Traveling is Most Definitely a Team Sport

Term Vacation: Part One 

(20 March- 26 March)

After weeks of planning, it was finally here, term vacation (or as we affectionately called it, spring break). Break started on Wednesday, 20 March. Unfortunately starting on 16 March, a pipe broke in Town. This meant that we had no running water for the four days leading up to break. Since they had to bring in materials from Port Elizabeth, the water was still not running before we left for break. So needless to say, we were ready to leave.

PORT ELIZABETH 

Grahamstown To Port Elizabeth 

After having four days without water, we were eager to hop on our bus and get to Port Elizabeth. We were taking the InterCape Bus, which we had taken when we went to Jeffrey's Bay a few weeks prior. As soon as we got on the bus, we were devastated to hear that the air conditioning was broken on the bus. Mind you it was around 95 degrees out and the whole town had gone four days without water. Needless to say, it was oen of the more painful bus rides I have endured. 

Arriving in Port Elizabeth an hour and a half later, we called a cab to take us to the B&B we would be staying at. Unfortunately the cab could not be there for half an hour. As we were waiting at the curb, this woman immediately approached us and asked if our ride was on its way. We said it was. She quickly told us that it was not a safe area and to immediately leave. She told us to wait a few blocks away where it would be safer. We quickly grabbed our bags and walked a few blocks away where we found a prom group taking pictures. We deemed it was a safe area to wait, and a pro was that we got to watch prom--everything happens for a reason. 

We safely arrived to our B&B and immediately all took showers. We headed to dinner a few blocks away. After a filling dinner of pasta, wine, and cheese, we headed to see what the nightlife was like. Needless to say it was lacking. We entered a bar, and were immediately asked for identification. The legal age in SA is 18, so with all of us being 20/21, it wasn't really a compliment. We soon headed home for a night of well-needed sleep.

The next day Manale & Lauren joined us. Since it was a beautiful day we decided to head to the boardwalk. 

Port Elizabeth Boardwalk! It housed restaurants, arcades, shops, rides, and other activities.

Alex, Lauren & Rachel as we sat down for brunch on Thursday.

In the middle of brunch, there was this water show. It was timed to music and everything. We felt like we were in Disney World. It was very unexpected to say the least. 

After an amazing day in Port Elizabeth, Friday arrived and we took a cab to the airport. Alex and Kara boarded a plane to Johannesburg to meet their families, while Rachel, Lauren, & I picked up our car. Lauren took the first day driving since she was the only one who was 21 in our group. In SA, they drive on the left side of the road and the drivers seat is on the right side of the car. So needless to say, it was a very interesting and slightly terrifying drive. After checking out of our B&B, our road trip began and we drove two hours to Nature's Valley.

 NATURE'S VALLEY

Port Elizabeth to Nature's Valley 

Upon arriving in Nature's Valley, we gave the backpacker (hostel) we were planning on staying in a call. We figured that they would have openings so we didn't bother booking in advance. Little did we know it was a holiday weekend in SA so every backpacker and B&B in Nature's Valley. After driving around for two hours, we decided to go to the beach while we tried to think of a plan. 

Beach!

Nature's Valley may have been one of the most beautiful places I have seen. It was truly picturesque and it was so wonderful to spend the afternoon just lying on the beach. We quickly ran to the gas station to grab a bag of bread and a jar of peanut butter and made sandwiches for lunch. 

Little did I know, the others had decided that we should just sleep in the car since we had no where to go. They spent most of the afternoon trying to convince me to sleep in the car, which I was not too keen on. By some miracle, we went to this fancy hotel (in college world--around $150USD per night) to ask for directions. The manager ended up telling us that his father lived about ten minutes away on a farm and they had a spare apartment that we could sleep in for the night. Having no other options we decided to go for it. 

After driving about ten minutes, it got extremely foggy. As we pulled into the farm, I had to get out of the car and open this old rusted gate. We were pretty convinced we were driving into a horror film. However, luckily for us, the farm did exist and we were greeted by this jolly 70-something year old man who immediately showed us to the apartment. It was more of a house than an apartment! We had two bedrooms, a living room, dining room, and a kitchen. It was furnished with leather couches, flat screen TV's, the works. 

Patio at our "apartment" 

Kitchen in the "apartment"

After an amazing night's sleep, we said goodbye, packed up the car and drove to Mossel Bay.

MOSSEL BAY

Nature's Valley to Mossel Bay 

The drive to Mossel Bay was truly spectacular. Right after leaving Nature's Valley, we continued down the N2. One thing that really struck me was the fact that we would be driving down this breathtaking coast, and then all of the sudden we were driving through a township. It really illuminated the inequality that exists in this country. 

We continued down the N2 and experienced one of the most beautiful drive I have ever done. We would be driving along the mountain side looking over the Indian Ocean. It truly was a sight to behold. 

Upon arriving in Mossel Bay we quickly found our backpacker and checked in. We had a cute little room with two sets of bunk beds. We decided to immediately go grocery shopping and make dinner. After a filling dinner of pasta and bread, we met three girls in our backpacker. Come to find out they were all American exchange students studying at UCT (University of Cape Town) and they were all from Clark College (Worchester, MA). 

Our Backpacker!

That evening we all decided to hit the town and explore the nightlife. After a fun filled night walking around the city, we decided to hit the hay and get a good nights sleep. We woke up bright and early the next morning and decided to head up to the lighthouse to walk around. Upon arriving at the lighthouse we saw these little groundhogs running around. 

We climbed to the top and were met with the most breathtaking view. We did a little morning yoga and drove down to the beach. After a light lunch and some seashell collecting, it was time to hit the road and head to Swellendam. 

A view of Mossel Bay!

 SWELLENDAM

Mossel Bay to Swellendam 

It was finally here-- my day to drive! Here are the things that are super weird about driving in South Africa:
-You drive on both the left side of the road and the right side of the car
-For passing, if someone is on your rear, you have to pull over into the breakdown lane in order to let the car pass you
-When you pass a truck you have to drive into oncoming traffic

My parking job that I was very proud of!

Luckily we got to Swellendam (the third oldest city in South Africa) with absolutely no problems. This was the first stop we made that was not on the coast- we had finally made it to the mountain region. We pulled up to our backpacker, checked in, and decided to explore the town. 

We literally stayed in cabins-- no electricity or anything. We were lucky that it was warm out! 

Here are some pictures of our hike that we took on Monday and the mountains surrounding Swellendam! 

BABOONS! 

BETTY'S BAY

Swellendam to Betty's Bay 

At last we arrived at our final destination before Cape Town, Betty's Bay. Betty's Bay is known as the vacation spot for Cape Townians. Yet again we were surrounded by mountains and shoreline- something I truly think I will never get sick of.

Our backpacker!

View behind our backpacker

View out in front of our backpacker

After a relaxing night of just hanging out with the group, we got a goodnights sleep and got ready to see what the next day would hold. Lucky for us there was a penguin colony just five minutes down the road. We decided what better way to start off our week in Cape Town than by visiting some penguins! 

After a million pictures were taken, we got back on the road and took an hour drive north to Cape Town! After a beautiful drive-- we finally made it. We were in Cape Town!