TRIP TO SOUTH AFRICABy Zaky Mbereko and Christian

Juliano

Packed items Tooth brush Comb Deodorant Hiking shoes Hat Glasses 7 pairs of sock 7 t-shirts 4 pairs of shorts 3 pairs of jeans Sweatshirt 1 pair of tennis shoes Drawing pad Pencils Laptop Sunscreen Lotion Gopro Mouthwash toothpaste

currency

$1 in America is the equivalent to $0.05. So for example, if you have $50 American

it would be $1000 in Rands.

Meet up with a local

Name: Sizwe Jantjie We met on the hike to Table Moutain

National Park. His favorite food is sadza with curry and

peanut butter greens. He loves sports. His favorite are tennis,

cricket and rugby. He says he loves how open things are but

he wishes his schooling days were smoother.

Traveler tips

1.) camping is not advised (depending on where you are(more info on danger /safety slide)

2.) keep all possessions close or in safe places.

3.)Make sure your car is safe nothing of value to you can be in or around the car.

Danger/Safety

If you’re near a nature reserve don’t camp. This could put you at some serious danger. There are a few accounts where animals have escaped.

Make absolute sure you have gotten all the necessary shots to go any where in Africa. If not you could catch very serious diseases.

Online video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyUsWVMukT0

How much money was spent.

Travel total: $1,698.05 Food total: $83.72 Entertainment total: $180.66 Hotel total: $407 Final cost: 2,369.43

Afrikaans

Hello = Hallo How are you = Hoe is jy What is your name? = Wat is jou naam? Where are you from? = Waar is julle

vandaan? What is today’s date? = Wat is vandag se

datum?

Day 1 journalIt is my first day in South Africa and I cannot wait to see what it has in store for me. This morning, I woke up at 10:00 AM Cape Town time. I felt hungry, so I went down to the lobby and had breakfast. I ordered their “flapjacks”, which included maple syrup on it and bacon on the side. It was DELICIOUS! I am telling you this hotel is just great! After that, I went upstairs and had a shower in preparation for my day. After that, I went to Table Mountain National Park, which was just lovely. I needed my boots and my hat so I could hike up instead of taking the cable car up, which looked much worse than my self-guided tour. The views up at the top were so incredible that I just sat there and enjoyed the view. It was so great to unplug from all of the technology and just live a little. By the time I had hiked down, it was already 4:00 PM, but I still had some energy in me. So, I went to go see Kirsten Bosch Gardens, right after my hike. As I walked around I was simply amazed at what I saw. The landscape was amazing. Everything you could see simply took your breath away. This certainly beat my earlier hike. As looked around I noticed that it was 9:00 PM, so I headed back to have dinner. I ended up eating at Dash restaurant and bar, where I had a steak filet. It had a spinach puree, mélange of vegetables, and jus on the side. It was 11:30 when I was done, and I traveled to Long Street to check out what was going on there. I went to Stones, where I viewed the artwork on the walls and checked out the vibrant scene that was in there. It was around 11:00 when I got done there, so I went back to the hotel and went to bed.

Day 2 journalIt was my last full day in Cape Town, so I felt that I needed to make it a good one. I went and hiked up Lion’s Head. It was incredible to say the least. The hike was nice very little people, and when I got to the top the view stunned me. I over looked all of Cape Town, certainly a moment that I will never forget. When I was done, I went to apex Shark Diving in Cape Town. I got into a cage with three other divers and went to the ocean. At first, I was a little spectacle, but once we ere in the cage, I felt safe and had a lot of fun. They even let me strap on my GoPro and get some really cool footage. After that, I went to see some soccer, or as they call it here in Cape Town, Football, match at Cape Town stadium. The team that plays there is called Ajax Cape Town Football Club. The game was at 7:00 PM and they were playing a club called the Black Aces Football Club from Mpumalanga. Before the game, I purchased a kit for the team so I could support the club in proper attire. It was much different than the sports wear that they sell in America. The game was very exciting. The first half had no scoring, but there were quite a few close calls. Ajax had 10 shots on goal while the Black Aces had 8. Ajax came so close to scoring. This player named Dominic Isaacs moved all the way up the field on a breakaway and shot it from just above mid-field and hit the post. It was a very exciting experience. During the second half, in the last minute, Ajax scored in one of the best plays I’ve ever seen in a sport. Noah Sadaoui kicked the ball off of the post and Travis Graham headed it in off of the rebound. The Black Aces did not have enough time to get it back as the game and my vacation ended. It was great adding a little bit of South African culture into the end of my vacation. After the game, I went back to the hotel and went to bed as I ended this great vacation to Cape Town.

