Monday morning started off with a test, however this one was slightly different to usual. This test was our South African driving test which will allow us to apply for a PDP which we need to drive members of the public around whilst working on placement or as a guide in the future. Although we’d all passed our UK tests, we were nervous for this as we had only had one lesson and didn’t completely know what would be asked of us in the test. First, you need to complete the yard section which tests manoeuvres such as reversing round a corner and hill starts, before moving onto the road test. Luckily, the road test followed the same route we had done in our lesson and was only 20 minutes or so long.
After a nail-biting morning of comparing our errors, we finally got the news that all of us had passed – talk about relief! Unfortunately, the printing machine wasn’t working so we were told to come back later in the week to organise getting the paper copy of our licences. As a thank you we went to KFC and bought a big bucket of chicken wings and a family deal which definitely bought us a few brownie points with the staff and hopefully future Bushwise students.
We were then free to enjoy the rest of the week worry-free, so Ryan and I went back to camp and packed to go away for a few nights, a surprise he’d booked that morning. We drove to Manoutsa Holiday Resort near Hoedspruit and had a very leisurely evening watching films in our air-conditioned rondavel, what a treat!
Tuesday was I think my favourite day this week. We’ve driven the Panorama route around Blyde River Canyon before but we hadn’t yet been down into it, so Tuesday was the day! We drove to Blyde Canyon Forever Lodge and decided on a hiking route combining the longer Leopard Trail starting at the top before taking the Guinea Trail down to the waterfalls and pools at the bottom. The morning started off a bit wet and grey – more like an English morning than a South African one! When we looked out from the top view point before starting there really wasn’t much to see so we didn’t actually realise how high up we were!
As we headed off down the trail we quickly realised that although it wasn’t quite the weather we were hoping for, it was actually a blessing as our clothes got soaked through from all the vegetation, keeping us cool while we walked. We stopped a few times along the way and as the morning went on the mist started to clear, revealing the most spectacular Jurassic-style view of the Canyon. I could have honestly sat there and taken it all in for hours, there’s nothing quite like it. After some photos and lots of ‘wow’s from me, we moved off again to join the Guinea Trail and headed down to the sounds of the waterfalls.
At the pools we again had a ‘wow’ moment, as it was simply stunning. At this point it was starting to heat up, so after a quick munch on some crisps we dived (or rather fell) into the pool. The water was crystal clear, some of the clearest waters I think I have ever seen! Though the bottom was covered in algae so was hilariously slippy, and the water was so fresh it took your breath away when you fell in. I could have honestly stayed in that pool for hours just taking in the sounds of the waterfalls and the wildlife surrounding us in such a beautiful setting.
After a while we decided we should probably move on again and finish the hike as we still had a few more hours to go. As soon as we left the pool, however, we found an even better one! This one was huuuuge and had proper waterfalls going into it. I was so tempted to dive right in as soon as we saw it, but we decided that we’d come back for my birthday weekend and bring everyone else to swim in it then. With longing looks, we sadly turned away and started on the trail that took us back up the Canyon.
Now that the sun had cleared, the last few hours were very sweaty work, especially going uphill. We did eventually make it and rewarded ourselves with some ice cream before heading back to Manoutsa for a relaxing evening. It was such a rewarding day to see some incredible views and to feel the burn in our legs again, though it did remind us how unfit we are – something we’re going to work on next semester!
The next morning, we had another very chilled day, spending hours by the pool at Manoutsa. We had so many laughs in that beautiful pool, testing out our handstands, balancing on the beam across the smaller pool, and of course going down the slide like the big kids we are. I would have loved to have stayed there all day being reminded of my childhood holidays in the Caribbean doing the same thing with my family, but sadly we had work to do. We drove back home to camp and attempted some revision in the afternoon, but I’m not sure how much actually sunk into my very relaxed brain!
On Thursday morning, Hannes very kindly offered for those of us still at camp to go over and help with the darting of some sable and nyala. As I’ve done this sort of stuff before, I tried to take a bit of a back seat, so Caro went with them to record the sable measurements while we waited our turn to go and help out with the nyala (slightly less valuable if we do something wrong!). A film crew were there to capture everything as it happened, so we tried to stay out of their way, but we did get to be involved with the transport of the nyala back to campus where we released them. We now have three nyala ewes and one bull to make friends with, though I’m sure right now they’re a little confused but getting fat on all the lush grass.
In the afternoon we tried to get some revision done, but sadly our friends who we were going to meet up with for dinner cancelled. As we were so looking forward to pizza, we had a quick change of plan and went out on a three-way date night with Sasha instead which was awesome. Three Bridges has changed a lot since I first went there years ago, but it’s now gorgeous in the evening with lights everywhere and is nice and relaxed. We gorged ourselves on food and practically rolled ourselves back home which was the perfect end to the day.
On Friday Ryan and I had a gloriously long lie-in, which unfortunately meant we didn’t make it into Hoedspruit in time to get our driving licences sorted, though we’ll hopefully get to do it next week in between game drives. We instead spent the day shopping for various bits and bobs before checking into Loerie Guesthouse where we’d spend the night with more air conditioning!
After having so much freedom this week thanks to the car, we sadly had to drop it off back at the airport. It’s definitely worth having on off weeks as there’s no public transport round here and taxi’s are pretty scarce! That combined with everything being in the middle of nowhere means the last resort would be to walk for hours to get anywhere!
In the evening we had the best food we’ve had since being here. Sorry Rose, your cooking is amazing and I love it, but this was something else! We went to Rumble Restaurant where we’d met Megan earlier in the day, who greeted us and sat us on her favourite table in the ‘boma’. She put me to shame as a waitress, topping our drinks up before we’d even finished and helping us decide on food. All I can say is if anyone is in the area, go eat there – plain and simple it was incredible. We had so many laughs with Megan and were dying to eat more even though we’d stuffed a whole three courses in along with lots of cocktails and beer. Eventually we said our goodbye’s and vowed to be back soon, before we stumbled home and flopped into bed in our food comas.
We woke up on Saturday morning and had another long lie in before spending a few hours at Fig & Bean having breakfast and catching up on everything we needed to. In the evening we all took a trip to Mahlahla for pizza night and to watch the rugby. The pizza was incredible, soft deep-dish which I haven’t had in years! And the drinks washed it down nicely, meaning we had a pretty late night of drunken card games back at camp. Sunday morning was therefore a very chilled one with most of us sleeping through the day until everyone got back from their weeks at home.
Weirdly, I’m really looking forward to getting back to working and studying next week which I’ve never had with any other job/education before! It’s definitely a sign of how amazing Bushwise is and the bush in general. I love this life!
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