Sunday, January 9, 2011
January 7- Robbin Island
January 7
Had to get up early today because we were booked on the first tour to Robbin island. We had an old boat that was slow going. Later we learned that this was the original boat that Nelson Mandela was on as a prisoner. The ride took about 1 hour. We arrived only to take another bus ride to the rock quarry where the prisoners worked. The quarry produced much of nothing, it was basically used for hard labour and punishment. Our bus tour operator was a youngman who spoke with much passion. He gave a great history lesson on South African politics and how these political prisoners were treated. We then arrived to the actual prison where Mandela was kept. An actual exprisoner then took over and spoke about his time in the prison. He spoke with an engaging voice and I wanted to hear everything he had to say. He made jokes on occasion. He also talked about when he was very excited to see his father for a visit only to learn that he had been shot 8 times by the police. At this point he thought that his father was dead, but later learned that he was still alive. He was in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. We visited the prison cells and the prison yards where they excercised and gardened. Mandela buried his manuscripts in that very same garden. An excellent tour! The boat ride back was long again, however
the scenery again was spectacular. Our last look at Table Mountain. We arrived at waterfront, did some last minute shopping and had our last lunch at Spurs. A popular steak house in SA. We rushed back to Westbury B&B and said our goodbyes to John & Shirley Smutts. Off to the airport we went running a bit late. It will take some time to really absorb this lifetime trip with our family and the Shein family. I think we really lived the moments and will treasure this time in our lives! Thank you God Bruno
Had to get up early today because we were booked on the first tour to Robbin island. We had an old boat that was slow going. Later we learned that this was the original boat that Nelson Mandela was on as a prisoner. The ride took about 1 hour. We arrived only to take another bus ride to the rock quarry where the prisoners worked. The quarry produced much of nothing, it was basically used for hard labour and punishment. Our bus tour operator was a youngman who spoke with much passion. He gave a great history lesson on South African politics and how these political prisoners were treated. We then arrived to the actual prison where Mandela was kept. An actual exprisoner then took over and spoke about his time in the prison. He spoke with an engaging voice and I wanted to hear everything he had to say. He made jokes on occasion. He also talked about when he was very excited to see his father for a visit only to learn that he had been shot 8 times by the police. At this point he thought that his father was dead, but later learned that he was still alive. He was in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. We visited the prison cells and the prison yards where they excercised and gardened. Mandela buried his manuscripts in that very same garden. An excellent tour! The boat ride back was long again, however
the scenery again was spectacular. Our last look at Table Mountain. We arrived at waterfront, did some last minute shopping and had our last lunch at Spurs. A popular steak house in SA. We rushed back to Westbury B&B and said our goodbyes to John & Shirley Smutts. Off to the airport we went running a bit late. It will take some time to really absorb this lifetime trip with our family and the Shein family. I think we really lived the moments and will treasure this time in our lives! Thank you God Bruno
January 6- Stellenbosch wine region
January 6
We decided to take a drive to the famous wine area called the Stellenbosch region. We thought that it might take a couple of hous to reach. To our surprise it only took half an hour. We stopped in at the Speir winery to look at the Cheetahs. The winery was still closed, so we only could see these wonderful cats through the fence. We pressed on and enjoyed the mountains and vineyards all around. It reminded us of the Napa Valley in California. Our next stop was in the small town of Stellebosch. It was a very enchanting town full of shops and tourist stalls outside full of african stuff. Lina bought a painting with Adeles help THANK GOD for "Deli" Shes so huggable and natural. I bet she was this awesome athlete when she was in school, just like Lina. Mike and I are very lucky to have these beautiful wives. It was very hot so we decided to have an iced coffee at the Mug and Bean coffee shop. It was awesome!!
Our first wine tasting was at the Beyerskloof winery. We bought two reds and two whites. They have a Pinotage red wine which is very yummy! We then drove to the next winery and tried I think 5 different wines. We again purchased some more wine. This winery was Simonsig winery. We decided to stop at this point, and proceeded to drive out of the wine region and found ourselves driving to this huge mall. It was the biggest mall in Africa. We had a nice italian lunch. Lina and I ordered the same pasta dish (pasta arrabiatta) it was bellissimo. I guess we had this desire for pasta. Lina asked Sam what he wanted for dinner. Sam answered in his Tigger like character "cookies and popsicles"
Much to Sams dismay we went home and had the famous "Must go meal" Mikes mom makes this meal when everything in the fridge must go and be eaten. We had a great meal and relaxed around the pool. Another outstanding day! Tomorrow we get up early for the Robbin island tour Bruno
We decided to take a drive to the famous wine area called the Stellenbosch region. We thought that it might take a couple of hous to reach. To our surprise it only took half an hour. We stopped in at the Speir winery to look at the Cheetahs. The winery was still closed, so we only could see these wonderful cats through the fence. We pressed on and enjoyed the mountains and vineyards all around. It reminded us of the Napa Valley in California. Our next stop was in the small town of Stellebosch. It was a very enchanting town full of shops and tourist stalls outside full of african stuff. Lina bought a painting with Adeles help THANK GOD for "Deli" Shes so huggable and natural. I bet she was this awesome athlete when she was in school, just like Lina. Mike and I are very lucky to have these beautiful wives. It was very hot so we decided to have an iced coffee at the Mug and Bean coffee shop. It was awesome!!
