Meaghan on her incredible journey

Meaghan, Lianna, Kayla, Susie, & Anna walk through cemetery in Sharpeville

Last Wednesday we set off to Johannesburg to begin our weeklong excursion! The week was absolutely incredible, spending five days in Johannesburg and two at Kruger National Park. I learned so much in Johannesburg from all of the historical sites we visited, and visited some of the nicest museums I have ever been to. It was very interesting for me because our visit to Sharpeville and the surrounding areas really tied in with the current non-fiction book I am reading. It really makes an impact when the things I am reading about can be seen right in front of me. It was funny to notice the different way of life that existed in Joburg, despite the fact that it was only a two-hour plane ride away.

Stone commemorating the Sharpeville Massacre, 21 March 1960

 Our experience at Kruger is pretty hard to put into words, as it is obviously unlike anything I’ve ever done before. It was so awesome to be able to see so many animals I’ve only ever seen in a zoo or on television. Having a lion walk less than 10 feet away from us was absolutely unreal. The game walk we got to do was so awesome. Despite the fact that we didn’t get to see many animals up close, I learned so much from our guides. It was really impressive to see how much they knew about the animals in the park, ranging from an elephant or lion, to a dung beetle. I’m so grateful we got to experience the rides we did, and it’s actually become a goal of mine to one day make it back to Kruger. My favorite part about the safaris was that they never seemed to let you down, despite how poor the odds seemed. For example, during our first ride we saw a giraffe pretty quickly, but then went a long time without seeing any animals. Just as people were beginning to lose hope and the sun went down, we saw a giraffes, elephants, rhinos, and water buffalos, all within the last hour. The same thing happened on our morning ride when after a long period of silence, a lion casually walked down the road past our car without any hesitation. It was really awesome to have things pick up so drastically just as you were losing hope.

All in all, I’m not sure what was better the vacation we had, or simply having Ben and Faiik waiting for us at the airport as we arrived back in Cape Town.