Well, I've been trying to upload pictures for about an hour now, and something keeps going wrong. Slow internet + me being stupid and clicking on wrong buttons = no pictures for you. Sorry. I will try again later, although I don't know when we will have good internet access again. It might be until Maun, and we probably won't be there for at least a week or so. Until then, hang tight.
Travis
Friday, June 29, 2007
June 28
Jolene
Today is to be the last day in Gaborone, so there was still lots to do – details to finish up. We didn’t get done nearly everything we had hoped to, so it most likely won’t be till at least noon tomorrow when we get off. Oh well, so what, right?
The morning was not terribly productive and more talking got done than actual work I think. But we did get to the bus station for lunch, which we remembered from before but was actually quite different. Totally local – no other white faces there! We ate there and bought some fresh produce before heading home. Tina (from Flying Mission who is helping Nicole with finding a place for her to work & live when she stays for three weeks) had said Nicole could go in the afternoon to the place she’ll be working, but she hadn’t called about a time or anything so we were waiting for that. She did finally call, and Nicole & I went with her to Holy Cross day orphanage and preschool. The kids are all either orphans or vulnerable kids whose parents are drunks, or live with a grandmother or relative that doesn’t really look after them. Nicole will be VERY popular there – they were literally all over her!! Seems they are very needy kids and any adult attention they get they soak up. And they loved her hair and were touching it all the time. The language will be a bit of a barrier with the kids, but the other women that work there she will be able to communicate with pretty well. Nicole was hoping to be able to live in a village, but a family was not found for her to live with, so she will be living in the city with another woman in a house whose owners are on home leave right now. Holy Cross is on the other side of town, so she’ll have to learn the ‘combi’ (taxi) system to get there, which should be an interesting adventure!
While we were doing that the rest of the family went grocery shopping. Erin & I had made lists of meals & things we needed to buy and divided up all the lists among everyone so it hopefully wouldn’t take so long to do the actual shopping. We were buying for about the next five days or so. That’s a lot of food for 7 people with healthy appetites! Tina brought us back here and had tea and talked quite awhile, so it was good to catch up with her, even though we weren’t getting the packing done we were hoping to! By that time we had pretty much decided that we weren’t going to get off early in the morning anyway. And that evening after supper, Maurice called (he works in Gabs) and said he’d stop in after work, which he did. So that was good to see him again. He was funny & had everyone laughing with his Australian accent (he had lived there 2 yrs).
He left & it was bedtime.
There was mention earlier that I was the first one to get sick on our trip. Yes, well, I was and now I’m feeling much better. Monday was the worst with a fever & chills and frequent trips to the bathroom (toilet here). I’ve had diarrhea basically all week until today, but have not been in bed since Monday. I’m feeling fine again. I was just glad it happened while we’re sitting in one place & not on the road!! There have been a few other complaints of diarrhea, but it doesn’t seem like anyone is really sick or it’s ongoing. We have learned once again to carry toilet paper with us every where we go. Even the hospital bathroom did not have it.
Jolene
Today is to be the last day in Gaborone, so there was still lots to do – details to finish up. We didn’t get done nearly everything we had hoped to, so it most likely won’t be till at least noon tomorrow when we get off. Oh well, so what, right?
The morning was not terribly productive and more talking got done than actual work I think. But we did get to the bus station for lunch, which we remembered from before but was actually quite different. Totally local – no other white faces there! We ate there and bought some fresh produce before heading home. Tina (from Flying Mission who is helping Nicole with finding a place for her to work & live when she stays for three weeks) had said Nicole could go in the afternoon to the place she’ll be working, but she hadn’t called about a time or anything so we were waiting for that. She did finally call, and Nicole & I went with her to Holy Cross day orphanage and preschool. The kids are all either orphans or vulnerable kids whose parents are drunks, or live with a grandmother or relative that doesn’t really look after them. Nicole will be VERY popular there – they were literally all over her!! Seems they are very needy kids and any adult attention they get they soak up. And they loved her hair and were touching it all the time. The language will be a bit of a barrier with the kids, but the other women that work there she will be able to communicate with pretty well. Nicole was hoping to be able to live in a village, but a family was not found for her to live with, so she will be living in the city with another woman in a house whose owners are on home leave right now. Holy Cross is on the other side of town, so she’ll have to learn the ‘combi’ (taxi) system to get there, which should be an interesting adventure!
While we were doing that the rest of the family went grocery shopping. Erin & I had made lists of meals & things we needed to buy and divided up all the lists among everyone so it hopefully wouldn’t take so long to do the actual shopping. We were buying for about the next five days or so. That’s a lot of food for 7 people with healthy appetites! Tina brought us back here and had tea and talked quite awhile, so it was good to catch up with her, even though we weren’t getting the packing done we were hoping to! By that time we had pretty much decided that we weren’t going to get off early in the morning anyway. And that evening after supper, Maurice called (he works in Gabs) and said he’d stop in after work, which he did. So that was good to see him again. He was funny & had everyone laughing with his Australian accent (he had lived there 2 yrs).
He left & it was bedtime.
There was mention earlier that I was the first one to get sick on our trip. Yes, well, I was and now I’m feeling much better. Monday was the worst with a fever & chills and frequent trips to the bathroom (toilet here). I’ve had diarrhea basically all week until today, but have not been in bed since Monday. I’m feeling fine again. I was just glad it happened while we’re sitting in one place & not on the road!! There have been a few other complaints of diarrhea, but it doesn’t seem like anyone is really sick or it’s ongoing. We have learned once again to carry toilet paper with us every where we go. Even the hospital bathroom did not have it.
Jolene
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
June 27
TRAVIS:
The morning started out innocently enough for yours truly. I got up early and, per instructions from mother last night, walked to the supermarket down the road to get some milk for breakfast. After fumbling through Dad’s wallet in the dark room to get some money, I headed out cheerily into the beautiful dawn. As I got to the store I noticed that it looked suspiciously quiet, and quickly discovered that the store didn’t open for another 40 minutes or so. Okay. Defeat #1. Then, since there was an ATM right next to the store and I had been wanting to try out my debit card before being left alone in Africa, I stood behind the woman at the ATM machine and began digging out my card. I soon discovered, however, that the two women who were standing awkwardly in the middle of the store entrance were actually in line for the ATM when one of them rather sharply told me “the queue is here.” Apparently, people here find it necessary to stand about 20 feet away from the ATM operator, I suppose for privacy. I sheepishly took my place in line and tried to look black. Defeat #2. When my turn finally came around, I pushed in my card, asked for 400 pula, and waited expectantly for the machine to count out my money. Nothing. Finally, I am told: “your card has been retained. Please contact your bank.” Great. Not only am I unable to get money with my card, I no longer even have a card. Defeats 3 & 4. With my head hanging low, I decided to salvage my morning by heading to a nearby gas station to pick up some milk there. I picked out the milk, headed to the counter, and took a bill out of my wallet only to hear “we do not take Rand here.” Looking in disbelief at the bill, I discover that in the dark, I managed to take some of Dad’s left-over South African Rand instead of Botswana Pula. Defeat 5. Now completely disheartened, I put back the milk and begin trudging back home. I did have a brilliant flash of insight on the way home that somewhat redeemed my morning, as I realized that I had my credit card along and could by milk with that. So, after all of that, I returned home (after another gas station stop) with two tiny bottles of milk, less a debit card and much self-confidence. Of course, after that, the day could only get better. It was pretty uneventful, actually. Dad and I drove around picking up some things that we need for the rest of our trip and visiting the DCA (Department of Civil Aviation), while the rest of the gang went to the main mall and got some souvenirs and stuff like that.
Travis
ROGER:
Contrary to Trav’s experience, the day did finally get GREAT, in the evening. We went back to the village of Bokaa to see if we could see some of the people we missed yesterday. First we went to Maria’s house, which was someone Jolene and I had been good friends with during our village live-in. They were so excited to see us, and were waiting for our return. Maria was “beside herself” with excitement that we had not forgotten them. After visiting she led a song which Jolene and I joined in on, bringing memories flooding back. Her husband then led a prayer as we departed.
