My Future Home

Two days ago we arrived in South Africa's hidden paradise: Sodwana Bay. I'm not one for settling (yet) but if I had to choose between all the places I've seen so far this would be it. Tucked away in the northern part of KwaZulu-Natal, Sodwana is beautiful and vast with a coastline that is protected as a World Heritage Site within the iSimangaliso Wetland Park. 

The industry here from what I can tell is mostly diving and tourism, and today I saw a shirt that said "Sodwana Bay: A Small Drinking Town with a Diving Problem", which basically sealed the deal for me. There is a laid-back atmosphere and people seem very aware how lucky they are to live in a place with such a unique marine environment in their backyard, but they are also advocates for conservation and protect the reef as they would their own homes. On the reef you are not to take anything or leave anything, including shells, and diving without gloves is necessary to keep people from touching the delicate soft coral and polyps. 

We arrived in Sodwana in the evening and were quickly briefed on our dive for the following morning. After almost two solid weeks of travelling and promoting SEA Pledge, I was more than ready to spend some time in the Indian Ocean. Our first night was spent in a lovely seaside cottage and we had a quick braai before bed. In the morning we met at the beach and realized that in order to reach Two Mile Reef we had to take a zodiac (or rubber duck if you're South African) through the daunting surf. This may not seem like much but when there are foot straps in place to keep me in a boat I'm getting a little nervous, especially being generally unbalanced in daily life.  

Once we descended onto Two Mile Reef we were in another world. The coral was larger and more beautiful than anything I've ever seen, and focusing on just one rocky outcrop provided endless entertainment. Almost within the first ten minutes we saw a hawksbill turtle, and there were more powder blue tangs than I could count. We also saw various species of triggerfish and boxfish, and beautifully coloured parrotfish nibbling on the coral. I'm still in the process of compiling a list and will get it up soon.

This morning we went on another dive on the same reef but in a different area where rays seemed to be more abundant. There were more clownfish and larger anemones as well, which were fascinating to watch. My favourite of the day was a large fish called a clown triggerfish, which seemed to look at me with as much curiosity as I must have had for it. There is something humbling that happens when a fish looks at you that way. 

Tomorrow morning we head out again, and I'm sure the dive will be filled with just as many wonders as the last two. I'm very quickly falling in love with Sodwana Bay, and will definitely be coming back here during the break in December. Maybe I'll even spend Christmas Day with the fish, who knows.

In the meantime I'll leave you with a few good pictures taken in St Lucia the day before Sodwana. We walked along a short boardwalk and came across several monkeys and a hippo that we could hear but not see. He or she must have been camera shy and all we got were some rumbles and splashes from behind long grass in the estuary. We can only guess that it was a hippo based on the sounds, but it may very well have been Jim Carey playing a practical joke.

Off to get a much needed sleep,

Jill

A Sustainable Sea

A little bit of background before we begin:

I came to South Africa to work for Sustainable Seas Trust (SST), a non-profit organization based out of Grahamstown which focuses on issues such as poverty alleviation, food security and marine conservation and rehabilitation to name just a few. It was under SST that the SEA Pledge project came to life, and with it this coastal tour that we are on to promote what SST stands for. With the help of two donated Honda hybrid vehicles, we are roaming across the coast from Sodwana Bay to Saldanha Bay, which if you look on a map basically translates into a sweep of South Africa's extensive coastline. 

SEA Pledge was started with four goals in mind: 

- To raise awareness of the role of oceans and coasts in supporting all life on the planet

- To create a petition encouraging the United Nations to make 2012 the International Year of Coasts and Oceans

- To commit to improving the manner in which individuals treat the coasts and oceans

- To contribute to impoverished coastal communities through Sustainable Education and Skills (SEAS) Centres for employment 

We are also launching around COP 17, which is a United Nations Climate Change Conference happening in Durban this year. Although it was hoped to be as important to the country as the FIFA World Cup, very few people actually know about it, and even less now that it is happening in their own country at the end of November - start of December. Because SEA Pledge is starting around this time we've also decided to make December 3rd a day to be focused on the sea - we are encouraging divers to exchange pledges under water, sailors to exchange them in the wind, surfers to pledge in the waves and everyone else to just enjoy the beach or sun or snow, depending on where in the world they are. 

The link for SST is sst.org.za and you can join our Facebook and Twitter pages if the mood strikes you. You can also find more information about SEA Pledge that I've missed in this post, as it has been a long day of collecting pledges here in Richard's Bay.

The road trip began in Port Elizabeth which is about two hours from Grahamstown. Because it was our first stop we stumbled around a little trying to get ourselves organized, but managed to have a pretty successful day. Along with a video pledge from Simon Gear (South Africa's Jay Ingram) and the official handing over of the hybrids, we received nothing but optimism and best wishes from all of the attendees. 

