South Africa 2012

I was lucky enough to travel to South Africa in August of 2012. My parents bid on, and won, a week-long photo safari at a charity event. They were wonderful enough to bring my sister, Libby, and I with them. We knew that if we traveled all the way to South Africa, we had to stay for longer than a week. So, we went crazy and decided on two weeks. The first week was spent in the coastal city, Cape Town. From there we went north and east, two hours from the closest city, to a private reserve for our photo safari. All of the photographs on this site were taken by someone on the trip, mostly my Dad. My sister did give me a couple of pictures she took as well. I will make note if the picture was not taken by my Dad. We found that South Africa is so much more than a place to take cool pictures, though that didn't stop us from taking plenty. There are so many interesting facts about the country. It is a country not too different from our own. Their past is messy but their citizens are patriotic and hopeful for a brighter future. Before leaving on the trip, we made sure to do a little reading on the country to become more familiar with its culture and history. We like the National Geographic facts.

My sister and I posed with the Nelson Mandela statue in Cape Town near the pier. He is credited with leading the fight against apartheid and eventually, he played a pivotal role in its demise. Hidden by the clouds behind us is a mountain. Table Mountain to be exact. Even though it is one of the main tourist attractions, it is routinely veiled by low hanging clouds and you're lucky to get more than one clear day to see the top. Also in the background you can see one hand of the gigantic sculpture that was being built earlier that year. It was made using 4200 Coca-Cola crates.
	The currency in South Africa is the Rand. When we traveled to South Africa in 2012, the exchange rate was roughly 8 to 1, meaning eight rands was equivilant to one US dollar. I have not traveled outside the country frequently so that was a difficult adjustment. Every time I saw a price tag, I gasped before I remembered about the difference in value to the US dollar.
This picture really captures the feeling of what it was like to be in a completely different ecosystem. A beautiful sunset over the savannah with mountains in the distance.