More Spring Break news

Baboon chilling on the side of the road

Waterfall


Jung, Mia and I swimming in the ridiculously cold pool in our underwear. And yes, I got made fun of for my matching underwear skills or actually lack thereof

At the lookout

I realize it is taking me forever to post these - sorry! I will be posting pictures on photobucket at some point, I promise! Anyways, for today (posting for the actual 4th of April), the only significant event today was getting bit on the face by a bloody huge bug. I was walking back from the train station and Checkers and a bug flew into my face, attached to my right eyebrow and bit me. I have never been bit so hard in my entire life. I screamed, people looked at me weird, my friend Sarah looked at me weird and I swatted the bug away. Another bug came after Sarah and the one that bit me came after me again. We ran away but these were the largest bugs I have ever seen! They were huge and black so not a bee but I am thinking more along the lines of a beetle from the way it felt when it was on my face. So anyways, my face, right above my eye were it bit me, was throbbing for a good 20 minutes until I took tylenol. I still have a headache and my face is swollen. :( Hopefully I don't get cellulitis - that would be very upsetting.





To continue on with last weeks adventures on our Spring Break!





3/27/05


Our first full day in Drakensburg! It was amazing - we went on this long 4 hour hike (not really a hike but a nice walk). Our guide was so knowledgable and pointed out San rock art (which was really cool but it took me a while to realize where on the rock the art actually was since the painting was so faded) and he pointed out various forms of plants and different animals. Shortly, we came to this great waterfall and a nice pool that we could go swimming in. I was brave enough to take off my shoes and walk around the river, with my camera, taking pictures of the waterfall and other people that wanted me to take their picture in front of the waterfall. I did slip a couple times but not to the extent where my camera got wet (thank god). The water was frigid, by the way. I looked over to the pool and saw that some of my colleagues stripped down to their underwear and were swimming. They dunked their head under the water, came up screaming because it was so cold and then headed for the rocks to dry off in the sun. After exploring around the waterfall for a while with Mia and desperately trying not to slip and get my camera wet, I went back to where everybody was sitting. I decided, spur of the moment, to strip down and went swimming in my underwear like everybody else. Lets just say that they had every right to scream when they got in the water - it was soo cold! Then I decided I was going to chill underneath the waterfall and realized that a lot of water falling on your head kind of gives you a headache, never mind the fact that it is freezing cold water. Our guide brought mugs and gave us tea and biscuits, which was a great snack. Eventually we all got dressed again and headed up the mountain further to the lookout point.





The lookout point was gorgeous. You could see all around and all around us, there were waterfalls in the distance. I cannot wait to go to the Drakensburg mountains again with Amanda. We are going to do a lot of hiking because it is GORGEOUS! I could have hiked all day but unfortunately, most of the people I am with do not have the same appreciation of nature and do no thave the stamina to do a lot of hiking. Did parents just not take their children hiking when they were little? It seems as if some of the people I was with NEVER did this and I can't remember a summer where we did not go hiking when I was little. But besides that and all of the complaining, once I tuned all of that out, I was able to fully enjoy the scenery.





After the lookout, we hiked up to another waterfall. This water was clean enough for us to drink and some people went behind the waterfall into this cave to fill their water bottle. The rest of the hike was pretty uneventful. It was fairly flat and the scenery was gorgeous. We essentially hiked halfway up the side of one mountain and then continued around its side and went back down. Along the way we saw some wild antelope and a gigantic lizard - oh and a gigantic spider. I tried to take a picture of it for Aunt Ann since I realize she loves them so much but I did not get a chance to, sadly.





Once we finished our hike (which most people complained about - that really irked me) we went back to the hotel for lunch and to hang out. I was excited to go back and read my book. I was reading Jane Eyre for the first time and realized that it was really good. Mia and I chilled by the pool, reading our books. A huge thunderstorm came in during the afternoon and we sat on our porch and watched the lightning. I must say that South Africa has the most amazing thunderstorms. There are no flashes of lightning - every single time you can see a single bolt of lightning. Today, the thunder was so loud that it was shaking the little chalet. I loved it! It was just such a relaxing day. I could not have asked for me: a nice morning hike, chilling outside, reading a book in the afternoon and then watching a thunderstorm in the afternoon. At night we had another buffet dinner and I headed to bed early because I was tired. Several people made appointments for massages tomorrow but I really did not feel like it. Instead, I am going horseback riding tomorrow morning! I'm really excited!





Oh yeah and I forgot to metion that on my way to and from the hike, I saw a crapload of baboons. Just a whole caravan of them chilling out on the side of the road. Thought of you guys - and no I did not get eaten by them.