Splish Splash

Today completes the best day I have experienced thus far on my journey in South Africa--hands down.

I awoke at 5am and headed to the airport with Marco (Saxony, Germany), Daniel (San Francisco, CA) and Martha (Minnesota). We waited for the car rental services to open at 7am, compared prices and we were off for 256R (about $35USD) . Marco began driving and I was in tears laughing at the entire situation--one of those uncontrollable laughters that you wish you could just bottle up. It was his first time driving manual on the opposite side of the road.

We were on our way to Addo Elephant Park 60K east of Port Elizabeth. The park was beautiful. We saw kudu, red deer, warthogs, elephants, birds, ostriches and more. Although I was disappointed to not have seen any zebras, rhinos, lions or dung beetles the following makes up for it completely: we spotted two elephants down a No Entrance pass way and, naturally, we drove down it and waited for them to greet us on the road. We were only 20 yards away before Martha started yelling at Marco to drive away. It seemed as though I glimpsed into prehistoric ages. They were so massive and to see them like in the wild was truly a rare opportunity.

We drove from the North Main Entrance to the South Entrance and from there drove to Colchester. There we had lunch and went to the Sundays River. I felt as though I was back in the Midwest. There were families boating and kids playing along the beach, dogs frolicking along the bank and jetskiers and tubers. Marco and I went swimming across the river and then climbed some of the sand dunes. In the banks of the sand dunes there was a garden of white sea shells which hinted at the transformation the landscape has taken over the years. At one time there must have been water covering this area as hard as it may be to envision. Running down the hills made me feel as if I was flying. Relatively exhausted after the climbing, we took a nap on the dock will basking in the warmth of the sun.

When I awoke I watched a boat unloading from the landing and there was a father and his son. There was an inner tube in the boat and the little boy had a soccer ball. The rest of the relatives and family were on the bank. There were two other little boys splashing in the river and enjoying the simplicity of the nice day and cool water. This comforting display reminded me of home and showed me that my home could just have well been right here, in Colchester, South Africa. Families participate in the same activities half-way across the world...except for one thing: where I would be the little kid holding a basketball or volleyball, the soccer ball symbolized how soccer dominates here.

When I arrived at my flat Liem (my incredible roommate from Holland) and Caleb (San Francisco) had a surprise awaiting: banana pancakes! They were delectable. I showed them my pictures from the day and tried to bring the day to life for them. The day could not get any better....so I thought.

I envisioned doing some reading for the evening and resting from the long day. But in keeping with the idea that planning is usually out of the question, our friends from the Dunes showed up about an hour later: Nayo, KG, DA, Tich, Joseph, Karen and Mike. Liem, KG, Tich and DA put on a talent show for us. They sang "Always Be My Baby" acapella. It sounded phenomenal and made me rethink any idea I had to sing karaoke anywhere. We hung out around the flat for a couple hours and listened to music and it was such a genuine community vibe that I hope to recreate on numerous occasions. And this concludes the end to a most wonderful day and a cheers to many more to come!