Most of us were pumped for our three days in the Drakensberg mountains but the thought of being split up for a week was a little sad, but not too sad. All of us had been hoping that we would be in our canoe trip groups from the first semester to partake in some more inside jokes and stir up old, fond memories. Our wish came true and my group was to depart first. we filled our packs with what we thought were the essentials, strapped them snugly around our hips, laced up our hiking boots and if we were smart, applied sunscreen. The first day was a managable hour-and-a-bit jaunt to our sleeping quarters for the next two nights, a cave. We unrolled our mats which were two centimeters of pure luxury and ensured that there were no drips in our chosen spot before unrolling our sleeping bags. Then it was down to the river to replenish our water supply with cool, crisp, refreshing mountain H2O (some of us took the warning from Raf and purified our water with a complicated system involving at least a fifteen minute wait since last years group may have picked up a parasite here. But impatient others -myself included- drank freely but not before praying over it -shout out to Joshua D. of course). We also took a dip to cool off and tested out a natural water slide. Anywho, it was 5:30 the next morning when our guide, Paul, woke me up. A hearty breakfast of oatmeal and we were on our way! As we hiked we enjoyed the glamorous scenery. We spotted baboons and only hoped the security guards back at the cave were watching out stuff. I will spare you the details of the long and gruesome struggle and skip to our arrival at the top of Rhino's peak. Spectacular! a 360 degree panorama awaited us. I think it was the most beautiful view I had ever seen! All of us were so proud for making it up there. We just sat and ate our lunch in awe. None of us wanted to leave such an amazing display of God's beauty and power. But the time came and we tore ourselves away. We were all pretty pleased to get back into the cave, prepare some dinner and then settle in for the night (all of us praying for a better sleep than the first night). The next morning we were sad to have to go. Connecting with God through nature, getting some good fresh air and excercise and being with a fewer amount of people was really a nice break for all of us.
I am also to mention an evening a few nights after our return to Project Gateway in Pietermaritzburg. We had the privilege of partaking in a traditional Zulu meal, the featured dish? Chicken feet! What a shock when the thing on your plate has claws and fingers. For most of us it was just a mental thing we had to get past, but really, they turned out to be not too bad. My group was the second to have this meal and the other group saved us from also stomaching trip because apparently they didn't do a very good job of hiding the fact that none of them liked it. Anyway, the highlight of the evening was watching (and participating in) some traditional dances. Afterward we all went outside (in the light mist) and played some African (and Canadian) games. The evening was concluded with singing. Some of the Zulu women busted into beautiful worship songs. It was a great end to the night.
Written by: Christine Barkey
No comments:
Post a Comment