south africa...

Last month I got to spend 3 weeks in South Africa with my friend Rowena. She grew up there and was going back for a visit and invited me along! Of course I JUMPED at the chance! It is such a beautiful country and Cape Town was a fabulous city! I've wanted to go there for a long time so I finally got my chance and took it! After 30 hours of traveling we landed in Cape Town. It was night time and I was so excited to go to bed just to wake up and see where I was!
We didn't waste any time. We went to the beach the first day and within the first 24 hours I had a nice red tinge to my skin! A few days later we went to another beach and it was easily one of the most amazing places I've ever been. There were HUNDREDS of penguins and they were adorable! We spent the rest of the first week going to beaches and swimming every day! I could definitely get used to that!

We didn't slow down! The next 2 weeks were spent doing and seeing the most incredible things! We went to Table Mountain and looked over the beautiful city of Cape Town. We shopped at markets and saw the V&A Waterfront. We visited the Aquarium, and saw the cutest tortiose and more penguins. Next year the FIFA World Cup will be held in Cape Town and we saw the beginning stages of the stadium they are building. We drove to a little beach town called Hermanus and went to a look out that when translated is called "Raging Waters". I have never seen something so powerful. It was definitely one of the top sights! Monkey Town was a funny experience. It's a monkey exhibit where you are in the cage and the animals are in the wild! We walked around for hours looking at all the different monkeys! They definitley are interesting little creatures! Another beautiful place was Kirstenbosch, the botanical gardens. I have never seen anything so green and so lovely. The gardens went on for miles and there were hundreds of different trees and flowers. We walked around for hours and never came to the same spot twice!

Another top experience was the Safari we went on. We saw water buffalo, rhinos, zebras, springbok, hippos, elephants, ostrich, lions and a cheetah! We spent all day in a landrover looking at these incredible creatures. It has definitely ruined every zoo experience I will ever have! One day we went to Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope. While we were driving there we saw baboons on the side of the road! It was awesome to see them in their natural habitat! These two places were beautiful, it was cliff and ocean and everywhere you looked was a new, incredible sight. The Cape of Good Hope is the most Southwestern tip on the Continent of Africa.

The trip ended with me getting to do something I have wanted to do my ENTIRE LIFE! I got to dive with Great White Sharks! We drove out about two hours, got on a boat, sailed out to "Seal Island" and waited for the seas most feared predator to make it's appearance. I put on a wet suit, hopped in to a cage in the water and was literally inches from the Great White! It was incredible and an absolute dream come true!

It was an AMAZING trip and I am so glad for every experience! Cape Town is a place I would recommend that ANYONE go visit!