On April 9th I embarked a plane at King Shaka International Airport in Durban and flew to Cape Town South Africa. I landed on a dark and windy runway. I took my backpack, the only luggage I brought, and walked (hiked!) to the car rentals. I waited, I worried as I saw the delays board, and I waited. 45 minutes later, THE Kevin and Shelby Cluts came walking out of the underground tunnel. They had arrived, safe and sound in Cape Town South Africa, 8,700+ miles from home.
 |
| Fresh off the Plane in Johannesburg |
We got our car rented, man those deposits are high, and drive to our first Airbnb. It was a first for all of us. Thank goodness for Googlemaps on my South African phone for getting us everywhere we needed the whole trip. Although I did have printed instructions to everywhere...just in case! We stayed in a little first floor apartment at the base of Table Mountain...what a treasure! We didn't even eat any dinner... we just talked in to the night and then went to sleep. The first day we went to a little coffee shop for breakfast. There were so many clouds and it was pretty chilly, so we decided Table Mountain would be for the next day. So we drove the little over an hour to Boulder's Beach in Simontown. This is the beach that is home to one of the only colonies of African Penguins. We did the free boardwalk, rather than paying to go on to the beach. But it was mating season so the whole colony was up in the brush anyway! It was so cute, and so amazing to see penguins in the wild :) We walked a bit around the main street of Simontown, a cute little colonial town, with lots of shops.
 |
| Me with a penguin! |
We drove from Simontown along the beach to Stellonbosch a town North of, east of? Cape Town. The geography there is very confusing! We went to The House of JC Le Roux and had a sparkling wine and nougat tasting. That was a fun afternoon! The wine was delicious and the nougat was even better. It was fun to do something that is very "Cape Town" but maybe my family wouldn't normally choose to do.
 |
| Enjoying out Nougat! |
When we got back to the city. We still had the whole evening to kill so we went to The Waterfront. This is an outdoor mall, shopping centre, tourist attraction, launch site for Robben Island, everything place. It was such fun to just walk around and look at the shop, see the sea lions playing in the bay, and eat a nice dinner at a little cafe.
 |
| One of the gorgeous buildings on the Waterfront with Table Mountain in the background |
The next morning we at breakfast in our apartment and made our way, early, to the Table Mountain Cable way. (definitely the way to go if you're ever there) We waited in line for about 45 minutes and then waited another 45 minutes to get on to the cars. But it really wasn't that long. I have waited longer for rides at Cedar Point (eg. Millenium Force). I expected the cable cars to be like a ski lift...I was wrong. They are two huge enclosed pods that hold like 60 people and are attached to a cable that feeds through a pulley and they go up and down all day. The floor inside them even rotates so that you get all the views as you go up and down. Once at the top we were immediately in awe. It is really quite flat at the top and we could see so far in to the distance on this clear and sunny morning. You can see where the Atlantic and Indian oceans meet and the water mixes. You can see the Cape of Good Hope, which is one of the furthest south points of Africa. You can see all of Cape Town and Robben Island. It was stunning, and we had a lovely time taking our time walking around the perimeter of the Mountain.
 |
| At the top of Table Mountain with Cape Town in the background |
 |
| At the top of Table Mountain |
We made our way back down and, holy moly, there were thousands of people now waiting in line for tickets and to get on the cars...we're talking hours and hours of waiting. We walked to our car...which is where the line ended and it took us an hour to drive down the base of the mountain because of all the people and cars. We made our way...on the left side of the road...to the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens. We only had about an hour, but we got to see some of the glory of the Cape Flora Region and another view of Table Mountain.