Our first wine tasting was at the Beyerskloof winery. We bought two reds and two whites. They have a Pinotage red wine which is very yummy! We then drove to the next winery and tried I think 5 different wines. We again purchased some more wine. This winery was Simonsig winery. We decided to stop at this point, and proceeded to drive out of the wine region and found ourselves driving to this huge mall. It was the biggest mall in Africa. We had a nice italian lunch. Lina and I ordered the same pasta dish (pasta arrabiatta) it was bellissimo. I guess we had this desire for pasta. Lina asked Sam what he wanted for dinner. Sam answered in his Tigger like character "cookies and popsicles"
Much to Sams dismay we went home and had the famous "Must go meal" Mikes mom makes this meal when everything in the fridge must go and be eaten. We had a great meal and relaxed around the pool. Another outstanding day! Tomorrow we get up early for the Robbin island tour Bruno
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Cape of Good Hope
January 5
Today we drove to the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Point. I have been waiting for this day because I think it will be very beautiful! Our drive started off by going to Hout Bay which is a lush and gorgeous drive. Today was around 36 degrees...we love the heat! Unlike Camps Bay which has big waves which makes it hard to swim, Hout Bay has small calm waves which makes it a peacefull place to be. We walked along the beach for a while and took in all the beauty of the bay. There were many people walking their dogs on the beach which was nicely raked and quiet. We then left Hout Bay and made our way to Champman's Peak drive. We were told that this drive was the worlds most beautiful drive and we all agree! As we were driving along there were many signs warning us about baboons...imagine that! We made many stops along the this drive but one in particular was very captivating. It was a beach that reminded me of New Port Beach because of the marine fog, it was very large, and deserted. Along the road we saw many animals; the first sighting of wildlife were baboons playfully walking along the side of the road. We finally got to Cape Point after much driving only to find out it costs 80 rand (11 dollars) each to get into the national park (Table Mountain National Park), but it was well worth the money. We drove as far as we could to the very Southern point of Africa but then we were required to go on foot the rest of the way. It was a bit of a hike to get there but once we were there it was a very spectacular sight of the Indian and Atlantic Ocean coming together and no other land in sight! We then hopped into the car and made a quick stop at the Cape of Good Hope which is the most South Westerly point of the African continent. Along the way we saw our second sighting of wildlife...ostriches. They were walking right across the road in front of us....so cool! We then left to head for Simon's town but first made a quick stop at Boulders beach to have a look at the penguines! They are a sight to see standing right next to the crashing waves. After all these activities we were all complaining of hunger...so we stopped off at a seafood resturant in Simon's town. After lunch Adele and I went shopping and the rest of the gang went to the beach. We then joined them and quickly found them beacuse they were the only ones on the beach sun tanning while the rest of the people were playing in the water. We noticed this was the case throughout our trip. (Natalie is typing this and says...) I guess the black people don't really go to the beach to tan:) We finished the day by getting some ice cream, picked up food for a bbq at the B&B, and relaxed the rest of the night. The highlight of the day is to hard to pick out a specific moment. The whole day was a highlight...a very beautiful day full of adventure!!! Lina
Today we drove to the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Point. I have been waiting for this day because I think it will be very beautiful! Our drive started off by going to Hout Bay which is a lush and gorgeous drive. Today was around 36 degrees...we love the heat! Unlike Camps Bay which has big waves which makes it hard to swim, Hout Bay has small calm waves which makes it a peacefull place to be. We walked along the beach for a while and took in all the beauty of the bay. There were many people walking their dogs on the beach which was nicely raked and quiet. We then left Hout Bay and made our way to Champman's Peak drive. We were told that this drive was the worlds most beautiful drive and we all agree! As we were driving along there were many signs warning us about baboons...imagine that! We made many stops along the this drive but one in particular was very captivating. It was a beach that reminded me of New Port Beach because of the marine fog, it was very large, and deserted. Along the road we saw many animals; the first sighting of wildlife were baboons playfully walking along the side of the road. We finally got to Cape Point after much driving only to find out it costs 80 rand (11 dollars) each to get into the national park (Table Mountain National Park), but it was well worth the money. We drove as far as we could to the very Southern point of Africa but then we were required to go on foot the rest of the way. It was a bit of a hike to get there but once we were there it was a very spectacular sight of the Indian and Atlantic Ocean coming together and no other land in sight! We then hopped into the car and made a quick stop at the Cape of Good Hope which is the most South Westerly point of the African continent. Along the way we saw our second sighting of wildlife...ostriches. They were walking right across the road in front of us....so cool! We then left to head for Simon's town but first made a quick stop at Boulders beach to have a look at the penguines! They are a sight to see standing right next to the crashing waves. After all these activities we were all complaining of hunger...so we stopped off at a seafood resturant in Simon's town. After lunch Adele and I went shopping and the rest of the gang went to the beach. We then joined them and quickly found them beacuse they were the only ones on the beach sun tanning while the rest of the people were playing in the water. We noticed this was the case throughout our trip. (Natalie is typing this and says...) I guess the black people don't really go to the beach to tan:) We finished the day by getting some ice cream, picked up food for a bbq at the B&B, and relaxed the rest of the night. The highlight of the day is to hard to pick out a specific moment. The whole day was a highlight...a very beautiful day full of adventure!!! Lina
Thursday, January 6, 2011
January 4
After much discussion and debate we ended up deciding on going on a tour of the township for the event of the day. The group was split on this idea because it seemed odd for us, as white people, to go into a township and look at the people and their poverty. Others thought that it would be a good experiance for us to see how these people really live. The tour van picked us up from our B&B. The first stop was a muesum about the history of South Africa and the feuds between the blacks and the whites. The heighlight for many people was a specific information board that described the types of personal identification the people of South Africa had to carry with them at all times. The identification cards seemed to look normal except for their skin colour was typed on the card! You were either labled as white, black, coloured (which is the mixed race but also includes portugese and any other europeans) and Indian. My dad was especially surprised to hear that if both a black and a white person invested money the white person would get more return than the black person.
Township
The next stop was one of the many townships in South Africa. This one contained over 250,000 people but the largest one is over 1 million people! The driver pulled off onto the side of the road in the township and we all got out of the car to have a walking tour. The tour paied a local boy to show us around their neighbourhood and every place that we visit the owner of that house or pub gets paided for letting us look around. Once we got out of the car some people in our group got a little bit nervous (the moms) because we were alone with this local boy in the middle of a township. The first place we went to was a pub! We all sat around the perimeter of this shack on wood benches. We were there at 9 in the morning and already there were 3 or 4 men sitting in the pub drinking the local brew. The brew is made by a women and she is the only women allowed in the pub. No women are allowed to enter or even drink alcohol unless they are making it for the men. The women poured some of the brew into a bucket that looked like a paint can and everyone was permitted to take a drink. The local boy started it off and then we all had a sip. Some of us hated it and others thought it was barable but overall it was not very good. It tasted like foamy yeast! This was my favourite part of the day even though it was weird that we all had to drink from the same bucket including the local boy! Probably not the smartest thing considering all the diseases. We then went into a couple of the houses which were super small. The local boy said that only a couple years ago 3 families would stay in one tiny room with 3 beds for the parents and the floor for the children. To me it is a wonder how they even have so many children! The local guy also showed us around the neighbourhood. He pointed out the different sections of the township which was divided into the very low class, the middle class, and the upper class. The upper class is normaly teachers, accountants, and doctors. He called the area they lived in "Beverley Hills" but it was very far from being Beverly Hills. Throughout the tour I found myself comparing this township to the villages we saw in Kenya. It seemed to me that the people in the township were not happy at all compared to the people in Kenya who were very happy and proud of what they had and accomplished. I was also thinking about how organizations could possibly help these people. Where do you start? Free the Children helped the people in Kenya by building schools, water wells, and clinics and much more. The people in the township had clean water, electricity, and some technology like cell phones yet there was garbage everywhere and houses made of tin and wood and people, mostly men, hangingout on the side of the road not doing anything at all! The situation is not good.
After the tour we went to one of the beaches in Camps Bay (the same one as yesterday). It is interesting to people watch on this beach. You can see the separation between the black and the whites clearly. Very interesting! A beautiful beach!
Natalie
After much discussion and debate we ended up deciding on going on a tour of the township for the event of the day. The group was split on this idea because it seemed odd for us, as white people, to go into a township and look at the people and their poverty. Others thought that it would be a good experiance for us to see how these people really live. The tour van picked us up from our B&B. The first stop was a muesum about the history of South Africa and the feuds between the blacks and the whites. The heighlight for many people was a specific information board that described the types of personal identification the people of South Africa had to carry with them at all times. The identification cards seemed to look normal except for their skin colour was typed on the card! You were either labled as white, black, coloured (which is the mixed race but also includes portugese and any other europeans) and Indian. My dad was especially surprised to hear that if both a black and a white person invested money the white person would get more return than the black person.
