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My trip was finally at its end unfortunately. After Leaving Lena at Windhoek and catching a plane to Cape Town, we got our flight back to England! The flight was uneventful, with poor aeroplane food but more sleep than expected, and we arrived into Heathrow around 6.30...and it was cloudy and raining by the time we were in the car. My feelings were mixed coming home-looking forward to seeing family and friends, but sad that my short time in Africa had finished.

I very much enjoyed my six weeks away-working with the kids in PE was both wonderful and humbling, and I very much enjoyed the football coaching I got to do. Travelling was also great, I had a great group of people to travel with and saw some amazing places. Highlights include the holiday club, the soccer tournament and the first sighting of Vic Falls on the Zambian side, but to be honest the whole trip was a highlight-I could have stayed a lot longer!

So I guess this is the end of my blog too...thankyou for following, thanks for your prayers and your support. Hopefully I will do something similar again in the future, and then maybe I'll blog again. Until then, go well!

Windhoek.

We spent the final four days of our trip in the Namibian capital city of Windhoek! Unfortunately Jakob left us on the Monday and it was very quiet without him and I was then outnumbered by the girls. Windhoek wasn't the most interesting place-we went to the National Museum, a nice church and to some shops and by then we had pretty much exhausted Windhoek. On the Wednesday we drove to Dann Viljeon Game Park which was under renovation and you could tell-there was hardly anyone around and we saw one beetle and one warthog! So a plan was needed to entertain us on the Thursday, and the girls didn't disappoint...we went to a posh spa place for the day, something I had never envisaged doing in my life, but actually really enjoyed! I used the gym, swam in the infinity pool, had another lovely back massage and used the sauna and it was an enjoyable way to spend our last full day away-perhaps not the most manly thing I could have done but I think I would do it again...

Vic Falls-Zimbabwean Side

Hey all, so following the Zambian side we moved on to Zimbabwe and saw the Falls from that side too! It was different in that the Zimbabwe side is a lot longer-it seems to go on a long time, and the views of it are all a lot closer! Again we got very wet but saw a couple of beautiful rainbows at the end. I think I preferred the Zambian side tho, just because it had the wow-factor and you could see it from different views!

We stayed in the resort town of Victoria Falls and altho the backpackers was very nice the town itself was a bit dead! There were too main streets and not much going on, apart from people approaching you to try and sell things...and yes I do now have an 100 trillion dollar note! Had a very nice massage at the backpackers and following another long bus trip we are now back in Windhoek, Namibia for 4 days before flying back to the UK on Friday.

Vic Falls-Zambian Side

After 22 long hot hours on the bus we finally arrived in Zambia! It has been a little surreal cos in my head I never really planned on being Zambia. After dropping our stuff off at the backpackers we went into the town of Livingstone, named after the explorer, which was a real experience. We went through the market and everyone was approaching you trying to sell things or just to strike up conversation, selling all sorts of things like fruit, bangles, and trillion dollar notes! It was a bit intimidating at first but you soon get used to it, and I actually like Zambia a lot! The money is difficult to get used to tho-I took about 30 quid out of the cash machine, which translated to 200,000 kwecha-lots of cash!

Yesterday we went to the Zambian side of Vic Falls which was incredible! We went down into a jungle-like valley and after clambering across some rocks got our first view of the falls…it was difficult to see them properly with all the mist which was higher than the water itself and it was so high up, but it was amazing. We then got another view of it from the cliffs opposite the Falls, and then went to Knife Edge Bridge! Absolutely soaked but it was well worth it because it was right next to the Falls! It was an incredible experience, difficult to put into words and the photos really don’t do it justice. Well worth a visit!

Today we were canoeing on the Zambezi River, another thing I didn’t expect to be doing. It started slowly, but ended up being a really good day! The river is crocodile-infested, and we also saw hippos, another danger when you are just in a 2 man canoe. I was on edge most of the day, but it was very enjoyable, and on the drive back we saw baboons, giraffes, and elephants really close to the car-amazing!
Tomorrow we are going to Zimbabwe to see the other side of the Falls. Everybody seems to have a different opinion on which view of the Falls is best, so I look forward to seeing for myself.

Travelling 2

So from Upington we survived a 12 hour bus journey into Namibia, funny customs people at the border and after seeing a beautiful sunrise reached Windhoek early this morning! Have spent most of the day based at a cafe in a shopping mall-eating, chatting, playing cards and the like! We've also booked accomodation and a car for when we are back here in Windhoek next week which is good. In a couple of hours we will be back on the bus...this time for an epic 21 hours! which is guna be boring as anything but we have Vic Falls to look forward to at the end of it-woop woop!

