Long time no talk!

We travelled into Lesotho on horseback which was an amazing experience even if it was misty and rainy. We were treated to a delicious cooked breakfast of scrambled eggs, toast and porridge before we set off. We stopped at a really nice viewing spot for a lunch of ham and salad sandwiches complimented by very sweet tea. After we arrived at the lodge in Lesotho five hours later we were cooked a lamb stew and instructed on how to make the local bread. We tried Steve's instructions first and ended up with doughy mush so we asked one of Steve's horse grooms for advice and the bread got better as the week went on.

Every morning we walked three kms to Mavuka Primary School where our project was based. The classrooms had been vandalised over the holidays as they were unable to be locked. We viewed what the previous World Challenge team from England had achieved in a separate classroom. Luckily these had been locked. We had been asked by Steve and Lulu to make a special effort in one particular classroom which the leader of the English team had planned to come back and finish by himself. Unfortunately he passed away in St Lucia before the completion of the trip. The team left their extra money for us to finish the classroom. They also had a plaque made for us to put up in the classroom.

So we painted three classrooms to make them lighter and then decorated them with colourful murals. We tried to get the local kids involved as much as was possible without causing chaos in the hope that they would take more pride in their school. In one classroom we painted a measuring giraffe on the side of a blackboard so the kids could mark in how tall they were. In the second we painted a rainbow with the Sesotho and English word for each colour. Only after we painted this did we find out that they have no word for the colour orange. We also added some Australian animals to this classroom. In the last classroom, the special one, we had to cement up two walls that must have been completely knocked out and replaced with loose bricks. To this we had to go on an epic mission to find a wheelbarrow and several 2km trips(one uphill, one downhill) to collect sand from the river. This was the most loathed task of the week. We painted a silhouette of an African savannah and the mountains of Lesotho with the traditional round rondawels. In the middle we painted a blackboard and the plaque was placed above this. Around the top of the room we got the kids to place their handprints on the bricks. At the end of the week the teachers held a ceremony to pray for the English leader and sung us their school song and national anthem to which we responded with ours.

We also constructed a fence around what is going to become a vege patch. We had help from one of the horse grooms but he worked on his own timetable and we think he was confused between morning and afternoon. The previous group had levelled out and lined a netball court for the children, but as it was at the bottom of a slope it had been getting flooded. To rectify this we dug a ditch around it which we filled with rocks in hopes that the water would flow around the court. We had been planning to replace the broken windows of the classrooms but after tediously knocked out thirty panes we discovered that the glass we had was 3mm too big. We called Steve and got him to bring up a glass cutter and started cutting on the last day. Unfortunately we were unable to finish this so we taught the principal's son, Bokang, how to do it and asked him to show his friends. As far as we know they have finished already.

During the week when people took breaks from working we interacted with the locals and learnt some Sesotho words such as: koho (chicken), dumela (hello), hojoang (howzit), fariki (pig), lebitso la ga ke ____ (my name is ___). The kids loved having photos taken and looking at them afterwards on the screen. We collected some addresses and have to print photos out to send them (they were very insistant). We presented the chief with a gift and he was very grateful for what we'd done at the school.

The horseride back was even better than the one there. We stopped at a waterfall and got to canter and even gallop. We got back to Durban yesterday and visited the Victoria Street Markets and today we are heading to Ushaka (Wet and Wild/Aquarium type thing).

We won't update again, unless we're bored while we're waiting six hours at Joburg airport. We all send our love and we'll see you soon!!

So, we've just been here for fifteen minutes loading the update page (at Khotso Horse Farm)

Completed our trek this afternoon and we're very proud of ourselves because we were told that usually at least one person has to be picked up before the end but none of us did. The huts were all luxurious compared to what we were expecting - they even had mattresses and flushing toilets! We basically carried our sleeping bags, tents and sleeping mats for nothing because they were never used, but Mr Witcomb, Anna and Ms Roach made use of their tents on the last night... the only night the rain pelted down. The first two days were the hottest this area had had since the seventies and we struggled to acclimatise. There was a refreshing swimming hole at the first day's lunch spot which most of us made good use of. We ate really well every night even though we had to cook using five trangias and for nineteen people. The third and fourth days were cloudy so we were in higher spirits and a group of girls even opted to climb Bamboo Mountain which is just higher than Mt Kosiosko (at 2366m). On the last night we played various games including table climbing (climbing right around a table without touching the floor) and lateral thinking puzzles.

In a couple of days we will be horse riding through the mountains across the border into Lesotho and all our meals will be provided on that day (!!!!!) We were all excited to hear this as we weren't too pleased about a five hour trip in the back of a ute with all our gear. We're looking forward to trying the local pap (porridge made from maize) and experiencing the culture. We're going into Underberg (the nearest town) tomorrow to choose a gift for the chief.

We'll post again when we get back to Nomads in Durban in about a week.

Hey all,

Today we went on an amazing tour of some of townships on the outskirts of Durban. We went to Phoenix (where Mahatma Gandhi lived and saw the printing press where he printed The Opinion and even went inside his house). Our guide was John Dube's grandson. John Dube was the founder of the ANC party and was the first president of the party. Nelson Mandela paid tribute to him and passed the vote (you know that famous picture) outside his house where we also visited. So we learnt heaps more about the apartheid era and were encouraged to feel a connection to the places we visited and all the people of South Africa.

