Week 20: South Africa

Hello from South Africa!!

After a month at sea, our longest time without pulling into port so far this deployment, we are once again on dry land. We pulled in to Cape Town, South Africa late on Tuesday afternoon. The view was amazing, and we are right in the downtown area with a great view of Table Mountain and lots of playful little seals in the harbor (Caitlin and Jake, reminds me of when we went to the aquarium and saw all the otters playing!). As soon as we pulled in, we had a ton of safety briefs, more so than normal, because of the crime in this country. We were told that South Africa is the most dangerous country in the world outside of a war zone. As such, overnight liberty is not authorized here unless you are on leave. My roommates, Shawna and Erin, did take leave and got a hotel in town, but I decided to go the safe route and stay on the ship at nights (besides, I am trying to save my leave days for the wedding and honeymoon next year)...

Wednesday, I spent the afternoon getting a pedicure (much needed after wearing steel-toed boots for 4 months!) and lunch in the Waterfront area, before meeting some of the other Junior Officers on the Canadian ship for a "Subby Party". This is a Canadian tradition where the Junior Officers get together for a party and no department heads are allowed to attend. The one exception was that the Admiral was invited to stop by and mingle with the various Division Officers in our group. The Canadian Navy is allowed to have alcohol onboard, and as such has a full bar in their Wardroom, so it was quite the evening. I had a good time and was back on the ship early enough to get some sleep before having duty on Thursday.

Friday, I went on an all-day vineyard tour. South Africa boasts over 130 vineyards and has some of the yummiest wines I've ever tasted. We stopped at five different "wine centers" and tasted about 30 wines total that day. Needless to say, I bought several bottles and can't wait to get them home and share them with all of you! One of the vineyards also had a cheetah reserve next door, so I was able to pet an adult male cheetah...pretty cool if I do say so myself!! Following the tour, the entire Wardroom (all the Officers onboard...about 35 total) met at a local steak house for a Hail and Farewell. This is where we welcome any new Officers to the Wardroom and say goodbye to those who are leaving. Since I will return to the States in two weeks, it was my Farewell. It was kind of an emotional evening, because although there have been lots of hard times on this ship, I've learned a lot and grown a lot as a person...and met some really good people too. My dad always said my first tour would be my most memorable, and I'm sure he's right about that! Anyway, after the Farewell, a bunch of us went to a local bar and sang karaoke until the wee hours of the morning. It was a pretty fun night!

Saturday morning, I woke up bright and early for a safari tour. We were driven about an hour and a half outside of Cape Town to a National Wildlife Reservation, where we piled into a huge "Jeep" with stadium seating so we could all see. The rangers fed us breakfast at the main camp before we headed out to see all the animals. Not only did I get to see hundreds of Springbok (like little antelope), baboons, zebras, and wildebeests, but I came up close and personal with rhinos, giraffes, lions, and was even charged by two male elephants!! It was a great trip and well worth it! Following the tour, we were taken back to the camp for a great lunch of wonderful local dishes, and then piled back into our van to go back to the ship.

Sunday, I woke up early and went to breakfast at a little diner in town with one of our department heads and another Officer. After breakfast, we hiked up Table Mountain, which boasts an amazing view of Cape Town and beyond. We could even see the Cape of Good Hope, which is the southernmost point of the African continent, and the place where the Indian and Atlantic Oceans meet. I wasn't able to travel to the Cape, but seeing it was enough...what a gorgeous view. The mountain range was enormous, so we hiked all along the ridges, at least where we felt it was safe and were well within sight of the other people on the mountain. In the week before we pulled into port, there were 10 violent muggings along the hiking trails, so we wanted to be careful. Later on, we got lunch at a neat cafe in town, and then watched a couple of football (soccer to Americans) games at the most popular bar/brewery (Mitchell's) in town, before getting dinner at an awesome steak house with a saxaphone player to serenade us. I had a kebab with three different types of antelope, and it was amazing!!! This trip, I tasted antelope, ostrich, crocodile, and springbok ....all were amazing...and so tender too!

Anyway, I have 11 days at sea before we pull in to our next port and I fly home...hopefully it goes by quickly! Can't wait to see all of you!

Until next time...

Kate