Cheap Avocados: Another Reason I Love Africa

Despite the corruption, racism, and day to day inefficiencies, Africa is still a great place to grow crops. Although less prevalent in South Africa than it was in Kenya, farming is prominent across the country and is one of the few areas where Africa, with its favorable climate and rich soil, has a leg up over most of the rest of the world. Although due to farm subsidies and trade barriers, not all of this surplus makes it to our shelves overseas. However, while you're Africa the native fruits, vegis, and (of course) wines are definitely worth enjoying. One of the best bottles of wine I've ever had was about 12 Rand (less than $2).

The photo below is from the Grocery Store in East London where we went with Dan to pick up supplies for our hostel in Hogs Back. Here is a link to an economist article on land reform in South Africa.

(East London Shopping. 10R is about a $1.25)

Make sure to check out the flickr gallery for more photos of South Africa. RM and I are headed back to Johannesburg at 8am tomorrow from East London. We're headed to Kathmandu (connecting through Bangkok) on June 2nd.

May 25: Highest Bungee Jump in the World (216m)

According to the Guiness Book of World Records - Bloukrans Bridge over the Storms River Gorge is the highest bungee jump in the world. RM and I had no intention on taking this plunge when planning our trip; in fact, we hadn't even heard of the gorge before boarding the Baz Buz one early morning in Cape Town when two of our co-passengers from the UK began to rave about it.

(Bloukrans Bridge, Storms River Gorge, South Africa)

Neither RM nor I have ever been skydiving, bungee jumping, base jumping, or really done much else extreme, besides of course being really good at Microsoft Excel. On the recommendation of our friends from the BAZ Bus and the convenience of the jump -- directly between Plettenberg Bay and Port Elizabeth (our route) -- we decided that now was the time to start, being extreme that is.

(Bloukran's Gorge: the world's highest)

Alone, there's no way that RM or I would have ever committed to something like a bungee jump (especially the highest commercially operated one in the world), but once I offered the challenge and RM countered, we were committed, like it or not.

We left the hostel at Plettenberg Bay around 3:00 in a shuttle with the Dutch couple who managed the hostel, and two more Englanders on their gap year. While the rest of the van chatted during the one our drive, I navigated my ipod nano to an Audioslave album (the most extreme music I had), put the volume on max, and stared out the window trying to convince myself it was only mind over matter.

The process once we arrived at the bridge was professional, controlled, and put a lot of faith in those of us that were about to dive into 216m into the open air. However, the bridge was still mammoth and every second looking at it seemed like ten minutes.

(strapped in)

By the time you actually get to the edge of the bridge where you're expected to jump, your feet are bound, you're strapped into a backup body harness, and the only thing keeping you standing are the two attendents under your arms helping you wobble to the edge. Fortunately, if you had the idea to back out, there is no easy way to do it. With a small crowd of strangers cheering and the rave music blasting from the control booth, we each went off without a hitch. In retrospect, I don't think bungee jumping is my life's calling, however it does feel good to say that we did it and to know what it takes to go up against a personal fear.

(taking the plunge)

Tomorrow RM and I are headed to Cnitsa which is just south of Hogs Back and hopefully an overnight or atleast a few hour hike in the jungle. Make sure to check out my South Africa flickr gallery for more photos of the trip and shots of the jump.

Video of Penguins on Boulders Beach, Cape Town

RM and I shot this video this afternoon on Boulders Beach in Simon's Town about 50k south of Cape Town.