Travelling!

So today we are in Bloemfontein...which wasn't part of the plan but is all good! We tried to go to Lesotho yday but the silly border control people didn't recognise Lena and Jakob's visas and thought they were illegal immigrants and wouldn't let them in! And me and Hannah were stamped to go in and didn't, so apparently were in SA illegally too! but hopefully we have got everything all sorted now-they have been to Home Affairs in Bloem and they say everything is ok it was a mistake of the border control...we shall see what happens when we get to the Namibian Border! So today we are off to Kimberley, visiting the great hole and spending the night there...and then onwards to the bus at Uppington! We travel onwards...

Leaving PE

So tomorrow I am leaving PE to go travelling with Hannah, Lena and Jakob! Here follows a brief itinery...
14th leave PE – pick Jakob up in East London and stay in Aliwal North
15th Aliwal north to Lesotho
16th Lesotho
17th leave Lesotho and drive to Kimberly
18th Drive from Kimberly to Upington – drop the car and catch the bus to Windhoek at 6.30pm
19th arrive Windhoek 6.00 am and catch the bus to vic falls at 5.00pm
20th 2.00pm arrive in vic falls
21st vic falls
22nd vic falls
23rd vic falls
24th vic falls
25th leave vic falls at 11.00 am on the bus
26th arrive in Windhoek 5.00am
27th Windhoek – collect hire car num 2
28th Windhoek
29th Windhoek
30th airport flight at 9.45 am
This is the plan, but there has been road closures because of snow so we shall see how it goes...have a good couple of weeks y'all!

Soccer Tournament

Today was the big soccer tournament for which our team has been training for! It was another early start, arriving at the pitch at 7am to help set up. It was mainly organised by Lena and other German volunteers, with VIPs from Germany and the Department of Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation in South Africa coming to watch! The tournament itself was a great success, with four teams taking part-one our team from the Walmer Township, a team called the ACTP Stars from the Nelson Mandela Bay townships, one from Parkside Township in East London and one from Aliwal North! Unfortunately our team lost both it's matches, one due to a penalty in the match, and the other as a result of a penalty shootout after a 0-0 draw! Losing the penalty shootout was inevitable due to our team wearing the England shirts I brought over with me! It was a very good day all round though and the boys played well and enjoyed themselves which was the most important thing. Even better is the news that Thobani is continuing with the team after the tournament, with another tournament for them to play in on 17th July!

Cape Town...

Ok so maybe I do a proper post about Cape Town now! I went on Sunday with Hannah and after a chilled 8-hour car journey with the lovely Stindt's we arrived in Table View, across the bay from Cape Town. We stayed with Nick and Sharon, a couple who have moved fairly recently from PE to set up a business there...they also have an adorable basset hound called Bailey! It was a very touristy trip, with visits to the Aquarium, Planetarium, the V&A Waterfront, Table Mountain and an open bus tour of the town and the surrounding area. We also drove to Boulders Beach and saw lots of penguins, went to the Cape of Good Hope and experienced the markets of Cape Town! Cape Town has a very good vibe and I very much enjoyed the few days I was there! I would like to go back sometime and climb Table Mountain rather than using the cable car!

Cape Town...

It was fun.

Cape Town

So I went to Cape Town. The End.

Holiday Club!

This week I have been busy with holiday club, more early starts but it is worth it! It has been very good fun-similar to holiday club at home in lots of ways...aerobics, dancing, a drama, memory verses, activities and games! Again I was in charge of the games each day which I have very much enjoyed! Building relationships with the kids has been fulfilling and enjoyable-it is amazing how they smile when you spend time with them and love them! I have really enjoyed doing holiday club and creative arts and I think I will miss it, and the children a lot! I pray that these two weeks will have a lasting impact on their lives, that they will know that they are special and loved, and will come to know God in a real way!

