Itinerary

I fly from Heathrow on the evening of Saturday Feb 20th, landing in Cape Town at 6am on Sunday morning. From there, I am collected by the Projects Abroad team, who will transport me to my host family who will be putting me up (and putting up with me) for 4 weeks while I volunteer as a teaching assistant at the nearby Hyde Park Primary School in Parkwood, Cape Town. My placement will commence on the Monday morning so there'll be no time to rest and this is likely to be quite a culture shock. My role will include supporting staff at the school by teaching English to the kids. I'll have an acoustic guitar with me so I am hopeful to introduce some music and after-school sports too! In my spare time I hope to experience everything the city has to offer, including Robben Island, Table Mountain, wild penguins and baboons near Simon's Town, the District 6 Museum and hopefully taking in the local cultures and customs to the maximum (and seeing a Super 14s rugby match at Newlands Stadium, of course)!

It will be fascinating to experience a school which is so different to ours both in it's demographic and resources. It is also rather scary and I hope to be able to provide some different knowledge and have a positive impact on the school and its children.

On the 19th March, I will fly to Johannesburg arriving late in the evening. I will be staying in a hostel overnight (I'm undecided on which one as yet) and will return to the airport for 10am on Sat 20th March to be picked up by Global Vision International (GVI) for a 5 hour coach trip north to the Venetia Limpopo Nature Reserve. I will be spending 2 weeks here volunteering on a conservation basis, undertaking game reserve research with species monitoring and tracking. The work also includes fence erection and elephant research. The accommodation will be basic and the nights will be under the stars in the wilderness. One aspect of this conservation project which particularly appeals to me is the prospect of observing and monitoring a lion pride for an overnight period. You can find further information about the conservation project here http://www.gvi.co.uk/projects/Africa/South%20Africa/Short-term-volunteer-South-Africa/home

On Friday the 2nd April I will be coached back to Johannesburg from where I will have a 3 week period to travel the coastal route by bus, terminating in Cape Town to catch my plane home on my 28th birthday, Sat 24th April. This period of the trip is as yet unplanned, however I have a very clear idea as to which areas and attractions I want to visit, including a stop in Swaziland, visiting Durban, the Drakensberg Mountains, Lesotho and various beautiful locations along the coastline. Part of the appeal to me is the fact that I will not be entirely sure where each day will take me, and I will have the flexibility to alter my plans and route on a daily basis. I will be staying in hostels and I have never backpacked before so this experience promises to be interesting and unpredictable!!

The entire trip both excites and daunts me. I have no idea what will happen other than that each day I will meet amazing people, see new places and experience new things. I'll be back on the 19th February to give you my final thoughts before I depart!

Bye!