Around the World With Dartmouth Lacrosse: South Africa Part 3

Happy Thanksgiving!

This is our last week in Cape Town and our final blog entry! Since our last blog we have been very busy.

Two weeks ago we went on a trip along the Eastern Coast of South Africa. The trip is referred to as the “garden route” and famous for its beautiful landscapes and awesome activities. Although it was a lot of traveling it was an amazing weekend. The first day we visited the Oudtshoorn Ostrich Farm where we learned about ostriches, fed and played with them, and were given the opportunity to ride them! After that, we went to the Cango Caves, which are some of the oldest caves in Africa. Although rainy, the second day was really exciting. Ingrid bungeed off of the Bloukrans Bridge – the highest bungee bridge in the world! Although scary, Ingrid said it was well worth it. After this, we went to an elephant reserve where we fed and played with the five elephants they care for. Each elephant was rescued for a different reason and the reserve offered a safe haven for these incredible animals. The last day was filled canoeing and hiking in the Wilderness National Park. The trail ended at a beautiful waterfall that made the hike well worth it. After, we went on a day safari! We were able to see zebras, lions, rhinos, elephants, wildebeests, water buffalo, and giraffes. It was such a fun experience to be so close to the animals in their natural habitat. The safari was our last spot and a great end to the weekend!

Since then we continued our work at the Shine Center. The children have been anxiously awaiting the end of the year parties and their upcoming summer holiday. We had an extra volunteer with us as lacrosse alumni Liz Calby '14 visited us for the week! We were so happy to have her and so were the Shine students.

Besides work, Liz's trip to Cape Town was filled with more amazing adventures. We explored the city and were able to show her some of our favorite things Cape Town has to offer. We took a trip to Kirstenbosch (the botanical gardens), hiked Lions Head, watched the sunset, took a cable car up table mountain, went on a township tour, and visited some of our favorite markets and beaches. The last day of her trip we drove outside the city to the Atlantis Dunes. Here we spent the day sand boarding. Although we all had a few wipeouts we were able to get the hang of it and get some good runs in. The day was so fun and was a great way to end an amazing visit! Along with Liz, other Dartmouth students finishing up their South Africa foreign study program were in Cape Town for the weekend. It was great to reconnect with familiar faces and made us miss Dartmouth even more!

Our time in Cape Town has been absolutely incredible. It has been great getting the opportunity to live in such an amazing city and experience the culture first hand. Although we are missing Thanksgiving back home, we are looking forward to spending the day with some of our friends here in Cape Town who have made the past seven weeks so unforgettable. We will miss the kids from the Shine Center so much, but it was amazing to see the progress they have made in just the seven weeks we have been here. In our last three days we have plans to visit some of our favorite places one last time and enjoy the beautiful summer weather before the long trip home! Although we will miss Cape Town, we are so excited to get back to Dartmouth and our teammates in January!!

GBG,

Ingrid Hermanson, Danielle Lisovicz, and Jaclyn Leto

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