Gap Year Experiences

Updates and info from on the ground during our 11 week and 5 week Experiences in South Africa

Another tough day in Cape Town....

Wednesday 27 January 2010


So today we headed back to llandudno for another crazy day in the surf - everyone is getting so much better under the expert tuition of logan aka terry wogan, the waves were pretty 'gnarly dude' today and i achieved my longest run standing up, thankfully the only casulties today were two fins breaking off the boards.

I think a few of us are appreciating the relaxing beginning to the week after the 'hectic'
weekend we all had. Climbing table mountain was one experience i think few will forget.
When you reach the top of the gorge and look out from the top of the table the hard work becomes a distant memory and so worth the effort. The chilled sundowner session on the beach was definately in order after the climb and a nice end to the afternoon. The evening saw in yummy thai food and a cheeky cocktail or two close to home.

Sunday saw the boys enjoy a fantastic english breakky while the girls checked out what the south african shops had to offer at the mall. I think another trip to JayJays will be in order before long for Annie to pick up some more amazing shorts!
The afternoon saw everyone head out to the township of Gugulethu for a 'surprising lunch trip'. As we pulled into the street the smell, noise and sights were incredible. The afternoon was spent drinking and dancing to the amazing beats and a good time was spent learning some 'kiefe' dance moves from the locals.

To top off the day, we went to Caprice at Camps Bays - the long awaited
trip to 'the' sunday night drinking hole. The night got off to a slow start, though several of us, err just me then, enjoyed the sights of the australian professional rugby team enjoying a few after match beers.

After such a busy weekend everyone was enjoying a few chilled beers and cocktails. Pip roused us with shots and we hit the dance floor to dance the night away. A fab night was had by all.

Abi

Georgia's Birthday Blog

Wednesday 27 January 2010

Normally when your birthday is in the middle of January you start to get used to waking up in the freezing cold. Experiencing my birthday in South Africa with Pepper was completely the opposite, i woke in the intense heat, being informed that it was meant to be reaching 38 degrees.

The day started with us travelling all the way over to the Newlands cricket stadium to watch the twenty-20 match between the local cape town rugby team, the stormers, and the Cape Cobra's the cricket team. The majority of the group were supporting the stormers apart from a few strays!! However after being presented with an african fanfair, watching the exciting cricket match and left with a few sweaty faces. The match ended with a draw.... after the last ball was said to be a 'no ball'.

The Pepper team then treated us to a meal at a well known steak house called spurs, we were told that on our trip to Cape Town this was one of the restaurants not to be missed! We all stuffed our faces with burgers or steaks. The excitment did not end here however, from the corner of my eye i saw the whole of the Spurs staff dance toward me holding a large icecream sundae singing happy birthday. Red faced, and embarressed i blew out the candles to be treated to another surprise. The Pepper team had bought me a globe for my travels, and a lipgloss to apparently aid my pulling skills! We left full and happy!

We then had a quick 15 minute turnaround before heading off to see Goldfish in concert. All of
the girls struggled with this, trying to fit 5 of us around one mirror was a miracle in itself!

However the impossible became possible and were off and raring to go, with Goldfish blaring out of the Pepper Bus. We had a few Sundowners, before Goldfish started, a perfect way ro recharge after our busy day. Goldfish are a local band from Capetown, so there was no place better to see them which meant the atmosphere was amazing. The intense, sweaty heat of the room was put to the back of our minds as we raved away to the music, with no worries that the photo's may be a little less attractive than first assumed! The night reached a peak when we were then able to meet the band.

I was tucked up and in bed by 11.30, this showed signs of a good night even if i had left a few
of group to carry on, partying without me. Overall it was one of the best birthday's i have ever had, and definately one i will never forget. The sore head in the morning was definately worth it!!!

Georgia xx

Good times continue....week two on January 2010 Experience!

Monday 25 January 2010

The week began on great note with an incredible night with Goldfish at La Med last sunday and after another good week of surfing and diving we made the most of this weekend with conquering Table Mountain, sunsets on the beach, jamming at Mzoli's in the township of Gugulethu and a great night at Caprice! Check out the pics below for a better idea of the good times.


Jamming to the township beats at Mzoli's...

Team Pepper January 2010!!!

Playing in the sunset on Camps Bay...

Jake soaking up the views over the city...

Celebrating after conquering Table Mountain...

Half way up Table mountain...

Sweating it out La Med with Goldfish...

Georgia , The Birthday Girl, with Abi enjoying the Goldfish tunes...
Soaking up the last rays of the day at La Med...

Surfers heading in to the Atlantic...


Jake's weekend blog

Sunday 24 January 2010

Day... cannot remember. Table Mountain.

Covered in suncream and as streched as a crew of Ethiopian marathon runners, the Pepper team embarked on a challenge of frightening magnitude - The ascent of Table Mountain. I was worried about how we might all scale the north face of the towering beaut in consideration of our late evening the night before, however, we succeded.
I sincerely doubt that I would ever have contemplated such a task if I was back in the UK, but seeing as we are in Cape Town and under the encouraging eyes of Big Ed and the Pipsicle, the idea seemed a little less daunting! Georgie, Fred and myself were standing at the top within an hour and 15 mins, closely followed by Harry - he somehow managed to finish numerous cigarettes on his way up and in light of this, his completion was all the more impressive. The views, as anyone can surely imagine, were breath taking. To the right, the miniscule city sprawled for miles towards the airport. On the other side, Lion's Head and Robben Island posed as a stunning background.
And so, after hundreds of photos, and a punt to the face from Pip in an extreme game of Hackey, we made our way down on the Cable Cart in the direction of Camps' Bay beach for a few sneaky sundowners. We revelled in the evening sunshine playing frisby and a bit of touch rugby whilst the icy Atlantic lapped at the shores of the beach. All the while, a jolly fire-breathing tightrope walker sang sweet African folk songs on the Boulevard.
I hope some pictures go up on the site, and I'm sure that rest of the team will agree that we had a pretty epic day.......

Deep dive 2 and Wreck dive 1

Friday 22 January 2010

22/1/10

Did 2 dives today, they were both boat dives and were great fun.
The first dive was the second dive in my deep diver speciality, we descended down to 27 meters/81 feet. The temperature dropped from 15 down to 8 degrees in the last 4 meters which was a big shock. We did some regular excersizes which shows what depth does to certain objects and quickely continued due to the cold. We saw alot of Lobsters and a very rare starfish. After a long saftey stop we continued to the boat and dekitted and returned to shore.
The second dive was the first dive of my wreck diver speciality, we descended 15 meters to the deck of the boat and swam over it for a while noticing the damage the sea does to wrecks quickely due to the weather and strong currents. There were some good swim throughs which were amazing, using my dive torch i could look right into the cracks of the boat and saw some more animals which included Nudibranchs, these look like slugs but are bright colours and have horns. They are quite rare and very small so when you find them they are good fun to look at, the photography is amazing aswell as they dont move so you can get some amazing close up shots. When using the correct settings it is amazing. We continued around the boat for a while longer and then surfaced. We then proceeded to shore and had to wait for a while as the fishermen were docking their boats, they had brought in alot of fish [Snoek - ED] and we bought some for and supper tonight which should be great. Caught earlier that day and then Barbequed [Braai Hugh, we're in SA now bru - ED] should produce some really nice fish. Overall a good day and a successful supper.

Hugh xxxx