May 23: Robben Island and Simon's Town Penguins

(Simon's Town African Penguins)

Much to our surprise, RM and I woke to an even more beautiful day than the one we'd seen before. We left our hostel on Long Street early, around 8:30, grabbed breakfast on the street, and headed straight for the waterfront in order to catch the 10am boat to Robben Island. Robben Island is the large island 6km off the coast of Cape Town where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 18 years along with hundreds of South Africa's black political prisoners. Mandela was imprisoned for a total of 27 years; the other 9 were spent in a prison on the mainland. Apart from its historical significance, Robben Island is also the home to over 52,000 'jack-ass' (this is really their name) penguins. Our tour on the island ran over the alloted time so the guide cut out our penguin stop at the end. Intent on seeing penguins while in Africa, RM and I headed straight for the train station upon returning to Cape Town, then hopped a train Simon's Town (50k to the south), Cape Town's first most popular penguin stop.

(Robben Island)

(Train to Simon's Town)

The Boulder Beach penguins are also Jack-Ass (also known as African) Penguins. They're much smaller than anything you would expect to find in a zoo or on the Discovery Channel. RM and I spent about an hour with the penguins, shot another GB worth of photos then caught one of the last trains back to Cape Town to enjoy our last night in the city before heading to Plettenberg Bay tomorrow morning at 7:30 AM on the Baz Bus.

Make sure to check out my South Africa flickr gallery for more photos of today and yesterday.

How to add this blog to your RSS feed

In order to add this blog to your RSS feed (bloglines, myYahoo, google reader, etc.)
1. click on the link on the right under favorite links labeled 'RSS Feed'
2. on the next page click on your preferred feed reader
3. or choose another application

May 22: Table Mountain, Cape Town

RM and I arrived in Cape Town last night (around midnight) from Nairobi after a connecting flight through Johannesburg. On our list of must-do's in Cape Town was a hike to the top of Table Mountain. The weather was overcast and rainy this morning and was predicted to be the same for the rest of the week. The sky broke magnificently around noon and we quickly made the decision to do our hike this afternoon.

Table Mountain is basically right on top of the city of Cape Town making access to the mountain relatively easy; however what the trail lacks in length, it easily makes up for in steepness. Cape Town sits at sea level and the summit of Table Mountain is about 3,600 feet above. Our cab driver to the summit suggested that we could run it in less than hour. We did not test his theory.

(BN at the top of Table Mountain)

The hike to the top was steep, beautiful and cold. Most of the people we passed on our way up had taken the cable car up and then decided to walk down. We chose the opposite route and even considered walking back down as well (before we started). After two hours of intense (imagine a stair climber on high) almost vertical climbing, we reached the top, took about 1 GB worth of photos then headed for the cable car down.

(Cape Town from the air; Table Mountain in rear; stock photo)

Make sure to check my South Africa photo gallery for more photos of Cape Town and Table Mountain. If you'd like to reach me in South Africa, my local phone number for the next 11 days will be: +27-736-116-538 (formatted for calling from the US).

May 21: Nairobi, Kenya to Cape Town, South Africa

RM and I arrived in Cape Town last night. It's a cross between San Francisco and New Orleans. Beautiful but cold, rainy, slightly dangerous, and extremely expensive for Africa. Below is a photo RM took from our plane of the top of Mount Kilimanjaro in Kenya.

(Kilimanjaro: the tallest Mountain in Africa, viewed from above)

check out the Kenya flickr gallery for a few more posts of Lake Nakuru National Park.

May 19-20: Lake Nakuru National Park

RM and I just returned from a two day trip to Lake Nakuru National Park. I had mentioned before I left for Kenya that I hoped we would see some wildlife, and Lake Nakuru did not disappoint. In addition to the hundreds of thousands of flamingos that you'll see in the photo below, we also saw nearly every Central African animal you can think of minus the big cats and elephants.


Given that the only thing that separated us from these animals was the crumbling, rusted exterior of the three-decades old cab we hired in Nakuru, this was not necessarily a bad thing. In 2004 one of the parks rangers was killed by a lion -- this is what our rayon suit clad driver David told us as we passed the spot where it happened -- so i think for now I will take my big cats via Discovery Channel HD.