After that we went next door to the place where we stayed, and just after we arrived Maurice returned from work in Gabs. We then had tea with him and again had a wonderful visit, reminiscing about old times, and catching up on the rest of the family. Near the beginning of our visit he went to the cabinet and pulled out a picture of our family we had sent 10 years ago. The “old lady”, as he called her, had died last year. It was sad we could not see her – she was quite a woman and would have been thrilled to see us and the kids, especially Travis who was four months old when we went to live with her.
What a way to end the day. It didn’t seem right to see the village change so much. There was a paved road into the village, street lights, and electric in both houses. Maria even had a TV - no reception but they could watch videos. It is good to see “development” happening, but it is also sad to see some of the byproducts that come with that. However it finally felt like we were not tourists. That felt GREAT!
Roger
The morning started out innocently enough for yours truly. I got up early and, per instructions from mother last night, walked to the supermarket down the road to get some milk for breakfast. After fumbling through Dad’s wallet in the dark room to get some money, I headed out cheerily into the beautiful dawn. As I got to the store I noticed that it looked suspiciously quiet, and quickly discovered that the store didn’t open for another 40 minutes or so. Okay. Defeat #1. Then, since there was an ATM right next to the store and I had been wanting to try out my debit card before being left alone in Africa, I stood behind the woman at the ATM machine and began digging out my card. I soon discovered, however, that the two women who were standing awkwardly in the middle of the store entrance were actually in line for the ATM when one of them rather sharply told me “the queue is here.” Apparently, people here find it necessary to stand about 20 feet away from the ATM operator, I suppose for privacy. I sheepishly took my place in line and tried to look black. Defeat #2. When my turn finally came around, I pushed in my card, asked for 400 pula, and waited expectantly for the machine to count out my money. Nothing. Finally, I am told: “your card has been retained. Please contact your bank.” Great. Not only am I unable to get money with my card, I no longer even have a card. Defeats 3 & 4. With my head hanging low, I decided to salvage my morning by heading to a nearby gas station to pick up some milk there. I picked out the milk, headed to the counter, and took a bill out of my wallet only to hear “we do not take Rand here.” Looking in disbelief at the bill, I discover that in the dark, I managed to take some of Dad’s left-over South African Rand instead of Botswana Pula. Defeat 5. Now completely disheartened, I put back the milk and begin trudging back home. I did have a brilliant flash of insight on the way home that somewhat redeemed my morning, as I realized that I had my credit card along and could by milk with that. So, after all of that, I returned home (after another gas station stop) with two tiny bottles of milk, less a debit card and much self-confidence. Of course, after that, the day could only get better. It was pretty uneventful, actually. Dad and I drove around picking up some things that we need for the rest of our trip and visiting the DCA (Department of Civil Aviation), while the rest of the gang went to the main mall and got some souvenirs and stuff like that.
Travis
ROGER:
Contrary to Trav’s experience, the day did finally get GREAT, in the evening. We went back to the village of Bokaa to see if we could see some of the people we missed yesterday. First we went to Maria’s house, which was someone Jolene and I had been good friends with during our village live-in. They were so excited to see us, and were waiting for our return. Maria was “beside herself” with excitement that we had not forgotten them. After visiting she led a song which Jolene and I joined in on, bringing memories flooding back. Her husband then led a prayer as we departed.
After that we went next door to the place where we stayed, and just after we arrived Maurice returned from work in Gabs. We then had tea with him and again had a wonderful visit, reminiscing about old times, and catching up on the rest of the family. Near the beginning of our visit he went to the cabinet and pulled out a picture of our family we had sent 10 years ago. The “old lady”, as he called her, had died last year. It was sad we could not see her – she was quite a woman and would have been thrilled to see us and the kids, especially Travis who was four months old when we went to live with her.
What a way to end the day. It didn’t seem right to see the village change so much. There was a paved road into the village, street lights, and electric in both houses. Maria even had a TV - no reception but they could watch videos. It is good to see “development” happening, but it is also sad to see some of the byproducts that come with that. However it finally felt like we were not tourists. That felt GREAT!
Roger
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
June 26
JUNE 26
Renae:
This morning we toured all of my family’s old houses, like KASAC court, where the sign out front said “Please Drive Slowly: Children Squash Easily.” Nicole and Travis remember that place, but unfortunately Lisa and myself do not. Then at another house we salvaged some boxes the people were gonna throw away because they’re moving to Australia. The next part was the most interesting: Bokaa. Unfortunately, the host of my parents when they lived in the primitive village has died, but her children still live in the same house, which we visited but nobody was home. My good friend Buru, who had visited our house over Christmas a few years ago, is now in Norway, so it’s too bad I can’t see him again, but his brother Maurice is still there. We will come back again to see him. My parents also wanted to rediscover another friend of theirs, Maria, who worked in the store at that time, and found her house after asking around the village. Her daughter was there, but no Maria. We will probably visit her too. Bokaa is very different too—they actually have running water and electricity, and some even TVs, very different than when my parents were there. Then Trav, father, and Erin went to the airport once again after they dropped the rest of us off at the Flying Mission office in the middle of a KIA dealership. When we got picked up (along with a hitchhiker) we rushed to Chicken Licken for lunch so that we could see if Nikki could go into the village with an old friend of my parents to see where she may be working, and to be able to go she needed to be at her house by 1:00. Since the lady behind the counter making our sandwiches was talking on the phone half the time and using only one hand at all times, along with the horrendous traffic we got into, we didn’t make it in time. So then we didn’t do too much until the evening, when we went to a great Indian restaurant with the people who run the Mennonite the Guest House. And that’s about it.
Renae
Renae:
This morning we toured all of my family’s old houses, like KASAC court, where the sign out front said “Please Drive Slowly: Children Squash Easily.” Nicole and Travis remember that place, but unfortunately Lisa and myself do not. Then at another house we salvaged some boxes the people were gonna throw away because they’re moving to Australia. The next part was the most interesting: Bokaa. Unfortunately, the host of my parents when they lived in the primitive village has died, but her children still live in the same house, which we visited but nobody was home. My good friend Buru, who had visited our house over Christmas a few years ago, is now in Norway, so it’s too bad I can’t see him again, but his brother Maurice is still there. We will come back again to see him. My parents also wanted to rediscover another friend of theirs, Maria, who worked in the store at that time, and found her house after asking around the village. Her daughter was there, but no Maria. We will probably visit her too. Bokaa is very different too—they actually have running water and electricity, and some even TVs, very different than when my parents were there. Then Trav, father, and Erin went to the airport once again after they dropped the rest of us off at the Flying Mission office in the middle of a KIA dealership. When we got picked up (along with a hitchhiker) we rushed to Chicken Licken for lunch so that we could see if Nikki could go into the village with an old friend of my parents to see where she may be working, and to be able to go she needed to be at her house by 1:00. Since the lady behind the counter making our sandwiches was talking on the phone half the time and using only one hand at all times, along with the horrendous traffic we got into, we didn’t make it in time. So then we didn’t do too much until the evening, when we went to a great Indian restaurant with the people who run the Mennonite the Guest House. And that’s about it.
Renae
June 25
Day 2 in Gabs. Let me just say that it’s really nice to be in one place for a few days and not have to pack our ridiculous amounts of luggage into Tau every morning. The Mennonite Guest House here is a nice place—cheap internet access, fresh mango muffins in the morning, and even a real bed for Roger and Jolene. In the morning, we all piled into Tau and headed to the
June 24
LISA:
After another run-in with the lady at our lodge place, we managed to escape before she came out to try to get more money again. I’m not really sure what the deal was, I just knew that Dad was not backing down. And so we left. We were planning on going to Jonathan Larson’s church, but unfortunately we had no means to find out where this was at 8 in the morning. So we went to
Lisa
June 23
JOLENE:
I guess I haven’t put my 2 cents worth in for awhile, so here goes. Last night we drove to
Late morning we went to
And now we are on the way to
I’ve been unable to contact the Mennonite guesthouse in Gabs where we’ll be staying tonight to get directions, so I guess we’ll figure that out when we get there!!
