Travel Map

Total Expenses

After doing every thing listed, my total expenses came to $8,465 which was very pleasing.

My Hotel costs - A little under $1500 for a week
My round trip plane cost- $5685
Car rental - $780 for a week
Total Food Cost - $265 for the whole trip
Leisure Activities - $ 225
Considering my Budget was 10,000 not going over excited me the things that were the most were plane tickets and my hotel reservations.

My Last Day

Today is my last day here in South Africa sadly but my experience was astonishing. Today I didnt get much done  due to packing and checking out of my hotel. However I did go see one more exciting thing before I left. What I saw was amazing, I saw the Jukani Predator Park which was pretty entertaining. After that, I decided to take my  rental car back to the dealership and went to the airport to catch the next plane back to the homelands. This was by far the best time of my life, i got to enjoy myself with amazing experiences. Home at last.

Day 6

As my trip is starting to come to a close, I try to fit in as much as possible before I have to leave. First one my schedule was shark diving! Ive always wanted to try it, so why not now? As unbelievable as this was, it was completely free. Wow! After that exciting experience, i went to go white shark diving, which is way more dangerous but way more exciting. I decided to do this because it was also in the same area as the regular shark diving. I couldnt believe the thrill and get this, it was also free! Last, why not just make it a day in the water? I went shark fishing. This did cost me however, $100 for an evening. After a long day on the water with success of catching a small hammerhead, i took it to the restaurant near the dock and enjoyed filleted shark with the ship hands.  

Day Number 5

Today is number five here for me, so far my trip has been amazing. After letting a day waste yesterday, surfing, i wanted to make today a great day of progress, so I first wanted to go explore the Rovos Rails. Here, I just toured the rail road and admired the views all free of charge. Next , after I had some lunch at the Montagu Golf Club, I  went out to the fairway to play some wholes of golf. The lunch was cheap here, i only payed $7.95 for a meal. Last I headed to the Leidam Bird Sanctuary which was also free. After this long exciting day, i went to the hotel to get a good nights rest.

4th Day

After A nice long relaxing night of sleep, I got up early to experience my fourth day here. No doubt in my mind, i wanted to go to the beach and learn how to surf, so i headed to the beach first. I didnt know which beach to pick to do this, but i did some research before I headed out to see which beaches had the best waves for begginers  and which beach I could find lessons at. I went to Jeffreys Bay. Here, I found a expert to give me lessons on surfing, it cost me $50 a day. Even though i planned on doing three things today, this was the only thing I got done. But it was for sure worth it, i had a blast learning to surf. Experiencing the ocean was a thrill! I went home and ordered from food service again. I simply had spaghetti for dinner which was billed onto my staying cost.
 

3rd Day

Today was my third day in the exciting culture of South Africa. My last two days have been very exciting, today i was very tired so i decided not to venture far from my hotel. First I headed out to the National Botanical Gardens, where I enjoyed what nature had to offer. It was also free. Next I went to view Limpopo which is a game park in South Africa, the views were spectacular. Last I wanted to see Ancient Bushman drawings in the Drakensburg Mountains, they were very amusing but tiring from the hike to get there. After a exhausting day of hiking, I started to gander home. On the way home, I stopped at a diner to grab a bite to eat. I stopped at the Loading Bay Cafe and just ate  something small. I had one of their pastries and a frappe, this cost me $5.00 exactly. After that, I went home to a relaxing bed.

2nd Day In South Africa

Today, June 21, 2012, was my second day in South Africa. After tossing and tuning all night last night thinking about my amazing experience yesterday, I managed to finally fall asleep. I woke up earlier today to get a fresh start on the day to come. This morning I went to eat breakfast at a nearby cafe. There, I had there morning buffet meal which cost me $14.50 USD. After having my meal, I headed on out into the streets to have another day of life changing fun. First I headed to The Congo Caves to explore the caverns. Here, I didn't have to pay anything. The sites were very amazing. Next I decided to travel to Table Mountain where I would hike the ridge lines and enjoy the scenery. This was also free of charge. Last I went to the Apartheid Museum, which was free too, so I ended up saving a lot of money today. After a long exhausting day of touring, I headed back to the hotel for some food and rest. I sat in my bed a thought about what I would the next day.

South Africa Trip First Day

Today, June 20, 2012 I am traveling to South Africa. I thought it would be interesting to come here and experience the traditions  and see what life is like here. Since I would be here for a week, I decided to take part in going to three different attractions and activities South Africa has to offer. The three things I decided to take part in were for one to visit the Kalahari. Next i decided to see the Kruger National Park. Last, but not least I wanted to experience Boulders Beach. First I headed to the Kalahari to take a tour off the wilderness and see some of their native animals. This area has such a variety of interesting animals for my viewing. Some of these animals include the  cheetah, lion, wildebeest, kudu, impala, sable, ostrich, rhino, elephant, giraffe, Marshall and Battler eagles, pelicans and storks. The area is also famous for its black-maned lions. Next I decided i would head to Kruger National Park to see some of the excitement that goes on there. After arriving at Kruger I decided to go on the safari tour to try to see some of their wildlife. Many of their different species of game include 336 trees, 49 fish, 34 amphibians, 114 reptiles, 507 birds and 147 mammals. Last I decided to cap the day off with a relaxing time at Boulders Beach. Here I payed just a small entry fee of $R25  ($3.14 USD)from 9am to 5pm. Every thing else was free to view as long as we went on our own, and stayed on the guided path, I would have had to pay extra for a personal guide. After a long day of touring, I headed back to the hotel to relax. The hotel I stayed at was The Plettenburg Hotel. Here it cost me $262.16 to stay. After that I went to enjoy a dinner from food service. I had a dinner platter that cost me $15.99. Finally with a full stomach I managed to go to sleep, eager to see what the next day would bring. 

Frikkadels recipe

Frikkadels are like South African meat balls. This recipe is based on a tomato frikkadel.

---

Ingredients

4 medium tomatoes 
2 large onions 
30 ml sunflower oil (2 T) 
1 kg minced beef 
50 g oats (½ c) 
125 ml milk (½ c) 
30 ml brown vinegar (2 T) 
15 ml Worcestershire sauce (1 T) 
10 ml salt (2 t)                                                                              
1 ml pepper (¼ t) 
125 ml water (½ c) 
30 ml cream of tomato soup powder (2 T)

---

Instructions on how to make it

Preheat the oven to 180 °C. Peel the tomatoes and onions and chop roughly. Braise in the sunflower oil until soft. Mix half of the tomato and onion mixture lightly with the minced beef and the oats. Add the milk, brown vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper and mix together well.

Shape large frikkadels (can be shaped into round balls or flattened with a fork) from the mixture and place them quite close together in a shallow, ovenproof dish with a volume of about 2,5 litres. Mix the water and soup powder and pour it over the frikkadels. Cover the dish. Bake for an hour. Spoon the remaining tomato and onion mixture over the frikkadels. Makes 14 large frikkadels