Day 3 journal

This morning, I woke up at 11:00 AM at the Urban Chic Boutique Hotel in Cape Town. I didn’t feel hungry, so I just decided to skip breakfast because my check in time at the Oak Tree Lodge in Paarl was 1:00 PM. By the time I was all packed up and showered, it was already 12:30, so I got in my rental car and began the 45-minute drive to Paarl. When I arrived there it was 1:15, so I checked in, dropped off my bags and I was off to my first activity in Paarl. The first thing that I did was visiting the Afrikaans Language Monument. It was great to learn all about the native language of South Africa and where it came from. When I was done there, it was already 5:00 PM, but I realized that I don’t have much time. So, I went out to try shark diving! That was amazing. The water wasn’t too cold, and I was so thrilled to be so close to such amazing animals. This was definitely worth doing, although I was pretty sketchy. After that I went back to the hotel and found a restaurant to eat dinner at. I ate at the Cattle Baron Grill and Bistro from 9:00 to 10:00. It was delicious. When I was done, I decided just to go back to my hotel to go to bed early so I could get up early tomorrow.  

Day 4 journal

Today, I woke up at 8:00 AM for an early breakfast at Bean in Love in Paarl. I showered and got dressed and was out the door by 9:15. The restaurant was very cute and delightful. I was done there by 11:00. I got to the Paarl Mountain Nature Reserve at 11:15. The line was very long. I guess everybody wanted to go on the mountain today! By the time I had paid the admission and gotten through the gate, it was already 12:00. I got up to the top of the mountain at 12:55, and it was lovely. I went back down and up again quite a few times and got a very good workout in. the views up there were so great that I just stood there and took it in, just like at the Table Mountain in Cape Town. It’s always great to do this kind of thing to get away from it all and have a relaxing experience. By the time I was done, it was already 5:00, and I had really worked up an appetite on the mountain. So, I looked up the best restaurant near me and found Noop Restaurant. The meal that I had at Noop was one of the most delightful ones I’ve had in quite a while. The restaurant was also very nice and cute. I was out of there by 7:00. I went back to the hotel and rested from the long day that I had had. I was asleep by 10:00.

Day 5 journal

I woke up this morning at 9:00 and got showered and dressed by 11:00. I got in my car and drove to Stellenbosch from Paarl. The drive was supposed to be a half an hour long, but there was some traffic on the way, so it actually took me an hour to get there. I got there at 12:00 and went straight to the Stellenbosch art gallery. All of the art at the gallery was very beautiful and breathtaking. There may be art galleries in America, but I’ve never seen one like this. One of my favorite exhibits was the “Exuberance” sculpture by van Nasereth Herman. It was very modern and cool. I was done with that by 3:00. I went over to Eagle Encounters at Spier from there, which was very cool. I had never been that close to such a majestic creature before. Also, I read online that Nicolas Cage had been there as well, so I was in the same place that Nicolas Cage was at one time. I was done there by 6:00. By the time that I was done there, I still hadn’t checked into my hotel, which was called Oude Werf Hotel, so I did that. When I was done there, it was 6:30, so I went to dinner at the Hussar Grill. The meal was very delicious. I got back to the hotel at 8:00 and just chilled for a little while in my beautiful room. I was in bed by 11:00.

Day 6 journal

It is my last day in South Africa, and I am very sad to have to leave tomorrow. I woke up at 10:00 this morning and showered. I left to go get breakfast at Longtable Café. The meal there was very delicious. I loved it! I left the café at 11:45 and got to Bikini Beach in Gordon’s Bay at 12:15. The views at Bikini Beach were amazing! It was beautiful today, so I also got a very nice tan. I got to swim today, which was very nice. The water felt great, as I haven’t gotten the chance to go swimming yet this summer back in Michigan, so it was great to have this opportunity to do it. I left the beach around 3:15 for a little beach food at trawlers right down the road. It was a very nice midday lunch. The restaurant was very beachy and cute. I got back to the beach at 4:00, and spent another 2 hours there enjoying the sun, the views, and the water. I left there around 6:00 to go and shower back at the hotel so I could grab my last dinner here in South Africa. I got to the Longridge Restaurant at 7:00. The meal there was excellent and the mountain views there were just marvelous. It was a great end to my wonderful vacation here in South Africa. I got back to my hotel at 10:00 and went to bed.

Day 7 journal

I got up at 3:00 AM to drive back to Cape Town to catch my 6:30 AM flight back to Detroit. I left the hotel at 3:30 and made it to Cape Town by 4:10 AM. By the time I returned my rental car, got through customs, security, and baggage claim, it was already 5:30 AM. I had a lot of time to think in that terminal, and I felt very fortunate and lucky to have taken this trip. My two favorite parts were the Table Mountain tour and the Paarl Mountain Nature Reserve. The flight back was 28 hours long, so I made it back to Detroit on Sunday at 4:30 PM. We only regret the chances we didn’t take, and I am very fortunate to have been able to have taken this one.