Jolene
NICOLE:
Figuring out when we get there is right! We have been arguing about who gets to write about the night of June 21, 2007, and it looks like I’ve won! It was a night we will not soon forget. So after the Apartheid museum (which was amazing), we headed out toward
We still didn’t know where we were sleeping, and after many U-turns and confusing directions, we made it to the guesthouse we thought we would be staying in. But turns out there are locked gates everywhere, even in front of the Mennonite Guest House. We were just about to drive out of town and camp along the side of the road somewhere when we decided try out a B&B right across the road. Dad once again worked his magic, and we got a pretty sweet reduced deal (although we had some pretty significant problems with this deal come morning). We ended our crazy night around 1:30 a.m., seven of us cozily squished in a double room.
Nicole
June 22
RENAE:
Well, we decided not to go the whole way to
Renae
Saturday, June 23, 2007
June 21
ERIN:
Greetings from the backseat of the Land Rover. Right now it’s only 5:00 in the evening, but I’m writing for today under the assumption that nothing spectacular will happen between now and when we go to bed. Actually, the chances of something remarkable happening after dark may be better than during the day, for the reasons Nicole just mentioned about hidden potholes, wandering donkeys, etc. The goal is to make it to Durban tonight, and we’ve been driving for the past 5 hours or so and have a few more before we reach our destination. Although who can say—based on prior experience, it may be more than we expect, especially because we just realized we were actually on a different road than we thought and had to pull out the maps again and backtrack until we found our all-too-familiar N2 highway. We’re all getting slightly restless by now. The most physical activity I’ve had since before lunch was to crawl from the bench seats in the back of the truck into the regular backseat. I should write a little about this morning’s activities to bring back memories of the outside world. After waking up at our hostel on the South African coast and spending the customary several hours packing all our things into the vehicle, we hiked along the beach to see Coffee Bay and nearby Hole in the Wall, where we watched greenish-blue waves crash through a big hole in a natural wall of rock in the Indian Ocean. The scenery along the coast this whole trip has been gorgeous, and much different from the stereotypical images of Africa that you tend to think of. Since then, we’ve been driving, or sitting in the vehicle while various people have gotten out for groceries, ATMs, and bathrooms. Once, while Roger went into a store to buy fuses and the rest of us assembled sandwiches in a parking lot, an African woman walked up to our open window and asked us where we were moving. From her perspective, the only explanation for the sheer quantity of stuff we have packed into the trunk and loaded onto the roof of this Land Rover was that we were picking up and moving to a new home with all of our worldly possessions. I am constantly reminded of my status as a wealthy white U.S. American tourist, which makes me extremely uncomfortable but provides good food for thought during these hours on the road. Other than that, we have kept ourselves entertained by reading books, solving Sudoku puzzles, listening to music, having pillow fights, taking pictures of unsuspecting fellow passengers, and, of course, providing the drivers with constant yells of “Watch out!”, “Slow down!”, “Bump!”, “People!”, “Goat!”, etc. All in all, I’d say it’s been a good day. Ooooohhh, I spoke too soon. Roger and Travis just discovered that we once again are on the wrong road, so we’re turning around once again. Well, whoever writes tomorrow can fill you in on how this adventure ends. Until next time.
Erin
Greetings from the backseat of the Land Rover. Right now it’s only 5:00 in the evening, but I’m writing for today under the assumption that nothing spectacular will happen between now and when we go to bed. Actually, the chances of something remarkable happening after dark may be better than during the day, for the reasons Nicole just mentioned about hidden potholes, wandering donkeys, etc. The goal is to make it to Durban tonight, and we’ve been driving for the past 5 hours or so and have a few more before we reach our destination. Although who can say—based on prior experience, it may be more than we expect, especially because we just realized we were actually on a different road than we thought and had to pull out the maps again and backtrack until we found our all-too-familiar N2 highway. We’re all getting slightly restless by now. The most physical activity I’ve had since before lunch was to crawl from the bench seats in the back of the truck into the regular backseat. I should write a little about this morning’s activities to bring back memories of the outside world. After waking up at our hostel on the South African coast and spending the customary several hours packing all our things into the vehicle, we hiked along the beach to see Coffee Bay and nearby Hole in the Wall, where we watched greenish-blue waves crash through a big hole in a natural wall of rock in the Indian Ocean. The scenery along the coast this whole trip has been gorgeous, and much different from the stereotypical images of Africa that you tend to think of. Since then, we’ve been driving, or sitting in the vehicle while various people have gotten out for groceries, ATMs, and bathrooms. Once, while Roger went into a store to buy fuses and the rest of us assembled sandwiches in a parking lot, an African woman walked up to our open window and asked us where we were moving. From her perspective, the only explanation for the sheer quantity of stuff we have packed into the trunk and loaded onto the roof of this Land Rover was that we were picking up and moving to a new home with all of our worldly possessions. I am constantly reminded of my status as a wealthy white U.S. American tourist, which makes me extremely uncomfortable but provides good food for thought during these hours on the road. Other than that, we have kept ourselves entertained by reading books, solving Sudoku puzzles, listening to music, having pillow fights, taking pictures of unsuspecting fellow passengers, and, of course, providing the drivers with constant yells of “Watch out!”, “Slow down!”, “Bump!”, “People!”, “Goat!”, etc. All in all, I’d say it’s been a good day. Ooooohhh, I spoke too soon. Roger and Travis just discovered that we once again are on the wrong road, so we’re turning around once again. Well, whoever writes tomorrow can fill you in on how this adventure ends. Until next time.
Erin
June 20
NICOLE:
So I believe my assignment for today is to report on yesterday…a relatively uneventful day, but when you’re traveling in South Africa, “relative” has a whole new meaning. We actually got off before 8:00 a.m., which is in record time for us. I think we were all just very ready to get out of that bug-infested place. We got in a pretty good day of driving, even after stopping for almost 2 hours while Dad, Mom, Trav, and I got internet, to pay bills, check email, and of course update all you lovely people on our exciting travels, while Lisa, Renae, and Erin went grocery shopping. We called ahead to a town called Coffee Bay where we found out about a Backpackers place (which are really, really nice hostels) we made a goal to reach. We have been warned several times about driving at night around here because of bad, pothole-y roads and stray animals. There are also people constantly walking along the sides of the roads, practically on them, which is scary during the day but especially at night. Our goal turned out to be a little optimistic, and we ended up driving several hours in the dark. Our destination turned out to be on these terrible (but so fun!) back roads in the middle of nowhere. We passed tons of little spread out rondovals, and it finally felt like we were in the Africa I remembered (sort of), heard so many stories about, and seen so many pictures of. This particular Backpackers was party city—not exactly a family crowd, but fortunately the loud music died down before too late, and we were able to get a good nights sleep.
Nicole
So I believe my assignment for today is to report on yesterday…a relatively uneventful day, but when you’re traveling in South Africa, “relative” has a whole new meaning. We actually got off before 8:00 a.m., which is in record time for us. I think we were all just very ready to get out of that bug-infested place. We got in a pretty good day of driving, even after stopping for almost 2 hours while Dad, Mom, Trav, and I got internet, to pay bills, check email, and of course update all you lovely people on our exciting travels, while Lisa, Renae, and Erin went grocery shopping. We called ahead to a town called Coffee Bay where we found out about a Backpackers place (which are really, really nice hostels) we made a goal to reach. We have been warned several times about driving at night around here because of bad, pothole-y roads and stray animals. There are also people constantly walking along the sides of the roads, practically on them, which is scary during the day but especially at night. Our goal turned out to be a little optimistic, and we ended up driving several hours in the dark. Our destination turned out to be on these terrible (but so fun!) back roads in the middle of nowhere. We passed tons of little spread out rondovals, and it finally felt like we were in the Africa I remembered (sort of), heard so many stories about, and seen so many pictures of. This particular Backpackers was party city—not exactly a family crowd, but fortunately the loud music died down before too late, and we were able to get a good nights sleep.
