garden route adventures

Wow. Where to begin. Our little Garden Route road trip took us down the coast from Cape Town to Jeffrey's Bay near Port Elizabeth (if you feel like getting out a map haha). We were able to rent an automatic car (after hours of searching because apparently there's roughly 3 or 4 automatic cars in all of South Africa). Driving down the left side of the road in what is generally considered in America to be the passenger seat is quite the experience. I decided to take my crash course (no pun intended) in South African driving at dusk... so here's Nicole (switch to 3rd person), who's not generally considered the best driver in her own country, driving down a pitch black highway in South Africa.. all the while praying I don't crash our rental car which would force us to pull over in deserted nothingness. But I'm proud to say after only one minor mishap (I don't wanna talk about it), the car's perfectly fine, and, thanks to Jill, we are back in Cape Town alive and well. The hostels we stayed at along the way were gorgeous. We stayed at a backpackers hostel in a town called Knysna which was absolutely adorable. We went on a kayak safari down a river (saw little to no wildlife haha) but it was fun anyway. Then we stayed a night in Tsitsikamma, right next to what's allegedly the highest bungy jump in the world. I took a look at the cliff you're supposed to jump off, and I give props to the people that did that. Maybe I'll work up the courage and bungy jump off Victoria Falls. Anyway, we had our own private cabin in the woods. It was absolutely gorgeous. And dirt cheap. After ziplining through the tree canopy and eating far too much Nutella and cheese and other things of that nature, we all passed out at roughly 9:30 watching the Grammy's. God we're awesome. Our last stop was Jeffrey's Bay, reported to be the best surf spot in the world. We stayed in a surfers hostel called Island Vibe. It was basically a tropical oasis. I loved it. So, we didn't really do extreme things like we were planning, but it was probably the funniest 4 days of my entire life. And now for some highlights that none of you will understand or find funny:

N2, only bringing 2 CDs for the 14+ hour trip, the worst day of our lives, "the best town in South Africa," British accents, Nutella and cheese and Pringles and Mentos, "wildlife" safari, out of season, Naima getting stuck in the mud, Jill breaking her ass, wild cow sightings, the worst seafood restaurant in the Cape, Katy Perry, ziplining over dried-up waterfalls, molding serongs, lost towels/towel outlet, setting off the alarm at Island Vibe, Katelyn falling down the stairs (etc), bonfire on the beach, getting lost in the dunes, not having enough energy/sanity to find our cab driver Wesley, meeting Kuno to pay him for stupid t-shirts that we'll literally never get, Jill's ring that she wouldn't let go of, the guys thinking we're crazy, gas station dinners, petting wild and dangerous (but trained) elephants, Fabien the bartender, being dirty, me driving into incoming traffic, seeing a "dead" kid on the side of the road, the informal settlement, NOT going to stupid monkeyland, Addo being "very bad," the only rainy days we've had in South Africa since we've been here.... so basically we're gonna get a kick out of this road trip probably for the rest of our lives. It was amazing and hilarious and we all were very crabby at some points, but I wouldn't trade a thing (sappy I know).

I start school tomorrow... on a Friday.. I don't get it. But I'm pissed I have to start at all. Sometimes I forget that's why I'm here. So this should be interesting. Nothing at the University of Cape Town makes sense but I did pay a visit to the outdoor pool they have on campus, and I feel like I'll be there a lot this semester. Study hard, play hard.. right? Well, I gotta go do nothing. I put pictures up today on Facebook if y'all care to check 'em out. Peace, love, and lifelong inside jokes.

Love,
Nicole