With my time wrapping up in Cape Town, I can
hands down say that many of my favorite activities occurred during a
mini-excursion to Plattenburg. When looking at the itinerary: caving, cheetah
exhibit, ostrich farm, tubing, elephant sanctuary, I was hesitant about not
knowing exactly what to expect; however, in hindsight that was the best position
to be in. Not knowing what to expect or having a set schedule made it truly
feel like a vacation, and a much needed one after the hectic schedules that
have not slowed down since we stepped off the plane
Byron, one of our drivers, for Jessica, Morgan,
Melanie, Courtney, Sarah and myself, was one of the best parts of the weekend.
He was beyond lovely and had a dry, raging sense of humor that I adored. We
listened to gospel musical, and once we all began to memorize the songs he was
listening to (check out “Come and Let Us Sing”) we began to listen to Madonna
and Kenny Rogers cd’s, he talked to us about Cape Town, sang and danced for
pretty much every single car ride, took pictures of us and with us (which
hopefully he will send to Jessica and me soon) and genuinely looked out for our
well-being. Saying goodbye to him, strangely enough, was one of the bittersweet
moments of this trip. I wish that I had the opportunity to make more genuine connections
like that, and wish that I was able to meet Byron earlier on so we could have
duetted more and created new dance routines. After exchanging numbers with him
and going back and forth giving Jessica and me hugs and well-wishes, Byron
became a guide for how I want to live my life: singing and dancing like no one
is watching, having a wicked sense of humor, and being an all around great,
compassionate individual.
That weekend, many unexpected things happened. For
one, I sat on an ostrich! While a lot of people here are hiking Table Mountain,
bungee jumping, paragliding, and skydiving, I do not have the need for an
adrenaline rush nor do I consider myself to be an adventurous person, so
sitting on the ostrich (and even tubing) was my version of these insurgent activities. 
Tubing was also another unexpected athletic role I was put in. After being
dropped of on the top of a hill, wearing our wetsuits, lifejackets, helmets,
flip flops, while carrying our tubes, we had to climb down this steep hill and
then once in the water had to tread the water since there were no rapids. I wish there was a camera filming me because I
could only imagine how ridiculous I looked. Everyone who went on the trip
should feel fortunate to have seen me in that dumbfounded able-bodied state,
because let me tell you, it’s rare.
Perhaps the best thing I did all weekend though was
going to the elephant sanctuary. One of my mother’s wishes and commands for me
coming to Cape Town was to touch an elephant, so that was all in honor of her!
Being able to feed the elephants, and having one mistaking my camera for an apple
and sucking it up in its trunk, leaving its mucus or god-knows-what all over my
camera, was definitely a highlight. Knowing that opportunity is so rare and
could not happen in the states is what also made it even more special—it is not
everyday one has to dodge elephant poop or gets hit with the powerful force of
an elephants truck. For anyone reading this that has not been, Plattenberg needs
to be checked off from their must-see places.
No comments:
Post a Comment