Nicole
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
June 19
June 19, 2007
TRAVIS:
Well, we’ve been here for about a week now, and last night was our first night of camping. Mom’s sick of it already. It was a bit of a difficult process, since we’re still figuring out the best way to pack everything together and set up camp and all of that. This morning dad was up by 5:30, at which point he started making breakfast. The rest of us were up by 6:30, and we still didn’t start driving until about 10:00. 3.5 hours to teardown is a little long (tensions ran a bit high during this process, and not everybody was happy with everybody else. But so goes it). After that fiasco, we hiked up to a lighthouse near our campground, and were finally on the road by about 11 or so. After that, the day was mostly filled with driving and watching the beautiful scenery flash by. We stopped for lunch at a beautiful place called The Heads, which is at a very narrow inlet to a bay, and walked around there for a little bit. We also stopped at the Tsitsikamma bridge, which crosses a beautiful, rugged gorge. It also happens to be the highest bungee jump in the world (709 feet high), and after watching a few people go off, Dad wanted to do it in the worst sort of way. Several of us kids would have loved to do it also, but all the pleading in the world couldn’t have convinced Mom to let us. Dad was basically on his knees pleading with her, but Mom had the last word. So, after dragging dad forcibly into the Land Rover, we continued on our way, ending our day in the town of Jeffrey’s Bay. While looking for campgrounds in the evening, we found this place where they had some pretty shifty “chalets” that you could stay in for about $5 per person. So, largely because of Mom’s influence and her stinging memory of the previous night, we stayed the night in a bug-ridden chalet, whose kitchen enabled us to enjoy a good meal of kudu stir-fry (kudu is a type of African antelope that ended up tasting slightly like liver). And that was that.
Travis
TRAVIS:
Well, we’ve been here for about a week now, and last night was our first night of camping. Mom’s sick of it already. It was a bit of a difficult process, since we’re still figuring out the best way to pack everything together and set up camp and all of that. This morning dad was up by 5:30, at which point he started making breakfast. The rest of us were up by 6:30, and we still didn’t start driving until about 10:00. 3.5 hours to teardown is a little long (tensions ran a bit high during this process, and not everybody was happy with everybody else. But so goes it). After that fiasco, we hiked up to a lighthouse near our campground, and were finally on the road by about 11 or so. After that, the day was mostly filled with driving and watching the beautiful scenery flash by. We stopped for lunch at a beautiful place called The Heads, which is at a very narrow inlet to a bay, and walked around there for a little bit. We also stopped at the Tsitsikamma bridge, which crosses a beautiful, rugged gorge. It also happens to be the highest bungee jump in the world (709 feet high), and after watching a few people go off, Dad wanted to do it in the worst sort of way. Several of us kids would have loved to do it also, but all the pleading in the world couldn’t have convinced Mom to let us. Dad was basically on his knees pleading with her, but Mom had the last word. So, after dragging dad forcibly into the Land Rover, we continued on our way, ending our day in the town of Jeffrey’s Bay. While looking for campgrounds in the evening, we found this place where they had some pretty shifty “chalets” that you could stay in for about $5 per person. So, largely because of Mom’s influence and her stinging memory of the previous night, we stayed the night in a bug-ridden chalet, whose kitchen enabled us to enjoy a good meal of kudu stir-fry (kudu is a type of African antelope that ended up tasting slightly like liver). And that was that.
Travis
Monday, June 18, 2007
June 18
June 18, 2007
LISA:
At the moment I am sitting in a strange town looking at pamphlets about ostrich racing.
But I think I’m writing about yesterday.
Hokay. So. Yesterday. Hmmm. Oh right. We were at this hostel that Renae talked about in Struissbaai (I have not idea how to spell that. We pronounce it struse-bye but nobody knows if we’re right). After repacking old Lassie/Beast/Nancy/Ephraim/Tau/”Rhino”/Maeste (We had a vote and there was a tie between Nancy and Tau but apparently nobody wanted those names and they all voted wrong and we have not agreed upon a way to resolve this issue) we started driving. We went to the southern-most tip of Africa where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet. This was quite exciting, as there was a definite blue-green vs. green-blue color difference between the Oceans, and the opposing pulls the moon has on the flow of the tides is quite remarkable. The line separating the two Oceans was clearly defined, and it was all really very spectacular. Nicole found her new best friend (since her old one, the sleeping bag, broke) and can often be seen cooing to her seaweed tube and petting it lovingly. It’s really very touching to witness it. We also saw a shipwreck. I don’t really have anything to say about that. I guess Dad really liked that pizza because we went back to the place on our way back (we had to backtrack a little. I don’t really understand this, but I decided just to accept it instead). The pizza really is very good. Dad told this to our waitress and she was appalled that we don’t have good pizza in America. I think after this we just drove a lot and looked at some cool scenery and stopped for a cattle crossing. We stopped at this campground by the ocean where the last people that came there checked in 4 nights ago. I guess we’re the only retards that go camping in the winter. It was nice being the only people there, and we got a fire going and Dad went to get a lot of meat. It was good except that the chicken tasted and smelled like fish. We were more than a little suspicious. We climbed this mountain to go to a lighthouse, but we decided not to go the whole way because we weren’t really in the mood for falling off mountains in the dark. Brilliant, aren’t we?
Lisa
LISA:
At the moment I am sitting in a strange town looking at pamphlets about ostrich racing.
But I think I’m writing about yesterday.
Hokay. So. Yesterday. Hmmm. Oh right. We were at this hostel that Renae talked about in Struissbaai (I have not idea how to spell that. We pronounce it struse-bye but nobody knows if we’re right). After repacking old Lassie/Beast/Nancy/Ephraim/Tau/”Rhino”/Maeste (We had a vote and there was a tie between Nancy and Tau but apparently nobody wanted those names and they all voted wrong and we have not agreed upon a way to resolve this issue) we started driving. We went to the southern-most tip of Africa where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet. This was quite exciting, as there was a definite blue-green vs. green-blue color difference between the Oceans, and the opposing pulls the moon has on the flow of the tides is quite remarkable. The line separating the two Oceans was clearly defined, and it was all really very spectacular. Nicole found her new best friend (since her old one, the sleeping bag, broke) and can often be seen cooing to her seaweed tube and petting it lovingly. It’s really very touching to witness it. We also saw a shipwreck. I don’t really have anything to say about that. I guess Dad really liked that pizza because we went back to the place on our way back (we had to backtrack a little. I don’t really understand this, but I decided just to accept it instead). The pizza really is very good. Dad told this to our waitress and she was appalled that we don’t have good pizza in America. I think after this we just drove a lot and looked at some cool scenery and stopped for a cattle crossing. We stopped at this campground by the ocean where the last people that came there checked in 4 nights ago. I guess we’re the only retards that go camping in the winter. It was nice being the only people there, and we got a fire going and Dad went to get a lot of meat. It was good except that the chicken tasted and smelled like fish. We were more than a little suspicious. We climbed this mountain to go to a lighthouse, but we decided not to go the whole way because we weren’t really in the mood for falling off mountains in the dark. Brilliant, aren’t we?