Township
The next stop was one of the many townships in South Africa. This one contained over 250,000 people but the largest one is over 1 million people! The driver pulled off onto the side of the road in the township and we all got out of the car to have a walking tour. The tour paied a local boy to show us around their neighbourhood and every place that we visit the owner of that house or pub gets paided for letting us look around. Once we got out of the car some people in our group got a little bit nervous (the moms) because we were alone with this local boy in the middle of a township. The first place we went to was a pub! We all sat around the perimeter of this shack on wood benches. We were there at 9 in the morning and already there were 3 or 4 men sitting in the pub drinking the local brew. The brew is made by a women and she is the only women allowed in the pub. No women are allowed to enter or even drink alcohol unless they are making it for the men. The women poured some of the brew into a bucket that looked like a paint can and everyone was permitted to take a drink. The local boy started it off and then we all had a sip. Some of us hated it and others thought it was barable but overall it was not very good. It tasted like foamy yeast! This was my favourite part of the day even though it was weird that we all had to drink from the same bucket including the local boy! Probably not the smartest thing considering all the diseases. We then went into a couple of the houses which were super small. The local boy said that only a couple years ago 3 families would stay in one tiny room with 3 beds for the parents and the floor for the children. To me it is a wonder how they even have so many children! The local guy also showed us around the neighbourhood. He pointed out the different sections of the township which was divided into the very low class, the middle class, and the upper class. The upper class is normaly teachers, accountants, and doctors. He called the area they lived in "Beverley Hills" but it was very far from being Beverly Hills. Throughout the tour I found myself comparing this township to the villages we saw in Kenya. It seemed to me that the people in the township were not happy at all compared to the people in Kenya who were very happy and proud of what they had and accomplished. I was also thinking about how organizations could possibly help these people. Where do you start? Free the Children helped the people in Kenya by building schools, water wells, and clinics and much more. The people in the township had clean water, electricity, and some technology like cell phones yet there was garbage everywhere and houses made of tin and wood and people, mostly men, hangingout on the side of the road not doing anything at all! The situation is not good.
After the tour we went to one of the beaches in Camps Bay (the same one as yesterday). It is interesting to people watch on this beach. You can see the separation between the black and the whites clearly. Very interesting! A beautiful beach!
Natalie
January 3
Today we got up early to head to the famous table mountain. It is quite amazing because the whole top of the mountain is totally flat! The original plan was to climb up the moutain but once we looked at the steep trail that lead up to the top we decided to change out minds. It would have been nice to hike it so we could get some exercise but it ended up to be a nice trip in the gondola anyway. The gondola is like grouse mountains but it is a bit smaller, it is round and the floor rotates so that you are able to have a 360 view of the city, water, and mountains. Someone was thinking! The view from the top of the mountain was amazing! I could see the whole horizon and the city below. It is crazy to think that as I was looking out into the horizon no other land was there except for Antartica! Once in a while you could spot a cargo ship or low cloud in the distance. Mom thought that the low cloud was a bird which was pretty fuinny:) So we spent a long time up there walking around and taking pictures. There are a bunch of walk ways all over the top of the mountain and it is a bit of a maze so we lost dad because he was taking pictures of flowers in the back of the 11 person train we have going on. We eventually found him so that was good. After our adventure on Table mountain we decided to hop onto the city bus tour from Table mountain which took us to all the major sights in Cape Town. There was a number of different stops that we could get off at and then get back on to another bus whenever we wanted. We got off at Camps Bay which is home to the nicest beaches I have ever seen in my life! The water is super cold...probably colder than a river in North Vancouver and the waves are so big. These two things could have detoured people away from going into the water but there still were many people playing in the water. The coolest thing about the beach was the huge pools of water the waves made. The waves were so large that it made a large slope down into the water and when the waves were really big the water went all the way up the beach and made a pool of water that was about 2 feet deep but ranged that whole length of the beach. It was perfect for all the kids and the water was a little warmer too. Perfect! Before leaving Camps Bay we stopped off at Nando's for lunch. Nando's started in South Africa by the Portugese who settled here back in the day. It is so much better than in Vancouver. I guess on its way to Vancouver it lost the spicy goodness...ummm! Our next stop was the clock tower (which I don't think we even saw) at the water front. This area reminded me of Granville Island because there was water ways, boats, shops, music playing, and lots of people! It was so hot that day so we started looking for icecream. Every icecream shop we went to was either stupid expensive (which is weird because it is really cheap here) or it was all melted in the freezer...it looked more like milkshake than icecream! Finally we found a spot but it turns out that it is pretty stressful getting icecream for 11 people ;) With icecream in hand we hoped back onto the bus which took us back to Table mountain where we had left our cars. After a long day we headed home for some dinner and relax for the next big day.
Natalie
Today we got up early to head to the famous table mountain. It is quite amazing because the whole top of the mountain is totally flat! The original plan was to climb up the moutain but once we looked at the steep trail that lead up to the top we decided to change out minds. It would have been nice to hike it so we could get some exercise but it ended up to be a nice trip in the gondola anyway. The gondola is like grouse mountains but it is a bit smaller, it is round and the floor rotates so that you are able to have a 360 view of the city, water, and mountains. Someone was thinking! The view from the top of the mountain was amazing! I could see the whole horizon and the city below. It is crazy to think that as I was looking out into the horizon no other land was there except for Antartica! Once in a while you could spot a cargo ship or low cloud in the distance. Mom thought that the low cloud was a bird which was pretty fuinny:) So we spent a long time up there walking around and taking pictures. There are a bunch of walk ways all over the top of the mountain and it is a bit of a maze so we lost dad because he was taking pictures of flowers in the back of the 11 person train we have going on. We eventually found him so that was good. After our adventure on Table mountain we decided to hop onto the city bus tour from Table mountain which took us to all the major sights in Cape Town. There was a number of different stops that we could get off at and then get back on to another bus whenever we wanted. We got off at Camps Bay which is home to the nicest beaches I have ever seen in my life! The water is super cold...probably colder than a river in North Vancouver and the waves are so big. These two things could have detoured people away from going into the water but there still were many people playing in the water. The coolest thing about the beach was the huge pools of water the waves made. The waves were so large that it made a large slope down into the water and when the waves were really big the water went all the way up the beach and made a pool of water that was about 2 feet deep but ranged that whole length of the beach. It was perfect for all the kids and the water was a little warmer too. Perfect! Before leaving Camps Bay we stopped off at Nando's for lunch. Nando's started in South Africa by the Portugese who settled here back in the day. It is so much better than in Vancouver. I guess on its way to Vancouver it lost the spicy goodness...ummm! Our next stop was the clock tower (which I don't think we even saw) at the water front. This area reminded me of Granville Island because there was water ways, boats, shops, music playing, and lots of people! It was so hot that day so we started looking for icecream. Every icecream shop we went to was either stupid expensive (which is weird because it is really cheap here) or it was all melted in the freezer...it looked more like milkshake than icecream! Finally we found a spot but it turns out that it is pretty stressful getting icecream for 11 people ;) With icecream in hand we hoped back onto the bus which took us back to Table mountain where we had left our cars. After a long day we headed home for some dinner and relax for the next big day.