From Port Elizabeth we then collected pledges in Grahamstown, East London, Port St Johns (in the previous picture), Hibiscus coast and now Richard's Bay. The first four towns were in the Eastern Cape province, with the Hibiscus coast being our first stop in KwaZulu-Natal, a beautiful province abundant in passionate and welcoming residents. 

Our next two stops will be in Sodwana Bay and Durban. After that we'll spend a few days of recovery (aka laundry days) in Grahamstown before heading west into the Garden Route and the Western Cape. We started on October 12th and have basically been non-stop since then, but it's been an exhilarating ride and very much worth the sleep deprivation. 

A few highlights of the trip so far have been learning how to drive on the wrong side of a winding road in the Transkai, the beautiful cliffs at the entrance to Port St Johns, and the masked weaver nests we saw today that made me think of Christmas again. They were outside the Zululand Yacht Club in Richard's Bay and although they made such a racket people just walked underneath them without paying them any attention at all. They're amazing to watch if you can handle the neck strain, and I still can't believe they put in so much detailed work. As one member of our team said this afternoon; "That's a lot of work for a little bit of sex". 

A few older nests had fallen to the ground, giving us a different perspective on the whole operation. So much energy and time goes into weaving these little nests that you have to wonder what goes on in there. I imagine kids not eating their worms and lady birds complaining about the muddy beak marks on the walls. 

It would take forever for me to give you a play-by-play of every stop so far, but I've added a few pictures and explanations in an attempt to summarize what I've seen so far. 

The first is of a sleepy dog in Port St Johns who burrowed in the dirt outside our hotel. This picture was taken outside the main entrance to the breakfast hall, but the morning after this event I found him right outside the door to my room, keeping the boogeyman away.

I also think it's worth noting that as we speak, in this very room, there is a shower like no other. This is probably notoriously boring to anyone else, but I thought it was important to document the hurdle I had to face this morning. 

Yes folks, those are actual stones. You probably have something very similar in your driveway. They come complete with insects and can be moved around and rearranged at any time. It's also quite good for  the core muscles to have to balance on a single ceramic tile while shampooing. I don't think I need to tell you why my legs will go unshaven until we reach the next town.

I'll leave the next couple of snaps without explanation. I don't think they really need it and it's getting late. If you've stayed with me this long then I hope it wasn't too boring, and if you stopped halfway through to make a sandwich then I hope you enjoyed it.

Lastly, I want to send internet birthday wishes to Aunt Connie. I'm wearing my Robbie Alomar shirt and thinking of you and all the reasons why I admire and love you. I'm trying to conquer my fear of heights thanks to you and all your crazy adventures. And that will hopefully last longer than a 4-5 year period.

xoxo

Jill  

The Journey Begins...

I know I promised to explain more about the work I'm helping with here and how it relates to marine conservation in South Africa (did I really say that?) but things with our road trip have been so busy that we barely have time during the day to stop and eat. Since setting out from Grahamstown on Friday morning we've touched town in East London, Port St Johns and now Shelly Beach. It has only been 4 days in real time, but I feel like a few weeks have gone by instead. 


We've met a wide variety of people involved with the oceans and coasts, from sailors to divers and backpackers running seaside hostels. It's hard to find good office space on the road, but we've improvised and seem to be adapting well to each place we encounter. As you can see we've been really spending a lot of time outdoors enjoying the spectacular views and weather.

All jokes aside, the scenery since we left East London has been truly amazing, and I'm blessed to have a guide who can provide historical context to all the places we pass along the way. The driving has been along winding and sometimes narrow roads, but heading along on the hills you can see so far away that the mountains get hazy, and no matter how many photos I take it still feels better to watch it pass by in real time rather than trying to squeeze it all into a tiny frame. 

Although it sounds like I've been spending most of my time working and travelling, I haven't really been lonely. On Saturday night I had two roommates who kept the mosquitoes away very well, helping me get a solid 8 hours of insect-free sleep. Ma and Pa Gecko patrolled the walls and ceilings all night but were gone when I woke up on Sunday morning. I'm not sure where they went but I'm thinking that maybe my snoring was too much for them to handle and they needed to get some rest as well.

Tomorrow should be a day of hard work here in Shelly Beach, but there may be some down time where I can take some more pictures of the area and maybe even get a much needed hair cut. I'm also hoping to get in the water at some point and give a proper description of the Indian Ocean from an insiders point of view. 

Until we meet again, get lots of sleep and eat some oranges - flu season is just around the corner.

Jill

The Elephants on Parade

Last Sunday (Thanksgiving) our gracious hostess brought us to Addo Elephant Park, where I managed to capture completely sub-par photographs of an experience that was anything but.

