Belgians left. Americans arrived. Saw much more of the baboons at Wildcliff. Continued with wattle mapping and hating. Met my first Puffadder. Chillin on the front porch waiting to eat the next person who dared enter the house. When he finally left he managed to hide in a little itty bitty patch of grass next to the house and swear to god you could NOT see him. Started walking much slower and watching every place I put my feet.
More hikes to the Hidden Valley and Ena’s Falls. Realized the incredible need for a proper trail in the Hidden Valley, as more than ½ of the reserve is unreachable. Went on a reconnaissance trip with the Belgians before they left to attempt reaching the furthest mountain. Total disaster – we only made it about 1/3 of the way in and gave up – the proteas were almost 2m tall and THICK. You couldn’t see where you were going, where you had come from, or where everyone else was, and you had to be super careful that you didn’t run into one of the giant ant… sacks… that live face high in the proteas. Pop one of those and you’ll regret it immediately. I found out that ‘Marco Polo’ is a game that only American’s play. Eventually made it out only to find ourselves covered head to toe in gnarly scratches and bruises. I changed my new favorite flower again – NOT a protea.
I hate these photos of Hidden Valley – they make it look like gorgeous rolling hills of grass and flowers – don’t believe it! They lie!
Christmas trip: Cape Town – met Phillip and Ariadne. Phil is Matt Briggs’s brother, who I have never met, who I planned to travel to Joberg with to spend Christmas, with his parents who I have never met. Lots of wine and getting to know each other. Arrival in Joberg – Matt’s parents are being robbed. 10 hours of police coming in and out, making his parents repeat everything, doing jack all and walking around in circles. No wonder this city has the highest crime rate in the world. Welcome to Johannesburg. Lovely Christmas despite the robbery, Matt’s parents were amazingly hospitable, I hated that I couldn’t to anything to help.
Drove to the Drakensberg mountains with Antony and his new wife a few days later. Great people, fun conversation, terrible music (you know those CDs ‘NOW that’s what I call music’? Imagine that on repeat. Aaarghhhh!). Met up with Phil and Ari in Bergville, had an amazing week with them. Weird to be hanging out with all of Matt’s family and not have him here. Nobody seemed to have any good stories worth taking back to Texas. I’ll get it out of them someday. 
Found out they had a litter of dassies in their backyard (rock hyrax), I had seen them in Cape Town - they're like giant fat guinea pigs that can scale boulders, only they are closer related to elephants than rodents. Crazy stuff. Anyway, I was able to sneak up to spy on them a few times, as long as the dogs didn't tag along.
A few great hiking trips – Thukela Falls via Mont Au Sources and the chain ladders was long and difficult at times but had gorgeous views. Too bad there was a giant damned cloud blocking our view from the top of the 2nd tallest waterfall in the world. The clouds were amazing – Crawling Eye anyone? No?
Too much wine New Years Eve. Had a great time swapping music with Phillip though, I think. Headed to Spoinkop Dam the next day, headache and all, had a lovely braai and went on my first mini game drive. Impala, Nyala, White Rhino, Zebra, Hartebeest, Blesbok, Giraffe, Tseebee, Waterbuck…
Hopped on the bus and headed for the “Wild Coast” – such an amazing experience there is no way I can capture it either through pictures or words. Probably seemed even better due to the fact that I barely made it there alive after a 5 hour ride in a minicab packed with 12 people (there were 5 seats) and a driver who was so drunk he kept falling asleep at the wheel. New vocabulary word – daga. Met some people on the bus (we were literally lying on top of each other for 5 hours, it would be awkward if we didn't talk), so it was nice to share adventures with fellow travelers. Plus the guy from Paris had a camera and shared his photos.
So 5 days of paradise at Port St. Johns and Coffee Bay, watching sunsets, playing rugby on the beach, learning how to spin fire, exploring the town, attempting to teach people that KFC is not all American's eat (it is SO much more popular here than it is in the US - WHY?!), listening to live music as bands stop by for a night or two on their holiday journeys. Met a giant sea turtle who decided to surface right next to me while I was swimming and feeling a bit paranoid about sharks. All could think of was the turtle in Finding Nemo (“Whoa, Dude. Mister Turtle is my father. The name's Crush.”)
After another day or so on the Baz Bus, ended up in the legendary Jeffrey’s Bay. Wasn’t a great season for waves, but stunning nonetheless. I came to the terribly depressing realization that I will never be a good surfer. Was able to supplement my failures at Magma by watching the pros. Wicked. Had some great conversations at the backpackers with people coming from all over the world to surf Supertubes and Magma. Fell asleep to the sound of the waves every night, woke up to see kite surfers flying past my window every morning. Did NOT want to leave that place.
Belgians left. Americans arrived. Saw much more of the baboons at Wildcliff. Continued with wattle mapping and hating. Met my first Puffadder. Chillin on the front porch waiting to eat the next person who dared enter the house. When he finally left he managed to hide in a little itty bitty patch of grass next to the house and swear to god you could NOT see him. Started walking much slower and watching every place I put my feet.
Found out they had a litter of dassies in their backyard (rock hyrax), I had seen them in Cape Town - they're like giant fat guinea pigs that can scale boulders, only they are closer related to elephants than rodents. Crazy stuff. Anyway, I was able to sneak up to spy on them a few times, as long as the dogs didn't tag along.
A few great hiking trips – Thukela Falls via Mont Au Sources and the chain ladders was long and difficult at times but had gorgeous views. Too bad there was a giant damned cloud blocking our view from the top of the 2nd tallest waterfall in the world. The clouds were amazing – Crawling Eye anyone? No?
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