Natalie
January 2, 2011 Travel day
January 2
Started the day with mamosas from Chris! Thanks a lot from the whole gang!!. Got in the vans and started are journey to Cape town. It was over cast and slightly raining. we stopped in Buffalo bay. We meet a man on the beach cleaning up the beach from New Years. He had three boys and just had another new baby boy born on Christmas day. He asked Mike for his address in Canada. Mike told him that he did not need to know that. But he pointed to Lina and said that he could come to Canada and just look for the most beautiful woman in Canada. We stopped in Hermanis for lunch. Weather was bad and so was the service at the restaurant. We finally arrived to Westbury house in Rondebosch. What a great find!! Bruno
Started the day with mamosas from Chris! Thanks a lot from the whole gang!!. Got in the vans and started are journey to Cape town. It was over cast and slightly raining. we stopped in Buffalo bay. We meet a man on the beach cleaning up the beach from New Years. He had three boys and just had another new baby boy born on Christmas day. He asked Mike for his address in Canada. Mike told him that he did not need to know that. But he pointed to Lina and said that he could come to Canada and just look for the most beautiful woman in Canada. We stopped in Hermanis for lunch. Weather was bad and so was the service at the restaurant. We finally arrived to Westbury house in Rondebosch. What a great find!! Bruno
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Bungy jump bridge- 216 m
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| The bridge we jumped off of- the middle of the bridge is where all the people are jumping from |
Monday, January 3, 2011
Sunday, January 2, 2011
South African Adventures in Knysna
Dec 28
Today we left the Mara on a tiny little 12 seater plane. The runway was a dirt strip- it was another pretty cool experience. We flew over the Mara where we were on safari and we could see all the animals which was very cool. We got to Nairobi and we were met by some people from Free the Children. They took us to a market which was absolutely insane. Of course we were the only white people there and we were getting hastled beyond belief. It was quite hilarious actually- everyone wanted to trade Sam for his hat, and this one guy wanted to trade him for his shorts, shirt, hat, and shoes. He could've walked out of there naked with a bunch of African souvenirs! All of the people thought we were all related, as usual, and when Sam said that I was just his friend (and not girlfriend) the guy said, ohhh, may I apply then? It was pretty funny. We decided after that we should just say were all realted. Mr. Shein was an excellent bargainer and came out of that place with some pretty good deals. Near the end some guys started talking to my and Natalie and one of them gave me a silly band as a gift, but I gave it back- just in case. They kept talking to Nat after I left and when we were about to leave we called her over and the guys yelled to us that they would give us cows in return for Natalie. Apparently they even said they would give us elephants and lions- I guess Nat was pretty special. In Kenyan culture, when a man wants to marry a woman he gives cows to the girl's family in return for her- so pretty much this guy wanted to marry Natalie. Very funny. Sam also got a marriage proposal by a 30 year old woman. She first asked how old he was and if he was married and when Mrs. Shein said no of course he's not married, the lady said she'd go for him and she'd even be ready to pay 10,000 shillings for him, which only really ends up being something like 140 bucks. Overall it was a great experience- a little scary at first but in the end we couldn't stop laughing about everything that happened. After the market we went to the mall so dad and Mr. Shein could by some Safari shoes and then we headed to the hotel which was absolutely gorgeous. We all looked a little bit like hobos in our basketball shorts and tshirts (and we all smelled), so we didnt really fit in the how nice the hotel was. We had about an hour to get settled into our rooms and we were off again to a resaurtant for dinner. The restaurant was called The Carnivore. Pretty much all you can eat meat. It was another crazy experience. We were first served soup and little appetizers and then all the meat came with all the different types of sauces for them. There is this little flag on the table standing up, and when you've had enough meat, you're supposed to take the flag down and surrender. The type of meat we ate was the real experience- we had chicken, turkey, lamb, beef, ostrich, ox heart, chicken liver, crocodile, camel and probably some more that I can't remember. But it kept coming and coming. Crocodile was actually probably one of my favorites, and liver was definately the worst thing I've ever eaten. After that we drove back to the hotel to have a very short sleep, as we had to get up at 3:30 in the morning to be at the airport for about 4:30- to be on our way to South Africa!! The trip has felt so long already but we have another half of it to go- and this half is going to be quite a gong show since we have no idea what we are doing. I'm sitting on the plane typing this right now- and since the plane is so empty, all 11 of us have 3 seats to ourselves! It's amazing especially since we all didnt get a lot of sleep and almost everyone is just getting over their sickness. Another long day to go, but South Africa is going to be our second amazing adventure so the long trip will be worth it! After 7 plane rides we'll finally make it to SA! --Anita
Dec 29
We arrived in George a liitle earlier. We were lucky to get the express flight at 12;30. Hoping to get our rental car sooner and get to our accomodations. NOT! we arrived sooner only to find out that we had to wait for the rental vehicles. One arrived sooner, so Michael (THE KING OF THE BEASTS) and all the lionesses and female cubs went on to Knysna to get groceries and find a laundry service. Bruno and the Shein Lions in training (Zach and Sam)
stayed behind to wait for the next rental car. We call Michael the king of the beasts because the joke from the safari was that in the animal world he would be the male lion. Because the lion sleeps 20 hours a day and makes love for 4 hours. The female hunt the food and he gets to eat first. basically do F all. --- Bruno. It's cloudy and raining in South Africa but that doesn't affect our spirts, we are all excited to be here. We can feel the warmth of summer time even though it's raining. Off we go in our rental car with Michael driving. The car is standard and Michaels last time driving standard was 20 years ago. Combined with that and having to drive on the left side of the road it made for a very exciting drive. With careful directions given by Adele we still managed to make a wrong turn and go into the airport parkade which is not where we wanted to be. Bruno and the boys were watching us from afar and I'm sure laughing only to find out later they did the same thing. After the histarics of laughter by all in the car and a few choose words by our daring driver, Michael, we were on our way to Knysna. They say it takes a day to get used to driving on the left side of the road but Michael did great! We made it to Knysna and had to ask for directions to Abalone Lodges and who do we meet at the information counter?!? Almarie, the lady we have been in contact with for the last 5 months about our accomodations. We checked in, went for groceries, dropped off bags of laundry. The laundry service is great, you drop off and come back later to pick up clean folded laundry. You pay the same amount (55 rands, $8CAN) per load if you do it or if they do it.------ Lina
Dec 30
Ok, so today was cave and ostrich day. We all woke up nice and early to drived to some town name I can't spell..nevermind...it's called Oudtshoorn. Anyways, it was a very long trip! Mister Bruno even tried to turn onto the wrong side of the highway at one point and the Sheins were following us so closely that they almost hit us! After getting back in the right lane, we were finally able to make it to our destination- a 2.5 hour trip. We watched a movie, ate lunch, and explored the gift shop while we waited to go on our adventure tour! The first half of the tour was just an informational part, but the second half was adventure! Our tour guide's name was John Fred and he was flippin hilarious. Imagne a little gay guy with an accent. So funny. The caves were so cool. The first tunnel we got to crawl through. The second, we had to squeeze through sideways. It was called the tunnel of love. The third tunnel was pretty scary. It was called the chimney. Zach was the first to go up and pretty much once his body was in, all you could see were his feet and then when his feet were gone it looked like he had completely disappeared. The moms were freaking out because just seeing people go through made absolutely no sense and it was definitely a tight squeeze! This tunnel was actually really hard to get through. It was small and actually took a bit of work to get up