Although we passed several piles of dung after entering the gates, the first animal we did actually see was a male elephant in a muddy water hole. He must have sensed that he was breaking our wild elephant virginity so he gave us a show and sprayed water and mud on his body with his trunk. By the time we collected ourselves and drove on he looked like a brown sub-species of Loxodonta africana.

Along with dainty warthogs and many, many kudu, we saw the precious dung beetle, whose presence is so important that there are signs warning you not to drive over dung piles, and stating that dung beetles always have the right of way.

The highlight of my day was most certainly towards the end of the trip when we had seen just about every amazing thing we could have seen (with the added bonus of ice cream). The car turned a corner and up ahead in the road there were 30+ elephants all gathered around a water hole. We sat and watched them so long we began to see groups separate and leave. We saw babies being guarded by their mothers with some kind of physical contact at all times. There were juveniles play-fighting with each other. There were loud grunts and trumpet noises and some very excited males on the hunt. It was the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen, and I feel like the Grinch; my heart may have actually grown three sizes that day.

In the background zebras and warthogs tried to get their fill as well, but were of least concern at that point. I have added some pictures below, but even as a pair words and photos can’t capture 5% of the experience. If you really want to know further then you must come here and see it for yourself. 

I’ll keep things work and ocean related in my next post, so keep your snorkel close by.

Jill

P.S. If you notice anything HUGE about one of these bull elephants then you’re not alone. The lady elephants noticed it too, but we all pretended we didn’t for his sake.

Life in G-Town

These past three weeks have flown by, and if I wanted to describe all the events and things that I've learned this could turn into a novella, so I’ll try to be picky about what I write.

According to the guide books, Grahamstown is a great little city of about 120, 000 people and approximately 140 religious buildings. In real life, it feels very much like Fredericton in September; full of students and with double-decker pubs that have strange names like the Rat and Parrot. The weather isn't always as warm as you'd expect, but the people are friendly and it's relatively easy to find your way around the main streets. I live in a lovely apartment in a building close to work, and right down the street there is a shopping area called Pepper Grove which includes a PicknPay grocery store, pharmacy, flower shop and other basic needs. KFC is also there, and it makes me miss Mary Brown every time I walk by. Every morning on the way to work there are people selling calla lilies and bird of paradise (or crane flowers) out of milk cartons, and from anywhere in the city you can see the surrounding hillside. People here seem to be happy and not too rushed, and in the parts that I've seen so far it feels relaxed and historical, with plenty of old buildings and churches.

There are lots of great animals around as well, including the cape weavers who built the nests in this tree. I'm not sure how they choose which trees to build in, but it's interesting to look up and see all these little guys hard at work.

Cape Weavers are little yellow birds with reddish-orange heads and they build their kidney-shaped nests out of grass. Sometimes the nests are two and three stories high, and are constructed to try and impress potential lady weavers. They're loud and fast, and seem determined to out-construct each other in an animal kingdom 'keeping up with the Jones's' sort of way.

Another interesting creature I've come across is the Hottentot Golden Mole, which we found in the middle of a grassy path on the Rhodes University campus. Unfortunately I had to save it from getting stepped on by a passerby (there was shouting and arm-flailing involved and just like that I became the campus loon), and didn’t get a chance to snap a picture. Apparently my screams of "Don't step on the mole!" were enough to scare it, and in the blink of an eye it was back in the ground, safe to burrow for another day.

This past week we all went to the beach at Kenton-on-Sea and I’m attaching a few photos that I took there, including one of my old friend, the Cuban warship. They were everywhere along the beach, and were much smaller than the ones in the Caribbean. The weather was great but not warm enough for swimming, and there were a few people hiking around the sand dunes. Even though we didn't get in the water the scenery was beautiful and none of the pictures I've seen can capture it. The combination of rocks, dunes and waves was pretty intoxicating and I can't wait to be back there in swimming weather.

This coming weekend will be a busy one as I'm preparing for a coastal tour of South Africa with work that is sure to be amazing. It's also special for two other reasons: the first is that at home right now everyone is buying excessively large turkeys in preparation for Thanksgiving (to my American friends, I'm sorry we stole your holiday). The second is that many of my family members have gathered from various locations and are celebrating my uncle's birthday in Lark Harbour, Newfoundland. Although I'm not holding anyone's hand around a table of food right now, I'd like to combine these two occasions and say how thankful I am for my family. They've always encouraged me, inspired me, and their love and support has meant so much. I love you all.

To Uncle Jim, I wish you a very happy birthday full of Mosey, dancing and dough-boys. Maybe this time next year you'll be where I am right now, and in the meantime, eat lots of Joanie home-cooking for me.

xo

Jiddles