lioness on his property that gets along with the other tigers, because John introduced the baby lion when one of the tigresses gave birth to a small litter. At first the mother tiger didn’t accept the baby lion, but soon after it became part of the family. I saw footage of this lion and tiger hunting together, which was spectacular to see. There were also two white tigers on the property, which was awesome to see, because there are not any other wild white tigers in the world. It was a fascinating place to see… Today I built all day with Pete, and we’re almost above the window line. Tomorrow I’ll continue working on the wall. The group before us only completed 4 rows of bricks, and I think we’ve completed about 16-20 rows… we’re cruisin’.

The Past 2 Days in Philippolis

Yesterday was a very fulfilling day. Kate came up with the great idea of doing a “60-minute makeover” type ordeal on an 80-year-old man’s shanty house. His home was in horrible shape when we first arrived. There were several windows missing, the paint job (both inside and outside) was non-existent, there were spider webs, spiders, and black widow egg sacks underneath his bed and table, his mattress was completely worn down and full of dust, and his clothes were scattered around… basically this man needed our help, because at his old age, he would have never gotten around to fixing up any of these problems. We started by taking all of his furniture outside, scrubbing down the walls (outside and inside) with soap, and sweeping the floors and the ceiling. Then we painted the outside a light tan color, and put in new windows. Once the outside was complete, we wiped down his table, his beds, and put all of his clothes on hangers. Kate bought two new mattresses for his beds, so he will hopefully sleep better and not kill his back with the crappy mattresses he had before. Next we painted the inside with a similar color as the outside, let it dry a bit, and then moved his stuff back in his house. Kate also bought a bunch of useful household items such as sugar, salt, flour, coffee, and other generous items. The coolest part about this whole project was that Kate had the old man leave his house for the entire day, because he is very grumpy, and she was worried he would complain the entire time. She told him we were only going to redo his windows. When he came back, he was ecstatic with what he saw. It was nice to see this grumpy old man with a huge smile on his face!
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Today has been a bit slow. We continued building the elementary school, but everyone was really tired from yesterday’s work. I just had some lunch, and it gave me some energy to hopefully do a better job working this afternoon. Kate had mentioned that I may be going on a hike with some of the local kids around the mountains this afternoon. If that works out, it should be a lot of fun! Tomorrow we are going to see some tigers that someone has on their farm, and has been raising them for many years. It’s going to be weird seeing tigers in Africa, but I’ve never seen a tiger in “the wild” so it should be a great time nonetheless.

Weekend Trip!

Just got back from our weekend trip at some game reserve about 2 ½ hours out of Philippolis. I stayed in a small hut with two other teachers, and enjoyed the presence of the guides that were in charge of the place. During the day I walked through the game reserve with one of the guides dog, named Shadow. I would walk until lunchtime, grab a bit to eat at the campsite, and then head off again to explore the land. At one point I stopped at the river to search for some cool rocks, in hopes that I would find a diamond or two. Unfortunately I had no such luck, but I did find a couple of neat rocks. At night we would make a fire, and the guides taught us a fun game called “Lie Dice”. It’s very similar to poker, except you play with poker dice. The rules are quite complicated, but it was very fun to play once I got the hang of it. We had a flat tire on the way to the campsite, and also on the way back to Philippolis, which was annoying, but wasn’t the end of the world. I wish I had brought my fly-fishing pole, because there were all sorts of fish rising on the river every morning and evening. The people who went white water rafting came back every time miserably cold, and eventually I started my own group of hikers. As much as I do enjoy white water rafting, I think I made a good decision going on hikes. I got to explore a lot of the property, which was fun, and gave me a chance to have a bit of time away from our huge group. Tomorrow we are doing a make over to some man's house who lives in Philippolis. It should be a fun day!

Another Day Building... Away for the Weekend!

Today I woke up at 7:30, had some breakfast with the rest of the gang, and walked out to the elementary school to continue packing bricks on the new room we are constructing. I haven’t been stacking the bricks for the last couple of days, because I’ve either been in the classroom helping teach, or getting more supplies for the construction site. I stacked bricks up till one o’clock, and then Kate brought us some lunch at the site, instead of going back to the normal dining area. We did this just to make as much progress as possible before we go on our weekend trip, which is white water rafting or hiking. I think I’m going to hike because of three reasons: 1) I want to hike as much as possible before Kilimanjaro (~2 weeks away) 2) The rapids are going to be class 2 and maybe one class 3 rapid, which isn’t much to write home about 3) No one else is going hiking, at least I don’t think, and I’d love a weekend away from some of these younger kids. So tomorrow we will stack bricks in the morning, have some lunch, and then head off for our weekend trip. I don’t know the exact location of where we’re going, but I’m sure I’ll have the name when I post next on my blog. Tonight we watched “Sarafina” with some of the 8th graders from the local school. They are doing a project about children’s rights, so we watched the movie with them, and then got into smaller groups and discussed what we got out of the film. It was interesting to hear what some of the kids had to say, because a lot of them deal with the same situations that occur in the film.

