First of all, the group of 32 students we have on this trip are incomparable! They are so appreciative, flexible, and happy to be here. Not one complaint yet! I was going to say, how lucky are we ... but then I guess it is much more than luck. Thanks so much for sending us with such great kids.
Today we went to a game farm about 1 1/2 hours north and east of Cape Town. The spot is called Bartholomew's Klip and I think they have a website where you can see the guest houses and terrain there.
When we arrived, we got into four different vehicles, the kids in trucks where they stood at the rail looking out. This is the end of summer and it is very hot (95 degrees) and dry and the flowers have finished blooming. But it was still beautiful in its own way. The man who took us around manages the 6,500 hectares of land that we traveled through. Of that, 4,500 hectares is conservation land and 2,500 hectares are used for farming wheat, canola, and oats mostly. He has 3,000 sheep, 200 cattle, and 60 bison. He is part of reestablishing bison in South Africa as the herd was down to about 3,000 in 1996. There is a lot of wind borne disease here which killed many of them off. Now the total is back to about 3,000.
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He is also breeding an animal called a quagga which died out in the late 18th century. It looks like a zebra but its strips stop before the hindquarters and it looks something like a mule in the back. He is on the 3rd generation of trying to reestablish the breed and we saw them. Wow.
We also saw a secretary bird, an ostrich, and springbok, the national animal. It was just amazing.
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When we got back at 5 p.m., the students were off to a party on Clifton Beach sponsored by the local radio station. The adults are going to an African restaurant in Stellenbosch called Moya. It looks fantastic. I'm sorry I'm having such a hard time sending photos – they say we will get our faces painted tonight, so we'll see!
Tomorrow the kids are on their own. I am hoping to take a bike ride up in the mountains, supposedly the most beautiful bike ride in the world. Then up Table Mountain and perhaps a tour of some wineries. The kids will be off with their families.
We are happy to have Thinh and Matt Pace with us. Thinh got stopped in New York City because he needed a visa to go with his Vietnamese passport – but now we are all back together. Everyone had a great day.
