Nov. 24, 2010
Jackie Wu updates readers of the adventures that the men’s and women’s tennis teams are experiencing in South Africa. The teams are currently in the midst of a three-day safari in Kings Camp, located in the Timbavati Private Game Reserve.
Blog Archive:
– Greetings from Johannesburg
– Welcome to South Africa
Day 3: November 23, 2010 We started the day off with another amazing hotel breakfast- they served everything from traditional eggs and super crunchy bacon to smoked salmon and chicken liver. Did I try the chicken liver? I’m adventurous but not that adventurous. Maybe some day. (Though I did try warthog last night at dinner with my teammate Rachael, and although different and somewhat odd, it was quite interesting.) The hotel also had a variety of coffees and juices that are unlike any that I’ve tasted anywhere else.
So full that moving seemed to be quite impossible, we checked out, loaded up the bus, and made our way to the Apartheid Museum. We learned about the timeline of events and the impact that it had one everyone, but listening to or reading about it is totally different than actually seeing the hundreds of pictures and walking into a solitary confinement space to experience for yourself. Near the entrance, there were signs that read “non-whites” and “whites” to represent the segregation that took place in the past. In addition, the Apartheid Museum is also home to the Nelson Mandela exhibition. It takes you through, step by step, all of Mandela’s life, sufferings, and breakthroughs. I think that by the end of our 2 hours there, we all realized the real effect that the Apartheid and Nelson Mandela had on South Africa.
From there, we headed to our “airport,” where we would be catching our flights into Kruger for our few days at the game reserve. I put airport in quotes because you couldn’t really consider this one. Check in was a breeze- all we had to do was get our carry on luggage weighed so that they could properly distribute the weight on the plane. Other than that, everything else was taken care of. The planes were about half the size of your normal Continental Express Jets. I don’t believe I’ve ever been on a plane that small. We divided up, flying in 3 groups of 8 because we could not fit any more people on one plane. We flew for an hour, landed, and transferred to an even smaller plane because the plane that we were originally on was too big for the runway at Kings Camp, the game reserve. As we were taking off, we spotted an elephant, and along the way, we saw a couple of hippos and giraffes just chilling around. Upon arrival, there were two open jeeps waiting for us- one for bags and one for passengers. The Kings Camp crew very warmly greeted us as they showed us our rooms. We doused our bodies in insect repellent and made our way to the dining patio, where we ate a delicious lunch. The waiters and waitresses had to fend off several monkeys because they come around the tables in hopes of getting their hands on some food.
Shortly afterwards, we split up into 3 groups for our afternoon safari. It was definitely one of the best experiences I have ever had thus far in my 20 years of inhabiting this planet. To think that we were able to get so close to the wild animals is, in itself, mind-boggling enough. We were lucky enough to see some elephants, giraffes, buffalo, white lions, and many other creatures. At one point, we had stopped the jeep to watch the buffalo roam around. This particular herd had anywhere between 800 to 1000 buffalos. Needless to say, these animals quickly unintentionally surrounded us, leaving us to just pray that they wouldn’t charge despite all of the stares we were getting. The best spotting was the white lions. Our tour guide told us that the two white lions that were rolling on the grass just a few feet in front of us are the last two remaining white lions. What a privilege it was to be able to sit there and watch them.
We were then driven to an isolated location where dinner was being prepared. As we waited for the other groups to arrive, we were given appetizers and refreshing drinks. Dinner was served on tables situated around a fireplace. We had corn chowder, lamb, sausage, pork spare ribs, potatoes, and a delicious dessert that I never quite seemed to learn the name of. (Is it bad that I feel like all we’ve done on this trip is eat?) As we ate, we shared our stories with the other groups and all came to the conclusion that we could not wait for our upcoming safari trips tomorrow.
As I sit here contemplating what other words I could possibly string together in order to describe the incredibleness of today, I realize that there aren’t any more. The pictures and videos attempt to capture the essence of South African wildlife, but even still, it is, most definitely, an experience of a lifetime. I am off to wash away the five layers of bug spray that I applied earlier in the day. (I’m told getting malaria isn’t one the list of Top 10 Most Fun Things To Do.) Plus, tomorrow’s another long day of adventures!
PS. I’ve just encountered one of the biggest spiders I have ever seen. Oscar, the night man, was nice enough to come and kill it for me. I think it had legs longer than my fingers. Moral of this story: South African people and bug spray will save your life.