The Last 2 Days in Philippolis

Yesterday I spent the entire day getting red sand and bricks for the construction of the elementary school. We went to this quarry and used a pick-ax to loosen the hard sand, and then shoveled the sand into the back of a pick up truck. We loaded about four truckloads, and then we went to the brick site, and loaded 4 truckloads of those as well. I came back from a long days work and went on a nice relaxing jog though the hills of Philippolis. Kate was not feeling great, so I didn’t bother her to use her internet to update my blog. Today I went to the elementary school to work with some of the kids. It was quite difficult to communicate with the kids, because their English wasn’t that great, and my Afrikan is a notch above poor. Anyways, it was fun interacting with the children, and funny to see how fascinated they were with my beard and hair. I taught another one of the kids how to read someone’s pulse, and he was going around to his other friends bragging about what he had learned. I played soccer with the kids on their break and was very impressed with the skills these young kids have. Besides being skilled, they were very physical with one another. This kid got tripped by one of his colleagues, then got up, and pushed him to the ground and kicked him in the face. The kid cried for about 20 seconds, then got up and continued playing soccer…I am amazed how tough these little kids are. After I went to school, I came back and had lunch with the rest of the group, and then went back to school to watch a conservation movie with Kate and the 6th grade. The movie is called “White Lion”, which is a nice film. We will meet with them again next Wednesday, and discuss what everyone has learned from the film. Tomorrow I will continue building the elementary school.

Started to Build the Kiddies School

Today I woke up at 7:30, had breakfast at 8, and headed to the elementary school to start constructing the brick building, which will eventually be an extension of the school. We started out by sifting the sand, and then combining it with the cement mix and water. We then built up the walls slowly but surely, about 6 bricks high for the day, which was a success. We had lunch at noon, and got back to working on the building around 2. I left the construction site around 5 to go on a nice jog before the sun goes down. As I was running I was stopped a few times by the locals. One asked me if I had any books for them, another asked if they could have my “hair scarf” which is my bandana, and another told me I looked to serious, at least I think that’s what he said… Ha! The run was very nice though after I got out of the town. There was a nice grassland area that looked over the entire town of Philippolis, which was an awesome view. Anyways, it was a nice long day of work, and I’m sure I’ll be doing much of the same for the upcoming two weeks. I will also be doing sports with the kids, and possibly teaching English and/or Biology to all age groups.

First full day in the Free State!

Today I got to sleep in for as long as I wanted to, because Kate was going to pick up the rest of our crew at the airport. I walked around the town, went to the only store open on a Sunday, which was some old fashioned book store and talked to the owner for some time. Then I walked to the area where Kate and her volunteers have been building an elementary school for the children who are living in poor conditions. As I was walking into this area, where there are hundreds of shacks, people were staring at me, but always with a smile. After I checked out the school grounds, I walked over to an area where I saw a large gathering of people. I looked over the fence, and saw a soccer match about to take place. One of the young men asked me if I’d like to come in, but I noticed there was an entrance fee to come in, and unfortunately I didn’t have any money on me, so I told him I would love to, but I have money on me. He shrugged, and said that’s ok, just come in. I watched for about an hour, and everyone was really getting into the game. All of the older men were drinking 40 ounce beers, which they call rhino horns, and it was only about noon. I left, and went Kate’s house to wait for her and the rest of the group to arrive. They got here around 2 pm and we had some lunch. There are 3 teachers from England, and about 14 students that go to English schools. The kids are from ages 14-16 I believe, which wasn’t what I expected at all, but I’ll make the most out of the situation. After lunch, we headed to an area where the kids always play rugby and soccer. We played with them for a good two hours, and all the kids were so excited we were there. Tomorrow we will continue to build the elementary building, by moving bricks to the location, and then beginning to stack them. I will also be asked to coach on the soccer teams that will be started tomorrow. Should be a fun day!

