Nansi Ingwenyama, Sthandwa

Everyone who has seen me talk about my travels knows about the twinkle in my eye as I REFUSE to shut up about how beautiful, different, stunning, amazing, and all those superlatives S.Africa/Zimbabwe is.

I apologize that this post is, oh I dunno, half a year late. But as the anniversary of the beginning of my epic adventure approaches (and I am bedridden with some sort of weird cold), I thought I would share some of the BEAUTIFULEXCITINGAMAZINGDUMB things I did pooping around the southern bit of the continent with my glorious sister:

For more on our adventures, check out her hilarious blog: youvebeenminged.blogspot.com

We backpacked the entire Garden Route then went up to Victoria Falls with my Zim. friend Lesley, spending a magical few weeks full of sibling rivalry, bad eating habits (read:chips), cheeky Australians with Asian twin fetishes (shudder), and gorgeous scenery. I'll give the quick and dirty.

1. Refilwe, Lanseria, South Africa

For the first couple of days, my sister and I hung out at a small little setup outside of JoBurg that a church had set up for families and stayed at the "Baby House," which was an orphanage for the littlest ones. That translated to my sister and I cuddling with adorable little babes, and my sister telling me "You're doing it wrong" about numerous tasks I attempted to help with (I was doing it wrong most of the time).

2. My Sister is a 'Fraidy Cat, Storm's River, South Africa

We flew down to PLZ to start our BazBus journey, and I was excited to show my sister the place (and maybe person) that stolen my heart, hoping that it wouldn't disappoint. This place was also one of the highlights of our adventures because I (re-)discovered that my sister is the BIGGEST WUSS EVER. 

Baboons

We ran into (almost literally) a pack of baboons while hiking through the Tsitsikamma Natl Park. The reason my sister almost stumbled over an adult male baboon chilling in the middle of the trail was because I made the mistake of telling her about Black Mambas, so to her, every one of the many vines/roots on the path was potential death, and her eyes were glued to the forest floor. After being (sorta) chased away from the subsequent pack of baboons by some non-friendly-looking mother baboons, my sister was very reluctant to approach, but they were blocking the path. We grew up in the PNW, so we know how to act around bears, coyotes, and cougars, but baboons? Nope.
After a frantic call to the backpackers, the amused woman assured us that as long as we didn't have food we'd be fine. So I figured as long as we made noise and let them know where we were, they would leave us alone, but my sister was convinced I was going to get us killed.

Obviously, we were fine. and were rewarded with these views:

See, doesnt she look okay now?

Bungee Jumping

As previously mentioned, I jumped off a bridge, and now it was my sister's turn. And boy, was she excited!

And by "excited," I mean "pants-pissing terrified." I went along for moral support, and before her jump, she was uncharacteristically quiet. I tried to be encouraging, telling her how great it was when I did it, how it's totally safe, but when the time came, she was one of those that that had to be essentially forcefully thrown off the bridge. Of course, she immediately loved it after the choice to jump was no longer hers, but the video caught her slight breakdown prior. Just a little. 

3. Plettenberg Bay, South Africa

I met Elephants. Need I say more???

Pure, Unadulterated, Joy.

4. Capetown, South Africa

 We did some of this:

Some of this:

A little Robben Island:

A bit of Cape Point with a tour group:

And a little bit of goodbye, because next we were headed to...

5. Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, Natural Wonder of the World

BAM.

I really wanted to go horseback riding, so we did a safari:

Had just a couple of drinks and good times with the lovely Lesley Ncube:

Just a couple.

 Did a sunset booze cruise, complete with wildlife:

But mostly important, did this:

Is it too late to cry "uncle?"

Class 4/5 rapids all the way down, including one that did this to us:

I'm at the bottom of the pile, just FYI

Janni's Inner Monologue: Don't Panic. At least this is an epic death.

I was pretty damn sure I was going to die, but in the end, I prevailed (one contact short)

It was a damn good way to say goodbye to the most amazing five months of my life, because after this, we flew back to JoBurg, and I prepared to leave for Germany while my sister spent a bit longer with the Rainbow Nation.