Photos

I finally got 300 of my favorite photos together.....Can't figure out how to put a link on the blog but you can go to this webside      http://picasaweb.google.com/megsd25/Africa 

Coming Home

Well I am scheduled to come home tomorrow and this time I think I will actually get on the plane!! I have been cruising through South Africa and enjoying the great weather, good food, and good company. I am planning on posting some pictures on the blog soon after I get home. I am looking forward to seeing everyone soon!!!
Meghan

A little bit longer....

I woke up this morning with the thought "Oh crap, only two days left!" This was not okay with me so I called Delta and told them how upset I was about leaving and they said no worries stay longer....so I am staying in South Africa until the 9th of August now. I am still a little shocked at making that choice but whatever Africa is cool and I want to stay!! I will be continuing on the Garden Route and exploring areas I didn't have time for the first time around. I am very excited to have this chance and am looking forward to my extra time here.
I just got home from Durban, it was okay, a lot of people really love it, I don't see it!! I don't really have much else to report right now so I will go but I will keep you posted on my new adventures!!

Hello...I am still in Cape Town, tomorrow I leave for Durban. I made it to the top of Table Mountain and back down. Unfortunately, I was not able to abseil down, the winds really picked up when we got to the top and it was unsafe. The hike up and down was very strenuous but a good workout...have I mentioned I love the food here and as a consequence I am bringing home a few extra pounds...can you say hello gym.
Yesterday I went on a tour of Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope, the most southwest point in Africa. It involved some hiking and biking but the views were amazing!! We also stopped in some towns on our way down and saw things like penguins and cape fur seals. I think one of my favorite stops was at a viewpoint where they actually have a shark spotter. His job is to sit at this viewpoint and watch over False Bay below for great white sharks. There are many people who use the bay for swimming, surfing, and kayaking so if he spots a shark he sets off a siren to signal all the people in the water to get out!! The funny thing is right below him is the town of Muizenberg where I will be for the last days of my trip and I was planning on surfing there, don't worry I still plan to surf (sorry Mom and Kirsten at least they have a warning system).

Today I spent the day in the local market doing some shopping and I visited the District Six Museum. District Six is part of Cape Town and during Aparthied all the inhabitants (they were black and colored) were kicked out and the area was bulldozed. It was very sad to read about but also very inspiring as many of the people have returned to reclaim the area. Tonight for my last night in Cape Town and with Jenny and Nadia (my Sweedish friends) we are going to Mama Africas, an excellent resturant with traditional African cuisine. I plan to eat Springbok and Kudu, both animals similar to deer. I have had them already and they are excellent!!! Tomorrow I am off to Durban....hopefully to surf but unfortunately I have a cold right now so we will see how that goes.
Love Meghan

Cape Town

Hello!!! I am back in Cape Town after my trip down the Garden Route! The last few days at Jefferys Bay were amazing....lots of great surf to watch the pros on and lots of parties!!! I won't bore you with the stories but I got a lot of good ones and some great pictures....think drunk pro surfers...a not so drunk mischievous Meghan.....and a camera....definitely not the way you typically see the surfers!
After Jefferys I traveled to Knysna, a harbor town, where an inferior catamaran to my parents are made. The town was small but beautiful. I walked to the headlands at the opening to the harbor for an amazing view and strolled through town....in about 3 hours. It was nice to relax there though after the late nights in Jefferys.
Today was my first full day back in Cape Town and I joined my new buddies Jenny and Nadia (they are from Sweden and we have been traveling together since Jefferys) on an excursion to Robben Island. Robben Island is the Alcatraz of South Africa. It is here where political prisoners such as Nelson Mandela were put during the apartheid years. The tour was amazing, all the guides are ex political prisoners who were locked up mostly for sabatoge..aka..fighting for black rights. It was fascinating to hear about the stories of the prisoners on the island and the reasons they were there.
Tomorrow we are hopefully off to hike up Table Mountain and abseil down (shhhh don't tell my mom she may ground me again). Table Mountain is a huge flat topped mountain that stands behind Cape Town. I say hopefully because the weather here, especially on Table Mountain is very unpredictable so until you are there standing on top with the amazing views you never know what you will get. After that I am off to the Cape of Good Hope for a day of hiking and biking. Then one more day in Cape Town before I am flying to Durban.....a last minute decision I made in Jefferys. I have heard so many good things about it and found a cheap ticket so I thought, why not???
Hope things at home are going well for everyone....only 9 more days before I am back home....
Love Meghan

Some pics..

So as I was on a Skype call with my Dad and Mom in Bequia, Dana in San Diego and of course me in Africa....isn't technology crazy.....my Dad asked when I will be posting pictures.....unfortunatly I don't have the cord to download the ones from my camera but I do have these from some of the activities I did....enjoy.

Dana and I getting ready to tear it up dune boarding, Swakapmund, Namibia.
Damn I am good, I am glad there is no picture of the landing, I am still finding sand in about everything I own!!

5,4,3,2, bungee!!! The Victoria Falls jump!

Dana and I stepping off the Vic Falls bridge for the bridge swing.

The bridge itself....the mist in the background is Victoria Falls.

Part of Victoria Falls....the only way to see the whole thing is from the air.

Off to the Bloukrans Bridge bungee...

The bridge is the highest bridge in the southern hemisphere.

They literally picked me up and set me on the edge I was not about to look down.....deep breaths.

Yet on my own free will I jumped!

Well these are all the pics I can post for now.....stay tuned, when I get home there will be many more to share!

love Meghan

Nature at its best!

Hello!! I am currently in Jefferys Bay where the Billabong pro is going on...unfortunatly I have not seen much surfing. I have been here for two days and the surf is looking dismal. Tomorrow however there is a rumor circulating that the surf will be much better and the contest will be on. Jefferys is very much like home, a surf town with a ton of surf shops, did I mention they are about a third the price as home though!! So with the contest off and the shops open my credit card has gotten quite the workout!!

After I went to Plettenbergbaii I stopped at a place called Storms River. Storms River borders a National Park, it was absolutely beautiful! It is along the coast which faces the southern ocean, think rocky coastline with green trees growing right up to the ocean and large waves crashing on the rocks. I went on a 8km hike and was constantly amazed by the beauty. I even got a picture and video of two animals having sex....nature at its best! In the morning I also spotted a whale off the coast....now I have the special distinction of being the first person to spot a whale from where I was. Where was this special spot you ask.....hanging upside down from the Bloukrans bridge by a bungee chord of course!! Yes I evidently have been bitten by the bungee jump bug and did it again.....of course the Bloukrans bungee is the highest in the world so I do not know how I will top it!!

Well that is all for now....of to give my credit card another workout....it is getting fat!!
love
Meghan