Lisa
Sunday, June 17, 2007
June 17
June 17, 2007
RENAE:
We’re finally OFF!! We left, after buying some tarp straps and finally packing and repacking the luggage and whatnot, and then decided to get another bin to fit. So we then bought another bin and took everything off the top again and repacked and restrapped, all in the parking lot of a mall. We got some funny looks, but not as many as we got when we ate ice cream out of a tub in Frankfurt with our credit cards (for me ID card) and sharpies sitting on a bench in a park next to a walkway because we didn’t have spoons, or, in fact, any type of eating utensils. The ice cream was good though. Anyways, we finally left Cape Town at like 2 in the afternoon and drove for a while. Pretty much the whole drive we tried to decide on a name for the Landrover. Dad wants Lassie, mom wants ‘the beast’, Lisa Ephraim, and Nicole really wants Nancy, cause she thinks it’s the funniest name ever and never stops laughing. (Tomorrow she’ll even find a seaweed tube thingy at the beach and name it Nancy and say it’s her best octopus leg friend and get mad if you call it seaweed. In two days, Nancy will die and Nicole will even cry.) Then we got to a hostel and a huge storm came and just about blew me away it was so windy. It was a pretty nice hostel. Oh and before we got there we ate at a pizzeria and dad thinks it’s the best pizza he ever had—Pizza Palace is still way better though—and a guy, maybe the manager, came out and told us the water might be bad and that we might get sick and possibly die from it, but so far nothing has gone wrong beside Nicole getting diarrhea. Who knows, we might wake up one morning and be dead. But that wouldn’t really make sense I guess.
Renae
LISA:
I would just like to make a disclaimer that RENAE is the one terrified of heights. She was just too embarrassed to admit it was her. I, on the other hand, have never been frightened by a silly old mountain.
Lisa
NICOLE:
ODE TO NAN from the SEA
Nancy
You tube of slimy beauty
You were such a cutie
Nancy
You came in with the tide
You never left my side
Nancy
We quickly became the best of friends
I’d even buy you a Mercedes Benz
Nancy
You heaven-sent leg of octopus
I loved you like Big Bird loves Snuffalufagus
Nancy
You were so very fly
Why did you have to die?
Goodbye. (Nancy)
This was posted in loving memory of the most newly dead member of the family, by the Weaver Family.
Nicole
RENAE:
We’re finally OFF!! We left, after buying some tarp straps and finally packing and repacking the luggage and whatnot, and then decided to get another bin to fit. So we then bought another bin and took everything off the top again and repacked and restrapped, all in the parking lot of a mall. We got some funny looks, but not as many as we got when we ate ice cream out of a tub in Frankfurt with our credit cards (for me ID card) and sharpies sitting on a bench in a park next to a walkway because we didn’t have spoons, or, in fact, any type of eating utensils. The ice cream was good though. Anyways, we finally left Cape Town at like 2 in the afternoon and drove for a while. Pretty much the whole drive we tried to decide on a name for the Landrover. Dad wants Lassie, mom wants ‘the beast’, Lisa Ephraim, and Nicole really wants Nancy, cause she thinks it’s the funniest name ever and never stops laughing. (Tomorrow she’ll even find a seaweed tube thingy at the beach and name it Nancy and say it’s her best octopus leg friend and get mad if you call it seaweed. In two days, Nancy will die and Nicole will even cry.) Then we got to a hostel and a huge storm came and just about blew me away it was so windy. It was a pretty nice hostel. Oh and before we got there we ate at a pizzeria and dad thinks it’s the best pizza he ever had—Pizza Palace is still way better though—and a guy, maybe the manager, came out and told us the water might be bad and that we might get sick and possibly die from it, but so far nothing has gone wrong beside Nicole getting diarrhea. Who knows, we might wake up one morning and be dead. But that wouldn’t really make sense I guess.
Renae
LISA:
I would just like to make a disclaimer that RENAE is the one terrified of heights. She was just too embarrassed to admit it was her. I, on the other hand, have never been frightened by a silly old mountain.
Lisa
NICOLE:
ODE TO NAN from the SEA
Nancy
You tube of slimy beauty
You were such a cutie
Nancy
You came in with the tide
You never left my side
Nancy
We quickly became the best of friends
I’d even buy you a Mercedes Benz
Nancy
You heaven-sent leg of octopus
I loved you like Big Bird loves Snuffalufagus
Nancy
You were so very fly
Why did you have to die?
Goodbye. (Nancy)
This was posted in loving memory of the most newly dead member of the family, by the Weaver Family.
Nicole
Pictures from the first week
The Land Rover that we have spent much of our energy thus far acquiring. It is now safe in our hands, and we are starting to pack it up to head out on the Garden Route along the southern coast of South Africa later today.
The kids hiked up on to Table Mountain while Dad took care of some final details with the vehicle and Mom started packing our stuff up to put in the truck. It was a pretty grueling hike, but the weather was beautiful and the view amazing.
At the beach that is about a 5 minute walk from our hostel here in Cape Town. It's been pretty cool here this week, especially if you managed to get yourself soaked in the water with all your clothes on (Renae).
May to June 16
Roger, Jolene, Travis, Nicole, Lisa, Renae Weaver, and Erin Gotwals
ROGER:
Well the trip back to Africa has finally arrived. We arrived in Cape Town in three different groups. Travis and Erin left from Frankfurt, Germany after a stint in Europe. Nicole and I arrived three days before the others to research transportation options, and Jolene, Lisa, and Renae met Travis and Erin in Frankfurt and flew together to Johannesburg on the same flight. After years of saving frequent flyer miles for the trip (along with some fears when US Air declared bankruptcy), the dream has arrived. Jolene spent many hours on the phone, making all the flights fit together. The return flights are scheduled for four different times – it was a real puzzle to fit it all together.
Nicole and I spent a lot of time before the others arrived checking into car rentals, buy-back programs and purchasing a vehicle. We even went to two South African car auctions. Much leg work had been done on the internet before we arrived, but we thought it would work best to make the final decision after we get to Cape Town. We considered two cars, or a van large enough to accommodate all 7 of us, plus our camping gear. While trying to shake off our jet-lag (and sleeping at odd hours), we had it narrowed down to one of two vans. We test drove the one and actually were very close to buying it, but then happened to look at a Land Rover which we had not seriously considered, mainly because of space. After somebody looked in the back of one, and said they could sit on those benches, the idea quickly caught on and we changed our whole plan. All the work Nic and I did went out the window, and all of a sudden we were looking at other vehicles. We found a Land Rover we liked and started the process of purchasing it. I always thought that would be the most fun, but would not be an option. Now we are working at outfitting it (it does have most of what is needed) for some serious travel in the bush, and other routes and options are being considered. That is the nice thing about “winging” it and being able to plan and adapt as you go along.
Feelings to date:
1. It seemed strange to see the changes in South Africa since Apartheid has had a decent burial. The first thing that struck me on arriving at Cape Town was seeing black customs officials, and not feeling apprehensive around South African customs officials. Seeing mostly black flight attendants on South African Airlines was also a welcome sight. It was good having a great conversation with an Afrikaner who grew up in the Dutch Reformed tradition and spent years in the military, and has completely reversed his views on race issues. I also met some younger Afrikaners who were convinced the country has “gone to the dogs” since Apartheid is gone. I would hope they are the minority – I think South Africa has a great future – something I never thought I would be able to say when we last lived in southern Africa. Touring Robben Island and hearing our tour guide, who was a former political prisoner, talk about reconciliation and forgiveness was both touching and encouraging. Some of his former guards also work there, and he counts them as friends. It is an incredible history – something all of us should take to heart.
2. It feels great to be back in Africa, a place I love dearly. It is also a bit scary – how will this trip affect me? Will some of the feelings that made it so hard to return to the US after our years in Botswana again be brought to the forefront? If so, is that good, or bad – or both? Time will tell.
