Mon/Tues: Cradle of Mankind and elephants in Magaliesburg

Monday morning we got up early to finish the laundry we had started the night before. There was only 1 token left to use the laundrymat, so we hand washed our shoes and muddy clothes in the bathtub hoping to dry them later in the dryer. But of course, TIA (This Is Africa) so as a rule none of that could work out as planned. We stupidly started with the shoes and pretty much clogged the bathtub with water. As it would no longer drain I hand washed 3 or 4 items of clothing at a time in the sink, then rinsed it all off in the shower and hung it to dry overnight. I was literally praying before bed that the tub would drain overnight; thankfully it did. Then the nearby dryer wouldn't work, so I trecked all our clothes up to the next facilities, which we almost couldn't find again. And by then end of it all our clothes and shoes still were not dry... Like I said, TIA.

We bussed 6 hours to Magalisburg today, and by the end of the ride we were all seriously sore from kloofing. Everything hurts, especially my quads, upper body and back. I liken it to yoga, where it's tough but not overwhelming, but you really feel it the next day. Based on the soreness of my arms and back I would safely say that kloofing ended up being more wet rock climbing than anything else.'

Wed/Thurs: Magalisburg

I don't really feel like writing much about this place. It was kind of a mix and match of a lot of different activites. We visited the Cradle of Mankind where they have discovered some of the oldest early human remains called Astrolopithicus africanus. As a bio major I already knew why this place was so significant and was pretty excited to go through the cave where they have found the oldest complete skeleton of A. africanus, named LIttle Foot. But important or not it ended up being kind of boring. Then we checked out a huge local market where we were all constantly harrassed by every single merchant. I was seriously overwhelmed and didn't really enjoy it. Finally we finished the day at Lisedi cultural village, which is kind of like a mini Disneyland to showcase South African cultures. We saw recreations of villages and dances from the 5 major tribes of South Africa. After working with the kids in Cape Town I have a special place in my heart for the Xhosa. Especially since they have the awesome click language.

The next morning was much more memorable. Before our drive out of Magaliesburg we all opted to go to a local elephant sanctuary. We got to hang out with 3 of the elephants. They had us each brush them, feed them, even walk them by holding their trunk in our hand. It was precious. Then we finished by getting awesome elephant kisses, which was kind of like a giant moist vacuum on our cheeks.