Livin' the National Geographic Dream

My Mom snapped this photo at the beginning of our Christmas vacation, and it pretty much summarizes what the break felt like - living out a National Geographic dream vacation in South Africa. So this set of blog posts isn't really Rachel in TZ, but it's how I spent the last part of December. To go chronologically, start back at my Reconciliation Day and Christmas decorating page and move forward. I'm so grateful to have had such a wonderful time with family.

Of Polar Bears and Elephants

January 1 New Years Day tradition - the polar bear club. We brave souls hope for a warm day, but even if the water's extremely chilly, in we go and get fully submerged. Our "after" picture shows Table Mountain of Capetown in the background.
As we left Capetown, the kids posed as elephants next to the giant sculpture, and our parents showed us they are just as in love as ever. It was an amazing trip, one that we will not soon forget.

Chapman's Peak Drive

The return drive from the Cape proved an incredibly photographic experience. Again, a perfect opportunity for a family photo, but missing Jonas. The ocean was simply gorgeous, so I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

At the Cape

If you can't tell from this first picture, it was a little bit windy at the Cape. Just a little. But we brave and adventuresome kids made it to the top of the mountain for some incredible views of the sea as we held on for dear life. At the lighthouse we found signs pointing with the distances to cities near and far, an appropriate place to take a snapshot of those of us who are scattered to the four winds.

Journey to the Cape

One day we set off for the Cape of Good Hope, the meeting point of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, and (almost) the southernmost tip of Africa. On the way, we stopped by a beach with colorful tiny cabins, and it was once again time for one of those postcard picture perfect moments. We also got to see in the wild both penguins and ostriches - those funky birds that just can't fly. And we ate fish and chips (and vinegar!) at a seaside at a crusty little place called Salty Sea Dog's, with a sign that reads - If you don't eat with us today, we'll both starve!

Stellenbosch

A trip to Capetown would not be complete without a visit to the vast and rolling vineyards which make Stellenbosch so famous. This vineyard, GlenElly, included an ultra modern building and museum on the estate and a lovely tour. Again, part of my continuing education in agriculture. It was enlightening to visit these well-established vineyards after visiting a newly planted vineyard in Dodoma, Tanzania (see my Field Trip to the Fields blog post - last picture).

Sharks, Part 2

The next day we got another up close and personal view of great white sharks. We drove (way too early in the morning) a couple of hours from Capetown to False Bay where we donned wet suits and jumped into a metal cage attached to a boat and partially submerged in chilly water. The crew threw out bait that brought the fish close to the cage and then told us to duck underwater where we could see the Great White swim right in front of our eyes. I mean, seriously, I could have reached out and touched one, if that hadn't been on the list of strictly prohibited things to do when a hungry shark passes your way. It was pretty amazing, and once again, I felt like I was living the National Geographic dream vacation.

Sharks, Part 1

Downtown Capetown has a pretty amazing aquarium that allowed us an up close and personal view of all kinds of sea creatures from both the Indian and Atlantic Oceans. The first picture is of a kelp forest aquarium, that was so hypnotic in the gentle wave motions it nearly put all of us to sleep. We saw great white sharks, penguins, and florescent jellyfish, among other animals.

Robben Island

After Christmas, we traveled to Cape Town and one of the first things we did while we were there was to visit Robben Island, which was used at one time as a leper colony, and more recently as a prison for political prisoners (including Nelson Mandela) during the apartheid, and now has been converted into a museum and a chance to write a new history. For example, the second picture here is of the limestone quarry where prisoners were forced to work. After apartheid ended, Nelson Mandela returned here with hundreds of former prisoners and dropped a single stone of remembrance there, and others joined to form a pile you can see in the bottom right corner. Mandela proclaimed that every five years they would come and return to this spot with stones of remembrance until the last prisoner passes away. Our tour guide was a former prisoner who was arrested for his work in organizing a school protest, and he shared from his own personal experience. We got to see the courtyard outside the cells where Mandela kept a small garden, and also visit his cell. I continue to be so impressed by the continued example of this great man. A couple days after visiting this place, I was reading from the book "Pedagogy of the Oppressed" a passage that reminded me of him: "The oppressed must not, in seeking to regain their humanity, become in turn oppressors of the oppressors, but rather restorers of the humanity of both. This then is the great humanistic and historical task of the oppressed: to liberate themselves and their oppressors as well."

Christmas Day

Christmas was a wonderful time with family and remembering the birth of Christ. We got some of the best stocking stuffers - Kinder eggs! Camping sporks! A headlamp! We had a picture of Jonas with us to make us feel like he was there with us. When we called him later we found out that he had sewn 18 stockings for his military buddies that he's spending Christmas with - my brother's awesome.
After gifts we continued the flurry of culinary genius as we prepared for a South African student, a Nigerian couple, and two American families of 6 that were both down in S Africa for medivacs. We had a delicious meal and then enjoyed singing Christmas songs, playing soccer, splashing in the pool, and holding the youngest of the 8 kids under 8 that we had over (this cute 3 week old boy). It was a great day full of much laughter and joy.

Blyde Canyon

Our enjoyment of the outdoors continued on Christmas eve, as Dad, Rebecca, Joe, and I set off for Blyde Canyon, in the eastern part of South Africa. There we found incredible rock formations and waterfalls, and so many stunning views. On our ride back, we drove through one of the largest man-made forests, a giant sustainable forestry operation. In the evening, Mom and I went to Christmas eve service decked out in Ethiopian dresses made for the occasion.