Finale

I just want to begin by thanking you for following my journey!  It has been a wild ride filled with great people and incredible adventures.  I am tired of writing, and I bet you are tired of reading, so I'll quickly reflect on the last leg of my journey and then take you for a picture walk!  

Our South African adventure began in Cape Town.  This city, and the surrounding area, has it all: beaches, hiking up Table Mountain, museums, great food, shark cage-diving, wine tasting, and a pretty great New Years celebration.  I feel silly having only spent one week in Cape Town, and just two weeks in South Africa.  That's what "next time" is for, I suppose!

I just want to share one quick story.  

New Years Eve in Cape Town.  How should we celebrate?  Jordan and I were unsure of what to do to kick off the new year, so we texted our taxi driver, Gavin.  We were just going to bar hop on Long Street (nightlife-central), but our only local friend suggested someplace else.  After waiting in line and paying the cover, we entered and quickly realized that the tourists were celebrating elsewhere.  Gavin had a good laugh, and we went on to celebrate the coming of 2014 as the only two white people in the crowd.  Couldn't have asked for a more interesting and fun night!

I will let my pictures take you through the rest of our trip through this beautiful country.  Here's a Google Maps screenshot to give you a better idea of what we're looking at.

Wine tasting in Stellenbosch and Franschhoek was a fun ride!  You can do these tours on your own, but I would recommend the organized trip with transportation (driving and wine tasting don't mix).

How classy can one man be? (any photo that I am in was taken by Jordan!)

I had enough of being classy.

At the top of Table Mountain, Cape Town in the background.

My friend the Great White Shark.

Jordan in his shark diving gear.

The Cape of Good Hope.  If you look close, you can see Antarctica in the distance (if you believe that joke, please check out a map).  

An improved view of the Cape of Good Hope.

Sunset at Hermanus, South Africa.

The lost road (uhh.... where are we???).  Jordan and I decided to rent a car, and sometimes Google Maps can really take you off the beaten path...  We found ourselves on a dirt road driving over a mountain pass.  This turned out to be one of the most interesting, stressful (rental car on dirt roads? ouch), and beautiful drives of our entire trip.  

The Owl House, New Bethesda.
This is where that mountain road took us.  Deep in the heart of the Karoo, New Bethesda is home to an 18th century cemetery, fossils that pre-date dinosaurs, and the interesting place pictured above (google search the Owl House, I don't want to confuse you by explaining... it is as weird as it looks).

Home in Soweto.
I would recommend that you do a little research on Soweto as well.  Soweto is the largest black township in the world, and has an incredible history.  It's a place that you need to experience firsthand.  This picture, and the picture below, do not tell the whole story of Soweto.  I hope you will be able to check it out sometime in the future.  If you do, go visit my friend Lebo.  He has a great Backpackers Lodge in the heart of Soweto and will give you an experience that nobody else can provide (http://www.sowetobackpackers.com/about-lebos.html).  

Soweto playground

Traveling is such a wonderful experience, not only because of the places you visit, but because of the people you meet.  My family in Zambia and Tanzania will always have a special place in my heart, and I will be back to visit at some point (I have made too many promises to back out now!).  I was also fortunate enough to meet some great people from all over the world (mostly Europeans... Europe might have to be my next adventure!).  South Africa is such a massive country, and I only scratched the surface on what it has to offer, but that makes the craving to return that much stronger.  

If you do get a chance to visit any of these beautiful countries, let me know!  I can hook you up with some great people.  Better yet, just bring me with you!

Until next time,

Chabota

joshdube6@gmail.com