Week 6/7 - Blood donation, Garden Route, and Hospital

A few days ago, I was asked by a student if I would also come to the Afrikaans church on Monday to donate blood. So I went straight to the church after school and a little snack and filled out my questionnaire. In addition to the more typical questions like how one is feeling, etc., there was also the question about the 'Ethnic Group', which asked if one is Black, Coloured, White, or Asian. I asked in surprise if there was any medical reason for this, but no one knew what purpose it served to be specified. At the same time, I was told that the 'Ethnic Group' is still listed in the passport, even though no one knows what purpose it serves. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to donate blood in the end because of a cold, but it was nice to meet new people.

On Tuesday, we had class photo day at school, where many boys had to get their hair cut again. The rest went more or less like it does for us - photos of each individual were taken in front of a canvas and then class photos were taken.

A few days later, it was Friday the 22nd. Finally, because that meant 2 weeks of spring break! It's strange to be looking forward to school holidays again so soon after finishing school. Here, too, the last day before the holidays is more of a day of play than work. It turned into a 'Day against Rabies', where dogs were allowed to be brought in. And the school uniforms could be replaced with purple street clothes. The children spent the whole day playing with the 3 dogs, but you could tell that many didn't know how to interact with the animals, even though almost everyone has dogs, but they usually only serve as guard dogs and the owners are mostly not interested in what happens to them.

The next day, our flatmate and I finally drove to PE in the morning, rented a car, and drove the Garden Route to Jeffrey's Bay. As a tourist, you have to be careful not to get ripped off, because we ended up paying twice the price that was quoted to us. Driving on the left side is initially unfamiliar, but the drives here are quite pleasant as the roads are very wide. We drove a beautiful wooded road through 'Thornhill' and made a spontaneous detour to a beach in 'Gamtoos River Mouth', which looked like a small desert with the ocean because of the dunes.

When we arrived in Jeffrey's Bay, we went to the beach, but unfortunately didn't see any surfers, which may have been due to the bad weather. Instead of surfers, we saw a baptism in the ocean, where the two already grown-up people being baptized were dipped into the cold water.

After a night in the hostel, we visited more beaches, where there were also no surfers, but they were still very beautiful and a place to enjoy the time in nice weather. In Jeffrey's Bay, there are also factory shops of famous surf brands where you can save a lot of money. After a short visit, our journey continued, including over a half-flooded bridge, to Cape St. Francis, the southernmost point of the Eastern Cape, where a lighthouse and a penguin rehabilitation center are located.

It is also very impressive how the waves splash up to 8m high on the rocks, which also shows how high the waves actually are here. After a short detour to Port St. Francis, a port town where not much exciting happens, we headed to Storms River. Here we found our hostel for the next 3 nights.

The 'Dijembe' is a kind of hippie hostel, with a horse, shaggy sheep (or goat, no one really knows), campfire, beer bread, and walls completely covered in writings. Contrary to what was stated, there was no WiFi because there was a storm 2 months ago, but as the receptionist always said, a hotspot would be set up soon, which never happened, but it didn't bother me much. In the evening at the bar, I met a couple from East London who invited me to spend a weekend with them.

On Monday, after breakfast, we went to Tsitsikamma and walked across the suspension bridge at Storms River Mouth.

Thanks to our visa, we often get local prices, as the tourist prices are more than double that. After a beautiful view at Storms River, we went to the Big Tree, a 1000-year-old tree.

But shortly after our arrival, it started to rain, so we went back to the hostel and celebrated 'National Braai Day' with typical South African food.

After breakfast the next morning, we went to the 'Bloukrans Bridge', where the highest bungee jump from a bridge is offered.

So my flatmate and I went to the bridge arch, while the others sat in a coffee shop and watched our 215m free fall on a screen from a safe distance. We were briefly explained how to jump and then waited with 30 others until it was our turn. Meanwhile, the workers turned the music up loud and spread good vibes. Just before the jump, you were attached to the rope with your legs, and at '3, 2, 1, Bungy!', you jumped and got a little push. But I only realized that I was falling when the jump was already over. After bungee jumping, we visited the 'Big Tree' from the day before, where we took a short circular hike. At the ticket counter, the woman initially tried to sell us the tourist prices, but after a brief discussion, she changed it to local prices. Unfortunately, I couldn't go on a horseback ride in the Tsitsikamma anymore that day, as all the spots were booked. However, on the same evening, I was able to understand the value of a washing machine even more, as I had to wash my laundry by hand, which took an eternity.

On Wednesday, I woke up and my laundry was still wet, so I put on my wet pants and stood in front of the fireplace to dry them. When I knelt down, I tried to hold onto something, which turned out to be a loose 10kg metal plate that fell on my toe, which then turned blue and started bleeding.

Since our time in Storms River was coming to an end, we drove to the beach in Nature's Valley and from there to Plettenberg Bay to see 'Arch Rock'.

But since we didn't want to wait for low tide, we climbed over some rocks, myself with flip-flops and a bleeding toe. When the water briefly receded and we could climb onto the next rock, we got soaked by a larger wave so that I fell into the water because I was already wet.

After a 1.5-hour hike, we finally arrived at 'Arch Rock' and had a secluded, beautiful beach in front of us. Our hostel for the next 2 nights had a beautiful view and several cozy places outside. We went back to the starting point of the 'Arch Rock' hike in the evening to watch the sunset while dining at a restaurant. Here, I tried Kudu for the first time, which tastes like game meat but with its own flavor. It's definitely worth trying the meat.

After a restless and painful night, I decided to go to the doctor with my still bleeding toe. I was recommended to go to a private clinic, as otherwise I would sit in the hospital all day without receiving treatment at the end of the day. The waiting room was more like a living room and the treatment room was not as sterile as in a hospital, but rather with nice decor and a cozy atmosphere. It turned out that my toe was broken and I was lucky not to have to undergo surgery, but instead have to hobble around with a brace for the next 4-6 weeks. In the meantime, the others went on a hike where they were able to see seals.

For the rest of the day, we were together and first went to a tourist market where they sell 'typical South African' things, or rather what many tourists imagine that to be (wooden masks, colorful bracelets and clothing). Since it was already late and many activities close early, we went to the gym and on the way to the hostel, we saw a prom night where almost everyone arrived in a rented sports car to attract as much attention as possible.

On Friday, we continued from Plettenberg Bay through Knysna, where we made a brief stop to see the lagoons, and from there to Mossel Bay. There we stayed in a hostel that was built from an old locomotive.

Beneath the hostel, we watched the sunset at the beach and went to a bar for a short while. However, since we were all tired from the long drive, we went to bed early.

<

On Saturday, we continued our journey to Cape Agulhas, the southernmost point of Africa. This is also the point where the Indian and Atlantic oceans meet, which is why tourists wait in line to take a photo in front of the marker. A few meters further, there is a half-shipwreck that was washed ashore. In Gansbaai, we then started our search for accommodation for the night. Fortunately, we found a house that can accommodate 11 people.

The next day, we drove to the next town, Hermanus, where the annual Whale Festival was taking place at the same time. We went bathing in the 'Fick's Pool' at the Cliff Path, which is separated from the ocean but supplied with water by it.

Later, we went to Betty's Bay to see African penguins. In the evening in Gansbaai, we were able to watch whales and enjoy an incredibly beautiful sunset from a viewpoint.