through. Once you get through to the other side, you have to slide down to the other side. It's really slipperly in caves, so Sabrina fell right on her butt when she did it. Then Sam lent me a hand, but I said I was ok....and I still fell on my butt! Anyways, everyone made it through in the end, which was quite a big accomplishment for the mammas. Our group all then waited in the next chamber to go through the 4th and last tunnel. For this one you had to crawl on your stomach, then flip on to your back and slide through this really small space...maybe about a foot in hight...so you couldn't see where the bottom was and when your feet were going to touch. This one was really fun, too. Auntie Adele and Tay were the funniest because when they came to the other side they just plopped down. All in all, the caves were really fun, especially because we had such a funny tour guide. He knew most of our names and even called mom Mrs. Canada all the time. After the caves we made a stop at the Cango Ostrich Farm. Oh man were we in for some surprises. We first got to see baby ostriches and I got to hold one as well as a few of us. They are soo cute! Then we got to go outside to get some kisses and hugs. Uncle Mike and Dad got an ostrich kiss and anita and natalie got a hug. We got to see an emu...aka the scariest birds ever. They have feet that look like dinosaur feet. Its gross. Ostriches only have two toes, by the way. Anyways, after that we saw a 35 year old ostrich. And after that it was the moment we've all been waiting for. No words can even describe how funny ostrich riding is. It is rediculous. The girls were up first. They ride with two jockies holding on beside them. Tay and Sabrina went. So funny. Then for the boys was Mister Bruno and Zach. So dad gets on the ostrich and then after the jockies let go (they don't hold on for the boys), dad holds on for dear life and then the ostrich speeds up and dad falls right on his butt! The crowd went wild! hahhaa it was actually the dumbest looking thing ever. Then it was Zach...he didn't last as long because the stupid ostrich almost ran him into the fence. (ps their brain is like the size of the teaspoon...they are extremely stupid). Zach's face was so funny the whole time! After that a couple of us got a massage from the birds where you hold a bucket of food and they all come around you eating it up! Then we got a chance to stand on some ostrich eggs, but not really cause all these stupid little kids kept going on like 3 times and their parents werent letting anyone else have a turn. So...fail.. But did I mention our tour guide was super funny as well! Mom laughed at this one joke he said that was totally stupid, so I'll just let her tell you herself. After a successful two toursit attractions we waited like 20 years in the car for the rents to buy some ostrich eggs and then we stopped by the mall on the way home to get a sim card so natalie could later use it all up in one shot no thanks to mister christopher robin. Anyways, we got home late again and had pasta and chicken fajitas for le diner. sleepy time and das it! --michelle
Dec 31
So today was new years eve day and when we woke up the sky was all cloudy and gross. But, we had decided to go to the beach...we'd just be the only ones there! So we take a drive to Pletttenbergbaai which was like a half hour drive from our house. When we got to the beach it was still cloudy, but not too chilly. Dad was the first to jump into the ocean and go for a swim. It wasn't the warmest water but after a while you were numb enough to say it was warm. The beach was beautiful I might add. Then after working up some courage Sabrina, Tay, and me all jumped in the water and went body surfing. It was so much fun- until the lifeguard got mad at us and said we weren't allowed to be swimming there since it was out of the designated swimming area (we had no idea there was even a swimming spot). We had been in the water for like 20 minutes already until the guard finally noticed we were in a no swimming zone...bad guard. So we went to the swimming area but it was too crowded to we just left and went back to chill with the family. Zach and Sam built a sand castle and then built a walll around it so that the water wouldn't take it down...but there was no need for water to destroy it since these 3 little kids just came outta no where and completely stomped on it and killed it. Uncle Mike went up to the kids (who were like 4 and 5 maybe) and just jokingly told them that they should rebuild it. One kid took it pretty seriously so he started to build it up again. Then we watched these 3 kids totallu start to beat eachother up. There was a tiny little one who threw sand at the bigger one and then the bigger one grabbed the little one and pushed him over. It was pretty funny to watch actually...the parents were not really caring about the kids, since they were up at the restaurant just talking and pointing when the kids did something. Anywyas, at this point the sun came out and it ended up being a beautiful day. We all got burnt because we were not expecting it to be so hot. Zach and Sam then went swimming and body surfing. And then we all had a nice nap on the beach for a few hours- quite a different new years eve day! Then we left the beach and went to the Knysna market for a little bit. It was very pretty- it reminded everyone of granville island and the quay. There were some people in the water playing kayak water polo...or something like that. Pretty cool. We had some hot dogs and ice cream and then went back to our house to get ready for new years eve! The Sheins came to our place and we had dinner and drinks! The adults went on the deck and drank a bunch of beer and like 3 bottles of wine while the kids stayed inside and drank cider and beer (except for Sabrina). We played barn yard first- it was pretty funny. Then after that we played kings cup. After everyone was out of alcohol and it was getting close to midnight, Zach and Sam entertained us for a while by dancing. Then dad and Zach shot gunned a beer. Zach is amazingly good at it! And it was dad's first time so it was hard to compete with Zach finishing his beer in all of 2 seconds. We all just sat around the table listening to music until the finally countdown. Then it was the new year and we all went crazy! we banged on pots and pans and Zach opened the champagne and we all had some. Then we started out dance party and Sam was absolutely hilarious...he had some mad moves! After lots of dancing to DJ Zach's music we decided to call it a night and get a good night sleep for the big day that lay ahead! All in all- fabulous day! --Anita
Jan 1
So today we all woke up feeling pretty great and pretty nerrvous for the days events- today was monkeyland, zip lining, and...wait for it...bungy jumping day! So we had a nice little sleep in and were on our way to moneyland. We got there and started the tour. We saw lots of cute little monkeys swinging through the trees. It was pretty cool. There was only one ape in the forest and they called it micheal jackson cuz he's black but wants to be white. He was a white ape and it was so cool to see him swing through the trees. The other monkeys just climbed the trees and hung by their tails but this one was actually jumping through the trees like they were monkey bars. Oh ya, when we first got there we were under a caged area and there was this black monkey that looked like a tiny gorilla right above our heads. We all thought it was so cool so we started to make some noise and then he yellled at us. Apparently when people scream or get excited it makes monkeys mad and they yell and make loud noises. There was also the third longest suspension bridge that we went over and when we were crossing it there were little monkeys walking beside us. It was pretty cool to see all the different kinds of monkeys. Anyways, after monkeyland we drove for about 45 minutes to the zip line place. That was also pretty nice and the sun ended up coming out for us and it was super hot. We were all sweating like crazy. So we got all geared up in our equipment- helmets and gloves and all that jazz. The guides pretty much just gave us a 2 minute run down of what to do and then they just said to watch and learn. So we didn't really have too much instruction. other than just go- we had to control out breaking but luckily there was green pads at the end just in case you didn't break enough. The very first one I didn't really break and I hit the mat. But it was ok cuz it was pretty squishy. There were 8 zip lines that we went down. They all crossed back and forth across the river. The river was very pretty other than the fact that the water looked like coca cola. There were some waterfallls and lots of vegatation. It was very nice. The first 3 zip lines were just the practice ones and then we entered the speed zone. The zip lines were so fast and since we were controlling our breaking there were emergency breaks that the guide used just in case we sucked at breaking. Most of us sucked at it, but by the end we all got pretty good and didn't need the green mat to fall onto. The longest zip line we did was 211 meters or something. It was pretty fast. Aftrer the zip lining we weent to our final event of the day- bungy jumping. We had all day to think about it and freak out...everyone seemed to just not think about it at all, right up until zip lining was done. We finished zip lining around 2:45 and got to the bungy jumping place just after 3. We were scheduled to be there by 4 and jump at 5. Only 7 of us were signed up- Uncle Mike, dad, Zach, Sam, Tay, Mich, and me. So when we got there we looked at the bridge and it was the most intense thing I havr ever seen. You jump off from rigt under the bridge into he valley. OH- did I mention it is the largest bungy in the world? It is pretty ridiculous. 