Port Elizabeth

We left lovely Graskop early this morning, although we have been up so early these past days in Kruger Park that a 6:00 AM wake-up call felt like sleeping in! We spent the first part of the day in transit, leaving northern South Africa, flying to Johannesburg, and then flying out to the east coast, to Port Elizabeth. This city is a charming small city on the shore of the Indian Ocean, and the start of the so-called Garden Route. We had some free time after we checked into our hotel, which people have been using to do laundry, go to the ATM, check out the South African McDonald's, and get some dinner. Some students are going out tonight, while others are sticking close to the hotel to play pool or hang out.

The unfortunate thing is: it's raining. Not just a little bit of rain, but a heavy and steady windy downpour. Some of us went to find some dinner, and in a 20 minute walk, we were complete drenched. So we are in this charming place, with a bit of free time, and there is a very strong disincentive to go out and explore. Such a shame.

It's even more of a shame that rain is forecast for the next few days, as we head off to the last remaining indigenous forest in South Africa, Tsitsikamma Park. We are spending a couple of days in Tsitsikamma to get the chance to experience this amazing forest, and we plan to go treetop gliding on Monday. Some of the students are planning on going bungy jumping from the world's highest jumping point. And it's supposed to be raining the whole time!

Hopefully, all will be well and we'll still have plenty of adventures in Tsitsikamma. We don't know if we will have internet there, so if we don't post updates for a while, don't be worried.