Next we visited the township of Inanda and walked through the "streets" past the mud houses. We were followed by gorgeous little kids. We met the town's Divine Healer, a little old lady who used herbs to connect with the ancestors. Then we went and had a braai (bbq) of steak and boerwors sausages.

This afternoon we went to the Suncoast Casino Beach, which cost 5 rand each but ensured our safety including lifeguards. The weather was cloudy and windy but the water was still warm and even with our shoes on (insurance regulations) we stayed in for at least an hour.

The first photo is at the beach in St Lucia where we couldn't swim but amused ourselves. The second is the whole group at a lookout point at Hluhluwe iMfolozi game reserve and the third is there also.

This week we will be commencing our trekking phase in the Drakensberg followed by our project phase in Lesotho so we may be unable to update until we return to Durban on the 21st. Don't panic!

Hey all!

Yesterday was our last full day in St Lucia. A group of 8 got up early and went for a run before things heated up too much. The rest of us had a pretty laid back day - starting off with a wildlife walk (around the edge of the game park) and saw buffalo (from a distance) and zebras, as well as scratch marks on a tree left by a leopard. We're desperately hoping to see a leopard, as this is the last of the big 5 we haven't seen, however our chances are pretty slim, according to our safari guides.

After lunch we had some free time - some girls did a bit of shopping, others just relaxed around the backpackers'. Later in the afternoon, a group of us walked down to St Lucia's main beach, which was extremely wide (about 200m), and was parallel to the estuary containing hippos and crocs. We were unable to swim at this beach due to the strong rips, or in the river due to the wildlife, so basically it was a chance to take lots of photos and interact with the locals. On the way back we got quite a spectacular hippopotamus show; they were fighting and yawning and snorting, which was more interesting than they were being on the cruise a day earlier. We also saw quite a number of monkeys, which were very cute.

This morning we travelled back to Durban, and we are now just about to head off to the movies to see Madagascar 2 as a surprise for Sarah's birthday.

We'll keep you posted!!

Hi everyone,
Our early start for the safari was well worth it! The first day it was overcast and not too muggy but our drivers, Tim and Matt informed us that this was the best weather to see the animals because they would not be sheltering from the sun.

Our first sighting was a rhino rather close to the road. This being everyones first safari we were very excited! Our day continued with sightings of impalas, nyalas, giraffes (a big group of them!), buffalos, warthogs, elephants (right next to the road) and even a hyena as we were driving out.

We stayed at Isinkwe backpacker's which means bush baby in Zulu and saw a couple of bush babies eating bananas.

The second day we saw everything again plus wildebeast, a tortoise and lions, though in the distance. We also saw babies of every animal.

We spent today in St. Lucia and went on a boat cruise to see hippos and crocodiles. We saw a baby hippo lying on its mummy's back.

We will update you again when we get back to Durban as this is pre-paid internet and it is running out.

love you all love everyone

Heya everyone!! we've been in SA for 2 days now...

yesterday we went to the botanical gardens after walking the entire perimeter trying to find the gate! It was beautiful and luscious. We had some different fruits for afternoon tea which included a fruit which was a cross between a peach and a nectarine and some Papaya which tasted like tea and chocolate. We then had a BBQ dinner at Dee’s house (Mrs. Anning’s sister) which was lovely! Their house was amazing (we even got to swim in their pool!) and they were lovely people!

Today we went to the BAT Centre which was an African art gallery. The art work there was absolutely awesome!! they had heaps of different wood cuts (similar to lino prints) paintings, sculptures, pots, baskets, wire and beaded figurines! We decided that we are definitely going back there at the end of our trip to buy them out!!

We then walked around down town Durban trying to find an apartheid museum using a map that didn’t include many roads. Most of the street names down here also changed recently which also made it difficult. We had a look at the natural science museum at a NO SMOKING display which was a bit random but pretty cool. they had this camera and computer program that showed you what you’d look like at age 72 and added the effects of sun exposure and smoking… pretty freaky stuff!!

We haven’t been treated to another thunderstorm yet (but have been told that the one we saw in the plane was a bigg’in even by South Africa’s standards!

We’ve got an early start in the morning as we head off to the game park, hluhluwe imfiloze at 6:15 in the morning! we are all extremely pumped!!


XXX

Arrived in Durban safely despite the thunderstorm that threatened to turn our plane back to Johannesburg!
We're staying in a very quaint little hostel, called Nomads. The people here are really nice and we even have a pool!
Today we are just recovering from our jet lag, and had our first trip to the small Pick n Pay up the road, to buy our breakfast.
We'll be having dinner tonight with Mrs Anning's (English Teacher at Collegiate) sister - she called and offered to have a bbq for us!
Tomorrow we may venture into Durban proper and have a look around and visit the beach. It is very warm, but also very muggy and overcast, not unbearable but it is meant to reach 31 degrees today.
We are all looking forward to our safari after being briefed by our guide this morning, and it sounds very exciting!

We'll update again soon before we leave Durban in two days.