This time for Africa

I know that I leave every single country saying that it was my favorite so far, but South Africa is definitely going to be hard to top. The six days I spent here were easily some of the best I've had on the voyage thus far. I spent three days exploring Cape Town and three days on a safari in Kruger National Park. Kruger is one of the best safaris in Africa – and about as far away from a zoo that you can get. I got an awesome picture of a baby elephant with it's momma.

Many people on the ship joked that we were finally back to civilization because Cape Town looks a lot like a city in the States or in Europe would. Plus, everyone speaks English. And it's true in that sense. But there's so much more to Cape Town that I probably didn't get to experience because my friends and I were so excited for some of the comforts of home. Our ship was docked in walking distance from the V & A Waterfront, which was a giant boardwalk with a huge mall and lots of restaurants. We'd walk over to grab lunch and wifi or shop and have dinner. It was so easy. A lot of my time in South Africa was spent at some of the more touristy areas of Cape Town- the Waterfront, Table Mountain, and a horseback riding tour through the winelands. I also knocked out a few interactions in Green Market Square for my social psych project.

The adventure I'll probably always remember is climbing up Table Mountain. It's this huge plateau in Cape Town and you're really not supposed to hike it without a guide because it's super steep and a tad bit dangerous. But being overconfident college students who are very worldly travelers, we decided to go for it. In hindsight, it was definitely an okay climb to not have a guide if you're careful and in shape. But it was difficult to get up the mountain. Once we were up there, it was so worth the struggle. Plus – we didn't have to hike back down because there were cable cars. During my climb, I kept looking down because the view of the city on the water was spectacular – you could see the entirety of Cape Town and even the MV World Odyssey! Here's Table Mountain from just outside of Cape Town.

All in all, I wish I had about two more weeks in South Africa. There was so much I didn't get to see and experience. And there was a lot of local culture that I didn't have time for. I don't regret a minute of my experience there, and I know I'll be returning sometime soon.