Rucksacks and Rice: Past Travels: South Africa

Firstly, as of today it is officially 1 week until we set off on our travels!!!!!! (que enthusiastic readers)

Many are surprised at our choice of Kenya as our first stop, mainly as it's not your classic aus/thailand gap year. I think the main reason for this decision and our love of Africa is due to our amazing little taster of South Africa two Summer's ago. Walking into my bedroom, you will see countless African paintings and masks and if you catch Megan stripping off you'll see three elephants tattooed onto her rib. YES WE CANNOT WAIT TO RETURN!!!!!

On the way to Kruger Park, we encountered a coach reversing backwards along a motorway and ending up in a ditch - resulting in a group of girls playing cards outside a petrol station for around 10 hours and a very bumpy journey in the back of a truck in the pitch black!

We aided Operation Wallacea with their conservation research by catching dung beetles, waking up at the crack of dawn to listen for bird calls and listened to THE most boring woman on the earth talk about insect preservation techniques for hours on end! We also had a really sweet night of star-gazing, midnight game drives and bush walks where we most definitely spotted a cheetah's tail (maybe, we think!)

We ate waaaaayyyy to many treats from the tuck shop (mostly because ELM wanted to flirt with Clive), drooled over the rangers QUOTE: "don't worry...I've used this rifle before ladies" and darted for the toilets past our bedtime hoping not to run into any hygenas on the way.

After 2 weeks here, we headed through Swaziland and back into South Africa to Sodwana Bay - this time to drool over the dive-masters. We accomplished our fear and grew to love diving, after a very stormy first dive where we lost eachother in the massive waves and panicked as we began to think the welsh school pupils were plotting against and switching off our oxygen tanks - things get a little crazy under the pressure of an entire african ocean.

Outdoors showers, beach-side markets and African singers turning up at our braai. Yes, we were now officially in love with Africa.