(flamingos on lake Nakuru)

We spent the night after our tour of Nakuru on Lake Naivasha at a small lodge called Fisherman's Camp. RM had stayed there before and the recommendation was a good one. Fisherman's sits on the shore of Lake Naivasha about 20k out of Naivasha the city (which is about 2hrs from Nairobi). Fisherman's was out of platform cabins so we rented some blankets and a small dome tent and pitched this on the lawn instead. This seemed like a good idea at the time, but less of one when the hippos came out during our dinner. Despite their similarities with their more docile cousin -- the manatee -- hippos are highly territorial and can be known to maim or kill with very little warning. As we ate dinner and played jenga at the small lodge so did the hippos a few feet away (dinner that is, not jenga); by the time we went to bed they were gone. We didn't hear from them again that night, but according to our friend Alex, who was pitched much closer to the water, they were singing into the early hours of the morning.

(view from the bar - Fisherman's Camp Lake Naivasha)

Rather than rush into Hell's Gate National Park, which borders the lake, as we had planned we decided to take a slow morning and enjoy the scenery at Fisherman's. After some reading, frisbee, and watching the skunk monkeys swing through the canopy, we boarded the matatu back to Naivasha then caught another from Naivashi into Nairobi. We left Alex in Naivasha as she was headed for a night bus to Kampala, Uganda.

(waiting for the matatu from Fisherman's Camp to Naivasha)

RM and I are leaving for Cape Town, South Africa this afternoon. Please make sure to check out my Kenya flickr gallery for more photos from the park and our last few four days in Kenya. Also, check out this week's Economist for a blurb on lake Naivasha and the economic for bringing back hunting in Kenya.

(Lake Nakuru National Park)

(Lake Nakuru National Park)

May 18: First Day in Kenya

Today is Rhett's fourth month and my first day in Kenya. I woke up at 5 this morning so jet lag is still an issue; however, it didn't slow us doing from putting a significant dent in everything we wanted to do in our short four days here. After a very American breakfast of bagels, bacon, eggs, texas toast, and coffee we set out to the elephant orphanage, giraffe park, and then crocodile 'park'. the giraffe park was by the the coolest experience. See the pictures below and make sure to check out more on my flickr gallery.

(Rhett meets a real Kenyan girl)

(orphan elephants on the march)

ps: if you need to reach me in Kenya, my phone number for the next four days will be: (formatted for dialing from the US) 011-254-736-693-187

May 15: Preparing for Departure

Today is my last full day in the US. I'm in Jackson today putting things in order and running some last minutes errands before I leave for Nairobi, Kenya tomorrow morning at 4:00 am. The route from Jackson to Nairobi is: Jackson, Charlotte, Boston, Zurich, Nairobi. The trip is about 29 hours and covers 8 time zones. I'll leave Jackson at 6:15am on Wednesday and arrive Nairobi at 6:15 pm on Thursday (5/17/07) where I'll meet my friend Rhett. Layovers are minimal but the route definitely makes up for it in connections.

The trip that's about to begin will cover 4 continents, 2.5 months, and over 35,000 miles. Thanks to a Star Alliance 'Around the World Ticket' and the strength of the US dollar in the 3rd world, the trip will be relatively inexpensive ($15-$20 per day in most places). The places and cities that we are planning on visiting include:

• Nairobi, Kenya
• Cape Town, South Africa
• Johannesburg, South Africa
• Kathmandu, Nepal
• Delhi, India
• Mumbai, India
• Bangkok, Thailand
• Cambodia
• Laos
• Vietnam
• Shanghai, China
• Beijing, China

We'll also be using short local flights, trains, buses, boats and other forms of transportation to move between some of these cities and the surrounding areas.

I'll be following the trip through this blog and through my flickr gallery. Some of the previous posts on this site are from a trip I took this February to India as part of a business school program, which focused on alleviating poverty through development.

If you have any recommendations for these places or the surrounding areas, please leave them in the comments section or send me an email. I've received a lot of help and suggestions already. This help is greatly appreciated.