I have been a bit ill this week, spending most of Tuesday in bed, I think as a result of all the busyness and lack of sleep! But things are good-I went to the quarter final match between Brazil and Netherlands which was exciting and have still been doing some soccer coaching in the township! We had a friendly match today against another local team and we drew 1-1! It was a very good match and the boys played well, but still there are things to practice and work on before the tournament next week! Thobani the coach is doing a great job with them though! Tomorrow I am going to Cape Town with Hannah for a few days...I am looking forward to going up Table Mountain! Hope everyone at home is well and enjoying the good weather you have :-)

Grahamstown, Kleinemonde and Port Alfred

So we went to Grahamstown on Friday to the National Arts Festival and on first impression it seemed little more than a market, which was interesting to wander around but not what I expected. However the real attraction seems to be the shows, of which we turned up to one at 8pm that evening. We just went into the booking place and asked for a recommendation, and it was very good! We went to a dance show called Pantsila for Life and there were only around 30 in the audience. There were 16 dancers, dancing in various style with everyday objects such as boxes, hats and footballs. It described the reality of life in the township, and some of the moves were phenomenal. Everybody seems to be able to dance over here, it is great to experience!

We stayed in Kleinemonde in the 'cottage' of my hosts Tim and Isobel, which in reality was a beautiful house by the sea which they had had built themselves. We went to the beach in the morning, again a very beautiful place...this part of the world is very easy on the eye...and travelled back to PE via Port Alfred.

Today I am going to a braii for someones birthday and then going to watch England v Germany on the bigscreen at St George's Park. Come on England!

Creative Arts!

I have now been in South Africa for one week and I am enjoying myself! This week has been dominated by the Creative Arts week every morning...early starts and hence a tired evening but is very much worthwhile. The children are all so enthusiastic and all want to be loved, simple things like high-fives, hugs and piggy-backs make them smile so much-it is quite amazing! I have really enjoyed getting to know the kids and the other leaders and it is a shame the week is over...still have holiday club with most of the same people next week to look forward to :-)

Other things I have been up to this week include going to the township for the first time and helping with some soccer coaching. A local guy took the session and in a way it was difficult for me because I could not speak the language of the kids, but I got to help out with some drills and play in a mini-match with them. Some of the kids are really good and again are really enthusiastic-they just love playing football, it's brilliant to watch! Today I am going to Grahamstown which is about an hour and a half away for the national Arts Festival there which should be good, going to the stadium to watch the round of 16 match between Uraguay and South Korea, and then hopefully watching England beat Germany somewhere on Sunday!

Working (ish!) and World Cup!

So today started early-alarm going off at 6.30am as we needed to be at the Creative Arts Week at 7.30! The Creative Arts week is a bit like a holiday club back home, organised by the churches in PE for kids in the area but with a focus on the creative side of things! It was good fun-familiar like holiday club back in the UK! I have a lovely yellow t-shirt to wear and there were lots of enthusiastic kids...I was in charge of sports/games with Lena and we just got the kids running around outside to burn off some energy-variations on tag, day and night and the classic duck, duck, goose! I will be at the Creative Arts all this week so lots of early starts-we shall see how this goes!

This afternoon I had my first real world cup experience! It was Chile v Switzerland at the Nelson Mandela Stadium and if you didn't know the result was 1-0 to Chile! The vuvuzelas were loud but not overbearing, and the atmosphere was amazing! The stadium itself was also amazing both from the inside and outside, and we were sat behind the goal in which the only goal was scored! I very much enjoyed it but my throat in now hoarse from all the cheering! Soccer training starts tomorrow which will be good and again it is creative arts early in the morning! So I need an early night...

I've arrived!

Hey guys,

So I've arrived safely in Port Elizabeth, South Africa and have just about come to the end of my first weekend here! The flight over was uneventful but had beautiful views of table mountain and the coast between Cape Town and PE on the connecting flight! First impressions of PE are very good-everybody is so friendly here and the weather has been lovely (altho cold at night!). I've been to the fan-park (big screen at a cricket ground) to watch the England game, and although the match was disappointing the atmosphere was great, and yes the vuvuzelas were loud! I am staying in the outhouse of a couple from the church and the couple have been so lovely to me thus far, I feel very welcome! Hannah took me to Addo Elephant Park which was very good-saw lots of kudus, elephants, warthogs, a couple of ostriches, a secretary bird and an endangered flightless-dungbeetle! It was a good day, and topped off by watching the Lion King in the morning which felt like proper Africa! This morning I went to church for the first time here and I enjoyed it-it was similar to home enough to be familiar but was different in ways too! I was invited with Hannah and Lena to someone from church's house for lunch and the food was delicious-we had bobotie which is an afrikaans dish and marvel pudding which is a bit like a treacle sponge but again an african recipe! I had plenty of it too which was great!

I have photos which I will put up at some point but my camera battery is flat already! Creative Arts week starts tomorrow which should be good, but we have to be there at 7.30am, everything seems to start so early here, so I will have fun getting up early! Off to church for the evening service now...catch ya later!