We left on a Saturday morning, about two hours later than we had planned. We can thank Andy at the Budget Car Rental place for this, since the computer system lost our reservation, the city branch didn't have the 10 seater van we needed, we had to take a car to the airport, convince the people there that I was the one who was going to drive the HUGE stick shift van, and then make a very inelegant and not swift exit as Wes couldn't figure out how to drive the van without stalling about 50 times. On the plus side, I only screamed twice on the way back to the city from the airport.
But we were finally on our way! All 8 of us piled into our van and headed to our first stop, Bontebok National Park, where we had planned to go hiking. Perhaps my most favorite surprise of the entire trip was the supreme LACK of hiking due to the lack of mountains. But there were bontebok, numerous turtles, a swimming pond, and a little hilly trail that even I could do without wanting to die. It was a great success. That night, we stayed in a little backpackers and woke up early to start our full day of adventuring.
After the caves was the controversial Cango Wildlife Ranch, where we saw ugly birds, lemurs, and flamingos before moving on to the cats. We even got to go in and pet one of the cheetahs! Sadly, they were not as soft as one would expect, but they definitely enjoyed our affections judging by the purring noises they were making.
We got lost for about the third time after leaving the ranch, but eventually made it to the ostrich riding place. This is perhaps the most ridiculous thing I have ever done. EVER. Okay so first, we get a little briefing about how stupid ostriches are and how their eyes are bigger than their brains and how if you want them to stop moving, you just put a bag over their head because if they can't see you, then obviously you can't see them either. Also, if you are ever faced with a charging ostrich, just put your arm over your head or hold up something long, because if the ostrich thinks you are taller than it, then you no longer pose a threat. Anyway, so the first thing we see is this absolutely hilarious "dwarf" ostrich. Which is the same as a normal ostrich, but it has shorter legs and a shorter neck. And this ridiculous bird is apparently the shortest dwarf ostrich in the world. I just about lost it. Luckily, we moved on to the arena with stadium seating where we got to watch each other act as ostrich jockeys and ride these stupid birds around. As a side note, did you know you can stand on an ostrich egg and it won't break?
After ostriches, we made our way through these beautiful velvety mountains to another poorly marked dirt road and the next hostel. When we asked where the nearest restaurant was, we were given simple sounding directions and the encouraging advice "When you think you've gone far enough, keep going." So we left in our van, and made our way to this narrow, dark, dirt road that we were on for what seemed like enough... and then some... and then some more. And then finally, after three times what we thought would be enough, the road ended and there was just this little restaurant with Christmas light strung up outside. It was the strangest placed eating establishment I have ever been to. But the ribs were delicious.
The next morning was my favorite adventure of the ENTIRE trip: BUNGEE JUMPING! Right at the border between the Eastern Cape and the Western Cape is Bloukrans Bridge, which happens to be the highest bungee jump IN THE WORLD. It was absolutely incredible.
Post-the best experience ever, we attempted to make our way to Monkey Land, which we conveniently missed by getting gas. No matter though, we found the elephants and got to feed them and touch them and walk with them and watch Ralph get molested.
We then made it all the way back to Monkey Land. There were a lot of monkeys there and one of them managed to make his way into the gift store. This was very entertaining to watch. We then left Monkey Land and adventured to our next hostel, where we were given the ultimate gift of being able to play with these teeny tiny wrinkly little puppies. I fell in love with the little boy named Chum and he slept in my arms all night. We finally got to wake up later than 7 am and drove down to Mossel Bay (getting lost again along the way). We spent a lazy day playing soccer at the beach, swimming in the Indian Ocean, lounging in the hot tub, and ordered Chinese food for dinner. We had another early morning the next day, and got lost once again on the way to the shark diving place. We finally found it though, and boarded this little boat and were thrown into a cage and came up close and personal with about 7 different great white sharks.
After all this, we piled back into our van for our long, rainy, speedy (thanks Wes) ride home. I want to do it again.
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