The summer of 2014, I traveled to a country I thought I would never set foot on my entire life. This was going to be my first time to travel to South Africa, and basically my first time to travel out of Asia as well. My mom and I were invited to friend's wedding, we saw the opportunity and grabbed it with both hands. She started planning around the schedule of the wedding and made sure that our days were filled with activities.
Our first destination, was in Bonamanzi. It is a resort that is surrounded by wildlife. Monkeys, antelopes, and wild boars roamed freely in the resort. The animals didn't cause any trouble to the guests because they were already used to seeing humans.
The resort had a lounge where we can all come together and meet with the other guests who were staying there. The lounge overlooked a big lake that actually serves as a habitat to crocodiles. We were told that the crocodiles rarely showed themselves and that there was no reason to be afraid.
The resort also had its own game reserve. A game reserve is a big land where the wild animals can live safely without the worry of illegal hunting. This is popular to tourists (such as myself) because it provides experts to bring us sightseeing from a safe distance.
This is me seeing a giraffe this close for the first time. Excuse my facial expression, even if it was very sunny that day, I still felt very cold.
After sightseeing for an hour, we had a hot chocolate break. The driver brought out big thermoses filled with hot chocolate and plenty of mugs for everyone.
Our next destination was the Tsitsikamma Forest. One of their most popular landmark is the Big Tree, its stands at 37 meters and is estimated to be 800 years old. The forest is a big place and you can easily get lost if you're not careful enough, but when you finally reach the center, you will see this mighty tree.
After that, we packed up and drove across country. We booked into a new hotel and began searching for other treasures to find. We came across this national park and had a viewing deck of the tropical penguins.
Male penguins are known to be the food gatherer while the female is either building their nest or is nesting its egg. You can tell if a male penguin is looking for someone to mate with when the male is carrying a pebble in its mouth. Male penguins give pebbles to the females as a sign of a gift and if the female accepts the pebble, it means that they are allowing the male penguin to mate with them.
We couldn't stay in the same area for 2 weeks, we constantly moved from one hotel to another, just to see what South Africa had to offer. Many people have stereotypes of South Africa, such as, it is only a safari region. That is not true, they have cities and malls just like any other country. Not only did we visit safaris, but we watched musical plays and visited museums too.The people are full of diversity and are truly accommodating.
I had an amazing time and I wish that I could have stayed longer. But to be honest, I grew very home sick and I craved for any Filipino dish as soon as I arrived home. I am going to end my entry with my favourite photo taken during the trip.
This is my mom and I walking along the dock of Gordon's bay. It was bright and sunny afternoon, considering that it was raining hard the night before. The famous table-top mountain is seen the background. This is my favourite photo because it reminds me that wherever I may be, my mom will always be there by my side.
Thank you for reading my entries about travel and culture. I hope that in some small way, I have contributed something to you and you are left with inspiration to see the world out there.
"Not all those who wander are lost" - JRR Tolkien
*all photos are originally mine*
