It's been a little while hasn't it?
I'll just get right to it then. This weekend was a chance to unplug a bit. We all went up to the frontier country of South Africa in the Winterberg Mountains to experience life on some of the frontier farms for a couple of days. Of course, we didn't get the full experience. It wouldn't have been nearly as much fun if they had just had us doing farm work the whole weekend.
I'll just get right to it then. This weekend was a chance to unplug a bit. We all went up to the frontier country of South Africa in the Winterberg Mountains to experience life on some of the frontier farms for a couple of days. Of course, we didn't get the full experience. It wouldn't have been nearly as much fun if they had just had us doing farm work the whole weekend.
We only spent two days up there, but those days were packed with activities. On Saturday, we spent our Fourth of July shearing sheep, climbing mountains, and with shooting practice. The mountain climbing was my favorite part, I think. I'm not much of a hiker, so it was a bit of a challenge for me, but it felt great when I finally got to the top.
After the sheep shearing, we hopped back in the truck and headed up farther into the mountains. We were essentially in the back of a pick-up truck and we were just holding onto the bars as we went over countless bumps and ditches. And then we had to climb up the mountain.
And, you can't have a 4th of July without a barbecue, even when you're not in the States, it seems. After the mountain, we ended up stopping at a little pond/stream area and we had a braai or barbecue, which is extremely popular in South Africa. This one was the first of about 3 that we had while we were up at the farms. We had some kudu or deer sausages that were really delicious.
When we got back to the farm, it was target practice time. I decided not to shoot, but most people did, and they all did a pretty good job. I wish I had gotten a photo of the target, but unfortunately, I did not.
We spent most of the rest of the day chilling out. I watched a lot of tennis, rugby, and cricket, and I finally learned how those last two sports are actually played. We went for a night game drive as well, but we didn't see much except for some wild kudu rather than the tame ones that we had already seen.
Sunday was a fun and fast-paced day. We had another, small braai for breakfast, and then we headed out on another hike, this time to a little stream that had a waterfall. We canoed to the rocks that were halfway to the waterfall and then some people braved the freezing cold water and swam the rest of the way to the waterfall. I was one of those people, along with most of the students here from Ole Miss. Though I was colder than I have ever been in my life, and I've been in two "polar vortexes," it was totally worth it, because the waterfall was beautiful.
For me, this trip was a lot about connecting with nature and with the other people on the trip. There's a lot of the world that I've completely overlooked because I'm rushing to get to the next class or the next meeting, and it was really nice to get back to that. I've decided to end this with a link to a video that someone on the trip posted on Instagram. She's a photographer, an incredible one at that, and she did a really good job of capturing what the weekend was about.
When we got back to the farm, it was target practice time. I decided not to shoot, but most people did, and they all did a pretty good job. I wish I had gotten a photo of the target, but unfortunately, I did not.
We spent most of the rest of the day chilling out. I watched a lot of tennis, rugby, and cricket, and I finally learned how those last two sports are actually played. We went for a night game drive as well, but we didn't see much except for some wild kudu rather than the tame ones that we had already seen.
Sunday was a fun and fast-paced day. We had another, small braai for breakfast, and then we headed out on another hike, this time to a little stream that had a waterfall. We canoed to the rocks that were halfway to the waterfall and then some people braved the freezing cold water and swam the rest of the way to the waterfall. I was one of those people, along with most of the students here from Ole Miss. Though I was colder than I have ever been in my life, and I've been in two "polar vortexes," it was totally worth it, because the waterfall was beautiful.
For me, this trip was a lot about connecting with nature and with the other people on the trip. There's a lot of the world that I've completely overlooked because I'm rushing to get to the next class or the next meeting, and it was really nice to get back to that. I've decided to end this with a link to a video that someone on the trip posted on Instagram. She's a photographer, an incredible one at that, and she did a really good job of capturing what the weekend was about.