Made it to the Free State- Philippolis

Hello everyone, just made it to Philippolis in the Free State. We left Samara at 11 this morning. We stopped at Mieuw Bethesda, which is really a ghost town, but we saw a cool art exhibit, had some lunch, and then went on a tour to see some of the fossils which are prevelent through the Karoo. We just got to Philippolis, and moved into the two bedroom house, with a living area, kitchen, and a bathroom. There are 16 other people coming tomorrow to join us, and they will be living in other houses. We will then have all of our meals together at some backpackers spot in the middle of us all. I unfortunately cannot use my computer to get on the internet, because Kate has a specific internet program that only works on her computer, and not my Mac. This means there will most likely be less frequent blog posts, and minimal pictures, because I don't want to load my pictures onto her computer. I will post them once my 2 week stay is finished. If Kate will allow me to do so, then I obviously will, but I don't want to overstay my welcome at her house. She's a very nice woman, and has addopted an adorable little black girl named Maya. Can't wait to see what Philippolis brings!

Last Day at Samara

Today was my last day at Samara. Everyone except Alexa and I left this morning, so Hayley moved us to the official lodge, where guests come and stay, so that we could be supervised. The lodge is so nice, so I was very excited when she told us that. We are having a nice dinner that the cooks will make for us, so it should be delicious! Today I went out with the trackers, and learned a ton of new things. Porkie, the master tracker here, was very impressed with the amount of tracks I knew. He would point out a track, then look at me and ask if I knew it. I would say I knew about 80% of the tracks he pointed at. It is amazing how much he knows about the bush. Like I said before, he is one of the two master trackers in all of Africa, and when you think about how many trackers there must be, it’s remarkable that he knows that much. When we got back to the trackers living quarters, 3 of the trackers asked for my email so that we could stay in touch with each other. It was cool that they actually enjoyed my presence, and that I wasn’t just a pesky tourist thinking I knew things about the bush. I’m starving right now, and cannot wait for dinner! Tomorrow I get picked up at 9, and after a 3-hour drive I’ll be in the Free State for 2 weeks. I have no idea what the internet availability is like there, but hopefully I can keep up with my blog!

More Rhino Capture Pictures

Pictures of the Rhino Capture

White Rhino Capture!!

Today was one of the coolest days I have had so far at Samara. Peter, the game manager at Samara, phoned Hayley this morning to confirm that the male White Rhino was going to be darted, and transported to another private game reserve today. The whole ordeal is a long process, because there is a lot of paper work that needs to be taken care of before the game capture can occur. We got into our cruiser at around 9 o’clock, and had to wait until the helicopter pilot, named Richard arrived, then the vets to arrive, and the new owner of the male rhino to arrive. The new owner was here to measure out the length of the horn, which ultimately declares how much the rhino is worth. Once all the pieces were put together, the pilot took off with the vet, who shoots the rhino with a dart, and located the rhino. Once they located it, the caravan of trucks quickly drove to the area where the helicopter was hovering. Once we arrived to the rhino, it had already been darted twice, because it is such a massive animal. It was standing there for only a couple of seconds, and dropped to the ground with a loud thud. The head game capturer, named Mike, who controlled the whole operation, put a chip into the rhino’s horn, took a blood sample, and then the vets injected the rhino with something to wake it up slowly. Once the rhino was less drowsy, Mike and his team used cow prods, ropes, and muscle to pull the rhino onto his feet so they can pull him into the truck. Once it got into the truck, I was able to touch his horn, and feel the texture of its skin, which was very similar to an elephant. The new owner of the big male rhino measured its horn, which turned out to be 31 inches. I’m so happy that this game capture happened today, because I leave Saturday! Such a great way to bring such an amazing stay at Samara to a closure.

Climbed up Mt Aasvoelberg

Today we woke up around 8 to climb Mt Aasvoelberg. The hike took about 5 or so hours, and we saw some great views of the property at the top. We made sure to lock all the doors to our hang out area, so that the monkeys don't break in again and cause another mess. Once we were on the top of the mountain, we relaxed there for about an hour, and walked to different sides to see the great views. Tomorrow we are hopefully going to help out with darting the huge male White Rhino that charged me the other day. There are evidently too many rhinos on the property, and they need to move the male so that others don't reproduce anytime soon. Should be exciting if it all works out. Tonight the monkey people are coming over for a braai, for a goodbye party for most of us, even though I leave on Saturday morning. The rest of the group leaves Friday morning.