216 metres. Just looking at it from a far away distance it intense. So the 7 of us signed in, got our weight, jump numbers, and time written on our hands. We got our harness and we were all starting to freak out a little bit. Mom was completely white and pale with fear. Before we signed in, we were just waiting in the car and mom came in because she had looked at this bridge. She was begging us not to jump. She was actually giving us the worst pep talk ever. She said "Bruno, thisa could be the end" . It was pretty funny actually. We told her if she could convince the Sheins not to do it then we wouldn't do it either, so she ran over to their car and started begging them. But it didn't work. So anyways, back to getting harnessed- we just got it put on us nice and loose before we took the walk to the bridge. We ended up waiting around for such a long time. Mom was actuallly more nervous than any of the jumpers...she looked like she was going to puke or have a heartattack at any moment. Finally we all went in a group and took the walk to the bridge. There were 18 people in our group and we were the last time slot of the day. We got a very breif instruction of how to jump off the bridge, but nothing to extreme- I still didn't really know what I was supposed to do. We left the moms, and Sabrina and Nat to do the watching. Mom said she wasn't going to watch and just wait in the car for our safe return but she ended up watching. So we finally take the walk to the bungy area. We had to go on this catwalk built directly beneath the bridge, so you can see the bottom because the floor of the catwalk was made of metal but it had holes in it so that was so scary just looking down and seeing how far it was. We could touch bridge- we were right under it. When we finally got off the catwalk we were at the bungy zone. It was in the middle of the bridge right beneath where cars drive over. It was actually like a club there becasue the music was blasting and beating- minus the fact that it was light out, no one was dancing- just freaking out, and we were in the middle of a bridge. It was quite an experience. Everyone was swearing and freaking out this point. We were all wondering whose idea this was and why we were doing this. It was unbelievably high. So we got there just after 5 and had to wait for our turn to take the plunge. First called up to go from the 7 of us was Uncle Mike. He was sitting on the bench ready to get strapped up and was swearing over and over again. Once they strap you in they take you to the edge and count down from 5 and then you just jump. It is the most intimidating sight. When we watched people go we just got more and more nervous. We danced a little bit to losen ourselves up but really we were all freaking out like crazy. After Uncle Mike came back and told us how awesome it was I think we all felt a little bit better. There was this one lady who wouldn't go but then the people working there finally convinced and she went. When she came back up she said it was the most terrifying thing ever and that none of us should do it. We were all like, great...we have our own problems here! But we decided to go anyways. The next of the group to go was Sam, and he was freaking out big time. He was probably the least nervous looking when we were going there but the most nervous when jumping. After Sam was Tay, then Zach- he was also shaking. The I went after Zach. The feeling is absolutely indescribable. It wass like time was going so slowly and all I was thinking in my head was HOLY SHIT. But I couldn't say anything cuz my eyes were just bulging out of myface and the air was coming at me so fast. It was a crazy feeling until the bungy chord kicks in. Pretty much, I did not think about it at all- once they counted down, I just jumped- I think that's what everyone did. Anyways, after me was dad- he said he was scared shitless. Everyone was. The last to go was Michelle- she was the second last of the day! Everyone thought it was so awesome and we were all so happy we kicked off the year like this! When we walked back across the bridge (the catwalk is actually way scarier than the jump so walking back we were all still freaking out) but when we got back mom gave us a huge hug and kiss- we probably took 15 years off her life. At this point it was about 6:30- we got home about 8:30- went to a pizza place cuz we were starving. None of us really ate before we jumped becasue we were afraid of puking. Anywyas, we ate then went back home- only to find a rose, champagne and orange juice with a note. It was from chris! How he sent us mamosas and a rose for Nat, I have no idea. He's superman! We were all so surprised! It was a fantastic first day of the year! --anita
Today we left the Mara on a tiny little 12 seater plane. The runway was a dirt strip- it was another pretty cool experience. We flew over the Mara where we were on safari and we could see all the animals which was very cool. We got to Nairobi and we were met by some people from Free the Children. They took us to a market which was absolutely insane. Of course we were the only white people there and we were getting hastled beyond belief. It was quite hilarious actually- everyone wanted to trade Sam for his hat, and this one guy wanted to trade him for his shorts, shirt, hat, and shoes. He could've walked out of there naked with a bunch of African souvenirs! All of the people thought we were all related, as usual, and when Sam said that I was just his friend (and not girlfriend) the guy said, ohhh, may I apply then? It was pretty funny. We decided after that we should just say were all realted. Mr. Shein was an excellent bargainer and came out of that place with some pretty good deals. Near the end some guys started talking to my and Natalie and one of them gave me a silly band as a gift, but I gave it back- just in case. They kept talking to Nat after I left and when we were about to leave we called her over and the guys yelled to us that they would give us cows in return for Natalie. Apparently they even said they would give us elephants and lions- I guess Nat was pretty special. In Kenyan culture, when a man wants to marry a woman he gives cows to the girl's family in return for her- so pretty much this guy wanted to marry Natalie. Very funny. Sam also got a marriage proposal by a 30 year old woman. She first asked how old he was and if he was married and when Mrs. Shein said no of course he's not married, the lady said she'd go for him and she'd even be ready to pay 10,000 shillings for him, which only really ends up being something like 140 bucks. Overall it was a great experience- a little scary at first but in the end we couldn't stop laughing about everything that happened. After the market we went to the mall so dad and Mr. Shein could by some Safari shoes and then we headed to the hotel which was absolutely gorgeous. We all looked a little bit like hobos in our basketball shorts and tshirts (and we all smelled), so we didnt really fit in the how nice the hotel was. We had about an hour to get settled into our rooms and we were off again to a resaurtant for dinner. The restaurant was called The Carnivore. Pretty much all you can eat meat. It was another crazy experience. We were first served soup and little appetizers and then all the meat came with all the different types of sauces for them. There is this little flag on the table standing up, and when you've had enough meat, you're supposed to take the flag down and surrender. The type of meat we ate was the real experience- we had chicken, turkey, lamb, beef, ostrich, ox heart, chicken liver, crocodile, camel and probably some more that I can't remember. But it kept coming and coming. Crocodile was actually probably one of my favorites, and liver was definately the worst thing I've ever eaten. After that we drove back to the hotel to have a very short sleep, as we had to get up at 3:30 in the morning to be at the airport for about 4:30- to be on our way to South Africa!! The trip has felt so long already but we have another half of it to go- and this half is going to be quite a gong show since we have no idea what we are doing. I'm sitting on the plane typing this right now- and since the plane is so empty, all 11 of us have 3 seats to ourselves! It's amazing especially since we all didnt get a lot of sleep and almost everyone is just getting over their sickness. Another long day to go, but South Africa is going to be our second amazing adventure so the long trip will be worth it! After 7 plane rides we'll finally make it to SA! --Anita
