This was written a wee while ago...I just haven’t had time
to post it!
I’m coming to the end of my second week here and South
Africa is feeling more like home. Last weekend was slightly less exciting than
we had planned but it was still an adventure! Instead of going skydiving on
Saturday (because it was too cloudy) we went to this incredible food market at
the Old Biscuit Mill...it was every foodie’s dream! We definitely made it worth
our while and ate copious amounts of food from almost every stall! The music
was great, the sun was out and my belly was full, what more could I ask for!
Oh and we went to this incredible Ethopian restaurant for dinner where you eat with your hands on this big pancake thing which was incredible!
Then on Sunday...oh Sunday. Sunday was an adventure. Jacinta and I decided that
we would check out the Cheetah Outreach Centre at Somerset West to hold a
little cheetah cub and walk with the adult cheetahs! On Sunday we decided that
a taxi was too expensive to get there and, despite ample warnings not to get
the train on a Sunday because they’re unsafe and only come once every hour, we
still decided to get the train. Oh boy. When we got to the ticket station at
Obs the lady gave us the wrong ticket so we got on the wrong train, only to
realise after two stops that we were going in the opposite direction from where
we needed to be. So on the second wrong stop we got off the train and then we
had to go back to Obs to return our ticket. But we would have had to wait an
hour for the train back to Obs so we had to get a taxi back to Obs, exchange
our ticket, and then wait an hour for the correct train we needed to get to
Cape Town. Once we got to Cape Town we had to wait ANOTHER hour to get the
train to Somerset West. Phwoof. 2 hours gone and still an hour of travelling to
do. So then once we arrived in Somerset West we asked for directions to the
Cheetah Outreach Centre but no one knew where it was...except for one man who
didn’t seem too certain. With “directions” in hand we started to make our way
to the Cheetah Outreach Centre and were so relieved when we finally made it...only
after 4 hours of travelling by train and on foot to get there! I will spare you
from all the details about the Cheetah Outreach Centre but we basically
travelled for 4 hours to stroke a cheetah for 30 seconds who was on a lead and
looked very unhappy in a small enclosure. We couldn’t help but feel
disappointed by our experience but we were so relieved we had taken the train
in the end because if I had paid 1300 rand for 30 seconds we would have felt a
lot worse! But oh well, it was an
experience and I’m glad I went because I learnt to never, ever take a train on
a Sunday. Ever.
Because I wrote this post a while ago I’ve also had a second
weekend gone by which I haven’t told you about! So here it goes! On Saturday we
went back to the Old Biscuit Mill and grabbed some more delicious food and then
we had an afternoon full of rugby. We watched a national rugby game at Newlands
and then watched South Africa vs New Zealand at the local pub. The kiwi game
was so tense and SA narrowly (well...maybe not so narrowly) lost in the end. The
locals in the pub were getting very in to the game which reminded me of my dad
and sister screaming at the TV when Scotland have a match. Then on Sunday we
finally managed to go Shark Cage diving after 3 weeks of willing for the
weather to improve. I can’t explain how excited I have been about I have been
about shark cage diving and I thought my sea sickness would subside after the
adrenaline started to rush...but god I was wrong! I spend about 99% of the time
leaning over the edge of the boat as my breakfast resurfaced and couldn’t stand
up long enough to put my wet suit on and navigate my way to the other side of
the boat to see actually see a shark. But when I finally decided to heave my
wet suit on and jump in the cage I saw my first shark up close and personal...
Gotta run now but I’ll be back in touch next week...hopefully,
if I’m not too busy having fun and being all sociable with our 11 new
volunteers!
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