#16 - Skinny Dip in the Ocean.
While on a weekend away at Morgans Bay, in the Eastern Cape of South Africa, after a beer or twelve, it was decided that this was an easy thing to get crossed off. Everyone went down to the beach, and while some people only could handle the river flowing out into the Indian Ocean, I braved the waves of the "Wild Coast" in order to cross #16 off my list. While doing so, it was difficult to see how far away the beach ended and the ocean actually began. So #26 - Go Streaking, was also accomplished
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| Beach at Morgan's Bay, South Africa |
# 26 - Go Streaking.
See above
#47 - Go Dogsledding.
While in Grade 11 at Crescent School, I was given the opportunity to go on an 8 day dogsledding trip through Outward Bound Canada. We spent 8 days in February 2006 travelling around Algonquin Park by dogsled and cross country ski. During this amazing trip, I slept out under the stars in an actual dogsled, completed a 1 day solo camp (off on my own for 24 hours) and learned to "mush", or steer, a dogsled along with the 6 dog team.
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| Taking a well deserved rest |
In March 2007, I , along with 8 fellow grade 12 students and 3 teachers, flew to Nairobi, Kenya to begin the trip of a lifetime. After a 6 hour drive to Moshi, Tanzania and the base of Mt. Kilimanjaro, we settled in and began to prepare for the climb. With a team of 6 guides and around 15 "sherpas" we began the 6 day climb up Africa's highest peak. We arrived at the top 4 days later, just in time to watch the sun rise over a neighboring peak. One of the most rewarding sights I have ever experienced.
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| Sunrise from Mt. Kilimanjaro, Tanzania |
#49 - Volunteer in Africa
On the same trip as above (#48) I had the opportunity to volunteer at Amani Home in Moshi, Tanzania for a week. Amani Home is a home for street children, kids who have been abandoned or ran away from home and were found living on the streets. Amani, which means peace in Swahili, takes the children in and offers them a safe place to sleep, hearty meals and schooling, either formal and informal depending on their level of education. While there, we organized a soccer tournament for the children, and helped around the home. Overall, a very rewarding week.
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| Volunteering at Amani Home, Moshi, Tanzania |
In February of 2006, my mom and I set off to a rural Mexican town to help with cataract surgery. Although I had no medical experience whatsoever, I was thrown into the operating room with scrubs and latex gloves, ready to prep a patient for surgery. I was given the task of cleaning the patients eye, to prevent infection. While it was a slightly unnerving task, it was something I was able to do to help with the procedure. After the surgery took place, the patients (who had come from miles away) were given a place to sleep and recover until the following day when their eye patches were removed. For some of these people it was their first time being able to see in years. The look of happiness in their faces was evidence that we had changed their lives, for the better. It is something I will never forget.
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| Cataract surgery in Mexico |
On a family trip to Costa Rica, we travelled to the Monteverde Rain Forest. Surrounded by giant trees and plants, along with a multitude of birds, monkeys and ants, there was a series of ziplines and towers. We began at a relatively tame zipline, and worked our way over 3 km of suspended cables, with the longest zipline being over 750 m long and 130 m high.
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| Ziplining through the Monteverde Rain Forest, Costa Rica |
While I did not get to see all of the Big Five at once, over several different safaris I have been able to check each off of the list. My first African Safari was in Queenstown, South Africa in 2005 on a small game reserve. There was 6 rhinos in the park, and we were able to find one, and ended up chasing it in a 4 x 4 jeep. My second African Safari was in Amboseli National Park, Kenya. On this safari I was able to get the rest of the list checked off, over a series of 3 or 4 game drives. We saw the lions from a distance, and since there are strict rules against driving off of the road, we couldn't get any closer. The leopard we also saw from a distance, along with a cheetah. The water buffalo and elephants were much easier to find due to their numbers and size. We were able to get close to each!
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| Elephant in Amboseli National Park, Kenya |
There is still a whole lot to cross off this list of mine, but that is the whole fun of it! Going on another game drive this afternoon in Queenstown, South Africa. Hopefully I will be able to get some better pictures of the Rhinos, in order to get #65 checked off!
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