Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Now or never


I have had an amazing time in South Africa so far.  I've made an effort to fully immerse myself in this experience, but now that I'm past the half way mark of my time here, and I need to get serious about checking off some of the stuff that's left on my 'I must do this in South Africa' list.  Sure, I still have several months to accomplish this stuff, but time flies, I get busy, and some of these things require a bit of planning.  So it's now or never! 

 I am asking for your help.  What do I still need to see and do in South Africa?  What will I regret for the rest of my life if I pass up a chance to do it while I'm here?  What would it be a travesty for me to miss?  Please leave your suggestions in the form of a comment on this post.  Or email me, and I will update the list.

To get you started, here is a list of things I wanted to do before I came here and have already done:

See the Hermanus whales
Hit all the Cape Town tourist attractions (V&A Waterfront, Company Gardens, Table Mountain, Hout Bay, Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, Chapmans Peak Drive, Blaauwbergstrand, Grand Parade, District Six Museum, etc)
Learn to cook abalone
Hike up Table Mountain
Go to a braai
Check out the clubs on Long Street
See African penguins
Visit the Cape of Good Hope
Stand on the southernmost tip of Africa (Cape Argulus)
Run a half marathon
Visit the wine country

And here is the list of things I want to/will do but haven't done yet:

Go shark cage diving (I WILL do this, I'm just waiting for June or July, which is the best time of year to see the great white sharks breaching)
Go to Kruger National Park (Jacob and I are going to Kruger in April!)
Visit Robbin Island (it's a little pathetic that I haven't done this yet, but it got really busy for a while there with Mandela's death, and it was really hard to get tickets.  This is definitely going to happen the very next time im in Cape Town)
Visit Maurice and Paul in Grahamstown (likely in July)
Drive part of the Garden Route (possibly all the way to Grahamstown when I visit the boys?  The problem is that I would need a driving buddy because I'm not comfortable making such a big trip by myself.  So... road trip, anyone?)
Go to Joberg (Jacob and I are going to spend two nights there on the way to Kruger in April)
Take a surfing lesson
Hike part of the trail that runs from the Table Mountain cable station to Cape Point
Go hiking in the Cederberg

What else do I need to add?  Help me out!

3 comments:

  1. See the cheetah breeding facility near Stellenbosch.

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  2. While you're around Kruger, if you have time to travel a little bit further, you should check out some of Mpumalanga's natural beauty. I made a trip to Graskop for the Blyde River Canyon and it was well worth it for that alone. There are also a bunch of gorgeous waterfalls around the area, and if you have the time I bet you could do some hiking. If you do take a trip on the garden route, the Cango Caves are stunning. I also stopped at Oudtshoorn, where you can ride an ostrich. I feel like we accessed these two locations by train/bus but I wouldn't swear to it. To get to Graskop, we hitchhiked/combi-ed, which I would not recommend. Have so much fun!!

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  3. Visit the Cango Caves in Oudshoorn.

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