South Africa: Cape Town
Our giraffe day was the last day of the formal program. We went back, packed everything up and said our goodbyes to Dr. Brothers and the amazing staff at Safari Lodge. We spent the evening in Port Elizabeth and just had a lot of fun before heading home the next day.
Except Carolina, Lauren, Linda and I didn't. We went to Cape Town. All I have to say is that I'm pretty sure this is my dream city. It is a city in between mountains and the ocean. It's home to some of the coolest animals and the city itself is pretty cool.
Our first day we went on this awesome tour of the city and got to see so much cool stuff. We visited Cape Point, saw a ton of African penguins much closer than we got to at St. Croix!
The next day, Linda and I went Scuba Diving! It was my first time scuba diving in the ocean and it was amazing! Our first dive was a wreck dive and the colors of the fish and reef around it were absolutely beautiful. We also did a dive with Cape Fur seals! Those little guys are so cute and curious and so much fun to swim with!
But mostly it was just pure awesome. These sharks are HUGE! I thought it would be scary, but it was just amazing the whole time. Poor Caro got a little bit seasick, but once we were in the water with these incredible animals it was all better!
Linda had a GoPro with her and she got some incredible footage of our experience with the sharks!
We spent our final day in Cape Town hiking around Table Mountain. The South African Cape is home to a unique group of plants found nowhere else in the world. The plants were beautiful, the vistas overlooking Cape Town and the ocean were breathtaking, and the ride up to the plateau was incredible. The gondola spins 360 degrees as it ascends and descends so you get a fantastic view from wherever you stand.
It was hard to leave after three weeks of pure bliss, but it has given me memories I will never forget and increased my passion for zoological and conservation medicine.
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