Ostrich, Caves, and Trees, oh my!

Up at seven-thirty to try my first ostrich egg for breakfast. Brace yourself…it tasted like any other egg I have eaten. I suppose that is much better than it tasting awful. Being Sunday, I did not have a chance to browse at any of the shops in Oudtshoorn as they are not open on Sunday.
The adventure cave tour started at 9:30 AM. I spent the next hour and a half army crawling through the caves. I am not sure how many inches my waist is, but I can tell you that I had to suck in my waste, my rib cage, and temporarily relocate most of my organs to squeeze through the tight spaces. I actually had to do a head-stand (as instructed by the guide) to get out of one of the tight spaces we shimmied through. All and all it was a success, and I was sprinting (literally) out of the cave by 11 AM in order to make the three hour trip to Tsitsikamma.
Tsitsikamma is different from the other places I have visited in South Africa in many ways. For one, it is about fifteen degrees cooler, and for two, everything is a lot slower here. Translation-not enough to keep me busy. It feels like the world shuts down at five here. For a busy body, it is a little too mellow. But alas, it does neighbor the highest bungee jumping location in the world, and thus I’ll wait (impatiently until morning).
This afternoon I made it to Stormsriver (Tsitsikamma National Park) at about 2 PM. Leaving me just enough time to check into a hostel, grab a quick lunch, and gear up for a canopy tour across the forest. This was the first time I have done a canopy tour, and I am glad I did it, but it was a little too mundane for my taste. There were only a handful of ziplines that went very quick for very far. Additionally, we did not go over the river, as I had assumed we would, and we did not see any animals. (Too much wishful thinking on my behalf for seeing a mountain lion/caracal/leopard/something ridiculously cool). On the positive side, it was fun and the four of us on the tour had an excellent (and enthusiastic) guide.
Post 5 PM and the world shuts down. The hostel is practically empty, and I am lying in a hammock, next to a campfire, ready for bungee jumping tomorrow and trying to alter a few plans to get more adventures into a short amount of time. The internet connection has been excruciatingly slow, so I have not been able to upload the latest photos. I will include a few here, and will upload the rest when I have time and a connection that will support it.
Tomorrow morning will be bungee jumping 216 meters from the Bloukran’s Bridge at 11 AM and then likely off to Port Elizabeth. Addo Elephant Park and Shamwari Safari still to come.
"The purpose of life, after all, is to live it. To taste experience to the utmost. To reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience." Eleanor Roosevelt



Cheers,
Stacey

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