Holiday--Celebrate!

(You're supposed to sing the title to the tune of the 80s song of the same name...)

I promised an account of the Glenn women trip, and here it is. Better late than never, right??

So, the Glenn women got to Jo'burg on May 25 and came to dinner with myself and my friend Ursula. Katie had a rough trip and when she got off of the plane was about the same colour as her green track suit. After some prawn and chorizo risotto, she perked up just enough to go to bed. The next morning, we headed over to Lynne and Peter's house to join in a bit of a Rotary party at Heia Safari Ranch which is a show area just outside Jo'burg which does a traditional South African meal (pap and wors), has game wandering through the park, and then presents dances from groups around SA. We were so pleased to join with Lynne, Peter, Mike, Alice, Dinty, Tamlynn, Charles, and his daughter and her friend. We had a great meal and then commenced to the dances. We were sure at this point that it was best Carl had stayed home, because all of the female dancers were largely topless other than a fringe worn just above the breasts. We listened to Charles and the girls laugh about the script of the show and make comments in Sotho and Zulu which was amazing to Katie and Mommy. Charles only speaks a paltry 7 languages! It was quite a treat, followed by dinner with Lynne and Peter.

The next morning, we headed out to Soweto with my friend Desiree. Our Rotaract Club has developed a relationship with a daycare facility for AIDS orphans/vulnerable children in the Kliptown area of Soweto, a very poor area. We drove out to Kliptown to deliver some knit sweaters and blankets which had been donated by Rotary clubs. When we arrived, we were met by Themba, one of the organizers of the daycare, who offered to walk around the area with us. We walked between houses made of aluminum sheets and car parts separated by razor wire in many cases and stepped over sewage in the street. Themba described the renewal efforts, HIV/AIDS issues, drug and sex abuse, and his hopes for the area. We were so grateful to him for his insight and time and for the opportunity for Katie and Mommy to see this aspect of South Africa instead of just hearing about it. We then went to the famous tourist trap in Soweto, Wandie's Restaurant and had another traditional South African meal (more pap, more wors, samp and beans).

I don't have pictures of those two days...Katie has some. I'll see what I can do.

The next day, we flew to Port Elizabeth which is on the Southern Coast of SA, almost directly south of Jo'burg. We then picked up our rental car and began the great adventure down the N2, the famed Garden Route. We drove to Storms River and checked in at the Tube 'N' Axe Backpackers, a cute little bungalow in the middle of an indigenous forest. The next morning, we traveled to Tsitsikamma National Park to have a look around. I can't really describe everything, but here are some pictures to do the job:

The ocean and rocks; A baboon print in the sand.

Aloe is one of the most beautiful things about South Africa, I think, and they're everywhere in Tsitsikamma. Not much is better than aloe next to ocean and rocks (ocean and rocks being one of those strange things I love).

While at TNP, we walked to their suspension bridge, which was the longest 1km I've ever walked. I think they lied, plus they added about 3 (read 47,000) stairs along the way. Katie didn't think that my 3 euphemism was funny. But it was a beautiful view once we got there:

The little guy in the above left picture is a dassie (if you can see him--he's in the middle--looks like a groundhog). You prounounce dassie DUH-see for whatever reason. My special sister decided that you call the dassies (who don't make noise, mind you), by yelling kee-kee. She and Ellen Degeneres are equally crazy.

The afternoon of this day was taken up with a "Canopy Tour" which is code for HUGE, GINORMOUS zipline. It had come highly recommended to me by my friends from Cape Town, so I thought we'd try it out. It was a huge hit with all of us. The zipline is situated amidst the indigenous yellowwood forest and is constructed by tension so that there is not a single nail in a tree! Our guides were very knowledgeable and fun, and we really enjoyed the day.

That's all the time I have for today, folks! More after I return from the Pilanesberg Game Park with Katy on Sunday!

Special notes for today: Happy birthday to Carrie and Happy Father's Day to Daddy! You both deserve a better congrats than that, but you will get it when I return. Love to you all!