Dec 29
We arrived in George a liitle earlier. We were lucky to get the express flight at 12;30. Hoping to get our rental car sooner and get to our accomodations. NOT! we arrived sooner only to find out that we had to wait for the rental vehicles. One arrived sooner, so Michael (THE KING OF THE BEASTS) and all the lionesses and female cubs went on to Knysna to get groceries and find a laundry service. Bruno and the Shein Lions in training (Zach and Sam)
stayed behind to wait for the next rental car. We call Michael the king of the beasts because the joke from the safari was that in the animal world he would be the male lion. Because the lion sleeps 20 hours a day and makes love for 4 hours. The female hunt the food and he gets to eat first. basically do F all. --- Bruno. It's cloudy and raining in South Africa but that doesn't affect our spirts, we are all excited to be here. We can feel the warmth of summer time even though it's raining. Off we go in our rental car with Michael driving. The car is standard and Michaels last time driving standard was 20 years ago. Combined with that and having to drive on the left side of the road it made for a very exciting drive. With careful directions given by Adele we still managed to make a wrong turn and go into the airport parkade which is not where we wanted to be. Bruno and the boys were watching us from afar and I'm sure laughing only to find out later they did the same thing. After the histarics of laughter by all in the car and a few choose words by our daring driver, Michael, we were on our way to Knysna. They say it takes a day to get used to driving on the left side of the road but Michael did great! We made it to Knysna and had to ask for directions to Abalone Lodges and who do we meet at the information counter?!? Almarie, the lady we have been in contact with for the last 5 months about our accomodations. We checked in, went for groceries, dropped off bags of laundry. The laundry service is great, you drop off and come back later to pick up clean folded laundry. You pay the same amount (55 rands, $8CAN) per load if you do it or if they do it.------ Lina
Dec 30
Ok, so today was cave and ostrich day. We all woke up nice and early to drived to some town name I can't spell..nevermind...it's called Oudtshoorn. Anyways, it was a very long trip! Mister Bruno even tried to turn onto the wrong side of the highway at one point and the Sheins were following us so closely that they almost hit us! After getting back in the right lane, we were finally able to make it to our destination- a 2.5 hour trip. We watched a movie, ate lunch, and explored the gift shop while we waited to go on our adventure tour! The first half of the tour was just an informational part, but the second half was adventure! Our tour guide's name was John Fred and he was flippin hilarious. Imagne a little gay guy with an accent. So funny. The caves were so cool. The first tunnel we got to crawl through. The second, we had to squeeze through sideways. It was called the tunnel of love. The third tunnel was pretty scary. It was called the chimney. Zach was the first to go up and pretty much once his body was in, all you could see were his feet and then when his feet were gone it looked like he had completely disappeared. The moms were freaking out because just seeing people go through made absolutely no sense and it was definitely a tight squeeze! This tunnel was actually really hard to get through. It was small and actually took a bit of work to get up through. Once you get through to the other side, you have to slide down to the other side. It's really slipperly in caves, so Sabrina fell right on her butt when she did it. Then Sam lent me a hand, but I said I was ok....and I still fell on my butt! Anyways, everyone made it through in the end, which was quite a big accomplishment for the mammas. Our group all then waited in the next chamber to go through the 4th and last tunnel. For this one you had to crawl on your stomach, then flip on to your back and slide through this really small space...maybe about a foot in hight...so you couldn't see where the bottom was and when your feet were going to touch. This one was really fun, too. Auntie Adele and Tay were the funniest because when they came to the other side they just plopped down. All in all, the caves were really fun, especially because we had such a funny tour guide. He knew most of our names and even called mom Mrs. Canada all the time. After the caves we made a stop at the Cango Ostrich Farm. Oh man were we in for some surprises. We first got to see baby ostriches and I got to hold one as well as a few of us. They are soo cute! Then we got to go outside to get some kisses and hugs. Uncle Mike and Dad got an ostrich kiss and anita and natalie got a hug. We got to see an emu...aka the scariest birds ever. They have feet that look like dinosaur feet. Its gross. Ostriches only have two toes, by the way. Anyways, after that we saw a 35 year old ostrich. And after that it was the moment we've all been waiting for. No words can even describe how funny ostrich riding is. It is rediculous. The girls were up first. They ride with two jockies holding on beside them. Tay and Sabrina went. So funny. Then for the boys was Mister Bruno and Zach. So dad gets on the ostrich and then after the jockies let go (they don't hold on for the boys), dad holds on for dear life and then the ostrich speeds up and dad falls right on his butt! The crowd went wild! hahhaa it was actually the dumbest looking thing ever. Then it was Zach...he didn't last as long because the stupid ostrich almost ran him into the fence. (ps their brain is like the size of the teaspoon...they are extremely stupid). Zach's face was so funny the whole time! After that a couple of us got a massage from the birds where you hold a bucket of food and they all come around you eating it up! Then we got a chance to stand on some ostrich eggs, but not really cause all these stupid little kids kept going on like 3 times and their parents werent letting anyone else have a turn. So...fail.. But did I mention our tour guide was super funny as well! Mom laughed at this one joke he said that was totally stupid, so I'll just let her tell you herself. After a successful two toursit attractions we waited like 20 years in the car for the rents to buy some ostrich eggs and then we stopped by the mall on the way home to get a sim card so natalie could later use it all up in one shot no thanks to mister christopher robin. Anyways, we got home late again and had pasta and chicken fajitas for le diner. sleepy time and das it! --michelle
Dec 31
So today was new years eve day and when we woke up the sky was all cloudy and gross. But, we had decided to go to the beach...we'd just be the only ones there! So we take a drive to Pletttenbergbaai which was like a half hour drive from our house. When we got to the beach it was still cloudy, but not too chilly. Dad was the first to jump into the ocean and go for a swim. It wasn't the warmest water but after a while you were numb enough to say it was warm. The beach was beautiful I might add. Then after working up some courage Sabrina, Tay, and me all jumped in the water and went body surfing. It was so much fun- until the lifeguard got mad at us and said we weren't allowed to be swimming there since it was out of the designated swimming area (we had no idea there was even a swimming spot). We had been in the water for like 20 minutes already until the guard finally noticed we were in a no swimming zone...bad guard. So we went to the swimming area but it was too crowded to we just left and went back to chill with the family. Zach and Sam built a sand castle and then built a walll around it so that the water wouldn't take it down...but there was no need for water to destroy it since these 3 little kids just came outta no where and completely stomped on it and killed it. Uncle Mike went up to the kids (who were like 4 and 5 maybe) and just jokingly told them that they should rebuild it. One kid took it pretty seriously so he started to build it up again. Then we watched these 3 kids totallu start to beat eachother up. There was a tiny little one who threw sand at the bigger one and then the bigger one grabbed the little one and pushed him over. It was pretty funny to watch actually...the parents were not really caring about the kids, since they were up at the restaurant just talking and pointing when the kids did something. Anywyas, at this point the sun came out and it ended up being a beautiful day. We all got burnt because we were not expecting it to be so hot. Zach and Sam then went swimming and body surfing. And then we all had a nice nap on the beach for a few hours- quite a different new years eve day! Then we left the beach and went to the Knysna market for a little bit. It was very pretty- it reminded everyone of granville island and the quay. There were some people in the water playing kayak water polo...or something like that. Pretty cool. We had some hot dogs and ice cream and then went back to our house to get ready for new years eve! The Sheins came to our place and we had dinner and drinks! The adults went on the deck and drank a bunch of beer and like 3 bottles of wine while the kids stayed inside and drank cider and beer (except for Sabrina). We played barn yard first- it was pretty funny. Then after that we played kings cup. After everyone was out of alcohol and it was getting close to midnight, Zach and Sam entertained us for a while by dancing. Then dad and Zach shot gunned a beer. Zach is amazingly good at it! And it was dad's first time so it was hard to compete with Zach finishing his beer in all of 2 seconds. We all just sat around the table listening to music until the finally countdown. Then it was the new year and we all went crazy! we banged on pots and pans and Zach opened the champagne and we all had some. Then we started out dance party and Sam was absolutely hilarious...he had some mad moves! After lots of dancing to DJ Zach's music we decided to call it a night and get a good night sleep for the big day that lay ahead! All in all- fabulous day! --Anita
