Gorongosa National Park

Gorongosa National Park used to be the one of the places with the highest species diversity in the world. In the 1960s, there were over 500 lions in the park and countless numbers of grazers such as zebras, wildebeests, and buffalos.

The Portuguese worked hard to protect the park throughout the war of independence, but by 1983, in the midst of the civil war, the park was shut down and abandoned due to violence in the area. Opposing forces met on park lands in fierce hand-to-hand fighting and aerial bombings destroyed buildings and roads. Hungry soldiers and locals entered the park and shot thousands of animals (zebras, buffaloes, etc...) and eventually, the lions and other big game died off due the lack of prey.

By the end of the civil war, 90% of the animals in the park were gone. Today, the Carr Foundation (http://www.carrfoundation.org/) in partnership with the Mozambican government is working to restore the park to its former glory.

Camille, Courtney and I with Greg Carr, the savior of Gorongosa/the guy who invented voice mail (genius - if only he would bring it to Mozambique...). It was really inspiring to hear Greg and his head of tourism, Vasco Galante, talk about the park. They both truly believe that restoring the park will not only bring safari tourism back to Mozambique, but will also create jobs in the community. After living in a touristy area for the past two years, I have watched thousands of tourist come and go and never give anything back to the community. I truly believe that this type of development, which creates sustainable jobs for locals - along with the building of schools and health centers - is the kind of development work that really makes a difference. The people of the surrounding villages are being hired, through the government (so important as to ensure sustainability), as guides, wait staff, and anti-poaching units. By demonstrating the potential impact of the park on local peoples´lives, they are ensuring the local people take a vested interest in the well being of the park.

A warthog trying to stay cool on a hot day

A pensive baboon

A water buck

The three of us in the game drive vehicle.

We hiked about 5k to a waterfall in the park. It was incredibly beautiful and incredibly cold!!!

Check out Gorongosa´s website http://www.gorongosa.net/ for more information and look for National Geographic´s film Africa´s Lost Eden!

Cape Point

After we left Simon´s Town, we drove for about another hour to Cape Point.

Looking over the point. I was rockin the USA jersey all day.

The Atlantic and Indian oceans meet at the point where the warm-water meets the cold-water and turns back on itself – a point that fluctuates between Cape Point and Cape Agulhas.

The Cape of Good Hope

We really wanted to hike down to the Cape, but it was about a two hour hike and we wanted to return to Cape Town to watch the USA vs. Algeria game. We ended up going to this bar called the Dubliner and watching the game upstairs in a room packed full of Americans. I even ran into a guy I went to junior high with! Small world.

Courtney and I celebrating a USA victory in the last minute of overtime in the game!!! Needless to say, the everyone went crazy - beer flying everywhere!

Simon´s Town

Simon´s Town is a small town on the way to Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope. It is famous for its abundance of African penguins that settled in the area in 1985. We rented a car and I was the only one with a drivers license so I got to drive! It was amazing to drive (I am not allowed to in Mozambique) and pretty scary to do it on the right side of the road.

Table Mountain

When we arrived at Table Mountain we were a little worried because there was a huge cloud over the mountain. Since the weather is pretty unpredictable in June, we considered taking the cable car up to the top since climbing to the top is dangerous when the rocks are slippery. Luckily, we chose to climb the mountain instead and we not only got to enjoy a beautiful hike, but we also made it to the top of the mountain before the people who arrived at the same time as us, but chose to wait in line for the cable car.

It was about a two hour hike to the top. We took the path right behind the cable car station which goes straight up for about 20 minutes, levels off into switchbacks for about an hour, and then a final 40 minute push straight up to the top.

I conquered Table Mountain!

If you look left of the small mountain, near the water, you can see the Green Point Stadium.

Another gorgeous view of Cape Town

All over the city, there were signs encouraging tourists to go online to vote for Table Mountain as one of the 7 Natural Wonders of the World. While I agree that it is a must see/must do climb and it is, by far, the largest table-like formation I have ever seen, wonder of the natural world? I think not.

FORÇA!!!

Green Point Stadium: it rained most of the game, but only the players got wet during the game.

Our seats were pretty high up, but right at mid field.

My first Bud Heavy in two years and it is at the game in Cape Town?!?!?! Seriously? I will admit, it tasted pretty good. The lady at the concession stand would not give me the bottle cap (plastic) for my beer or my water. People must throw them into the field? Weird.

The beginning of the North Korea scramble. When the game started, we all thought it was going to be a normal game. Zero to one, maybe two to one, if we were lucky.

Portugal won 7 - 0!!!! Força!!! After the first half, I would have told you that Cristiano Ronaldo was a lazy, not as attractive as everyone thinks he is player, BUT after rolling the ball off the back of his neck and scoring, I re-evaluated the situation and have determined he is definitely still on the list of my top ten favorite footballers.

The earplugs were for the Vuvuzelas which are not nearly as annoying as they sound on tv. By the end of the week, I was pretty fond of the South African tradition.

Bring on the headache

Fairview Winery: our first (and my favorite) stop on our wine tour.

We met a lot of Americans during the wine tour, including Jess who was staying with us at our hostel. When I walked in the door of the hostel, the guy working the desk congratulated me on being the second girl to walk into the hostel since the World Cup started (Jess was the first). Throughout our stay in Cape Town, I saw more Americans than I have seen since living in Africa. Cheering for the USA during the Algeria game with all of the people we had met, was definitely one of the highlights of the trip for me.

I learned a lot of interesting things on the wine tour. . . but cannot seem to remember any of them. Oops.

The first winery we visited is known not only for their wine, but also their varieties of goat cheese. Yum.

We also visited a Cheetah reserve.

CAPE TOWN

After the worst bus ride of my life (after living here, that is saying A LOT), we (Courtney, Colin, and I) met our guardian angel, Gloria. Our bus ride from Maputo to Johannesburg was so cold that I could not feel my fingers or my toes or my arms or my legs. As soon as I got my bag, I put on every single piece of clothing I had with me, but was still miserable. Gloria, our angel, saw the three of us huddled in a corner and invited us into to her space heater heated office and made us a cup of tea. If you are ever in the bus station, in one of the roughest areas in Johannesburg, look for Gloria in the tourist information booth. She is truly one of the kindest people I have ever met.

After hanging out with Gloria for about 8 hours we boarded the Shosholoza Meyl train and left for Cape Town. During the 27 hour long train ride we saw everything from mountains, to what Court and Colin swear looks just like eastern California, to vineyards. Needless to say, South Africa is beautiful.

The DEVELOPED WORLD!!!! Looking at Table Mountain and the interesting cloud formation which the Green Point Stadium was modeled after.

The Fan Walk on a normal day. On game day, the street is blocked off and filled with thousands of crazy fans making their way towards the stadium.

The Waterfront where the big tourist trap mall is located. We went to a movie (SATC 2), ate Subway, and window shopped.