Adventures in Mzanzi

That was a crazy past month!

I shall indulge you with a rundown of my activities, because I know that is what you were itching for:

-Wrote a grant proposal in a week’s time. Not the best idea.

-Attended an HIV/AIDS and project management training. I learned a great deal more on how the virus works and its origins, along with other helpful health tidbits like the benefits of garlic enemas. I also gorged myself on the free resort food, feeling it necessary in lieu of my next activities.

-Ran my first half-marathon. And survived. The Longtom Marathon had its pros and cons. Pro: it was in the mountains. Beautiful scenery helps you forget you’ve partially lost feeling in your lower extremities. Con: it was in the mountains. Them hills kicked my butt. And my knees hated me for about a week afterwards. It took me 2 hours and 37 minutes, but by golly I did it! And had the best feeling afterwards. I’d like to say it was my sense of accomplishment, but we mustn’t forget those lovely endorphins. ALSO: one more big and heartfelt thank you to those who sponsored me and donated to the KLM foundation. The total donations will sponsor a child for 5 years of study at a prestigious high school. There are still areas which don’t even have a high school anywhere nearby, so this will change a child’s life. Thank you.

-Went on a 5 day hike in the mountains with just a day to rest after the marathon. Again, not one of my best ideas. Although it was necessary to keep a consistent and fairly high level of pain-killer in my body, and 8 p.m. was our average bedtime due to sheer exhaustion, it was nevertheless a fantastic hike. This region of the Mpumalanga province is really quite beautiful and the 60ish km of trail had us (5 in total) traveling through all sorts of vegetation, by waterfalls, through streams, up and down mountains…it was wonderful.

-traveled South Africa with my pops! My dad flew in Easter Sunday and from Johannesburg we headed to the coast to the St. Lucia Estuary for a hippo and croc boat tour, snorkeling in the Indian Ocean (lots of tropical fish!), and the Imfolozi Game Reserve. Beyond some giraffe, a few rambunctious baboons and my serpentine encounters, I really hadn’t had the opportunity to appreciate South Africa’s awesome animal diversity. So this was my chance! Between four game reserves over our trip, animal sightings included: warthogs, giraffe, baboons, vervet monkeys, hippos, crocodiles, rhino, elephants, hyenas, wildebeest, water buffalo, zebra, eagles, herons, etc. At Imfolozi, we had one of those “be careful what you wish for” moments: the whole time we were on the watch for elephants. We saw a bunch of rhino and other cool animals, but Dumbo was in hiding. We kind of pushed our luck and kept driving around til we were at the far side of the park with only an hour before closing time. With the sun sinking fast, we started to speed our way through the twisty roads to get back to the entrance on time. Suddenly, my dad hits the breaks. There, smack dab in the middle of the road, plodding along at his own slow pace, was the biggest bull elephant either of us had ever seen. He was huge! Cameras were whipped out and we jabbered on excitedly. But then a couple of minutes passed, with us traveling just a few hundred meters. And then a few more minutes. The elephant just kept going straight down the road at his own leisurely pace. We started to get fidgety, glancing at the clock and at the sun, imaging both the fine for staying past closing and the potential of a pride of lions eating us in the night. Finally, Mr. Elephant meandered off the road for some supper. We sped past before he could change his mind.

After our coastal adventures, we drove up through Swaziland to the Blyde River Canyon area where the marathon was. We went white water rafting, saw some spectacular views and went on a bona fide safari in Kruger National Park. Highlight of that would be the hyenas eating a dead elephant. Then we headed to my village for my dad to see what life is really like for me. He got a taste of everything, from my schools to my lack of plumbing to a good ‘ol South African braai (barbeque) with the family. Though subjected to strange questions, slow hours and mystery meat, he was a trooper. We ended with a trip to the De Wildt Cheetah Research Center. This place was awesome. They are on the forefront of cheetah conservation and research and also work to protect other threatened species in southern Africa. Best part: I got to pet a cheetah! He was purring extremely loudly—a giant furry motor with fangs.

So that was a fantastic past four weeks. It feels good to be back at the schools and back to my normal routine, but I will be ready for my next adventure soon!