Safari Day

After a long night out with Steve and enjoying some authentic South African bands downtown we were soon to realize that 4:30am would soon arrive. Our coach was due to leave by 5:30am for a 2.5 hour ride north of Cape Town to the Inverdoorn Game Reserve. Mornings here are around 40 degrees but we were told that the climate at the reserve could get to be 70 because it's a bit more arid climate. The differences in temperature still amaze me - Africa still doesn't equate to cold in my book.

Today was a huge tourist day. Understanding the area we are in is important but we all know that more important days are to come. Having never been on a safari, however, me and most of the group were excited to get outside of Cape Town and see what the typical American associates with Africa - lions, cheetahs, giraffes, etc.

The reserve seemed more like a resort to me; there was a 5-star-type dining hut where we ate a lunch of authentic African food, a line of smaller cabins which can be rented out, a beautiful in ground swimming pool and hot tub, an outdoor sitting area with a fire pit, and another outdoor dining area where we had coffee, juice, and different types of bread upon arrival. We then split up and boarded two over-sized open-air jeeps to start the safari. We saw every typical African animal except elephants and hippos. Apparently the climate and vegetation won't support them. Apart from the cheetahs and lions, every other animal we saw was part of the 40,000 hectar reserve. From my understanding a hectar is bigger than an acre so you can imagine how big this place was.

I won't name all the animals we saw because I probably can't remember them nor would you get a feeling of actually being there - so I'll spare you. But we did see some pretty cool sparring between two male giraffes. Sparring refers to when two giraffes fight each other by swinging their necks and hitting each other with their heads. The top of their heads have two horns which are their "weapon." I have some pictures that I'll post later. The sparring could go on for hours - it was definitely a sight to see, as awkward as my descritption seems.

After the safari we had lunch then packed up and got ready to go. When we returned to our houses we had about a half hour to get ready for dinner downtown. We made reservations at Marcos African Cuisene where I ate crockadile, springbok (a type of antelope, and South Africa's national animal), wart hog, osterich, and sheep's stomach. All of it definitely didn't tast like chicken so I won't even pretend. Generally everything was pretty good, though. I don't see myself ordering sheep stomach in the future but it was an experience nonetheless.

After dinner we went to some bars on Long Street - the main street where every goes at night. We met up with Ajith and his friend Allan. We definitely have the right people with us because we got into some exclusive clubs with a lowered cover charge. The night was fun because everyone in the group came and we met some awesome people.