 |
| On the Canopy walkway at Kirstenbosch |
Then we went to the airport and boarded a plane to Durban. Again we rented a car, and this time we made our way along the east coast, north, to St. Lucia. We found our Airbnb, this time a lovely apartment right on the estuary. We found a pizza place...South African Pizza is so so, but at least we ate this time, hung out in our apartment and then went to sleep early. At 5:00AM the next day we were picked up in a safari vehicle and driven the 1 hour drive to the Hluhluwe/Imfolozi Game Reserve. We spent the next 8 hours driving around a gorgeous African Landscape looking for the African Big 5, Water Buffalo, Lions, Leopards, Elephants, and Rhino. We managed to see 4/5...Leopards are really hard to see. Although those elephants scared us, but we saw 3 on our way out of the park! If you're ever looking to safari in SA and Kruger is too far, or you don't have much time, I highly suggest the Heritage Tours through Hluhluwe...it was amazing!
 |
| No zoom, no filter, all rhino |
After our Safari we went to the windy beach and felt the warm Indian Ocean and looked for Hippos in the estuary...no such luck. We had a lovely Mediterranean style dinner and spent the evening in our apartment. We could really see the effects of the drought in this area as they were under strict water restrictions... the water is only one for about 4 hours a day in between 6-8AM and 6-8PM, so we definitely need to continue praying for rain in this country. As we were driving out the town we did manage to see quit a lot of Hippos! We drove the four hours to my home base Camp El Olam! We were greeted by my South African family and extended family! We had a lovely afternoon with everyone and my parents were able to be a part our Thursday night Bible Study which has become an integral part of my weeks here on the farm. My biological and SA parents hit it off, it was so cool to see them interacting! The next day I would have loved to walk them around the farm and show them everything, but it was cold and rainy, so instead, after a lovely breakfast with more family at Tala, we stayed inside and in true Cluts fashion, snuggled up on the couch and watched a movie.
 |
| Garth, Rae, Olivia, and Shauna and their niece/cousin Grace |
Saturday morning we drove to Pietermaritzburg so my parents could meet all the MCC people...although most everyone was gone so they got to meet Adam and Karen and we all got to meet their little one, Reuben, who was born on April 1. We walked around the Pietermaritzburg Botanical Gardens...which was such a nice activity but it is Fall here, so there were not too many flowers...some though! And a huge lane of giant trees <3
 |
| Enjoying time together |
Then we inhaled our lunch at the airport cafe and got on a plane to Johannesburg. We got our Gautrain Gold Cards and took the train to Sandton...our hotel was across the street from the train station! We walked to Sandton Center and had dinner at Doppio Zero... a delicious restaurant that I ate at when I was in Jo-Burg in January. Then, at my request, we went to the cinema and saw Beauty and the Beast! I was so happy to see a movie in theaters and that one in particular made me so happy! We then walked back to our fancy hotel and went to sleep. The next morning we got up early and took the train to Rosebank where we boarded the Hop on Hop off City Sightseeing bus. We got to see a lot of Jo-Burg and got off at the Carlton Tower and Constitution Hill, where we went on the tour so that my parents could see a bit of Apartheid history. We did a quick shop at Rosebank before getting our stuff and taking the train back to the Airport.
 |
| Constitution Hill |
We got all of our boarding passes sorted out and then before security, we had to part ways. Apparently Mom and Dad had quit a traumatic time getting through security and on to the plane, but they did make it! I waited a while for my plane and flew back to Durban.
It was so amazing to have had my parents come and see where I am spending my year giving of my life to serve others. I was especially excited for my Dad who has never been outside of North America and my Mom got to add a second stamp to her passport. It was also my main opportunity to travel while here and I'm so glad I got to do it with people I love and who like to travel the same way I do, never stopping! It was an experience that my parents and I will get to cherish for the rest of our lives and I am so grateful that it worked out for them to come.
I thank everyone that wished them safe travels and prayed for them on their journey, they really just had one big blunder in the beginning that you'll have to ask my Dad about. Thank you to everyone for the poster, cards, notes, and pictures. They are truly little blessings to my life and make my little room feel very cozy and full of love.
You stuck it out! Well done! Check out my facebook page for more pictures and updates and ask my Mom and Dad to see pictures as well...they have the most!
Just 69 days before I'm back in the U.S.A...weird!
