Site 2: South Africa: Canoe Trip Madness

In the beginning there was a canoe trip, and it was good. The canoe trip was a huge success. We survived everything that was thrown our way. In the Outtatown canoe trip, the people were represented by two separate yet equally important groups: group A, who fought the wind and won; and group B, who started off with a turtles pace. These are their stories.

Group A: we started off our day with a howling exit out of the bay. Our cries of excitement could be heard from all corners. We entered the open waters and found the wind to be in our advantage to set up sails and make the trip easy. Right, that idea was slammed back into our faces. Literally. The sail flapped and smacked people in the faces and it carried our giant floatilla (all canoes joined together) in the wrong direction. We detached and powered our way through the winds and the waves to get to our first portage of the trip. We trekked across the land like pack mules carrying everything from point A to B. Our guides, Liz and Rob, assured us we only have to portage twice the entire trip. In the end we had a couple of unexpected portages due to the low water level. We overcame some challenging times. Our second day we faced a storm that seemed like hurricane Katrina to us. We built a canoe fort around our fireplace to shelter us from the strong, cold wind. Some of the members of the team had to bear the hurricane and try to sleep in the tents and risk being carried off to Oz while others found a safe place in the middle of a windless paradise. Ejidos Judaic rights (that's what I get for typing like a cat). We had wonderful times canoeing on calm waters and playing fun games such as: canoe tag and rock, paper, scissors risk. The times were fun and the company and experiences around the campfire were amazing. Enduring all of the cold and wind made us as a group come together more and more. It was awesome to see everyone go through the tough times with a smile on their face. Oh so many great experiences and I don't think I'll be able to fit them all into this one blog. All you really need to know for Group A is that we went, we fought wind and rain, and we conquered with a smile on our face. Also we all have more muscle than when we first started.

Written by: Hugo Malan

Sam & Tausha looking snazzy

Flotilla up!

Canoe shelter

Beauty.

Group B: We started off the trip trekking through canoe-filling waves but our upbeat leaders, Jamie and Amy, kept our spirits high. The second day we encountered rain, hail, wind and even snow. We stopped at an abandoned mine full of old, rundown, buildings and sand dunes. We enjoyed the break from canoeing and played around there for a bit. The next day we were challenged by heavy winds that made it almost impossible to paddle. We battled against the elements and came to an island with a creepy looking mine. Because of that, the freezing temperatures and the fact that we had run out of toilet paper, we had a kind of scary night. On the last day we went cliff diving. Over the course of the trip we learned about beauty and brokeness in nature and our lives. The beauty part of that lesson was very apparent on the trip. The trip was full of aching muscles, cold mornings, bonfires, tons of food, good conversations and bonding.

Written by: Tobi Goertzen