Roger
JOLENE:
No one seems to be in a blogging mood. And it’s bedtime, so this will be pretty short. Marc (brother-in-law) took Lisa, Renae & I to JKF on Sunday, June 10, for our 4:35 pm Lufthansa flight to Frankfurt. All went well, no problems with the bags or anything, and we arrived in Frankfurt the following morning at about 7 am (six hours ahead). Needless to say, we didn’t sleep very well sitting almost straight up all night, with the TV flickering all night. Lisa & Renae slept on benches in the airport for several hours, and I dozed off & on, until about 1 pm when we met Travis & Erin. Thankfully, they came so we didn’t have to spend our 16 hour layover at the airport all day – we took the train in to town with Travis as our guide. We went downtown and ate lunch, walked around, went through a cathedral, sat outside for awhile – it was a beautiful day, went to the same grocery store 4 times, ate ice-cream out of the same box with one spoon & various other utensils which passersby found rather amusing. Our flight left at 10:45 pm that night and arrived in Jo-burg the following morning where we had short layovers and then flew on to Cape Town, where Roger & Nicole were waiting for us. We were on three different flights from Jo-burg to Cape Town. Erin was alone on the first one; Lisa, Renae and I were on the second one, and Travis was on the third one, but all three arrived within 1 ½ hours of each other. All our bags came through and there were no real problems to speak of. The second night we all slept quite a bit better, but were still a bit jet-lagged.
Our hostel ‘The SaltyCrax Backpackers (buttpackers)’ is very nice, and we’ve made all our own meals in the kitchen here so far. We’re all in one big room but have our own two bathrooms with showers. We’re in the process of packing up stuff tonight so we can leave Cape Town in the morning & continue on the trip. We’ve spent enough time here & are ready to move on. The vehicle took awhile to figure out – and there are lots more details I could report, but we’ve bought a Land Rover (4x4). That means we can do all those off road things I thought I would never do again when we left Botswana 15 years ago!! The kids (& Roger) are very excited about the adventures we can have doing that, and I’m getting there. We hadn’t really thought we would get a vehicle like that, but a van that could haul all of us & our gear, but then we looked into this option, and it worked out, so that’s what’s happening. It’s hard to imagine we can get all that’s in our room yet, into that vehicle! But it will happen – it does have a roof rack where a good bit of it will go.
Jolene
TRAVIS:
So here we go. While I’ve been on the road for quite a while now, it’s very exciting to finally be in South Africa and to be getting ready to head out on our trip. I haven’t been in the States since the beginning of May, when I left to take a Mennonite/Anabaptist history course in Europe (my last class with Goshen College). The class lasted three weeks, and consisted of traveling by bus with 25 other students to different points of interest in Mennonite history. It was awesome to be traveling in Europe and seeing the places where my Anabaptist forebears lived and were persecuted and all of that. I really enjoy history in general, but learning about a history that I have a personal connection to was especially fun for me. Some of the highlights included: several nights spent with host families; getting to go back to the area of Germany where I spent the service portion of SST; having many, many excellent discussions about anything and everything with good friends; experiencing our roly-poly, hilarious Dutch bus driver Jan; listening to excellent lectures from arguably the best lecturer on campus in unique settings (like a meadow in the Swiss mountains near the “Anabaptist cave”); etc, etc. After that, I met Erin in Frankfurt, Germany and (like she already said) traveled with her and two other Goshen friends, Ben Yoder and Anita Hooley, for about 3 weeks. We spent time in southern Germany (in the Black Forest), Switzerland, Italy, Austria, and then Germany again. At the end, Erin and I spent a few days with my host family in Jena, where I was on SST in Germany. It was awesome to be able to reconnect with my family there, spend some time in the city, hang out with some of the kids that are there on SST now, and hike around the area a little bit. Until the last few weeks before I left for Germany, I hadn’t really considered spending time with my host family, so it was a sort of impromptu and unexpected surprise that I really enjoyed. Well anyway, that’s about all I’ve got to say. Now I’m here with my family, as you know. The only thing that I have to add to what the others have written is that I now own my very first vehicle, and in South Africa no less! That’s right, since we are purchasing a vehicle which I will then be reselling in Botswana after the family leaves, we have put it in my name (although my billfold is admittedly far, far to thin to support such an accomplishment on its own). I never thought that my first vehicle would be a Land Rover “Defender 110” (picture a Hummer, except way more hardcore, utilitarian, and square). Okay, well that’s all for me. Cheers-
Travis
ERIN:
OK, I don’t exactly know how this blog thing is supposed to work, other than that all the other kids are complaining about it, bribing me to do their blogging for them, and telling me I should be the first to write since I’m one of the only ones not loudly protesting. I guess I should introduce myself, for those of you who don’t know who I am. Just essentials, to start. I’m Erin Gotwals, from Telford, PA, just graduated from Goshen College with majors in Spanish, TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages), and secondary education, on this Africa adventure for the summer before I go to Cambodia in August to work with MCC for a year. And I’m here with Travis.
So I understand that this first blog entry is supposed to include the story of how we each got here. I left Goshen on the last day of May term classes, flew to Germany, and spent the following three weeks traveling around Europe with Travis and Ben and Anita, friends of ours from Goshen. That trip was amazing, but not the topic of today’s entry. For those of you I’ll see when I get home, I’ll be happy to fill you in with stories and pictures. I’ll try not to forget it all in the excitement of everything that’s happening these next five weeks.
A common complaint with this blog-writing assignment seems to be that we haven’t done anything so far worth writing home about. Contrary to popular belief, we’ve been doing all sorts of exciting things while hanging out in Cape Town waiting for the vehicle to be ready. Some highlights:
• Cramming all 7 of us into a tiny VW Chico for several hours a day, an experience which, even if I hadn’t felt comfortable with the Weavers before, has certainly brought us closer together. Literally. The typical setup included four of us in the backseat and one of us in the trunk, making faces at the drivers behind us and making some of them laugh and some of them angry. And making approximately one U-turn every five minutes, despite Nicole’s impressive skill as a navigator.
• Sharing our hostel with travelers from all over the world and a cat named Oreo, three dogs named Mango, Lychee, and Fred, and a goat named Cheese, who ate our box of cookies off of the coffee table yesterday.
• Test-driving and finally purchasing a Land Rover, complete with its own personal tent that pops up on the roof, where we will certainly be safe from attacks by hippopotamus and other such vicious animals.
• Collecting shells at the beach, and getting our precious last pairs of clean pants and underwear soaked by giant sneaky waves.
• Having family votes and family meetings, which tend to go around in circles, but have reached the following conclusions: we are leaving Cape Town tomorrow, and we will be driving along the Garden Route. No one knows exactly where, but that’s all part of the adventure. This is the way vacations should be.
• And of course, there have been truly noteworthy events like touring Robben Island, driving down the coast toward the Cape of Good Hope, and climbing Table Mountain, but I’ll leave the telling of those stories to other family members who I’m sure will be responsible bloggers and write in great detail about the main events of the trip so far.
So, until next time, from who-knows-where. We’ll keep you in suspense so you keep checking in to find out where we’re going next, unless the kids win the blog battle and get out of writing for the rest of the trip. On second thought, this writing wasn’t so bad. We’ll try to keep the complaining to a minimum and keep you and our blog entries posted.
Erin
NICOLE:
Probably the best way to get to know a city is to randomly drive around looking for car dealerships. Which is exactly what Dad and I have been doing for the last week. Despite my questionable navigation skills and countless U-turns, I now know Cape Town better than I ever thought possible. It is a beautiful, very fun little city but after being here for over a week, I am ready to get on with our trip, and see the rest of this country. I am especially excited about our brand-new (for us), tank-like Land Rover. Mom is not so excited about all the possibilities this newly purchased vehicle opens up for us, but the rest of us are very excited about hippo pools and sand roads, and getting stuck many times. There are even Land Rovers that come with their own specially designed snorkels! I’m not sure how they work, but my guess is you snap it on and you automatically have a Land Rover-like submarine. Unfortunately, ours does not come equipped with such a feature. Well, in just a short while we will pack up our ‘Rover and head out’. No one knows where, but I guess we’ll just have to have a family vote about it on the way out. Hopefully we end up somewhere. Until next time.
