I'm in AFRICA!

Dumelang from South Africa!! Arrived on the 21rst to be met at the gates by none other than Ms. Katy P herself - so much fun to be greeted at the gate as opposed to walking through all the mass of people to look for the local shuttle to the nearest city! We got to see a bit of Jo-burg and Pretoria as we made our way back to the hostel, so that was a great introduction to South African cities. I had the opportunity to meet some wonderful friends of Katy's, all of whom were other Peace Corps volunteers (PVCs). A group of us headed out to have a relaxed dinner and spend time catching up on the most recent happenings at each others' sites. It was the first taste I had of what life in South Africa was like for Katy - or at least what break time is like for some of the volunteers, so that was wonderful!

On Saturday, Katy and I headed to Brits, a small town that became our base camp for the next two days that lies halfway between Pretoria and Pilanesberg National Park. The hostel was beautiful, comfortable, and had lots of dogs running around which gave the place a much more "homey" feel. We ate dinner at this outside restaurant with thatched roofs covering each table which was mostly frequented by local Afrikaners. We ate the A-Mazing food while we listened to the in-house entertainment, a very talented one-man-band who played/sang some classic songs (and requests) all night long..in both English and Afrikaans, so the man knew every song ever sung in both languages, or so it seemed. The music, which prompted people to just get up and shake a leg, really made the atmosphere more comfortable! A fantastic night all-around.

The next morning, we headed out to the park bright and early, so we could get a jump on seeing the animals while the weather was still cool. Pilanesberg is a beautiful park - it was formed in volcano's crater, so there is the flat land inhabited by all the animals and hills of various height surrounding the central flatlands. As soon as we entered the park, a family of ELEPHANTS :) came marching past on our right - I believe it was two males, two females, and three adolescents (BABIES)! It is SO AMAZING to see these massive mammals in their natural habitat, up close and personal in the wild! Would not have been disappointed had they been the only animals we were going to see, but luckily, the day had only just begun. We saw rhinos (sleeping, eating, and walking about), giraffes (SO tall, seriously - and so interesting to see how they balance themselves when they walk), hippos (weighing up to 3 tons each!), zebra (everywhere - so cool that no pattern of stripes are ever the same), impala (whose three black markings on the backs of their thighs and tail for an M in the shape of the golden arches, so they are known as the "McDonalds of the wild," as they are the primary diet for many of the other land animals), springbok (slightly smaller than impala, but both male and female have horns, whereas only the male impalas have curvy horns), stonebok (very small animal that looks like a mini springbok, no horns, and can stop on a dime to confuse its hunters...thus, being as still as a stone), water bucks (quite impressive animals that, to me, look very similar to a water buffalo with more vertical horns as opposed to the buffalo's very wide Texas Longhorn-style horns), an ostrich (amazing to see how they walk and balance, as their legs are much further back on than I originally thought...so interesting to see how its head just bends down to scoop up food - very similar to how the snake in "The Jungle Book" moves), warthogs (the animation and drawings of Pumbaa in "The Lion King" are really dead on...neat to see how they get on their elbows to eat and look for food, so their tusks can be used at the best angle for digging up the ground), kudu (a type of antelope with white stripes), eland (another type of antelope that is quite rare to see in the park), red-heart beasts, Franklin birds (a little smaller in size than a chicken, with the body of a pigeon, that will most likely be seen walking/running/ scooting around because it rarely uses its wings - quite funny to watch), wildebeests (friends of the zebra who were seen often around many of the zebra clans), and various other types of birds!!! Needless to say, I spent the day being thoroughly mesmerized by these beautiful animals and intrigued by each one's natural behavior! Plus, I got to do that all with KATY!! Can't beat a day like that. We even got to go on a two hour safari (with a lovely family and cutest little girl), so we learned a lot about the various animals within the park.

Once the park closed, we headed to Sun City - a very large casino/resort/ entertainment complex that is quite famous in South Africa. We went to take in the culture of "the betting world" and try our luck with a few rands. The Australia v Figi rugby match was on the big screen, so that took up the majority of my attention for the night - it is so nice to be in countries that love the sport because I am now getting to see the mechanics and functioning the game itself. Katy also made a profit playing poker, so another great night all around.

Katy and I went to DeWitt Cheetah Sanctuary, a center dedicated to breeding various animals and spreading knowledge about the endangerment of certain species. This tour was out of this world - the tour guide was so knowledgeable and really made us feel like we were the only ones on the tour. I went in thinking we were only going to see cheetah, but the number of animals that they monitored and bred was surprising! We saw wild dogs (crazy animals), African cats, caracals (which are beautiful cats that have the scariest pointy ears you will ever see and generally have very short tails...but geez they are feisty), badgers (one was albino, so that was very interesting to see - their gait is actually quite smooth and very fun to watch - but again, quite vicious little creatures), brown hyenas, impala, kudu, ostriches, many species of vulture, and nyala. It was A-MAZING!!! The cheetah are such beautiful animals - their stride, their eyes, their movements! I'd never seen any of these animals before (aside from what we saw in the park), so it was a treat to have the opportunity! LOVED IT! They even have a program where they bring a cheetah out to village schools, educate the students on the animal, and then allow a certain number of students to pet the cheetah! How AWESOME - and Katy is going to try and set that up for her schools, so that would just be such a treat for the kids! Cross your fingers!

We headed back to Pretoria after lunch and spent the evening at the Brooklyn mall. Took in one of the best movies I've ever seen and had an amazing dinner to boot! Came back to the hostel to reunite with the PCVs from the first night, have a little Mexican party, and play some cards! Can't beat that. LOVING IT! Miss you all and much love to each and every one of you!