Ok sorry for the lateness. I finally have some time to blog about all my spring break endeavors. Needless to say it was awesome. A group of 24 of us spent the week traveling to Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Zambia. A bunch of my close friends were on the truck with me along with a ton of other kids who I either did not know well or had never met before. It was a ton of fun to get to know them and we all got pretty close. Our crew also included our trip leaders Hannah and Ian, our cook Shepard, and our driver Robinson. They were the best. Day 1 (Saturday)- Our first day was spent doing a lot of traveling. We all got up really early and drove to the airport to catch an 8 am flight to Joburg. It was interesting to see how lax security is at a South African airport in comparison to those in America. They don't really make you take anything out of your bags and when I set of the alarm they barely checked my pockets (not that I had anything to hide). I ended up sitting next to a guy who later on turned out to be on my truck. When we landed in Joburg, we split up according to our trucks where we met everyone who we'd be with for the next ten days. Then we hopped on the truck and drove to our first campsite, Camp Itumela. As most of the campsites looked like, there was a huge area where we set up our tents, outside bathrooms that were a little intimidating, and a bar where you could get food and drinks. The first night I shared a ten with three other friends (Perri, Katie, and Ella). It was one of the coldest nights I've ever experienced (although this was my first time technically camping). We had to huddle close together to retain as much warmth as possible. Although it was cold, it was a fun first night of camping.
Day 2 (Sunday)- this day was similar to day one....lots of traveling. We arrived early in the afternoon in Maun to Sitatunga Camp. We our first dinner feast as a group cooked by Shep. He put out all these candles and we ate chicken, veggies, and rice. Afterwards a couple of us sat by a campfire and shared a few drinks. Three guys joined us later who turned out to be safari leaders. They gave us a ton of info on what the Delta was going to be like and shared stories of unusual safari experiences. I guess a few weeks before, an elephant had destroyed their campsite, basically eating everything and tearing everything to shreds. I learned that elephants only see 2-demensionally, so if you are in a tent you are safe because they think its just a wall.
Day 3 (Monday)- Our third day was probably my favorite day of the entire week. We spent the whole day and night in the Okavango Delta. In order to get to our campsite, we had to travel in mekoros through parts of the delta. I rode in one with my friends Jordan, led by our great host Kreech (we think thats her name). She spoke essentially no English so it was difficult to communicate with her. However I was incredibly impressed with her strength despite her size. We saw a couple of hippos, but it mostly just so peaceful. It was easy to just get lost in being there. When we got the campsite we went on a three hour game walk, where we walked through the brush and saw a ton of animals in their natural setting. We ended up seeing a bunch of zebras, giraffes, wildebeest, warthogs, and others. Unfortunately we did not end up seeing an elephant, but we followed their tracks for a while. Our leaders names were Philip and Louis. Philip was very informative and Louis was a bit of a wise ass. He liked to pop in any photo he could. Not gonna lie, at points I was a little nervous because we were so close to the animals. We found out later that one group had to run from an elephant. After the game walk we ate dinner and sat by the campfire with all of the Delta natives (a lot of them were our game walk leaders). They performed a number of their songs and dances. My favorite was definitely this song called "Beautiful Botswana." Then we returned the favor and sang a couple songs for them like Don't Stop Believing and Wagon wheel. Then Rachel, KP, and I performed a part of our dance from African dance class. We probably embarrassed ourselves but it was fun. To end the night, we played this game called "Chief" where everyone had to pick an animal and act out their signature move when they were called on and then call on someone else. If you got called on and didn't respond quickly enough you were out. I was "gorilla." One of my biggest competitors was this Delta native named Godfrey, aka "Lily." He called on me every single time. We both ended up losing, probably because we were so focused on getting each other out. It was a fun night and the people we met were unbelievable. 