Dad is not happy. I did not meet my writing assignment requirements. I was supposed to write about the trip over. College assignments are more fun. But since I am required to pay for my share of the trip if I don’t meet the set requirements, here goes: The trip over was not as bad as I was told to expect. Dad and I flew out of Philly the evening of the 7th and arrived in Frankfurt sometime. All I know was that it was light outside, so it must have been day. At Frankfurt I proceeded to fall asleep in a straight-back chair for about 3 hours straight before Dad and I headed into the city for a bite to eat and a little sight-seeing. It was very fun ordering water, bratwurst, and cherries in my very limited, high school level German. The most amusing part of the day was listening to Dad give the language a try. German is a guttural language, but I think he might have exaggerated this fact slightly. After spending about 8 hours in Frankfurt, we got on a South African airways flight to Cape Town. This plane ride was amazing. Not only did we have our own personal entertainment systems right in front of us, limitless blankets, pillows, toothbrushes, and socks, but we also got an entire row of four seats to ourselves (since the flight was so empty), which is not quite as comfortable as my bed at home, but almost comparable. Being a 14 hour flight and all, this was very convenient. South African Airways - ladies and gentlemen. It’s the only way to fly.
Nicole
LISA:
I am looking forward to seeing creatures as big as Daddy. I am afraid they might be bigger.
So this is how the trip over went:
We got on this really lame plane. I almost barfed on my new sweatpants. And then I kept trying to sleep, but Renae kept pulling my hair and Mom wouldn’t stop singing. And the guy in front of me kept spilling his wine on my feet and I got really angry so I punched him. And then they made me sit in the bathroom for 3 hours. It was a really stupid bathroom. I kept falling asleep and my head would roll into the sink. When they let me out, Renae fell asleep across my seat. So I laid on the floor instead because I’m really nice and I didn’t want to wake her up, but they ran over me with the drink cart. I was getting kind of annoyed at this point, but I’m in Africa now so it’s okay.
Lisa
RENAE:
Okay, so we’re staying at this hostel right now, I like it, but Mom’s turned off by the cat that hangs around. We hiked Table Mountain today—really pretty—but it took FOREVER to come back down since Lisa is terrified of heights and we all had to wait for her, and it took just as long to climb up as it did to climb down. Then we got chocolate. And everyone’s happy now. And I found a porcupine quill. It’s pretty cool. And I’m really excited to drive in the Land Rover. And I’m really tired but I’m not allowed to sleep until I do this. So I hope Daddy’s happy with this. Bye.
Renae
ROGER:
Well the trip back to Africa has finally arrived. We arrived in Cape Town in three different groups. Travis and Erin left from Frankfurt, Germany after a stint in Europe. Nicole and I arrived three days before the others to research transportation options, and Jolene, Lisa, and Renae met Travis and Erin in Frankfurt and flew together to Johannesburg on the same flight. After years of saving frequent flyer miles for the trip (along with some fears when US Air declared bankruptcy), the dream has arrived. Jolene spent many hours on the phone, making all the flights fit together. The return flights are scheduled for four different times – it was a real puzzle to fit it all together.
Nicole and I spent a lot of time before the others arrived checking into car rentals, buy-back programs and purchasing a vehicle. We even went to two South African car auctions. Much leg work had been done on the internet before we arrived, but we thought it would work best to make the final decision after we get to Cape Town. We considered two cars, or a van large enough to accommodate all 7 of us, plus our camping gear. While trying to shake off our jet-lag (and sleeping at odd hours), we had it narrowed down to one of two vans. We test drove the one and actually were very close to buying it, but then happened to look at a Land Rover which we had not seriously considered, mainly because of space. After somebody looked in the back of one, and said they could sit on those benches, the idea quickly caught on and we changed our whole plan. All the work Nic and I did went out the window, and all of a sudden we were looking at other vehicles. We found a Land Rover we liked and started the process of purchasing it. I always thought that would be the most fun, but would not be an option. Now we are working at outfitting it (it does have most of what is needed) for some serious travel in the bush, and other routes and options are being considered. That is the nice thing about “winging” it and being able to plan and adapt as you go along.
Feelings to date:
1. It seemed strange to see the changes in South Africa since Apartheid has had a decent burial. The first thing that struck me on arriving at Cape Town was seeing black customs officials, and not feeling apprehensive around South African customs officials. Seeing mostly black flight attendants on South African Airlines was also a welcome sight. It was good having a great conversation with an Afrikaner who grew up in the Dutch Reformed tradition and spent years in the military, and has completely reversed his views on race issues. I also met some younger Afrikaners who were convinced the country has “gone to the dogs” since Apartheid is gone. I would hope they are the minority – I think South Africa has a great future – something I never thought I would be able to say when we last lived in southern Africa. Touring Robben Island and hearing our tour guide, who was a former political prisoner, talk about reconciliation and forgiveness was both touching and encouraging. Some of his former guards also work there, and he counts them as friends. It is an incredible history – something all of us should take to heart.
2. It feels great to be back in Africa, a place I love dearly. It is also a bit scary – how will this trip affect me? Will some of the feelings that made it so hard to return to the US after our years in Botswana again be brought to the forefront? If so, is that good, or bad – or both? Time will tell.
Roger
JOLENE:
No one seems to be in a blogging mood. And it’s bedtime, so this will be pretty short. Marc (brother-in-law) took Lisa, Renae & I to JKF on Sunday, June 10, for our 4:35 pm Lufthansa flight to Frankfurt. All went well, no problems with the bags or anything, and we arrived in Frankfurt the following morning at about 7 am (six hours ahead). Needless to say, we didn’t sleep very well sitting almost straight up all night, with the TV flickering all night. Lisa & Renae slept on benches in the airport for several hours, and I dozed off & on, until about 1 pm when we met Travis & Erin. Thankfully, they came so we didn’t have to spend our 16 hour layover at the airport all day – we took the train in to town with Travis as our guide. We went downtown and ate lunch, walked around, went through a cathedral, sat outside for awhile – it was a beautiful day, went to the same grocery store 4 times, ate ice-cream out of the same box with one spoon & various other utensils which passersby found rather amusing. Our flight left at 10:45 pm that night and arrived in Jo-burg the following morning where we had short layovers and then flew on to Cape Town, where Roger & Nicole were waiting for us. We were on three different flights from Jo-burg to Cape Town. Erin was alone on the first one; Lisa, Renae and I were on the second one, and Travis was on the third one, but all three arrived within 1 ½ hours of each other. All our bags came through and there were no real problems to speak of. The second night we all slept quite a bit better, but were still a bit jet-lagged.
Our hostel ‘The SaltyCrax Backpackers (buttpackers)’ is very nice, and we’ve made all our own meals in the kitchen here so far. We’re all in one big room but have our own two bathrooms with showers. We’re in the process of packing up stuff tonight so we can leave Cape Town in the morning & continue on the trip. We’ve spent enough time here & are ready to move on. The vehicle took awhile to figure out – and there are lots more details I could report, but we’ve bought a Land Rover (4x4). That means we can do all those off road things I thought I would never do again when we left Botswana 15 years ago!! The kids (& Roger) are very excited about the adventures we can have doing that, and I’m getting there. We hadn’t really thought we would get a vehicle like that, but a van that could haul all of us & our gear, but then we looked into this option, and it worked out, so that’s what’s happening. It’s hard to imagine we can get all that’s in our room yet, into that vehicle! But it will happen – it does have a roof rack where a good bit of it will go.
