WeekEND Away

The weekend started early… really early… 05h00 on Friday morning!  Each month the coordinators of the CFHI Cape Town program orchestrate a three day weekend excursion along the Garden Route .  Our group has dwindled down to four because Erin completed her month in Cape Town and is returning home to graduate medical school and begin her residency.  So the weekend crew consisted of me, Shanley, Ryan, Jay, plus two foreign medical students on rotation at Stellenbosch University: Inge from the Netherlands and Shazia from Germany.  Our fearless leaders Avril and Marion packed us into the blue VW van and we set off on a five hour drive to the Eastern Cape.

 

First stop: the Cango Caves which include some very narrow passages that you actually have to squeeze through.

 

Next stop: an ostrich farm.  I have no doubt that these animals have prehistoric origins – they are down right creepy to look at up close.  That didn’t stop me from getting an ostrich hug, or from taking a ride on the back of one though!

 

Next stop: We zip-lined through parts of the Tsatsikamma Forest as part of a canopy tour; supported only by a harness and metal cables.  It was a real thrill with some of the cables running 65 meters in length and 30 meters above ground.

 

Next stop: Bloukrans Bridge where you can take the plunge on the world’s highest bungee jump 216 meters.  Shanley, Ryan and Jay did the jump, but I hate the feeling of free fall so I declined.  However, I didn’t miss out on all the fun, so I zip lined across the underside of the bridge instead.  (Shanley has lots of pictures on her blog from the jump.)

 

Next stop: Knysnsa Elephant Park where we fed and walked with a dozen elephants, big and small ones.  Elephants are very gentle in nature but their size is still intimidating.

 

Last stop: We concluded our trip Sunday with a leisurely three hour game drive at Botlierskop Reserve.  It has four of the “Big Five”  animals: Elephants, Rhinos, Lions, Buffalo (no Cheetahs).  There are various other animals on the reserve too; in size there are about 300 hectres of land where all of the animals roam at will (except the lions which have a gated enclosure).

 

As you can imagine, it was a busy weekend, but we enjoyed every minute immensely!  It was another five hour drive back to Cape Town and then back to work this Monday morning with a new clinical rotation.