(Jordan, me and Kreech)
(Alex, Rob, Rach, Jordan, Perri, Lee)
Day 5 (Wednesday)- That morning we left Planet Baobab and traveled to Chobe. Here we went on a sunset boat ride/game watch. We saw a ton of animals up close including elephants, buffallo, baboons, gators, hippos and more. It was cool because across the river you could make out the Namibian flag in the distance. Although we never crossed into Namibia, I can at least say I've seen it. The sunset itself was gorgeous and a great way to end the afternoon. After the cruise was over we hopped on our trucked and crossed the border into Zimbabwe. The next three days would be spent doing activities in Victoria Falls. After a couple hours we arrived in the night at Adventure Zone, our lodging for the next three times as well. It was a nice break, as we got to leave our tents behind and stay in actually rooms. My roommate was Jordan. The room was a little janky (as they say here), but it was nice to sleep inside for a few days. The other trucks from the trip were there and we got to spend some time with them. Adventure Zone had a huge par and dance floor, which we seemed to take advantage of.(Namibian flag)
Day 6 (Thursday)- The entire day, I spent white water rafting for the first time in my life. It was by far one of the top five most fun experiences of my life. It was terrifying, but so much fun. This is one of the top 5 hardest rapids to raft and the majority of the white waters there are grade 5. My raft included Rachel, Jordan, Perri, Katie, Ella, Eliza, and Alex. Our guide's name was Stewart. Stewart was basically the head honcho of the entire group, so basically we got the best guide. Jordan and I were in the back, a poor decision as we ended up falling out of the boat the most time. At one point we had the option of taking 1 of 3 different routes through one section. Each route was a different level. Of course my friends are all so crazy that we had to take the hardest- one that is infamous for tipping your raft over. The anticipation of knowing your going to tip in itself is kinda of scary, but the actual tipping definitely takes the cake. As we were going down we slammed into a huge wave, and fortunately I held on and stayed in the raft. But just when I thought I was safe, we crashed into another wave and our raft flipped. Although you're only under for a second, it feels like five minutes. It was scary, but when we all got through safely and back into the raft, we were all pretty pumped. I would say white water rafting is an enjoyable experience, but its definitely thrilling. I got a video of us going down a few of the rapids.
Day 7 (Friday)- Friday was an activity filled day. A bunch of us woke up early, crossed the Border into Zambia and went to Devils pool. Basically Devil's pool is a section of Vic Falls where the current is weak enough that you can go into the water and look over the edge of the falls. It was a little unnerving seeing as you can easily float right over the falls, but we had guides there the entire time holding our feet as we look over. It was really cool to look down over a waterfall and see the bottom. Not exactly something you can do often. Afterwards, we spent a little time at the backpackers lodge that felt like a spa. It was the huge resort like hotel with a pool and beautiful scenery. We got some mimosas and spent the afternoon relaxing- a nice change of pace from all the trip activities. Later that day, Rachel, Jordan, Perri and I went to a Lion Encounter. WE played with two ten month old female lions and two eighteen month old lions. We got to take some pictures with them, walk with them, and pet them.
(VICTORIA FALLS)
Day 8 (Saturday)- Saturday morning we got up early and drove from Vic Falls to Matopos. The afternoon we went to Matopos National Park and experienced a rhino tracking game drive. Our guide Ian was so cool. He had grown up at this park and knew each rhino in the park by name. To him they basically are his family. It was a little sad to hear all about how the number of rhinos in the world are dramatically decreasing and are soon to become extinct. Ian told us all about poachers continue to kill rhinos unnecessarily in order to get their horns. We ended up seeing a couple rhinos but only for a second, they got spooked and ran away. After a couple more attempts to find some, we got out of the truck and walked through the brush up to the higher points of the park. It was beautiful to look out over the entire park. Ian said that a long time ago, you could look out over the park from that same place and see herds of animals. Although times have changed, it was nonetheless a stunning sight.
Day 9 (Sunday)- The last two days we spent traveling back towards Joburg. Nothing that eventful happened. However that night (our last night together) in Tshipise was a ton of fun. Our truck spent the entire night together talking around the campfire and playing games. We really got to know each other and it was a great way to end the trip.
Day 10 (Monday)- Long journey back to Cape Town.
This trip was definitely the best spring break I've ever had. Yes we did a lot of traveling, riding around on a truck and sleeping in tents, but I could have asked for a better first camping experience. We did so many activities and I got to experience a lot of different things for the first time. It's nice to be back in Cape Town and back into the swing of things, but that trip was one i don't think I'll forge any time soon.
Lots of work this week, but going to Hermanus this weekend for the whale festival. Happy birthday to my good friend Robin. The big 21! Celebrating her 12:01 tonight.