Jolene
TRAVIS:
So here we go. While I’ve been on the road for quite a while now, it’s very exciting to finally be in South Africa and to be getting ready to head out on our trip. I haven’t been in the States since the beginning of May, when I left to take a Mennonite/Anabaptist history course in Europe (my last class with Goshen College). The class lasted three weeks, and consisted of traveling by bus with 25 other students to different points of interest in Mennonite history. It was awesome to be traveling in Europe and seeing the places where my Anabaptist forebears lived and were persecuted and all of that. I really enjoy history in general, but learning about a history that I have a personal connection to was especially fun for me. Some of the highlights included: several nights spent with host families; getting to go back to the area of Germany where I spent the service portion of SST; having many, many excellent discussions about anything and everything with good friends; experiencing our roly-poly, hilarious Dutch bus driver Jan; listening to excellent lectures from arguably the best lecturer on campus in unique settings (like a meadow in the Swiss mountains near the “Anabaptist cave”); etc, etc. After that, I met Erin in Frankfurt, Germany and (like she already said) traveled with her and two other Goshen friends, Ben Yoder and Anita Hooley, for about 3 weeks. We spent time in southern Germany (in the Black Forest), Switzerland, Italy, Austria, and then Germany again. At the end, Erin and I spent a few days with my host family in Jena, where I was on SST in Germany. It was awesome to be able to reconnect with my family there, spend some time in the city, hang out with some of the kids that are there on SST now, and hike around the area a little bit. Until the last few weeks before I left for Germany, I hadn’t really considered spending time with my host family, so it was a sort of impromptu and unexpected surprise that I really enjoyed. Well anyway, that’s about all I’ve got to say. Now I’m here with my family, as you know. The only thing that I have to add to what the others have written is that I now own my very first vehicle, and in South Africa no less! That’s right, since we are purchasing a vehicle which I will then be reselling in Botswana after the family leaves, we have put it in my name (although my billfold is admittedly far, far to thin to support such an accomplishment on its own). I never thought that my first vehicle would be a Land Rover “Defender 110” (picture a Hummer, except way more hardcore, utilitarian, and square). Okay, well that’s all for me. Cheers-
Travis
ERIN:
OK, I don’t exactly know how this blog thing is supposed to work, other than that all the other kids are complaining about it, bribing me to do their blogging for them, and telling me I should be the first to write since I’m one of the only ones not loudly protesting. I guess I should introduce myself, for those of you who don’t know who I am. Just essentials, to start. I’m Erin Gotwals, from Telford, PA, just graduated from Goshen College with majors in Spanish, TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages), and secondary education, on this Africa adventure for the summer before I go to Cambodia in August to work with MCC for a year. And I’m here with Travis.
So I understand that this first blog entry is supposed to include the story of how we each got here. I left Goshen on the last day of May term classes, flew to Germany, and spent the following three weeks traveling around Europe with Travis and Ben and Anita, friends of ours from Goshen. That trip was amazing, but not the topic of today’s entry. For those of you I’ll see when I get home, I’ll be happy to fill you in with stories and pictures. I’ll try not to forget it all in the excitement of everything that’s happening these next five weeks.
A common complaint with this blog-writing assignment seems to be that we haven’t done anything so far worth writing home about. Contrary to popular belief, we’ve been doing all sorts of exciting things while hanging out in Cape Town waiting for the vehicle to be ready. Some highlights:
• Cramming all 7 of us into a tiny VW Chico for several hours a day, an experience which, even if I hadn’t felt comfortable with the Weavers before, has certainly brought us closer together. Literally. The typical setup included four of us in the backseat and one of us in the trunk, making faces at the drivers behind us and making some of them laugh and some of them angry. And making approximately one U-turn every five minutes, despite Nicole’s impressive skill as a navigator.
• Sharing our hostel with travelers from all over the world and a cat named Oreo, three dogs named Mango, Lychee, and Fred, and a goat named Cheese, who ate our box of cookies off of the coffee table yesterday.
• Test-driving and finally purchasing a Land Rover, complete with its own personal tent that pops up on the roof, where we will certainly be safe from attacks by hippopotamus and other such vicious animals.
• Collecting shells at the beach, and getting our precious last pairs of clean pants and underwear soaked by giant sneaky waves.
• Having family votes and family meetings, which tend to go around in circles, but have reached the following conclusions: we are leaving Cape Town tomorrow, and we will be driving along the Garden Route. No one knows exactly where, but that’s all part of the adventure. This is the way vacations should be.
• And of course, there have been truly noteworthy events like touring Robben Island, driving down the coast toward the Cape of Good Hope, and climbing Table Mountain, but I’ll leave the telling of those stories to other family members who I’m sure will be responsible bloggers and write in great detail about the main events of the trip so far.
So, until next time, from who-knows-where. We’ll keep you in suspense so you keep checking in to find out where we’re going next, unless the kids win the blog battle and get out of writing for the rest of the trip. On second thought, this writing wasn’t so bad. We’ll try to keep the complaining to a minimum and keep you and our blog entries posted.
Erin
NICOLE:
Probably the best way to get to know a city is to randomly drive around looking for car dealerships. Which is exactly what Dad and I have been doing for the last week. Despite my questionable navigation skills and countless U-turns, I now know Cape Town better than I ever thought possible. It is a beautiful, very fun little city but after being here for over a week, I am ready to get on with our trip, and see the rest of this country. I am especially excited about our brand-new (for us), tank-like Land Rover. Mom is not so excited about all the possibilities this newly purchased vehicle opens up for us, but the rest of us are very excited about hippo pools and sand roads, and getting stuck many times. There are even Land Rovers that come with their own specially designed snorkels! I’m not sure how they work, but my guess is you snap it on and you automatically have a Land Rover-like submarine. Unfortunately, ours does not come equipped with such a feature. Well, in just a short while we will pack up our ‘Rover and head out’. No one knows where, but I guess we’ll just have to have a family vote about it on the way out. Hopefully we end up somewhere. Until next time.
Dad is not happy. I did not meet my writing assignment requirements. I was supposed to write about the trip over. College assignments are more fun. But since I am required to pay for my share of the trip if I don’t meet the set requirements, here goes: The trip over was not as bad as I was told to expect. Dad and I flew out of Philly the evening of the 7th and arrived in Frankfurt sometime. All I know was that it was light outside, so it must have been day. At Frankfurt I proceeded to fall asleep in a straight-back chair for about 3 hours straight before Dad and I headed into the city for a bite to eat and a little sight-seeing. It was very fun ordering water, bratwurst, and cherries in my very limited, high school level German. The most amusing part of the day was listening to Dad give the language a try. German is a guttural language, but I think he might have exaggerated this fact slightly. After spending about 8 hours in Frankfurt, we got on a South African airways flight to Cape Town. This plane ride was amazing. Not only did we have our own personal entertainment systems right in front of us, limitless blankets, pillows, toothbrushes, and socks, but we also got an entire row of four seats to ourselves (since the flight was so empty), which is not quite as comfortable as my bed at home, but almost comparable. Being a 14 hour flight and all, this was very convenient. South African Airways - ladies and gentlemen. It’s the only way to fly.
Nicole
LISA:
I am looking forward to seeing creatures as big as Daddy. I am afraid they might be bigger.
So this is how the trip over went:
We got on this really lame plane. I almost barfed on my new sweatpants. And then I kept trying to sleep, but Renae kept pulling my hair and Mom wouldn’t stop singing. And the guy in front of me kept spilling his wine on my feet and I got really angry so I punched him. And then they made me sit in the bathroom for 3 hours. It was a really stupid bathroom. I kept falling asleep and my head would roll into the sink. When they let me out, Renae fell asleep across my seat. So I laid on the floor instead because I’m really nice and I didn’t want to wake her up, but they ran over me with the drink cart. I was getting kind of annoyed at this point, but I’m in Africa now so it’s okay.
Lisa
RENAE:
Okay, so we’re staying at this hostel right now, I like it, but Mom’s turned off by the cat that hangs around. We hiked Table Mountain today—really pretty—but it took FOREVER to come back down since Lisa is terrified of heights and we all had to wait for her, and it took just as long to climb up as it did to climb down. Then we got chocolate. And everyone’s happy now. And I found a porcupine quill. It’s pretty cool. And I’m really excited to drive in the Land Rover. And I’m really tired but I’m not allowed to sleep until I do this. So I hope Daddy’s happy with this. Bye.
Renae
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
2007 Africa Trip
We will be leaving from JFK on June 10, going through Frankfort where we will meet up with Travis & Erin, before we all fly to Cape Town, South Africa where we will be starting our trip. Once we get on the road we'll be adding to this blog.
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