SAFARI!!!

2/24/08
Safari: Kwazuli Natal, Durban
Unlike my ridiculous wait in airports for my Brazil trip to Iguacu, it was only a two-hour flight to Durban for my safari. We got to the Tree lodge in time for a delicious, cooked lunch. Africans know how to cook some yummy food, let me tell you. Because there were a lot of us (38) we were split between the tree lodge and the safari lodge. I was supposed to be in the Tree lodge with one girl, but at this point in the voyage everyone already has tons of friends and everyone wanted to switch around room assignments. Amanda was on my trip, and we could have roomed together; we both wanted to meet new people and didn’t care enough, however. By the time everyone had the roommate they wanted I ended up with a nice, but not all there (she almost missed the trip because she overslept from being hungover), roommate named Courtney. We were in the safari lodge, which was about a five-minute walk from the Tree lodge and main reception area. It was still nice, and I think even better than the tree lodgers. We had a bigger pool and a playground. We each got huts, complete with full bathroom, bedroom, and kitchen. My hut was huge, and the view from our porch was gorgeous. I also liked the kids who were in the Safari lodge much better than the other half of the kids. Unlike Iguacu, there were certain people on this trip that I would be happy if I never saw again. I know that sounds harsh, but I swear if I heard one more person complain that they didn’t get to see a lion or that ‘this was so lame’ I was going to kick someone’s ass. Amanda nearly did, and she is NOT an aggressive or mean person, so you can imagine. I feel very lucky that I didn’t live with them and that I got along well with the kids who were in the 4x4 land rover with me for the full day safari. Well, there was one girl I couldn’t stand in our car, named the Honey Badger (I know…it’s bad ass), but other than that it was amazing. We went on a late afternoon game drive the first day. We got to see giraffes, zebras, warthogs, an ostrich, wildebeest, and tons of antelopes (nyalas, empalas, and kutos). I got some good shots, but most of them are of animal butts. There were also tons of animals just roaming around the lodge. A monkey even got into Amanda’s room and ate their oreos and coffee creamers. Nyalas were scattered all over the place, and we had to shoo some away in order to get into our hut one night. After the afternoon game drive, we had a great dinner and all immediately went to bed afterwards from pure exhaustion.
The second day we headed out on an All Day game drive in 4x4 land rovers. My guide’s name was Sipo. The day happened to be the hottest yet, so we didn’t get to see as many animals. It was still amazing. The scenery was absolutely beautiful, you got a great breeze sitting in the car, and we got close to a lot of animals. There were giraffes, zebras, rhinos, and baboons, buffalos too. We got to see three of the Big 5 (no lions or leopards, but I wasn’t expecting to be able to see them, so it wasn’t really a disappointment). I thought three was a pretty good number anyway.
Our tracker, Sipo, practically proposed to me. It was quite awkward. We were making a bathroom stop, and I, not having to go, was taking pictures of the zebra a few feet in front of us. Sipo came up to me and first asked me how old I was; he then asked if I was married, since I wasn’t—did I have a boyfriend, and then had I ever thought about marrying a South African? I responded that I didn’t know, I hadn’t ever thought of it, but I guess anything is possible. He smiled and said, “Yes, anything is possible.” So I got my first marriage proposal in Africa, pretty cool I guess. I’m telling you it’s the blonde hair. He was really nice though, and he was soooo good at being able to spot out animals. He could see things miles away and know what they are. We were the only car that got to see a crocodile, so that was pretty cool since we didn’t get to see any lions. One car did get to see some lions though.
After a full day out, we went for a swim in the Safari lodge pool. I made friends with the most adorable four-year old girl. Her mom works at the lodge, and so she and her little sister came into the pool. She came into the pool and swam right over to me to hold my hand. She was precious. Some of the guys in the pool were a bit rowdy and wanted to pick her up and throw her, which absolutely terrified her, so she clung to me for a good fifteen minutes. After a swim, such a nice way to cool off, we had dinner outside by a bonfire. Oh my god, the food was so delicious. They had creamed spinach, and it was simply amazing. After staying up late to watch the stars, and getting to see my second shooting star in a week, we headed to bed.
The last day, we had a nice breakfast and then began the three-hour bus ride into Durban. We stopped at a touristy shop area and I was able to spend the last of my cash, which was nice. We flew back to Cape Town, arriving at around 5. We had to be back on the ship by 9 that night, but I was so exhausted I just stayed on the ship for the rest of the evening.
At nine, a local high school choir came on board the ship and gave a performance. They were wonderful. You would never have been able to guess that they were only in high school. They’ve won awards and have traveled around the country and internationally. I think the best part about it was that they didn’t just stand and sing. They danced, they moved around, their parents who had come sang along, whistled, danced around behind them, grabbed SAS kids and dragged them to the front to dance along as well. Everyone had a great time.
There was bad fog, however, that delayed our departure. We didn’t end up being able to leave Cape Town till 10 the next morning. It doesn’t affect our travel plans at all, because five days is more than we needed to get to Mauritius. It was nice though, because they planned for a lifeboat drill during global studies, so we didn’t have to have class. Unfortunately, I still had my other classes, but it’s never too bad the first day back from port. I have to admit six days off of the ship meant seasickness when we started going again. It doesn’t help that it’s been really rocky as well, so no one on the ship is doing too well right now. We get into Mauritius on Saturday, however, which is exciting. We’re actually having our first legit week of school. We go Monday through Friday and then have the weekend (until Tuesday, when we depart Mauritius). I thought that was pretty exciting. It’s weird when you have class on Saturday and Sunday. I’m also pretty excited because after Mauritius the fun really starts. We go from port to port with only one or two days of class in between. It’s fabulous. I think I have five or six days of class for the entire month of March. Well, I have tons of papers and exams to get working on, so I’ll end here. Africa was absolutely beautiful and amazing. My safari was awesome, and I wish it could have been a day or two longer so I could have gotten another day out to see some animals!