Jan 1
So today we all woke up feeling pretty great and pretty nerrvous for the days events- today was monkeyland, zip lining, and...wait for it...bungy jumping day! So we had a nice little sleep in and were on our way to moneyland. We got there and started the tour. We saw lots of cute little monkeys swinging through the trees. It was pretty cool. There was only one ape in the forest and they called it micheal jackson cuz he's black but wants to be white. He was a white ape and it was so cool to see him swing through the trees. The other monkeys just climbed the trees and hung by their tails but this one was actually jumping through the trees like they were monkey bars. Oh ya, when we first got there we were under a caged area and there was this black monkey that looked like a tiny gorilla right above our heads. We all thought it was so cool so we started to make some noise and then he yellled at us. Apparently when people scream or get excited it makes monkeys mad and they yell and make loud noises. There was also the third longest suspension bridge that we went over and when we were crossing it there were little monkeys walking beside us. It was pretty cool to see all the different kinds of monkeys. Anyways, after monkeyland we drove for about 45 minutes to the zip line place. That was also pretty nice and the sun ended up coming out for us and it was super hot. We were all sweating like crazy. So we got all geared up in our equipment- helmets and gloves and all that jazz. The guides pretty much just gave us a 2 minute run down of what to do and then they just said to watch and learn. So we didn't really have too much instruction. other than just go- we had to control out breaking but luckily there was green pads at the end just in case you didn't break enough. The very first one I didn't really break and I hit the mat. But it was ok cuz it was pretty squishy. There were 8 zip lines that we went down. They all crossed back and forth across the river. The river was very pretty other than the fact that the water looked like coca cola. There were some waterfallls and lots of vegatation. It was very nice. The first 3 zip lines were just the practice ones and then we entered the speed zone. The zip lines were so fast and since we were controlling our breaking there were emergency breaks that the guide used just in case we sucked at breaking. Most of us sucked at it, but by the end we all got pretty good and didn't need the green mat to fall onto. The longest zip line we did was 211 meters or something. It was pretty fast. Aftrer the zip lining we weent to our final event of the day- bungy jumping. We had all day to think about it and freak out...everyone seemed to just not think about it at all, right up until zip lining was done. We finished zip lining around 2:45 and got to the bungy jumping place just after 3. We were scheduled to be there by 4 and jump at 5. Only 7 of us were signed up- Uncle Mike, dad, Zach, Sam, Tay, Mich, and me. So when we got there we looked at the bridge and it was the most intense thing I havr ever seen. You jump off from rigt under the bridge into he valley. OH- did I mention it is the largest bungy in the world? It is pretty ridiculous. 216 metres. Just looking at it from a far away distance it intense. So the 7 of us signed in, got our weight, jump numbers, and time written on our hands. We got our harness and we were all starting to freak out a little bit. Mom was completely white and pale with fear. Before we signed in, we were just waiting in the car and mom came in because she had looked at this bridge. She was begging us not to jump. She was actually giving us the worst pep talk ever. She said "Bruno, thisa could be the end" . It was pretty funny actually. We told her if she could convince the Sheins not to do it then we wouldn't do it either, so she ran over to their car and started begging them. But it didn't work. So anyways, back to getting harnessed- we just got it put on us nice and loose before we took the walk to the bridge. We ended up waiting around for such a long time. Mom was actuallly more nervous than any of the jumpers...she looked like she was going to puke or have a heartattack at any moment. Finally we all went in a group and took the walk to the bridge. There were 18 people in our group and we were the last time slot of the day. We got a very breif instruction of how to jump off the bridge, but nothing to extreme- I still didn't really know what I was supposed to do. We left the moms, and Sabrina and Nat to do the watching. Mom said she wasn't going to watch and just wait in the car for our safe return but she ended up watching. So we finally take the walk to the bungy area. We had to go on this catwalk built directly beneath the bridge, so you can see the bottom because the floor of the catwalk was made of metal but it had holes in it so that was so scary just looking down and seeing how far it was. We could touch bridge- we were right under it. When we finally got off the catwalk we were at the bungy zone. It was in the middle of the bridge right beneath where cars drive over. It was actually like a club there becasue the music was blasting and beating- minus the fact that it was light out, no one was dancing- just freaking out, and we were in the middle of a bridge. It was quite an experience. Everyone was swearing and freaking out this point. We were all wondering whose idea this was and why we were doing this. It was unbelievably high. So we got there just after 5 and had to wait for our turn to take the plunge. First called up to go from the 7 of us was Uncle Mike. He was sitting on the bench ready to get strapped up and was swearing over and over again. Once they strap you in they take you to the edge and count down from 5 and then you just jump. It is the most intimidating sight. When we watched people go we just got more and more nervous. We danced a little bit to losen ourselves up but really we were all freaking out like crazy. After Uncle Mike came back and told us how awesome it was I think we all felt a little bit better. There was this one lady who wouldn't go but then the people working there finally convinced and she went. When she came back up she said it was the most terrifying thing ever and that none of us should do it. We were all like, great...we have our own problems here! But we decided to go anyways. The next of the group to go was Sam, and he was freaking out big time. He was probably the least nervous looking when we were going there but the most nervous when jumping. After Sam was Tay, then Zach- he was also shaking. The I went after Zach. The feeling is absolutely indescribable. It wass like time was going so slowly and all I was thinking in my head was HOLY SHIT. But I couldn't say anything cuz my eyes were just bulging out of myface and the air was coming at me so fast. It was a crazy feeling until the bungy chord kicks in. Pretty much, I did not think about it at all- once they counted down, I just jumped- I think that's what everyone did. Anyways, after me was dad- he said he was scared shitless. Everyone was. The last to go was Michelle- she was the second last of the day! Everyone thought it was so awesome and we were all so happy we kicked off the year like this! When we walked back across the bridge (the catwalk is actually way scarier than the jump so walking back we were all still freaking out) but when we got back mom gave us a huge hug and kiss- we probably took 15 years off her life. At this point it was about 6:30- we got home about 8:30- went to a pizza place cuz we were starving. None of us really ate before we jumped becasue we were afraid of puking. Anywyas, we ate then went back home- only to find a rose, champagne and orange juice with a note. It was from chris! How he sent us mamosas and a rose for Nat, I have no idea. He's superman! We were all so surprised! It was a fantastic first day of the year! --anita
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